Thus the Apostle, when he tells us that he lived by the faith of the Son of God, adds, "who died and gave himself for me." It is this application of JESUS CHRIST to our hearts, that makes his redemption effectual to each of us.

And it is this application of all the doctrinal and hiftorical parts of fcripture, when we are reading them over, that muft render them profitable to us, as they were defigned for reproof, for correction, for inftruction in righteoufnefs, and to make every child of Gop perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work.

I dare appeal to the experience of every spiritual reader of holy writ, whether or not, if he confulted the word of God in this manner, he was not at all times and at all feafons, as plainly directed how to act, as though he had confulted the Urim and Thummim, which was upon the high-priest's breast. For this is the way GOD now reveals himself to man ; not by making new revelations, but by applying general things that are revealed already to every fincere reader's heart.

And this, by the way, answers an objection made by those who fay, The word of GOD is not a perfect rule of action, "because it cannot direct us how to act or how to determine

in particular cafes, or what place to go to, when we are in << doubt, and therefore, the Spirit, and not the word, is to be our rule of action."

But this I deny, and affirm on the contrary, that God at all times, circumftances, and places, though never so minute, never so particular, will, if we diligently feek the affiftance of his Holy Spirit, apply general things to our hearts, and thereby, to use the words of the holy JESUS, will lead us into all truth, and give us the particular affiftance we want: But this leads me to a

Fifth direction how to fearch the fcriptures with profit: Labour to attain that Spirit by which they were written.

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For the natural man difcerneth not the words of the Spirit of God, because they are fpiritually difcerned; the words that CHRIST hath spoken, they are spirit, and they are life, and can be no more understood as to the true fenfe and meaning of them, by the mere natural man, than a person who never had learned a language can understand another speaking in it. The fcriptures, therefore, have not unfitly been compared, by fome,

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fome, to the cloud which went before the Ifraelites, they are dark and hard to be understood by the natural man, as the cloud appeared dark to the Egyptians; but they are light, they are life to chriftians indeed, as that fame cloud which feemed dark to Pharaoh and his houfe, appeared bright and altogether glorious to the Ifrael of God.

It was the want of the affiftance of this Spirit, that made Nicodemus, a teacher of Ifrael, and a ruler of the Jews, fo utterly ignorant in the doctrine of regeneration; for being only a natural man, he could not tell how that thing could be; it was the want of this Spirit that made our Saviour's difciples, though he fo frequently converfed with them, daily mistake the nature of the doctrines he delivered; and it is because the natural veil is not taken off from their hearts, that fo many who now pretend to fearch the scriptures, yet fee no farther than into the bare letter of them, and continue entire ftrangers to the fpiritual meaning couched under every parable, and contained in almost all the precepts of the book of GOD.

Indeed, how fhould it be otherwife, for GOD being a spirit, he cannot communicate himself any otherwife than in a fpiritual manner to the hearts of men; and confequently if we are ftrangers to his Spirit, we must continue ftrangers to his word, because it is altogether like himself, spiritual. Labour, therefore, earnestly for to attain this bleffed Spirit; otherwise, your understandings will never be opened to understand the fcriptures aright: and remember, prayer is one of the most immediate means to get this Holy Spirit. Therefore,

Sixthly, Let me advife you, before you read the fcriptures, to pray, that CHRIST, according to his promife, would fend his Spirit to guide you into all truth; intersperse short ejaculations whilst you are engaged in reading; pray over every word and verfe, if poffible; and when you close up the book, most earnestly befeech GOD, that the words which you have read, may be inwardly engrafted into your hearts, and bring forth in you the fruits of a good life.

Do this, and you will, with a holy violence, draw down GOD's Holy Spirit into your hearts; you will experience his gracious influence, and feel him enlightening, quickening, and inflaming your fouls by the word of GOD; you will then not only read, but mark, learn, and inwardly digest what you

read:

read and the word of GOD will be meat indeed, and drink indeed unto your fouls; you then will be as Apollos was, powerful in the fcriptures; be fcribes ready inftructed to the kingdom of GOD, and bring out of the good treasures of your heart, things both from the Old and New Testament, to entertain all you converfe with. One

Direction more, which fhall be the laft, Seventhly, Read the fcripture conftantly, or, to use our Saviour's expreffion in. the text, "fearch the fcriptures;" dig in them as for hid treasure; for here is a manifeft allufion to those who dig in mines; and our Saviour would thereby teach us, that we muft take as much pains in conftantly reading his word, if we would grow wife thereby, as those who dig for gold and filver. The fcriptures contain the deep things of GOD, and therefore, can never be fufficiently fearched into by a careless, fuperficial, curfory way of reading them, but by an induftrious, close, and humble application.

