the Spirit of God could forefee fuch a diftant, and deplorable state of things, which no human probability could have conjectured would have rifen out of the pure and heavenly doctrine of Chrift. But the Spirit which predicted this event, is the very fame which was poured out upon the Apoftles, and enlightened their minds with the knowledge of the Gofpel; therefore the Apostles, who wrote the New Testament, had the Spirit of God, and were enlightened by it.

By these arguments I am pointing out to you the only fountain of life and happiness, a mine infinitely more valuable than of gold and precious ftones; a plentiful magazine of heavenly and everlasting wealth, an inexhauftible fund of folid comfort and peace, the holy Scriptures, the word of the ever bleffed God; a treasure of immenfe value, which we have in our poffeffion, if we are wife to make a right improvement of it.

There remains yet another argument to prove the Divine Authority and Original of Scripture, taken from the internal excellency of it. This I fhall confider in the following chapter.

CHA P. XLII.

The internal Worth and Excellency of the SCRIPTURES confidered, as containing the best Principles of Knowledge, Holiness, and Comfort.

XXHE arguments which I have already advanced, are taken from T the external evidence that the Scriptures are the word of God. X Proceed we now to confider their internal Worth and Excellency, which more fully and directly demonftrates their Divine original, and falls in with the second part of my defign, which was to confider the use and importance of the holy Scriptures.

Confidering the Scriptures as a gift and bleffing from God, the Father of lights and the Fountain of all good, for our improvement in knowledge and holiness, in order to our being advanced to eternal glory and happiness, we may in general conclude, that the Scriptures are in worth and usefulness fully proportionable to the wisdom and goodness of the Dontor, and to the noble and beneficent end for which they are intended. They are a glorious difplay of heavenly light, irradiating the darkness of the world, which otherwife would have been involved in the blackest night of ignorance. Let it be observed to the honor of the Bible, that it is the book, which, under the Divine Providence, has preserved in the world the knowledge of the one true God, which otherwife must have been loft and extinguished. For when God in his infinite wisdom was pleased to call Abraham, and feparate his family to the purposes of revelation, idolatry, even in thofe early days, not long after

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the flood, was fo far fpread, that even Abraham's family were idolaters, and ferved other gods. And fo far did the corruption of religion prevail, that all nations, lofing the true idea of the one God and Father of all, fell into the fouleft idolatry, the groffeft fuperftition, and all the abominable vices in connection with them, except the nation of the Jews, who enjoyed the word and revelation of God. And it was the word and revelation of God, at the time our Saviour came into the world, which inlightened the Gentiles, and fo generally reduced them to the worship and obedience of the everlasting Jehovah, the Creator of the ends of the earth.

What knowledge of the living God, what deteftation of idol-worfhip, what belief of a future ftate of rewards and punishment, MAHOMET has propagated in the world, he received partly from Jews, and partly from Chriftians, who had learnt thofe things from revelation; though, as he could not read himself, with much confufion, and a large mixture of fiction and falfhood. Is any part of the Chriftian world funk into fuperftition and idolatry? It is because they have fhut up the Scriptures, forbiden the free ufe of them, and commanded the people under pain of damnation to follow other guides. Is any part of the Chriftian world reformed from the grofs errors, and monftrous corruptions of Popery? It is because they have afferted the authority of the Scriptures, refumed the use of them, and opened them again to free and common perufal. Nay further-Is the Deift, or the man, who in a Chriftian land denies or difparages revelation, acquainted with the first cause, the Fountain of all being, power, life, and happiness, the univerfal Sovereign? Has he a clear idea of the fyftem of duties which we owe to our Maker, and to one another; or any expectation of a future state of felicity? It is because he has lighted his twinkling candle at this refplendent Sun, which he unnaturally, ungratefully, and weakly endeavours to extinguish. I fay weakly, becaufe this Sun, which God, ever fince the creation of his church and kingdom, has caused to shine in the moral world, fhall by his Providence be preferved, and fhine with a growing luftre, fo long as the fun in the firmament fhall endure.

Under God, it must be owned the inftrumental caufe of all the true religion and piety, that is to be found in the world, which, for aught we can fee, notwithstanding all the philofophy and wifdom of man, would have been totally loft among all the nations; and it shall be eftablished more and more, it fhall fhine forth more and more, it shall be honoured more and more, in the truth of its doctrines, in the wisdom of its precepts and inftructions, in the accomplishment of its predictions and promises, and in the appearing of our Lord at the laft day, to receive into his joy all that know God, and obey his Gofpel. It fhall be established, it fhall fhine, it fhall be honoured, when those, who now defpife and disparage it, fhall be confounded and perish for

ever.

