descended to reveal himself, and to make known his will to his creatures. It is, in fact, nothing less than His own mind, embodied for our guidance, and consolation, and eternal benefit.

Consider, my Christian brethren, the immeasurable value of such a guide as the Book of God. Remove it, and what other teacher would be found who could discharge the same office in a fallen world? Reason cannot; for it is necessarily in darkness with respect to the things of God, till the Holy Spirit, by the aid of Scripture, enlightens it. Human instructors cannot, for they can teach us only as far as they themselves are taught of God. Their writings, if of any value, are, at best, but streams from this heavenly fountain, and are strongly tinged with the impurities of the soil through which they flow. The Scriptures, on the contrary, leave us nothing to desire. They are an unerring guide both of our faith and our conduct. They show us our relations to God; they trace out the path which can alone lead us to him; they discover to us the perils of our state, and the means of rescue; they point to every disease of the soul, and to the tender hand of the Physician who can heal them; they disentangle the knots by which the conscience is perplexed; they bind up the wounds by which the heart is lacerated.

But why should I multiply arguments on so plain a point? Nothing but our long familiarity with the word of God can account for the little emotion with which we are apt to regard it. Conceive the very same intelligence to be transmitted by some new means from heaven to earth. Suppose, for instance, the Divine Author of the Scriptures to announce his design to appear at a

particular time and place, and, in person, to reveal the truths most essential to our safety. With what eagerness would the multitude press forward to catch even a solitary word from the mouth of the Lord. And yet, how inferior would any such temporary manifestation be to the permanent possession of the word of God! In the case we have supposed, the manifestation would be confined to a few-would be limited to a spot-would last only for a definite period. It might occur at an hour when the heart, hardened by prosperity, or distracted by sorrow, presented an almost impenetrable surface to the lessons of religion. But, in the Scriptures, you have the same wise and holy being present to every possessor of the Sacred Volume; present in all places and at all times; present at the precise moment when events have predisposed the heart to seek counsel, or receive consolation, from Heaven. "Show us the Father," said Thomas, "and it sufficeth us." And the words used by the Saviour himself to his doubting disciple, may, in a sense, be applied to the Scriptures: "He that hath seen these, hath seen the Father." They are not merely the discovery of his will, or the reflection of his thoughts. It is not too much to say, they are Himself continually present with his erring and guilty creatures, to "direct their feet into the way of peace." Well, then, might the Psalmist exclaim, "Thy testimonies are wonderful! therefore doth my soul keep them." Well may the heart, perplexed by the variety and confusion of human opinions, take refuge in the simple but invaluable declaration, " Thus saith the Lord God."

But, without dwelling longer, under this head, on the value of the Scriptures, let us proceed, as was proposed, to consider,

II. The particular POWER ASCRIBED IN THE TEXT TO THE WORD of God.

It is there said to be that word which "is able to save our souls." And need it be added, how frequently expressions equivalent to this occur in the Sacred Volume? "Of his own will begat he us," says St. James, "With the Word of Truth, that we might be a kind of first-fruits of his creatures." "We are born again," says St. Peter, "not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever."

99

But, not needlessly to multiply quotations, let us consider in what sense the power of "saving the soul" is ascribed to the word of God.

1. In the first place, it is by the word of God alone we are instructed in the way of salvation.-We may judge how little knowledge human wisdom had been able to communicate as to this point, by considering that the ancients had several hundred different opinions as to "the Supreme God;" that they had a distinct god for almost every city and village; that even their most distinguished moralists often commend the grossest vices. Scripture, and Scripture alone, has rescued us from the same depths of ignorance. And were we to be deprived of it, our spiritual light would soon be extinguished; the glorious realities of the invisible world would fade from the view, and mankind would again be consigned to a worse than Egyptian darkness. It is from Scripture

alone we derive any knowledge of the true God-of our Redeemer-of the Spirit of Truth -of communion with the Father and the Son -of the means of grace-of faith, or hope, or charity-of the justification or sanctification of our souls of "the new heavens and the new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." The Scriptures, in short, are the only ark and depository of the testimonies of God, of all the "treasures of divine wisdom and knowledge." The saints of God upon earth speak of them as "the lantern to their feet:" and the spirits of the just, as they rejoice amidst the thrones of glory, shall trace every spark of their saving knowledge of the things of eternity to the sacred light shed over the pages of the book. of God.

2. But, again: The "word of God," is said to "save our souls," inasmuch as it is the direct instrument employed by the Divine Being to carry on the work of our salvation.

This instrumental power of the word is illustrated by many images in Scripture. It is compared to a "seed," which, lodged in the heart, gradually produces a new produces a new creature;-to a "seal," which, stamped on the soul, leaves there the deep and living impression of the Divine image; and, as in the text, to a "graft," which, by the insertion of a new nature, changes the barren stock into a fruitful tree.

Indeed, every effectual movement of the human mind towards God, and every saving change in the human character, are uniformly ascribed in Scripture to the Holy Spirit, as the agent; and to the "word," as the instrument. The word reveals the truth, and the Spirit applies it to the

heart. The word displays the path of duty, and the Spirit disposes and enables us to walk in it. The word points to our crucified Saviour, and the Spirit prompts us to take refuge in his bosom. The word cannot operate effectually without the Spirit; the Spirit, at least in the case of intellectual agents, refuses to act without the word. If He "enlighten" the soul, it is by directing upon it some ray from this heavenly lamp. If He "quicken" the man "dead in trespasses and sins," it is by some living coal from this altar of God. If he alarm, it is by the threats of the sacred volume; if he comforts, it is by its bright and blessed promises. "The law of the Lord," says David, " is an undefiled law, converting the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, and giveth wisdom unto the simple; the statutes of the Lord are right, and rejoice the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, and giveth light to the eyes." Search, my brethren, into the history of man, and, setting aside the miraculous occurrences of other days of the church, you will find that every case of real, sober, and practical conversion from a life. of sin to a life of holiness and purity, is to be ascribed to the "word of the Lord," applied, through the medium of our rational powers, by the Spirit, to the soul. And even in the cases of conversion which partake most of a miraculous character, this law of the Divine government is preserved. When Paul fell to the ground, it was a voice from heaven, which stretched him there. When " three thousand" were at once added to the church, they were converts to the words preached by Peter. And thus, in every other instance, the word is that