The Pfalmift makes it the characteristic of a good man, that he "meditates on GoD's law day and night." And "this book of the law, (fays GOD to Joshua) fhall not go out of thy mouth, but thou fhalt meditate therein day and night;" for then thou fhalt make thy way profperous, and thou shalt have good fuccefs. Search, therefore, the fcriptures, not only devoutly but daily, for in them are the words of eternal life; wait conftantly at wisdom's gate, and she will then, and not till then, difplay and lay open to you her heavenly treasures. You that are rich, are without excuse if you do not; and you that are poor, ought to take heed and improve that little time you have for by the fcriptures you are to be acquitted, and by the fcriptures you are to be condemned at the laft day.

But perhaps you have no taste for this defpifed book; perhaps plays, romances, and books of polite entertainment, fuit your taste better if this be your cafe, give me leave to tell you, your tafte is vitiated, and unlefs corrected by the Spirit. and word of GOD, you fhall never enter into his heavenly kingdom for unless you delight in GoD here, how will you be made meet to dwell with him hereafter. Is it a fin then, you will fay, to read useless impertinent books; I answer, Yes: And that for the fame reason, as it is a fin to indulge useless

converfation, because both immediately tend to grieve and quench that Spirit, by which alone we can be fealed to the day of redemption. You may reply, How fhall we know this? Why, put in practice the precept in the text; fearch the fcripture in the manner that has been recommended, and then you will be convinced of the danger, finfulness, and unfatisfactoriness of reading any others than the book of God, or fuch as are wrote in the fame spirit. You will then say, when I was a child, and ignorant of the excellency of the word of GOD, I read what the world calls harmless books, as -other children in knowledge, though old in years, have done, and ftill do; but now I have tafted the good word of life, and am come to a more perfect knowledge of CHRIST JESUS my LORD, I put away these childish, trifling things, and am determined to read no other books but what lead me to a knowledge of myfelf and of CHRIST JESUS.

Search, therefore, the fcrip ures, my dear brethren; tafte and fee how good the word of God is, and then you will never leave that heavenly manna, that angel's food, to feed on dry husks, that light bread, those trifling, finful compofitions, in which men of false tafte delight themfelves: no, you will then disdain fuch poor entertainment, and blush that yourselves once were fond of it. The word of GOD will then be fweeter to you than Honey, and the honey-comb, and dearer than gold and filver; your fouls by reading it, will be filled as it were, with marrow and fatnefs, and your hearts infenfibly moulded inta the fpirit of its bleffed Author. In fhort, you will be guided by God's wifdom here, and conducted by the light of his, divine word into glory hereafter.

SERMON

SERMON

XXXVIII.

The Indwelling of the Spirit, the common Privilege of all Believers.

JOHN vii. 37, 38, 39.

In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus ftcod and cried, faying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the fcripture bath faid, out of his belly fhall flow rivers of living water. But this fpake be of the Spirit, which they that believe on him fhould receive.

OTHING has rendered the crofs of CHRIST of lefs

effect; nothing has been a greater ftumbling-block and rock of offence to weak minds, than a supposition, now current among us, that most of what is contained in the gospel of JESUS CHRIST, was defigned only for our LORD's first and immediate followers, and confequently calculated but for one or two hundred years. Accordingly, many now read the life, fufferings, death, and refurrection of JESUS CHRIST, in the fame manner as Cæfar's Commentaries, or the Conquests of Alexander are read: as things rather intended to afford matter for fpeculation, than to be acted over again in and by us.

As this is true of the doctrines of the gospel in general, fo it is of the operation of GOD's Spirit upon the hearts of believers in particular; for we no fooner mention the neceffity of our receiving the Holy Ghost in these last days, as well as formerly, but we are looked upon by fome, as enthusiasts and madmen; and by others, reprefented as wilfully deceiving the people, and undermining the established conftitution of the church.

Judge