Thus much may be truly faid of the usefulness of Scripture in general; which gives it infinitely the preference to all books of meer human compofure, that it has been the means of preferving in the world the grand principles of religion, the knowledge of the being and perfections

of

of God, and of that true fpiritual worship, which alone pleafes him, and ennobles, purifies, and comforts our fouls. And juft in proportion as the Bible is received, efteemed, and diligently ftudied, rue, religion has prevailed, and will always prevail and flourith. On the other hand, in proportion as the Scriptures are unknown, neglected, abused, and perverted, ignorance, idolatry, irreligion, error, fuperftition, and wickedness, have and will spread their gloom, and more or lefs infect nations and particular perfons.

The Scriptures contain principles, which must be allowed to be of a fuperior and most excellent kind. The beft principles of knowledge, holinefs, and comfort.

In the Scriptures we find the beft principles of knowledge. There the mind expatiates in a boundless field of heavenly light, and clearly views the profpects of truth, where the eye of meer nature could never have penetrated. There you fee the being of God afferted, his nature and perfections, his glorious Majefty, and univerfal Sovereignty defcribed with the jufteft propriety of fentiment, and magnificence of language. There you readThere you read That the everlafting God, the Lord, the Poffeffor of all being, of all wifdom and power, made the earth ❝and created man upon it; that he stretched out the heavens, and com"manded all their hofts. He measured the waters in the hollow of his "hand, and meted out the heavens with a span, and comprehended the "duft of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales, " and the hills in a ballance. He toucheth the mountains, and they "fmoke, he looks upon the earth, and it trembleth. Behold, the na❝tions are as a drop of a bucket, and are counted as the small dust of "the earth. Behold, he takes up the ifles as a very little thing. All "nations are before him as nothing, and they are counted to him as less "than nothing and vanity.

"The whole universe refts wholly upon his arm, and is entirely fub"ject to the difpofals of his will. Lift up your eyes on high, and be"hold, who has created these things, that brings out their hoft by num"ber? He calls them all by name, by the greatness of his might, for "that he is ftrong in power, not one of them fails; in understanding "he is infinite; he is mighty in wisdom, wonderful in counsel, and ex"cellent in working. He fills heaven and earth, nor can any hide "himself in fecret places from his all-penetrating eye. The earth is "full of his glory and riches; and his Providence is perpetually exer"cifed about all and every one of his creatures. All power belongs to "him, he can help and caft down, he can fave and deftroy, and nothing "is too hard for the Lord. God is love; the Lord is good and doth <c good, he is good to all, and his tender mercies are over all his works; "he is daily loading us with benefits. The righteous he will blefs, to "them he will give grace and glory, and even to the wicked the Lord ❝is plenteous and rich in mercy. He is a God of truth, and without ❝iniquity, just and right is he. He is glorious in holinefs, and of pu66 rer eyes than to behold evil, neither can he look on iniquity. And "this God, fo great, fo glorious, is our God, our Maker, Owner, and "Ruler, our Father, Shepherd, and Friend."

This is the doctrine of Scripture; and a fentence or two in this holy

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book will give you much clearer conceptions of God than all the vo lumes of philofophy, wrote by ftrangers to revelation. There you are taught the various difpenfations of the Divine wisdom and goodness, from the begining of the world to this day, and even to the end of time. There you fee the excellent fchemes which he has formed for the inftruction, reformation, and happiness of the children of men; and we read with pleasure the numerous inftances of his favor to the righteous, and with dread the terrors of his vengeance upon the wicked. There we find a twofold covenant, of works, which threatens death to every tranfgreffion; of grace, which grants the benefit of repentance and pardon; and promises all needful fupplies of ftrength to the fincere and upright. There we learn how he erected a kingdom among the nations, or a peculiar congregation, to prevent the universal corruption of the world, and, like a beacon upon a hill, to diffuse the light of Divine knowledge in the darkness of the earth. At length we fee the Meffiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, appear, to take away fin, to bring in everlasting righteousness, or falvation, to illuftrate the grace of God, and give the plaineft explications of his will and our duty; to fhew the future world in the clearest and most awful view, and to appoint the most powerful means to attract our hearts to God, and to guide our feet into the ways of peace.

