hearts-to purify our affections-and to transform ourselves into new creatures. Now it is certain, all this must be done by faith. Whoever cometh to God through Christ, must believe that he is, and that he is the rewarder of them who diligently seek him. So that in this sense we may be said to be justified by faith; because without faith and its accompanying virtues, no man can attain that righteousness, which the Gospel requires as a proper qualification for our receiving the merits of Christ's death. All Christians therefore lay a stress on faith. The great difference is, the partial view makes it in itself an end-the comparative view makes it the means only of a purified heart, and a good life. With regard again to an awful doctrine, which we have lately heard disputed with so much freedom; one should think, that a comparison of spi» ritual things with spiritual, might lead us here also to one point. The whole Bible, Old Testament and New, prophecies, and completion, seem so full both of the humanity and divinity of Christ, that one should wonder, how any one, who believes the Scriptures, could separate the two ideas. If only human, how inconsistent! Here is a human being, who engages in the arduous arduous task of redeeming his fellow-creatures from sin. We must either therefore give up all idea of redemption, of which the Scripture is every where full-or we must acknowledge the total disproportion of the work.-Then again this human being knew the thoughts of man; which is always considered as one of the prerogatives of the Almighty. He could forgive sin; though we all know, that none can forgive sin but God alone. This human being also had the powernot only of working miracles himself-but of commissioning others also to work them, which no one ever attempted before. This human being, though cautious in the early part of his ministry; yet, as he approached the end of it, spoke so freely, that those around him declared, he made himself equal with God; which was in fact the case. This human being also was endowed with the strange and wonderful power of raising, not only others-but even himself from the dead: and not only professed in his lifetime, that he would send-but after his ascension to heaven, he actually did send the Holy Ghost upon his faithful followers; communicating to them powers, unheard of before, for the propagation of his religion. In a word, when we take a com a comprehensive view of the Scriptures, and draw together the innumerable passages, in which this great truth seems so plainly to be contained, it is a difficult matter to conceive how a denial of it is consistent with a belief in what we read. Nor is this a matter to be reasoned upon, like a point of mathematics, or natural philosophy: nor indeed does there seem a necessity to adduce the opinions of this, or that father of the church. The honest application of the rule before us, is all that is necessary. There are some passages in Scripture again, which are more refractory—with regard, for instance, to the fore-knowledge of God; and such doctrines as are supposed to be involved in it. But, instead of reasoning upon them, we might still content ourselves with comparing spiritual things with spiritual. Though we may not be able to obtain complete satisfaction from a comparison with particular passages; we may surely obtain it from a comparison with the whole scheme of the Gospel. The Gospel was intended for the general good of man; and God's arbitrary will can never run counter to his revealed will.We act thus in common life. Suppose we look into a medical book for the remedy of some par ticular ticular disorder; and should there find it prescribed, that we should mix a certain quantity of some drug (a quantity which we knew would prove fatal) with other ingredients, how should we receive such a prescription? we know well, that the book is intended to administer to our health: but here is a prescription, which would infallibly destroy us. We should take it for granted therefore,-either that the drug in question was put by mistake for some other drugor if the book were foreign, that it was wrongly translated-or that there was some mistake in the quantity perhaps or perhaps that we might not clearly understand the prescription-at any rate, we should certainly never swallow the potion; because it was very plain, that the intention of the book, and the prescription must agree. Thus the apostle's rule of comparing spiritual things with spiritual, will in all cases direct us right. One part will generally explain another: but if any part happen to be more unyielding, we cannot be far wrong, if we compare the dif ficulty, whatever it is, with the general scheme and intention of the Gospel. In examining the works of man, as well as of God, we must judge from the whole, or our judgment will be erroneous. erroneous. Y In architecture, for instance, should a man stand close to a column, and pronounce boldly, that it was too large, or too small, we see at once how absurd a judgment he might pass. Whereas, if he should step back, take a proper stand, and view the whole in one com. prehensive view, he might perhaps find, that the part objected to, was in exact proportion; and the defect not in the object, but in himself.-It is often thus in our scriptural inquiries: we take a doctrine from a text. And here I cannot help lamenting the singu lar ill-usage, which the Scriptures have met with in being fretted into chapter and verse, with so little attention to the sense. It is astonishing that the unauthorized barbarism of a printer * (I cannot give it a softer name, though he was certainly an able and a learned man,) should be received so universally through Christendom.The only advantage, which this strange interruption of the sense of Scripture can have, might have been answered as well by marginal references. In the mean time, the mischief is glar - *Robert Stephens, who was printing a Concordance and a Bible at the same time, and took this method of adapting the one to the other. |