SERMON XLII. DIRECTIONS FOR READING THE SCRIPTURE PROFITABLY. 2 TIM. iii. 16, 17. All feripture is given by infpiration of God: and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for inflruction in righteousness that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works. I HAVE fhewn you, in feveral difcourfes on this text, the divine authority of fcripture, its complete usefulness to all the purposes of religion, and the confequent duty of reading it. Yet ftill I am fenfible an unhappy objection may remain with too many, that they have tried, and do not experience this usefulness; and why it should be their duty to persist in reading what they do not find attended with any good effects, they cannot apprehend. But if they have not read as they ought, their whole argument falls to the ground. Nothing is to be expected from the wrong performance of any duty: and therefore I proposed originally, IV. To give directions for the right performance of this. Many proper ones, I hope, have been intimated to you not obfcurely, under the former heads: Part of which however I fhall now repeat amongst others. For to fay again the fame things, to me is not grievous, and for you it is fafe *. That we fhould come to the word of God with ferious minds, is a requifite, that one fhould hardly have thought needful to mention, if there were not fome, who give little other * Phil. iii. 1. : ther proof of ever having looked into it, than perverting the expreffions of it to ludicrous purposes, and fo extracting poison from the bread of life. You need not be told, that fuch can receive no improvement from it: but only be warned against fuffering them to infect you with the fame diftemper: for to men of a gay and lively turn it is often very catching. But reflect Every book in the world, of every fort, may easily be turned into matter of diverfion, if people are refolved to fhew at any rate, fome their ability, and others, (which is far the more usual cafe) their defire only, of being witty. But especially on facred fubjects, the corruptnefs of mens hearts difpofes them both to invent and receive fuch kind of entertainment with peculiar eagerness for this very reafon principally, that they know they ought not. And befides, the Old and New Teftament do lie fomewhat opener to profane abufe, than many other pious compofitions, from the difference of ftile and manners in diftant ages and countries, from the fcrupulous exactness of our tranflation, and the changes in our language, that have happened fince it was made. But furely there are strong motives, of religion, of prudence, of common decency, to reftrain men, from taking fuch unfair advantages, to fo bad an end; if this contemptible affectation of appearing ingenious, by forcing a laugh out of every thing, did not fo effectually deftroy, as it doth, all regard to rightness of behaviour and true good fenfe. A fcorner fecketh wifdom, and findeth it not ; but knowledge is eafy to him, that confidereth *. Let us therefore never permit ourselves to make, either in thought, at the time of reading the fcripture, or in difcourfe afterwards, a light and burlefque application of any text: for how little harm foever we may intend, the practice is plainly unfit and irreverent: befides that we are foon led on from small freedoms to greater. And let us never be influenced to think ill or meanly of the leaft part of God's word from any fuch applications made by others: for they prove nothing against fcripture, but much against those who invent or use them. Or if we find, that, notwithstanding, they do in fact begin to make impreffions upon us, as they may imperceptibly, if we are not on the watch; let us avoid as carefully, yet as inoffenfively, as we can, the company of thofe, who delight in fuch danger3 Q2 • Prov. xiv. 6. It is wrongly tranflated, underftandeth. ous converfation: according to Solomon's excellent rule, Ceafe, my fon, to hear the inftruction, that caufeth to err from the words of knowledge*. For as to any hope of good from arguing with them, no people upon earth are so incapable of being convinced or filenced by reafon, as they that are conceited of a libertine wit. And therefore, however entertaining their talk. may be otherwise, yet being effentially faulty in this refpect, let us confider it only in the strong, but just light, in which St. Paul places the idle difcourfe of fome in his own days, when he faith, But shun profane and vain babblings: for they will increafe unto more ungodliness; and their word will eat, as doth a canker t. They, whofe learning and judgment and taste and worth are the most univerfally acknowledged, have, in all times down to our own, spoken and thought of the bible with the highest degree of honourable regard. And it is no lefs abfurd than impious, to be hurried into defpifing and ridiculing it, either by the extravagant flights of any man's wild fancy, or the graver authority of judges fo evidently prejudiced, as the felf-fufficient, or the diffolute, merely because they are grown of late more numerous and lefs modeft. Let us at least observe a little firft, what good effects this new kind of wisdom produces in the lives and families of those, who are fo fond of it; and wait a while to fee, (if indeed it be not too vifible already,) what fort of figure they themselves, and a nation compofed of them, or led by them, make and are likely to make in the eyes of the prefent