warbles and bleeds in every line of Jeremiah's Lamentations. Would we be entertained with the daring sublimity of Homer, or the correct majesty of Virgil? with the expressive delicacy of Horace, or the rapid excursions of Pindar? Behold them joined, behold them excelled, in the odes of Moses, and the eucharistic hymn of Deborah; in the exalted devotion of the Psalms, and the glorious enthusiasm of the Prophets. Asp. Only with this difference, that the former are tuneful triflers, and amuse the fancy with empty fiction; the latter are teachers sent from God, and make the soul wise unto salvation. The Bible is not only the brightest ornament, but the most invaluable depositum. On a right, a practical knowledge of these lively oracles, depends the present comfort and the endless felicity of mankind. Whatever, therefore, in study or conversation, has no connexion with their divine contents, may be reckoned among the toys of literature, or the ciphers of discourse. Ther. Here again the book of Scripture is somewhat like the magazine of nature. What can we desire for our accommodation and delight, which this storehouse of conveniencies does not afford? What can we wish for our edification and improvement, which that fund of knowledge does not supply? Of these we may truly affirm, each in its respective kind is "profitable unto all things." Are we admirers of antiquity?-Here we are led back beyond the universal deluge, and far beyond the date of any other annals. We are introduced among the earliest inhabitants of the earth. We take a view of mankind in their undisguised primitive plainness, when the days of their life were but little short of a thousand years. We are brought acquainted with the original of nations; with the creation of the world; and with the birth of time itself. Are we delighted with vast achievements? Where is any thing comparable to the miracles in Egypt, and the wonders in the field of Zoan? to the memoirs of the Israelites, passing through the depths of the sea, sojourning amidst the inhospitable deserts, and conquering the kingdoms of Canaan? Where shall we meet with instances of martial bravery equal to the prodigious exploits of the Judges; or the adventurous deeds of Jesse's valiant son, and his matchless band of worthies? 2 Sam. xxiii. 8. &c. 1 Chron. xi. 10. &c. Here we behold the fundamental laws of the universe, sometimes suspended, sometimes reversed; and not only the current of Jordan, but the course of nature controlled. In short, when we enter the field of Scripture, we tread-on enchanted, shall I say? rather, on consecrated ground; where astonishment and awe are awakened at every turn; where is all, more than all, the marvellous of romance, connected with all the precision and sanctity of truth. If we want maxims of wisdom, or have a taste for the laconic style, how copiously may our wants be supplied, and how delicately our taste gratified! especially in the book of Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and some of the minor prophets. Here are the most sage lessons of instruction, adapted to every circumstance of life, formed upon the experience of all preceding ages, and perfected by the unerring spirit of inspiration. These delivered with such remarkable conciseness, that one might venture to say, every word is a sentence; at least, every sentence may be called an apophthegm, sparkling with brightness of thought, or weighty with solidity of sense. The whole, like a profusion of pearls, each containing, in a very small compass, a value almost immense, all heaped up (as an ingenious critic speaks) with a confused magnificence, above the little niceties of order. If we look for the strength of reasoning, and the warmth of exhortation; the insinuating arts of genteel address, or the manly boldness of impartial reproof; all the thunder of the orator, without any of his ostentation; all the politeness of the courtier, without any of his flattery-let us have recourse to the Acts of the Apostles, and to the Epistles of St Paul.* These are a specimen, or rather these are the standard, of them all. I do not wonder, therefore, that a taste so refined, and a judgment so correct as Milton's, should discern higher attractives in the volume of inspiration, than in the most celebrated authors of Greece and Rome. "Yet not the more Cease I to wander where the muses haunt, Asp. Another recommendation of the Scriptures is, that they afford the most awful and most amiable manifestations of the Godhead. His glory shines, and his goodness smiles, in those divine pages, with unparalleled lustre. Here we have a satisfactory explanation of our own state. The origin of evil is traced; the cause of all our misery discovered; and the remedy, the infallible remedy, both clearly shown, and freely offered. The merits of the bleeding Jesus lay a firm foundation for all our hopes; while gratitude for his dying love suggests the most winning incitements