APPENDIX. REMARKS ON THE PROFITABLE READING OF SCRIPTURE. WE are told of a certain Christian, in an early period of the Church, who, being himself unable to read, carried always about with him a copy of the Scriptures, and when he met any of his friends who possessed the ability, requested them to read to him some portion of the book which he so highly esteemed. This man, by God's blessing, became so thoroughly established in the faith that, being exposed to persecution, he resisted even unto blood, and died a martyr. Such is one testimony, among many others, to the propriety of that declaration, The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.' Ps. xix. 7. We are by no means, however, to suppose that, in any instance whatever, the mere act of reading God's word is sufficient for instruction or edification, independently of the state or habit of mind with which the study is pursued. And hence arises a question of no inconsiderable moment. What, it may be asked, are those tempers and dispositions which men should bring to the study of God's word, with a view to the right knowledge and improvement of this sacred record? In what way, under the agency of the Holy Spirit, may we expect to derive benefit from the study of the Bible? To this it may be answered, in general terms, that the great requisite is a due preparation of heart. We do not reckon as indispensably necessary to the profitable study of God's word, either acuteness of intellect, or a strong and retentive memory, or extensive information and learning. A good head may indeed be made useful towards our deriving instruction from this fountain of heavenly wisdom, but it is. a right heart which is essential. pre This, however, is by no means a full answer to our question. We ask, What is this moral paration which is so needful? Wherein does it consist? In what way does Christian faith develope itself with reference to this important particular, the use of Scripture with a view to our advancement in holiness? The dictates of Christian principle on this subject are chiefly the following. 1. Consult the sacred records with a sincere desire of spiritual benefit. It should be an object proposed distinctly by the mind, that in reading God's word we may thereby become more and more wise unto salvation. 'As newborn babes,' says an Apostle, 'desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.' 1 Pet. ii. 2. It is possible for persons to have read many pages of the Bible without having ever seriously proposed to themselves the study of the sacred volume as a means of their salvation. This may indeed be better than the total neglect of the Scriptures, but yet it is not the right way of using them. It is not well, for example, to peruse them merely as a task. The mind is in this way disposed to derive some sort of satisfaction from the mere act of perusal, but it is not in a suitable frame for deriving instruction. It is not alive to what it reads. It attends more to quantity than to matter. And those passages which, if we were seeking to reap benefit, would arrest our attention,-which would strike us perhaps forcibly, and would lead us to compare them with experience or to examine our own hearts, are likely, under these circumstances, to be lightly passed over, and dismissed without profit. It is unprofitable, likewise, to study the Scriptures in a speculative temper, or as a mere exercise of the understanding. There is room, doubtless, for the employment of talent and ingenuity in the study of the sacred writings, whether in examining the evidences of their authenticity and the credibility of the writers, or in tracing out and illustrating the doctrines they contain. This kind of study is both useful and necessary in its place, and is, in fact, a duty which devolves upon those persons whose office requires them to maintain and enforce the truths of revelation: and yet, even under these circumstances, great care ought |