eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light."* "If thou be pure in heart, thou shalt see God." If thou hast "the wisdom that is from above, it is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated; full of mercy, and good fruits; without partiality, and without hypocrisy." If, when men read the Scriptures, their minds are clouded by pride, passion, or prejudice, it is not to be wondered at, if they should have no clear discernment of the truth; but, sure I am, if they desire to be instructed, reformed, and thoroughly sanctified, they will have no cause to complain of the obscurity of the word, for their steps will be directed into the path of the just," which " is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day."

But,

2. Though it be asserted, that the Scriptures are able to make that man wise unto salvation, who searches them with the simple and pure desire of obtaining the knowledge of God; yet are we authorised to say, that something further is necessary, and that is the gift of the Holy Spirit, or a certain divine influence upon our hearts to make them receive, and hold fast that which is good, and thus to abide in us as a root of perpetual and abundant gladness. Accordingly we find it thus written Prov. xvi.

* Matt, vi. 22. † Matt. v. 8. ‡ James, iii. 17. || Prov. iv. 19.

1. "The preparations of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord:" and this did the holy men of old, who were influenced by the spirit of true humility, most readily acknowledge. So Nehemiah, speaking of the work which he had to do at Jerusalem, says, "it was that which God put into his heart;"* and Ezra, adverting to the same prosperous circumstance relative to the captive Jews, declares, that " the Lord had made them joyful, and turned the heart of the king of Assyria to them, to strengthen their hands in the work of the house of God, the God of Israel."† David also speaks to the same effect, as you may perceive by consulting 1 Chron. xxix. 17-19, where you will find the following words:" I know also, my God, that thou rulest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now have I seen with joy thy people, which are present here to offer willingly unto thee. O Lord God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel our fathers, keep this for ever in the imagination of the thoughts of the heart of thy people, and prepare their heart unto thee. And give unto Solomon my son a perfect heart to keep thy commandments, thy testimonies, and thy statutes, and to do all ↑ Ezra, vi. 22.

* Nehemiah, ii. 12 and vii, 5.

these things, and to build the palace, for the which I have made provision." But, the passage of Scripture which sets forth this doctrine most clearly, is to be found in the 36th chapter of Ezekiel, in which we have a glorious promise concerning what the Lord designed to do to his people in the latter days. The words are as follow:-" I will take you from among the heathen, and gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land; then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean; from all your filthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you; a new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit. will I put within you, and cause you to walk my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments

in
and do them."

From what has been said we may come to this conclusion, namely, that while it is our duty to attend to the instruction, which the Lord giveth, and to consider seriously the important truths, which he has revealed, we are to look to him to give us a right understanding of them, and to make them effectual to our salvation. My son," says Solomon, " if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee, so that thou incline thine ear to wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her, as for hid treasures,

then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God; for the Lord giveth wisdom, and out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding."* To the

same effect is that which is written, Jeremiah xxix. 13, 14, where the Lord, declaring what would be the disposition of his people after their return from the Babylonish captivity, says, "Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you, and ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." See also Deuteronomy, xxx. 1-6, where you will find it written "It shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and. shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice, according to all that I shall command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity and will have compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations, whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee. If any of them be driven out to the uttermost parts of Heaven, from thence will the Lord thy God gather

Prov. ii. 1-6.

thee, and from thence will he fetch thee; and the Lord thy God will bring thee into the land, which thy fathers possessed, and thou shalt possess it; and he will do thee good, and multiply thee above thy fathers, and the Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." Under the persuasion, that it is our duty to wait upon the Lord, and to pray, read, hear, meditate, and use every other means of grace, we ought also to expect God's blessing on those means to make them effectual to our salvation. For this cause did Saint Paul address himself in the following words to the Philippians, chap. ii. 12, 13: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure." And for the same reason he says of himself, when comparing his ministerial labours with those of the other Apostles, "By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace, which was bestowed upon me, was not in vain, but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me."* (+)

I Cor. xv. 10.

(†) Being much perplexed, when I was a young man, concerning the subject of this discourse, and finding that Christians called Calvinists, and Christians called Årmenians, were equally earnest in maintaining their respective