be saved;" the name of Jesus, at which every knee must bow that is in heaven, and in earth, and under the earth, and which every tongue must confess to the glory of God the Father-the image of the invisible God, by whom were all things created*-whose words are spirit and life, and whom to know is eternal life, since he is the author of eternal salvation. In a word, the truth is in Jesus, and he is all and in all. Out of Christ, not only is God a consuming fire, but the great truths of creation and providence become confused and perplexed, and shrouded in vague conjecture. When, however, we fix our mind on the great fact that all things were created by Christ, and for Christ, and that he upholds all things by the word of his power, making known thereby the manifold wisdom of God, according to his eternal purpose, we learn, and not till then, that the gorgeous structure of materialism spreading itself interminably above us and around us, that suns and planets, angels and men, serve but to constitute one vast apparatus for effecting a mighty enthronement of Jesus of Nazareth. Hence, from every field of immensity, crowded with admiring spectators, there rolls in the ecstatic acknowledgment, "Worthy, worthy, worthy is the Lamb." Yes, it is unequivocally proved, by sundry declarations of the Scriptures, that each star, each system, each human, each celestial being, fills some place in a mechamism which is working out the noble result of the coronation of Christ as Lord of all; and, as such, he is all and in all. Every part of the Scriptures is inlaid with Christ—the historical, prophetic, promissory, ceremonial, doctrinal, and practical. Remove Him, and we are at once" without God and without hope in the world"—no sun, no star, to shine forth in the moral firmament, to guide and enlighten the lost and benighted of earth in their sad, dark pilgrimage in search of rest in some peaceful abode. Blessed be God, we have a sun in the spiritual heavens, and of such glorious and redundant brightness that no mirror is large enough to take in all his beams-the Sun of Righteousness. Blessed be God, we have a star, which twinkles with undimmed lustre in the world's moral night, and which, if faithfully observed, will avail to lead humble and devout hearts from far-off regions of superstition and error, till, kneeling as the eastern sages, beside the babe in the manger, they will see all their weary wanderings repaid in a moment, and all their desires finding a perfect fulfilment in Him-the Star of Bethlehem. * Col. i, 16. Search, then, the Scriptures, for they are they which testify of that radiant sun, that brilliant star, that clear, true light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world: "For like the dawn, its cheering rays On rich and poor are seen to fall, In lowly cot and lordly hall." Again, let all search the Scriptures; search them deeply, closely, thoroughly, constantly, faithfully, honestly, unweariedly, earnestly, prayerfully; yea, dig into them, scrutinize them, sift them, and weigh their import accurately, comparing Scripture with Scripture: the best and truest method, the simplest and surest exponent, of its own revelation. In a word, read, read the Scriptures, till you love to read, and pray over them till you love to pray; and thus continue to read and pray, never resting till you have imbibed their spirit into the very frame and constitution of your soul, and with their spirit transcribed the precepts and examples of Jesus into every part of your daily walk in life. Were I giving my last advice in death's fearful hour, to the dearest friend I have on earth, it would be "Read your Bible." So said Dr. Johnson to his friend Joshua Reynolds; and so sings Dr. Young, "Read your Bible and be gay." There truths abound of sovereign aid to peace. Ah, do not prize it less because inspired, but indeed on that account, prize it the more; and if on thy soul, as thou dost read, a ray of purer light break in, give it full scope; admitted, it will break the clouds which long have dimmed thy sight, and lead thee till at last convictions, like the sun's meridian beams, illuminate thy mind. Prize it as an immortal being, for it guides to the New Jerusalem; prize it, as an intellectual being, for it giveth understanding to the simple; prize it, as the only perfect standard of truth known among men, and which nothing else can supersede or substitute; before whose majesty science must bow, councils fall, and fathers veil their heads, and one text of which outweighs all the opinions and traditions of all Christendom. Prize it, as that which was written for our learning; reproof, correction, instruction, in righteousness, that we, through patience and comfort thereof, might have hope, by faith which is in Christ Jesus. Prize it, as that which alone has the power of awakening intense moral feelings in man, under every variety of character-learned or ignorant, civilized or savage of making bad, new, good; and of sending a pulse of healthful feeling through all