In his Gospel we fee the dead, fmall and great, restored to life, and appearing before his judgment-feat, to receive a fentence according to what they have done in the body. There he has opened the glories of heaven to our fight, and fhewn to our faith the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, the affured confequence of patient continuance in well-doing; he has alfo uncovered the bottomlefs pit, the blackness of darkness for ever, which will be the terrible portion of all impenitent workers of iniquity. In the Scriptures the ftate of the church to the end of the world is defcribed, and we see the present state of things correfpondent to prophetic defcriptions.

I fhould exceed my bounds only to mention the feveral heads of inftruction and knowledge with which the word of God is crowded. I fhall mention but one more, and that is the defign of our present being in this world, which is there reprefented, agreably to the appearances of things, and the wifdom and goodness of God, to be not for enjoyment, but for trial; not to gain temporal pleasures or poffeffions, but to discipline our fouls, and to prepare them for immortal honor and glory. In particular, the many afflictions incident to our frailty, are set in a true and encouraging light, as the discipline and correction of our heavenly Father; not for our destruction, but for our improvement in holinefs, to purify our spirits from fenfuality, to draw our regards to things heavenly and eternal, to exercise our faith, hope, patience, and every virtue, which is our real excellency and beft qualification for everlafting happiness. This is a brief and very imperfect fpecimen of Scripture doctrine; which, even in this cursory view, affifted a little with fober reflection, muft, to an impartial judgment, moderately acquainted with what the wifeft of Pagans have taught, appear infinitely fuperior to the darkness and uncertainty of meer human knowledge and wisdom.

In the Scriptures you will find the best principles of holiness, or of that

ftate

ftate of mind whereby we are habitually devoted to God and truth. For there we are fhewn the dignity and worth of our being, vaftly beyond any thing we could have hammered out of our own reflections. There we read that we are made in the image of God, infpired with underftanding, raised vaftly in our faculties above the beafts or the fowls, and made for ends proportionably grand and noble; not for the mean purposes of time and fenfe, but for God, for his honor and favor, to fhow forth his praise, and for ever enjoy his goodness. And every obligation refulting from this fuperiority of nature, and the higheft and moft excellent purposes of our being, is with the greatest propriety and force urged upon us. In every page of the holy Scriptures the love of God fmiles upon us with an attractive and endearing afpect, to draw our affections to him, and to give a conftancy and fteddinefs to our virtue in the midst of so many and fo ftrong temptations, when we know that only such an adherence to truth and righteoufnefs will finally and for ever give us an interest in our heavenly Father's bleffing.

In the Scriptures we have the Divine difpleasure against all the ungodliness and unrighteoufnefs of men fet upon its true foundation, the odious and pernicious nature of fin; which is in itself falfe, and mifchievous, the only proper and radical evil in the univerfe, and which alone can deprive us of happiness, and subject us to mifery. In the word of God, his favor to men of piety and virtue is alfo fet upon its proper foundation, the amiable and excellent nature of true holinefs;" which in itself is true and falutary, the only proper and radical good, the glory of our nature, and which alone can render us fit to dwell for ever with God.-There we are kindly encouraged by the Divine grace to think of our ways, and by true repentance to turn from whatever is finful to the obedience of God.- -There we are directed frequently to fcrutinize our hearts to banish thence every corrupt principle, and to keep the spring of action within us pure from every disorderly thought and inclination; to guard our spirits with a watchful eye from every impure motion and fuggeftion, to be vigilant against every attack of temptation, that we may keep ourselves undefiled in the good ways of God.There we are inftructed in the most perfect and reasonable fobriety, temperance, and self-denial, and warned of the danger of every fenfual fnare and allurement.There this perifhing body, with whatever can delight and adorn it; there this prefent world, with whatever in it can ingage our affections and esteem, are fully exposed to the judg-^ ment and cenfures of reason, and manifeftly fhewn to be emptinels and vanity, infinitely below the excellence and worth of immortal spirits, and therefore infinitely unfit to be pursued at the expence of our present integrity, or future felicity.

In the facred writings we find a rich magazine of all proper means for the fanctification of our fouls, and our most fuccessful advances in the life of God.-There we fee that the Divine Power and Spirit is ready with its mighty aids, to affift, enlighten, and ftrengthen our fpirits, in proportion to our fincere defires and endeavours in godliness; and there we are directed every day, and at all times, to feek unto God, by fervent and believing prayer, for his guidance and protection, and are affured we shall never feek his face in vain.There, in the holy Scriptures,