them. When the Jews were venting their prejudices against our Saviour, he exhorts them: Search the Scriptures: for in them ye think, meaning, and rightly think ye have eternal life; and they are they, which testify of me †. St. Paul tells the Romans, that Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning. Now we cannot question surely, but the New Testament deserves equal attention with the Old. The proof which you have had, of its inspiration, proves that at the same time. The Gospels, written that men might believe, and believing have life §, must be read to produce that effect. Of the Epistles we may judge by the care which St. Paul took to have his communicated and spread. He inscribes his first to the Corinthians, not to them only, but to all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. He requires the Colos sians, when that which he addressed to them is read amongst them, to cause that it be read also in the church of the Laodiceans ¶. He charges the Thessa lonians by the Lord, in the first Epistle, which they had from him, that it be read unto all the holy brethren **. Doubtless the other churches too understood his mind in this matter. And St. John in the beginning of the Revelation, a book that seems the least fitted of any for common use, takes care to say, Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear, the words of this prophecy ††. These excellent men could not mean, that only the Christians of that generation were bound to read their writings. They knew the following ones would have the same and greater need, in proportion to their distance. The following ones for three cen* Luke xvi. 29. † John v. 39. Rom. xv. 4. § John xx. 31. 1 Cor. i. 2. ¶ Col. iv. 16. ** 1 Thess. v. 27. ++ Rev. i. 8. turies and more, knew it themselves; employed their thoughts on the sacred books principally, carried them about in their bosoms, gave up their lives rather than part with them: and such as through fear delivered them to their persecutors to be destroyed were censured by the authority of the church; and branded, in the common speech of the faithful, by the infamous name of Traditores, from which the word traitor is derived into our tongue. In vain are we told then, that the Scriptures contain passages hard to be understood, and therefore are not fit for vulgar inspection. St. Peter, who said they did *, made no such inference. The primitive Christians, who experienced it as well as we, never thought nor heard of any such. In our Saviour's conversation with his Apostles there were things, extremely hard to be understood: ought they then to have been debarred from it? Let us not aim to be wiser than God. He hath given us his Word, not for a snare, but for a light and a guide. Every blessing which we have, indeed puts us to some trial: and this tries our fairness of mind, our diligence in collecting the articles of our faith and practice, our gratitude for what he bestows, our submission to his good pleasure in what he withholds from us. But he that hath engaged us in this work, if we use our faithful endeavours humbly, will not fail to support us under the difficulties of it; and the going through it as we ought will be suitably rewarded. Were the pretended dangers therefore, in the study of Scripture, much greater than they are, yet this is the method, which God hath appointed for our spiritual improvement; and which having appointed, he will render effectual. Let us trust him therefore to instruct us in his own * 2 Pet. iii. 16.. way. By the reading and preaching of his word, however unpromising the means might seem, he raised up his church at first, notwithstanding all the violence of Jews and heathens: and by the same he will uphold it for ever, against all the scoffs and cavils of infidels. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men: and the weakness of God is stronger than men *. Our only concern is to perform the duty, which he hath commanded: and we shall certainly receive the benefits, which he hath promised, each in the manner and degree, that his case requires. But as you have already seen the profitableness of Scripture to every purpose of religion, you have seen by consequence the advantages of being conversant in it and therefore I shall now go on to invert the prospect, by shewing you, as I proposed, 3. The evils, which follow from disregarding the injunctions of God in relation to it. Were those injunctions in themselves of no great moment, yet they come from the Almighty: and refusing to take notice of them is losing the recompence of so much obedience, and incurring the penalty of so much disobedience. But they are indeed of moment unspeakable, in several respects. The sacred writings are the source of our religious knowledge: and without an acquaintance with them, we shall be liable to ignorance, uncertainty and mistake, even in points of the greatest importance. Thence arose the false doctrine of the Sadducees, to whom our Saviour says, Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures †. Nor is the danger less in respect of practice. Neglect of holy writ must introduce a neglect of its author, on more accounts than one. How shall persons keep themselves easy in not looking into a book, which their * 1 Cor. i. 25. VOL. III. Аа + Matth. xxii. 29. Maker hath appointed to be written for their use, and required them to use continually, but by thinking as little and as lowly of him as they can? Therefore they will be strongly tempted to every thing, that may assist them in such impiety: and will soon, alas, find themselves able to make large advances in that high road to ruin here and hereafter. Again, Scripture places before men, in every page, the most affecting proofs and descriptions of the holiness and justice, the wisdom and power, the goodness and mercy, the continual presence and never ceasing agency of him, who is the Creator, the Benefactor, the King and Judge of all. It makes known to us the inexpressible condescension and love of our Redeemer, the perfect reasonableness and purity of his law, the need and means of obtaining the sanctifying influences of the blessed Spirit, the infinite importance of preparing for our unchangeable state. If then, for want of attending to Scripture, the impressions of these objects wear out of our minds, as they must; all the seriousness which they are fitted to produce, will wear out of them at the same time; spiritual and eternal things will be less and less in our thoughts, (consult your own hearts, I entreat you, whether you do not find it so) till at last we shall come to live and act as without God in the world*. Particularly, what we are bound to do and abstain from is laid down in the Bible much too clearly to be misunderstood or evaded. But if once we leave off looking for our duty there, we shall soon mould it within our own minds into what shape and size we please, till we bring it in effect to nothing. For even supposing, that we begin our neglect with no such intention at all, yet bad inclinations will creep in upon * Eph. ii. 12. us, one after another; and not meeting with the proper check, will increase and multiply, we cannot easily suspect beforehand to what degree. It will be said perhaps, that reading other good books, which are shorter and clearer, may supply the omission of reading Scripture, possibly on the whole to advantage. But they, who once grow weary of the latter, seldom, I believe, continue long to make any considerable use of the former: and therefore this plea, for the most part, is only a pretence. Or were it sincere, as unquestionably it sometimes is, other books have not, and cannot have, the authority in what they affirm, in what they require, in what they promise and threaten, that the word of God hath: the word which our Saviour hath declared shall judge us in the last day*. Joined with this, and confirmed by it, the compositions of men are of great efficacy: but when they are separated from it, the case is unspeakably altered. We shall be apt to pay as little regard, as we think fit, to mere human writers: and overlook, or call in question, whatever we do not like. Yet sometimes again we shall be in danger of paying them too much regard, and so being led by them into false notions, which may give us uneasiness without need, or comfort without ground, or into superstitious practices, which may discredit our holy profession. What followed in the middle age of Christianity when men left off and were discouraged from reading the word of truth, but that they were turned unto fables? Lying legends were believed: pictures and images were first gazed at for instruction, then worshipped. They forsook They forsook the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out broken cisterns, that held no water, but draughts of poison: whereas what we John xii. 48. t2 Tim. iv. 4. ↑ Jer. ii. 13. |