صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

Scriptures, we are taught the ordinances of religion, both public and private, in the confcientious use of which we shall grow up into Chrift Jesus; particularly, we are commanded to fet apart a competent portion of our time, every day, and to keep the fabbath holy every week; that by serious meditation upon God's word, and by pouring out our hearts before him in prayer and thanksgiving, we may renew our fpiritual ftrength, be more and more confirmed in the habits of holiness, and find ourselves ftill advancing nearer to heavenly perfection. This sketch of the principles of holinets, to be derived from the Scriptures, clearly proves their Divine original and excellence, as it sets them vastly above any thing mere human wifdom can discover or devife.

In the Scriptures we also find the best principles of comfort and refreshment to the foul. How needful are such principles in a scene of afliction, fin, and weakness! In general, under how many amiable characters, under how many sweet encouragements, are we invited to truft in the Almighty and Eternal; to look unto him, and make his name, his goodness, and power, our refuge in every want, danger, difficulty, and conflict! being affured that he cares for us, while we hope in him, and that he will never leave us nor forsake us; that, however he may permit our fufferings and griefs, he never can forget us, and will make all things, how bitter foever, work together for our good. Heaven is at all times open to our complaints and fupplications, and the throne of God, which is a throne of grace, is easy of access to the breathings and defires of our hearts.

Are we loaded with a sense of guilt? See the blood of Jesus the fecurity and feal of our pardon. Are we humbled under a sense of our own unworthiness? Hear the voice of Divine grace freely conferring a dignity upon us far fuperior to all the honours of this world. Look into the Scriptures; view the unsearchable riches of Christ; behold the love of our God and Redeemer; of his own gracious will, and mere good pleafure, he has begotten us, he is become our Father, he has justified us, he has bestowed upon us the honours of his children, he has made us welcome to all the bloffings of his covenant, and to all the glories of his kingdom. Fearful and dejected Soul, look into the Gospel, and fee thy God shining in all the beams of free, rich, and heavenly grace. Be of good comfort; thy fins are forgiven, thy interest in the covenant is fure; the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Chrift, is thy God and Father, and thou art welcome to all the treasures of his mercy and goodness. Only rejoice in this grace, and live agreeably to it in all faith, purity and holiness, love and goodness.

Are you afraid your own weakness and furrounding temptations should draw your regards from God, pervert your minds, and cause you to fall short of falvation? Fear not, thou worm Jacob, for I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God; I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right-hand of my righteousness, or falvation. Only cleave unto God, by faith in Chrift, with purpose of heart, and he who has begun a good work will certainly perfect it unto the day of Christ. You shall be more than conquerors through him that has loved us. Doth the world frown, and pour its forrows into your breasts? Look to the heavenly world, the glory that shall be revealed revealed in the faints. That is your home and country, that is your portion and inheritance; and if you regard it as such, you will rejoice in the hope of the glory of God, and be raifed far above the cares and fears of this low and transitory state. Such strong confolations the holy Scriptures supply, and therefore their author is undoubtedly the God of all confolation; for no wisdom of man could ever poffibly have opened to us such a fountain of joy and refreshment. And thus we fee the Scriptures contain, beyond all dispute, the best principles of knowledge, of holiness, and comfort.

It is no less evident that they deliver the best precepts for directing all our actions. Such precepts are reducible to three heads, our duty to God, to our neighbour, and to ourselves. God we are taught to worship with a fincere admiration of his glory and perfections, with profound reverence of his greatness, with humble adoration of his Sovereignty, with the highest love and esteem for his excellency and amiableness, with joy and gratitude for his goodness, and with a heart truly devoted to his honour, and determined for his obedience. To our neighbour we are directed to perform not only justice, truth, and equity, but also unfeigned charity, the most extenfive kindness and benevolence. To ourselves we owe felf-preservation and self-government; and the Scriptures admonish us to take the wifeft care of our being, by cultivating and guarding our minds, and by mortifying all inordinate affections and paffions. In short, all that our reason can find in the law or religion of nature, is, without the least omiffion, tranfcribed into revelation; and moreover, the wisdom of God has not only perfected and supplied our deficiencies, but has discovered to us the riches of goodness, knowledge, and power, infinitely beyond what our natural faculties could ever have attained.

