It is called "the law of the Lord" (Prov. xx. 17); "the law of liberty" (James i. 25); "the law of faith" (Rom. iii. 27); "a perfect law" (Ps. xix. 7); "a royal law" (James i. 8); "the book of the law" (Josh. i. 8); "the book of the Lord" (Isa. xxxiv. 16); "the book of life" (2 Kings xxii. 8); "the gospel of peace" (Eph. i. 16); "the gospel of God" (Rom. i. 1); "the gospel of God's grace" (Acts xx. 24); "the counsel of God" (Acts xx. 27); "the charge of God" (1 Kings ii. 3); "the breath of God" (Job xxxvii. 10); “the mouth of God” (Jer. ix. 12); "the oath of God" (Deut. xxix. 12); "the oracles of God" (Acts vii. 38); "the paths of God" (Micah vi. 9); “the wisdom of God" (Prov. viii. 14). It is called

good thing" (Rom. x. 14); "the good part" (Luke x. 42); "the key of knowledge" (Matt. xvi. 19); "the key of heaven" (Luke xi. 52); "tidings of salvation" (Luke ii. 10); "glad tidings of peace" (Isa. lii. 7); "a good way" (1 Sam. xii. 23); "a narrow way" (Matt. vii. 13); and a perfect way" (Ps. ci. 2). Such is the excellency of the Scripture.-Swinnock.

SCRIPTURE.-The Plainness and Obscurity of

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Herein is the infinite wisdom of God seen-in wreathing together plain truths with obscure, that He might by the one instruct the ignorance of the weakest, and by the other puzzle and confound the understanding of the wisest. This also adds a beauty and ornament to the Scripture. As the beauty of the world is set off by a graceful variety of hills and valleys, so is it in the Scripture. There are sublime truths that the most aspiring reason of man cannot overtop, and there are more plain and easy truths in which the weakest capacity may converse with delight and satisfaction. No man is offended with his garden for having a shady thicket in it: no more should we be offended with the Scripture, that, among so many fair and open walks, we here and there meet with a thicket that the eye of human reason cannot penetrate.-Bishop Hopkins.

SCRIPTURE.-The Rule of

It is the rule of all truth. Other books are true no further than they are agreeable and commensurable to this. All other sayings and writings are to be tried by this touchstone. It is not what sense saith, or what reason saith, or what Fathers say, or what customs say, but what Scripture saith, that is to be the rule of faith and life. Whatsoever is contrary to Scripture, or beside Scripture, or not rationally deducible from Scripture, is to be rejected as spurious and adulterate.-Swinnock.

SCRIPTURE.-Scripture must be Compared with

The danger of quoting detached passages of Scripture without regard to their context, or to the light which other parts may throw upon their interpretation, is seen in the fact—that Satan brought forward passages from Scripture in order to lead our Lord to sin. Such perversions are among the deepest and most dangerous of his devices.- Nicholls.

The discoveries made to us in Scripture can only be cleared to us by reference to the Scriptures themselves.-St. Irenæus.

SCRIPTURE.-The Silence of

The silence of Scripture in not condemning any particular act-as, for instance, the massacre of the people of Jabesh-Gilead, and David's deceit to Ahimelech can never be construed into an approbation, or even palliation, of

the act; for the same Volume elsewhere furnishes the principles on which such actions are to be condemned, and often shows their sinfulness by recording the evil consequences which arise from them.-Nicholls.

It is not only what Scripture says, but its very silence is instructive to us. It was said by one wise man of another-that more might be learned from his ques. tions than from another man's answers. With yet higher truth might it be said -that the silence of Scripture is oftentimes more instructive than the speech of other books; so that it has been likened to "a dial in which the shadow as well as the light informs us." For example of this, how full of meaning to us that we have nothing told us of the life of our blessed Lord between the twelfth and thirtieth years—how significant the absolute silence which the Gospels maintain concerning all that period-that those years, in fact, have no history, nothing for the sacred writers to record! How much is implied herein! the calm ripening of His human powers-the contentedness of His wait—the long preparation in secret before He began His open ministry, What a testimony is here, if we will note it aright, against all our striving and snatching at hasty results, our impatience, our desire to glitter before the world;-against all which tempts so many to pluck the unripe fruit of their minds, and to turn that into the season of a stunted and premature harvest, which should have been the season of patient sowing, of an earnest culture and a silent ripening of their powers!--Archbishop Trench.