the domestic, civil and social relations. Prize it, as it will teach you to aspire after a conformity to a Being of infinite holiness, and fill you with desires and emotions and hopes infinitely more purifying, more exalted, better suited to his nature than aught else this world has ever known, and which, in the last mortal conflict, will enable you to say, as did a distinguished saint of holy memory, "The Bible has done more for me than all the men on earth or angels in heaven could do." Oh! precious Bible, we could forever enlarge on thy praise. Read it, ye mourners in Zion, it will wipe away your tears. Read it, ye bereaved, it will assure you that "a father of the fatherless, and a husband of the widow, is God in his holy habitation." Read it, ye poor, it will soothe you under your privations. Read it, ye rich, it will sanctify your abundance. Read it, ye old, it will support your tottering age. Read it, ye young, it will preserve your giddy steps, and save you from many dangers, seen and unseen. "Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto, according to thy word." Then, my young friend, bind it about thy neck; write it upon the table of thine heart; so that, when thou goest, it shall lead thee; where thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee; for the commandment is a lamp, and the law is a light; and length of days, and peace, and favor in the sight of God and man, shall it add to thee. "More to be desired is it than gold, yea, than much fine gold; more precious than rubies; and all the things thou canst desire, are not to be compared unto it."* Yea, it is all-important, all essential our standard, our rule, our medicine, our shield, our sword, our bread, our water, our sun; the charter of our everlasting privilege; our support in life, our comfort in death, our light in the grave, revealing amidst its gloomy desolations, Him who is the "resur ection and the life," and thence shedding its far-extending radiance upon the scenes and triumphs of the spirit-home of the blessed above. Who can tell what it has done for individuals, for communities, for nations? Who can tell what it will do in the ages to come? Let us quote it as authority in all matters of doubt and of disputation. Let us bless God, that he has placed it in our hands. Let us conscientiously follow its wise counsels in all our works and ways. Let us be thankful for a ministry which explains and applies it with *Psalm xix, 129. fidelity, and let us so bring our hearts along with it, as to strain every nerve, pour out unceasing earnest prayer, and be lavish with our silver and our gold, until the tidings which have made us glad shall have echoed on every mountain and on every plain, by the oceans and the rivers, over the islands of the sea, in the frozen north, and the fruitful valleys of the sunny south, until every homestead and habitation of man throughout the whole earth, shall be cheered and brightened by God's own word diffusing richly rightcousness, and holiness, and peace, and joy, and gladness. Then, the Bible will be seen and felt to be the best gift of God to a guilty world; the mighty lever for upheaving the long deeply imbeded massive systems of idolatry, and every false religion; aye, the divinely appointed agent of earth's moral renovation, and of man's deliverance from the dominion to come, of eternity. Ah, brethren! we are swiftly passing away; the world recedes and disappears, but our eyes being opened by this word of light, we behold the glories of our heavenly inheritance. The promises of the Word, which are faithful and true, remove our fears, and enable us to meet our last enemy with Christian courage. With this lamp and light we will pass safely through the dark vale of death, and then with triumph enter into the promised rest. Looking and hastening (as we trust) unto this great reward, let us set a proper estimate on this blessed Word of Life. Let us esteem it, like Job, "as more than our necessary food;" or, like David, "sweeter than honey to the mouth ;" and like him, rejoice in it as one that findeth great spoils; yea, as he, seven times a day praising God because of his testimonies, which he loved exceedingly, they being his constant delight and counsellors. Or say, like the great and pious Boyle, "I prefer a sprig of this tree of life, to a whole wood of bays." Exerting thus its power, going on conquering and to conquer, it shall never cease in its career of power, until it shall have triumphed, ultimately and completely, over all opposition; never until it shall have extended its dominion throughout the world, and having engaged the general assent of mankind to its truth, and itself installed in the place of undisputed authority, shall become the rule of every man's faith and the guide of every man's life; then, shall every man, binding it to his heart, be seen bowing before the God of the Bible, and singing in concert with all the dwellers on earth, Alleluia, Salvation! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!" |