one BOOK, which teaches us the way, we shall in vain think to escape by self-deceiving methods. I apprehend that the sin of men in neglecting to be guided by the scriptures, argues more contempt of God, more affront done to his righteous government and authority, and is more inexcusable than all our other sins. For them a remedy might be provided; for neglect of the gospel, there is no remedy. Let me beseech you, brethren, to take heed that none of you harden yourselves against the scriptures on account of "some things hard to be understood." The views which naturally offer themselves to your minds may be more pleasing, and may be more easily understood. It is to be expected, that there would be some difficulties in revelation, because of the infinite greatness of God, and because of the darkness and perverseness which sin hath brought upon us. But, truly, you and I have no business of any consequence compared with the care of our souls. Life is short; death will soon remove us from this transitory scene; nature is content with few things; "having food and raiment, let us be therewith content." This sentence, at least, of St, Paul, is not hard to be understood. Indeed difficulties are only, as St. Peter says, in some things of his writing. Nor will I say that it is absolutely necessary to understand them all; but it is.very dangerous to neglect them, and the fundamentals of godliness must be understood, or we perish. Ggg 2 This This is an age, remarkable for the pursuit of knowledge; it is a shame that scriptureknowledge alone should be neglected. For I would ask many of those who represent the scriptures as too hard to be understood, whether they say so from their own experience? How often have you carefully read over St. Paul's Epistles with a view to understand them? It surely belongs to the Laity as well as the Clergy to attend to them, otherwise they might as well be locked up in latin as in the Popish times. Alas! what will you say before the Judge of quick and dead, when it shall appear that for years you never read the scriptures at all; that the Bible was one of the last books you thought of reading. Oh! brethren, what is the world worth which we are so fond of? Its riches soon make themselves wings and flee away. It is, therefore, one of the worst excuses for a man to say that he had no time to search the scriptures. A little of the world will serve for the body; though of covetousness and luxury the wants are endless. Contract your wishes, your ambition, your desires into a narrow compass, and take time to search the scriptures. There the true riches are to be found. You who profess to be really religious, of all men, ought not to neglect this divine study. To profess the gospel, and yet know it not fnwardly for ourselves, is sad indeed. I must guard you against a common mistake. The unlearned, who are said to wrest the scriptures, do not mean, of necessity, those who are unacquainted with languages, arts, and sciences. A man may be learned in these. these things, and yet be quite unlearned in the scriptures. On the other hand, a man may have but a moderate knowledge of them, and yet be very learned in the scriptures; while a man of learning, puffed up with pride, and determined to admit nothing but what he likes in religion, may study all his days in the scriptures, and only study himself deeper and deeper in error. Such learned men, for want of a right discernment of the great end and design of scripture, may be "unstable as water;" tossed about with endless diversity of opinions; ever learning and never coming to the knowledge of the truth; the convert of the last book they read, and knowing nothing at last. Endeavour to learn the real scope of scripture, and having attained it, be firm in it. And here" if any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God." The teaching of God's Spirit is necessary. Those who make light of it are sure to know nothing aright. A dark cloud rests on all your understandings, which sin and the fall have introduced. Did you ever feel it? It is not quite done away. in the most intelligent and upright saints, while here on earth. With reading we should join prayer for divine illumination. If you never heartily thus prayed from a sense of your blindness, you have not begun right as yet in religion. Those who would know how to pray aright, let them make all the petitions in the 119th Psalm their own. Guard, I beseech you, against the self-conceit so common in this age, as well as against the spirit of sloth and total carelessness in reli gion no less common. Be serious. Here is a book of God's own inditing for our use. He promises, if we search it carefully, depend on him truly for instruction from it, and pray to him without ceasing, we shall understand and find life from it. Every part of scripture is profitable; but the writings of St. Paul have a particular use in this respect, that they lay open the whole system of scripture, and give us in one comprehensive view the whole mind of God. Some things, indeed, both in them and in the other scriptures, are "hard to be understood," but not impossible. Seek therefore the more carefully to understand them that you may be grounded in the great things of salvation, always looking up for that spiritual illumination so often promised in scripture. Thus you shall find, as thousands. have, satisfying knowledge, attended with real holy and comfortable fruits, which men careless of all scripture, or leaning to their own understanding, while they peruse it, can never find, SERMON SERMON XXIX. THE SPIRITUAL MARRIAGE AND UNITY BETWIXT CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH. PSAL. xlv. 10, 11. HEARKEN, O DAUGHTER, AND CONSIDER, AND INCLINE THINE EAR; FORGET ALSO THINE OWN PEOPLE AND THY FATHER'S HOUSE. SO SHALL THE KING GREATLY DESIRE THY BEAUTY; FOR HE IS THY LORD, AND WORSHIP THOU HIM. NHAT the subject of this Psalm, in its ul ΤΗΛ timate sense, at least, that is, in its most important sense, and that in which we are chiefly concerned, is to be understood of Jesus Christ and his church, none but a prejudiced sceptic, or a person quite ignorant of scripture, would deny. Indeed besides other strong arguments that might be brought to prove it, we have the express testimony of St. Paul in the first chapter of his Epistle to the Hebrews. The quotation from the Psalm which may be found there saves all labour of reasoning with those who admit Heb. i. 8, 9. the |