and future ages. With due seriousness we are to join due reverence in reading scripture and receive it, not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God; and therefore credible. The revelation, which he hath given us, cannot indeed contradict the reason which he hath given us: and therefore we must never construe it irrationally. But it may eafily contradict our fanciful notions and favourite conjectures: in which cafe we are to caft down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift §. Nor is it lefs our duty to subject all our vicious inclinations to the authority of holy writ, than our vain prejudices. For if we indulge but one, it will naturally bias us to reject, or mifinterpret, whatever is inconfiftent with it: and befides, we fhall lose the hope of that illumination, without which we can apprehend nothing to good purpofe. Whence the angel faith to Daniel, None of the wicked shall understand; but the wife fball understand*. And our Saviour promifes only †, that If any man will do the will of God, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God. But with whatever good difpofitions we may read the fcripture, unless we read it also attentively, we fhall fail of our end. If we perform it only as a talk, we fhall find it a wearifome one. If we confider fpending fo much time in it, without care to improve by it, as a work acceptable to God on its own account: this is cheating ourselves with a falfe and fuperstitions notion of piety, and much more fo, if we imagine, that employing one part of the day thus will in the leaft atone for doing, in any other part, what we are forbidden. Now attentive reading will prefent to our view a variety of things, that will affect us very differently. And the benefit or the harm we fhall receive from them, (for we may receive either,) will greatly depend on the conduct which we obferve amidst them. If we have never been used to read the bible, or have long difufed it, fome paffages in it will probably seem very strange to us at firft: as undoubtedly the whole frame of nature, and the whole tenor of Providence would feem, were we let into our prefent knowledge of it all at once, instead of being made acquainted with it by flow degrees. They there. fore, who come with a difpofition to object and cavil, may have abundant room to exercife it. They, who infift on being fatisfied in all particulars, will be greatly difappointed in many. For every one must not hope to discover whatever may be dif covered. Or if he could, moft of our inquiries into the scheme of religion, revealed or natural, as well as into the constitution of the material world, if purfued to the utmoft, will at length terminate in fomething which we do not and cannot know. So that men must prepare themselves for what they will be fure to meet with; muft expect to find fome dark, and some hard fayings. On thefe they must never put a bad fenfe; but are neither to be offended at all, nor wonder much, if fometimes times they are at a lofs how to put any but believe implicit ly, (for this is faith in God, not man,) that there is some, worthy of the reft and not think of forfaking their guide to heaven, merely because they perceive not the defign or propriety of every fentence that he fpeaks to them on the road. In fhort, they must reafon and refolve, if need be, like the holy apoftles in the fixth of St. John: who were doubtlefs perplexed, and figgered not a little at our Saviour's difcourfe, recorded there: but when many of his difciples went back upon it, and walked no more with him, and Fefus faid unto the twelve, Will ye alfa go away? Simon Peter anfwered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou haft the words of eternal life *. Perfons thus rightly difpofed will immediately fee farther, that as they are not to be difgufted with fcripture, because they cannot account for every thing, or understand every thing, to their wish; fo neither are they to ftudy it merely to underftand as much of it as they can, which is only indulging an unedifying curiofity; and yet lefs, to understand more of it than others, which is nurfing up vanity, and may tempt them to invent new and even dangerous meanings, in order to feem more knowing than they are. But their bufinefs is, to apply to thofe points firft, and dwell on those most, which have the clofeft connection with their future happiness: for they are neceffary; the reft are only, in their feveral degrees, useful, And as right practice is the end of faith; and the firmeft and moft explicit faith, which doth not produce it, is nothing; and a weak and general faith, which doth produce it, will be accepted: the practical paffages ought certainly to have our principal regard; ever comprehending thofe, which exprefs the obligations of Chriflian piety and moral felf-government, as well as juftice and mercy. We fhall indeed do very well, befides occafional readings of particular chapters, to perufe both Teftaments in their order: only it will be advifable to begin with, and go ofteneft through, the New; as exhibiting what we are to believe and to do, more fully, and without fuch a mixture, as there is in the Old, of things belonging folely to the former difpenfation. But then the regularity of this course ought not to hinder us from felecting chiefly, and perufing most frequently, fuch paffages of both, as lay before us, in the most influ John vi. 66, 67, 68. encing |