SCRIPTURES.-Accommodations of the

Sometimes the Scriptures are used in the way of "accommodation," as it is called; and to this many persons object, contending that no meaning should be put on any text except its evident primary signification. But the example of the Scriptures themselves warrants the use of accommodations within the analogy of faith. Thus the words " He shall be called a Nazarene," seems to be an inspired accommodation of a passage to the case of the Redeemer; and so also is the quotation in St. Matthew's Gospel-"Out of Egypt have I called My son." That gracious promise in the Epistle to the Hebrews-"It is written-I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee," originally appears in the Bible as a promise to Joshua alone, in his peculiar and special circumstances as leader of the Lord's people; yet we find it applied by the Apostle in a wide sense to the whole body of believers. Applications of Scripture of this kind, when regulated by strict regard to the proportion of faith, are often exceedingly effective and consolatory, opening up to the mind a sudden view of the infinite power and depth of meaning of the Word of God.-Cameron.

SCRIPTURES.—Astronomy and the

I am inclined to believe that the intention of the Sacred Scriptures is to give to mankind the information necessary for their salvation, and which, surpassing all human knowledge, can by no other means be accredited than by the mouth of the Holy Spirit. But I do not hold it necessary to believe that the same God who has endowed us with senses, with speech, and intellect, intended that we should neglect the use of these, and seek, by other means, for knowledge which they are sufficient to procure us; especially in a science like Astronomy, of which so little notice is taken in the Scriptures, that none of the planets, except the sun and moon, and, once or twice only, Venus, under the name of Lucifer, are so much as named there.-Galileo.

SCRIPTURES.-The Author, End, and Matter of the

The Holy Scriptures, especially the New Testament, have God for their Author, salvation for their end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for their matter.-Locke.

SCRIPTURES.-Controversies Darken the

As in the burning of some wet fuel, we cannot see the fire for smoke; so the light of the Scriptures is dusked by the vapours of controversies.-T. Adams.

SCRIPTURES.-Internal Evidence of the

Were we deprived of the entire testamentary evidence of miracles and the external evidence of prophecy, still the internal constitution of the Scriptures themselves are sufficient to command our assent. No human historian could, as they do, tell all the truth; no human legislator could enact the Ten Commandments; no human genius could conceive the character of Christ; no human morality could ascend to Gospel holiness; no human devotion could dictate the Lord's Prayer; no human mercy could provide Gospel grace; no human skill could so search and discover the secrets of the human heart, and at once provide the means of proving its guilt and of cleansing it from all sin. But all these things are done by the Scriptures: they are, therefore, not of man-they must be of God.-Dr. Cooke.

SCRIPTURES.-Morals Derived from the

To the Scriptures we are indebted for a system of morals far simpler than that of Aristotle, far purer than that of Plato, far more spiritual than that of Senecapure as the graces around the throne of God;—a theory of morals compared with which all the theories of morals elaborated in the groves and academies of the ancient world are but as the lispings of infancy, or the drivelling of idiotcy !— Dr. Beaumont.

SCRIPTURES.-The Use of the

Certainly, preachers might more effectually rivet their thoughts on the minds of their hearers, if they would study to use the Scriptures with more care and force. Too commonly the same portions only of the Scriptures are dwelt upon, and the same texts only repeated, year after year, while in the Word of God there remains an infinite number of striking and affecting sentences which are scarcely ever used at all. This should not be. The Word is " quick and powerful, and sharper than a two edged sword;" and where the word of man fails altogether to arrest attention, a single expression of the Divine Word will often startle the conscience, and speak home to the heart.-Cameron.

SECT. The Application of the Word

The word sect, among the Jews, was not, in its application, entirely coincident with the same term as applied by Christians to the sub-divisions subsisting among themselves. We invariably use it of those who form separate communions, and do not associate with one another in religious worship and ceremonies. Now in the Jewish sects (if we except the Samaritans) there were no separate communities erected. The same Temple and the same Synagogues were attended alike by Pharisees and Sadducees; nay, they were often of both denominations in the sanhedrim, and often in the priesthood. Another difference was, also, that the name of the sect was not applied to all the people who adopted the same opinions,

but solely to the men of eminence among them who were considered as the leaders of the party.-Dr. Campbell.