to every duty. Morality, Theron, your (and let me add, my) admired morality, is delineated in all its branches, is placed upon its proper basis, and raised to its highest elevation. The Spirit of God is promised to enlighten the darkness of our understandings, and strengthen the imbecility of our wills. What an ample-Can you indulge me on this favourite topic? Ther. It is, I assure you, equally pleasing to myself. Your enlargements, therefore, need no apology. Asp. What ample provision is made, by these * Another very remarkable instance of propriety in St Paul's writings is, that though diffuse in the doctrinal, they are concise in the preceptive parts. On the former, it was absolutely necessary to enlarge: on the latter, it is always judicious to be short. The celebrated rule of Horace, "Quicquid præcipies, esto brevis," was never more exactly observed, nor more finely exemplified, than by our apostolic author. blessed books, for all our spiritual wants! And, in this respect, how indisputable is their superiority to all other compositions! Is any one convinced of guilt, as provoking Heaven and ruining the soul? Let him ask reason to point out a means of reconciliation, and a refuge of safety. Reason hesitates as she replies, "The Deity may, perhaps, accept our supplications, and grant forgiveness. But the Scriptures leave us not to the sad uncertainty of conjecture: They speak the language of clear assurance: "God has set forth a propitiation," Rom. iii. 25. "He does forgive our iniquities," Psal. ciii. 3.: "He will remember our sins no more," Heb. viii. 12. : Are we assaulted by temptation, or averse to duty? Philosophy may attempt to parry the thrust, or to stir up the reluctant mind, by disclosing the deformity of vice, and urging the fitness of things. Feeble expedients! Just as well calculated to accomplish the ends proposed, as the flimsy fortification of a cobweb to defend us from the ball of a cannon; or as the gentle vibrations of a lady's fan to make a wind-bound navy sail. The Bible recommends no such incompetent succours. 66 My grace," says its almighty Author," is sufficient for thee," 2 Cor. xii. 9. shall not have dominion over you," Rom. vi. 14. The great Jehovah, in whom is everlasting strength, "he worketh in us both to will, and to do, of his good pleasure," Phil. ii. 13. "Sin Should we be visited with sickness, or overtaken by any calamity, the consolation which Plato offers is, That such dispensations coincide with the universal plan of divine government. Virgil will tell us, for our relief, That afflictive visitations are, more or less, the unavoidable lot of all men. Another moralist whispers in the dejected sufferer's ear, "Impatience adds to the load; whereas a calm submission renders it more supportable." Does the word of revelation dispense such spiritless and fugitive cordials? No: Those sacred pages inform us, that tribulations are fatherly chastisements, tokens of our Maker's love and fruits of his care; that they are intended to work in us the peaceable fruits of righteousness, and to work out for us an eternal weight of glory; 2 Cor. iv. 17. Should we, under the summons of death, have recourse to the most celebrated comforters of the Heathen world, they would increase our apprehensions rather than mitigate our dread.. Death is represented by the great master of their schools, as "the most formidable of all evils." They were not able positively to determine whether the soul survived; and never so much as dreamed of the resurrection of the body. Whereas, the book of God strips the monster of his horrors, or turns him into a messenger of peace; gives him an angel's face, and a deliverer's hand; ascertaining to the souls of the righteous an immediate translation into the regions of bliss, and ensuring to their bodies a most advantageous revival at the restoration of all things. Inestimable book! It heals the maladies of life, and subdues the fear of death. It strikes a lightsome vista through the gloom of the grave, and opens a charming, a glorious prospect of immortality in the heavens. These, with many other excellencies peculiar to the Scriptures, one would imagine more than sufficient to engage every sensible heart in their favour, and introduce them with the highest esteem into every improved conversation. They had such an effect upon the finest genius, and most accomplished person, that former or latter ages can boast; insomuch that he made, while living, this public declaration, and left it when he died upon everlasting record: "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey unto my mouth;" Psal. cxix. 103. "O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day;" Psal. cxix. 97. "Mine eyes prevent the night-watches, that I may be occupied in thy precepts; and I will speak of thy testimonies even before kings;" Psal. cxix. 46. If David tasted so much sweetness in a small, and that the least valuable part of the divine |