Thus we are furnished both with the most perfect rules of virtue and godliness, and also with the most powerful motives to the observance of them; and thus the Scriptures are a storehouse of the most facred and useful knowledge, adapted to the improvement of our minds in whatever is good or excellent, beyond all competition and objection. But as those only can object against them, who never read them, or never with serious minds, if you would know what the Scriptures are, if you would know whether they are of God, read them, study them, meditate upon them, and you cannot fail of being convinced of their excellency and Divine original.

Such being the intrinfic excellency of the Scriptures, it is no wonder it entered into our Lord's thoughts, and was the object of his care in his last moments, even amidst the pains and agonies of death. Its being the fubject of his thoughts at a time when his thoughts turned upon nothing but what was infinitely momentous, his being concerned upon the cross, that no point of Scripture should want its full evidence, or establishment, is a demonftration of the high worth and excellency of Scripture. Under all his preceding sufferings, which must be exceeding bitter, he never dropt the least expression of the forrow and anguish he felt, but endured it with the filence of the most perfect meekness and patience. We must therefore conclude, he would not have opened his mouth to fignify his grievous distress, when on the crofs, IWI

[ocr errors]

forfaken me? had it not been for the fake of expreffing his trust in God; nor would he have mentioned his thirst, but out of regard to divine revelation, and its accomplishment.

Our Lord has, all along, from first to last, shewn the highest respect to the word of God. With this sword he did combat and conquer Satan, when tempted by him in the wilderness. He always in the course of his ministry appeals to it as the standard of religious truth, revealing the will of God, and explaining his dispensations. He declares he came not to destroy so much as one tittle of the Law or the Prophets, but to complete, vindicate, and illuftrate them; afsuring us that as their original is Divine, their honours shall be perpetual; and that, till heaven and earth pass away, and the whole frame of nature be dissolved, not one jot fhall pass, or perish, from the Law, or from Revelation, till all be fulfilled. John v. 39. He directs the Jews to search the Scriptures, as they rightly apprehended the doctrine of eternal life was contained in them, and as they testified of him.

As his fufferings drew nearer, he frequently takes notice of the fulfilment of the Scriptures in the several steps and events which led to them. Matt. xxvi. 31, 54. John xiii. 18. xv. 25. That the Scriptures might be fulfilled in his fufferings and death, he would not allow his Disciples to rescue him out of the hands of those who came to seize him. Matt. xxvi. 53, 54. Had he prayed to the Father, he would have given him more than twelve legions of angels; but how then, says he, shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be? And when upon the cross, he is not diverted from the same important subject, though in the midst of the most exquifite torments, and labouring under a violent drought. Regard to the Scriptures prevails in his mind, more than the sense of the greatest pain and anguish; and not to relieve his thirst, but that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, he cried out, 1 thirst.

Thus our crucified Lord has set the seal of his blood to the Divine authority, excellency, and certainty of the holy Scriptures. He came into the world, he laid down his life to accomplish what was fore-ordained, and foretold in the Scriptures. Now this evidently implies, that our Lord knew, and was perfuaded, the Scriptures are of Divine original, are the word, and declare to us the mind and will of God; consequently, that they contain discoveries and instructions of the highest and most excellent nature; and that all things they predict must, and most certainly will, be accomplished.

It seems but an inconfiderable circumstance, that the Scriptures intimate they would give the Messiah in his thirst vinegar to drink. This seems to be a fact of no great moment, nor do we know that it stood in connexion with any thing of confequence, and yet our Lord would not overlook it. He took care it should be punctually fulfilled. How much more then may we perfuade ourselves, that all the great promises, and all the predictions relating to matters of vast importance, shall be accomplished? The apparent infignificancy of vinegar being offered to Christ on the cross, adds great force to this argument. If a point, seemingly so minute, was carefully attended to, and punctually discharged, when the Redeemer was in extremity of pain and torture, how much more, now that he is entered into his joy, now that he is poffefied of

the

:

the highest felicity and glory, now that he is invested with the most extenfive power and dominion, how much more will he make good all that God has declared by the ancient Prophets in the Old Testament, and all that he himself hath foretold and promised in the New, relating to things of infinite moment! Exceeding great and precious promises are given us of the Divine prefence, blessing, and protection, through this world, which every upright mind may be assured will be fully made

good.