SECTARIAN.-The Hatred of a

It is of more consequence to a sectarian to defend a prejudice than to rejoice over a recovered man. The Pharisees hated Christ, and what good can a hated man do? They hesitated not to trace a good effect to a bad cause.-Dr. Parker. SECTARIANISM.-The Bane of

Sectarianism has been the bane of the Church. Multiplied divisions have weakened her energies. A vast amount of zeal and power which should have been brought to bear on the conversion of the world, has been expended in assailing and defending the several points on which the Christian community has been split into fragments. Christendom has often resembled a battle-field, in which the several detachments of the same army, instead of combining in one aggressive movement against the common foe, have raised the shout of war against each other. The enemy, meanwhile, has exulted at the sight, and not only been fortified in the belief that Christianity is a profession under which men drive low and selfish designs, but has strengthened his position in defying the armies of the living God. The storms of controversy may have been over-ruled for purifying the atmosphere of the Church, and preserving in vigour the faith once delivered to the saints; but although good has come out of the evil, the evil has been manifested in the consumption of so much intellectual energy and effort on internal disputes, which might have been bestowed on the infinitely nobler object of converting the world to God.-T. Pearson.

SECTARIANISM.-Counsel against

Let us not rend the seamless robe of the Lord Jesus by our undutiful and unseemly division.-Bishop Stillingfleet.

SECTARIANISM-Needless.

There is less real difference among things

Than men imagine. They overlook the mass,
But fasten each on some particular crumb,
Because they feel that they can equal that,

Of doctrine, or belief, or party cause.-P. J. Bailey.

SECTARIANS.-The Mental and Moral State of

Sectarians are independent of logic and morality.-Dr. Parker. SECTS.-The Formation of

SECTS.

Men who have ceased to reverence, soon defy

Their forefathers: lo! sects are formed, and split

With morbid restlessness; the ecstatic fit
Spreads wide; though special mysteries multiply,
"The saints must govern," is their common cry;
And so they labour, deeming Holy Writ

Disgraced by aught that seems content to sit

Beneath the roof of settled modesty.-W. Wordsworth.

The Number of

The number of our sects is our shame; for the Christian Church was intended to be one. They have each their periodical publication; they have each their

famed preachers; they have each their great society and their favourite schemes, upon which they talk until they have hampered within the pinfold of their sect that spirit which ought to have been expanded into the full form of orthodox truth, and ripened into the fulness of catholic love, which ought to find its kindred and communion everywhere in the Christian Church.-E. Irving.

SECTS.-Preaching Hindered by

It is not to be told what a hindrance they are to preaching. One will not have a moral duty inculcated, another will not hear a prophecy explained; one is impatient of instruction, and will rise and go away if you do not excite his feelings, which excitement another decries as enthusiasm; another cannot receive the matter if it be read, and another dislikes that it should be spoken. You may not tell masters their duties lest ye should offend them; and if you preach of duties to rulers, you are political; and if you show the errors of the times, you are setting yourself up for a judge of others; and if you bring forth former times in the experience of the Church, you go beyond the knowledge of the people; and unless you harp upon every man's single string, you do not preach Christ.E. Irving.

SECTS.-Religions among the

It is a great fault that men will call the several sects of Christians by the names of several religions. The religion of Jesus Christ is the form of sound doctrine and wholesome words which is set down in Scripture indefinitely, actually conveyed to us by plain places, and separated as for the question of necessary or not necessary by the symbol of the Apostles. Those impertinencies which the wantonness and vanity of men hath commenced, which their interests have promoted, which serve not truth so much as their own ends, are far from being distinct religions; for matters of opinion are no parts of the worship of God, nor in order to it but as they promote obedience to His commandments; and when they contribute towards it, are, in that proportion as they contribute, parts, and actions, and minute particulars of that religion to whose end they do, or pretend to, serve. And such are all the sects and all the pretences of Christians but pieces and minutes of Christianity if they do serve the great end, as every man for his own sect and interest believes for his share it does.-Bishop Taylor.

SECTS.-The Use of

Now that, from all the proofs of the certainty of Revelation, we are come to fix on Christianity, our labour is not yet at an end; for here you see multiplicity of sects and divisions, which our Blessed Saviour foretold should come for the probation of the elect, as some Canaanites were left in the land to teach the Israelites the art of war, lest, by too profound a peace, they might grow lazy and stupid, and become an easy prey to their enemies. So might Christianity be lost among us; if we had nothing to do, it would dwindle, and decay, and corrupt by degrees, as water stagnates by standing still; but, when we are put to contend earnestly for the faith, it quickens our zeal, keeps us upon our guard, trims our lamp, and furbishes the sword of the Spirit, which might otherwise rust in its scabbard.— Leslie.

SERMON. The Best

The best sermon is marked with strong images, bold figurative language, and affecting addresses to the heart. The whole energy of the preacher's mind is