How many magnificent predictions has our Lord, and his Apostles, delivered concerning the world that is to come That he will raise us up again at the last day. And we shall certainly be raised out of our graves, and restored to a life quite different from the present-That be will come in great power and glory to judge the world. And most assuredly he will fo come, and we shall every one of us stand before his tribunal to give an account of ourselves To his faithful servants he has promised eternal life: and to all such, without fail, he will give eternal life. It is frequently foretold, that everlasting destruction from the prefence of the Lord will be the dreadful lot of the impenitently wicked, and doubtless everlasting destruction will be the dreadful lot of fuch.-Most clearly he has made known his everlasting kingdom of glory, where his fincere followers shall partake of his glory and felicity; and we may firmly believe and hope, this will be our happy condition, if we make it our present care to be his fincere followers. Thus has our benevolent Saviour afforded us, in his last moments, a most solid ground of hope towards God, and directed us absolutely to depend upon all that the Scriptures reveal concerning our falvation.

[blocks in formation]

Christians ought to be thankful for the SCRIPTURES, and maintain a high Esteem for them.

HAVING, fo far as feems neceffary, confidered the ufe and im

portance of the holy Scriptures, I would now point out the properest improvement of this interesting subject.

We may evidently fee our obligation to be thankful for the Scriptures; they are the gift of God, and a great help to our understanding, and rational powers, in the best attainments. And as our natural light and faculties certainly demand our gratitude and thanks, that God has made us wifer than the fowls of heaven, and taught us more than the beasts of the earth; and as our joy and praise will be agreeable to our illumination, when in God's heavenly light we shall see glorious and eternal light; fo

the

CH. XLII. the fuperior instructions and discoveries of revelation do challenge our fincere thanks to our wife and benevolent Father, who has employed his spirit at fundry times, and divers manners, to pour knowledge and light into the darkness of the nations, which otherwise would, in effect, have generally loft the use of intelligence; and that at length he has visited us with the day-fpring from on high, a full display of his heavenly grace in the everlasting Gofpel.

Should we not maintain a just, that is to say, a very high esteem of the word of God? If it is true, that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for the noblest ends, for doctrine, for reproof, correction, instruction in righteousness, then it is true that we cannot fet too high a value upon it. The things of this world, which are very imperfect and transitory, have, alas, too large a share of our hearts; but the holy Scriptures are a treasury of heavenly and everlasting riches, and it is but reafonable we should give them the preference to what we know is infinitely inferior in worth. And it is upon this ground that the wifeft and best of men have represented them as the highest object of our delight and esteem. Pfalm xix. 7-10. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the foul; the testimony of the Lord is fure, making wife the fimple. The ftatutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. More to be desired are they than gold; yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and the honey-comb. Pfalm cxix. 96, 97, 103. I have seen an end of all perfettion; but thy commandment is exceeding broad. O, bow love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day. How sweet are thy words unto my taste; yea, fweeter than boney to my mouth! And we may then only call ourselves happy, when we have attained the same sentiments and taste of the good word of God. Indeed I cannot see that we use it as what it is, or answer our Christian profeffion, if we do not treat it with great esteem and regard. To this purpose let us

Not allow ourselves to think of it with indifference, or in any respect to treat it irreverently. The worth and infinite importance of the thing will not bear a cool and languid thought; and it is too facred and divine to admit of any degree of contempt. It is with some reckoned a turn of wit to introduce Scripture phrase into common converfation, and to provoke pleafantry by quoting the Bible. What is this but burlefquing the word of God, and raifing a laugh at the expence of the greatest blefiing of heaven? Such a profane levity will by degrees lessen the reverence we owe to Scripture, and destroy all ferious regard to it; which is, in effect, to destroy ourselves; and therefore should not only be carefully avoided, but with abhorrence detested.

Guard your minds well against Deifm on the one hand, and Popery en the other. Both these agree in depreciating the Scriptures. The Deift will perfuade you revelation is unneceffary, and confequently that the Scripture is no revelation from God, but a fallacy and cheat, at firft invented, and afterwards supported, by those who find their account in it. He racks his invention to start any difficulty or objection, to prove that the Bible is not fufficient to the purposes of revelation. And here, the Romanist joins him. They go indeed different ways; the one, as he pretends, to the mere religion of nature; and the other, in reality, to the authority of the church, and a living infallible guide upon earth. But

both

A

« السابقةمتابعة »