question to our own souls. Lotus rather ponder it, think about it, and never be content till it fills the first place in our minds. Let us seek to have the witness of the Spirit within us, that we repent us truly of sin, that we have a lively faith in God's mercy through Christ, and that we are really walking with God. This is the character of the heirs of eternal life. These are they who shall one day receive the kingdom prepared for the children of God.
We should notice, secondly, in this passage, the high honmr which our Lord Jesus Christ places on the Bible. He refers the lawyer at once to the Scriptures, as the only rule of faith and practice. He does not say in reply to his question, — ''What does the Jewish Church say about eternal life ? What do the Scribes, and Pharisees, and priests think? What is taught on the subject in the traditions of the elders ? " — He takes a far simpler and more direct course. He sends his questioner at once to the writings of the Old Testament: — "What is written in the law ? How readest thou P "
Let the principle contained in these words, be one of the foundation principles of our Christianity. Let the Bible, the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible, be the rule of our faith and practice. Holding this principle we travel upon the king's highway. The road may some- times seem narrow, and our faith may be sorely tried, but we shall not be allowed greatly to err. — ^Departing from this principle we enter on a pathless wilderness. There is no telling what we may be led to believe or do. For ever let us bear this in mind. Here let us cast anchor. Here let us abide. It matters nothing who
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says a thing iti religion, whether an ancient father, or a modem Bishop, or a learned divine. Is it in the Bible P Can it be proved by the Bible? If not, it is not to be believed. — It matters nothing how beautiful and clever sermons or religious books may appear. Are they in the smallest degree contrary to Scripture? If they are, they are rubbish and poison, and guides of no value. — ^What saith the Scripture ? This is the only rule, and measure, and guage of religious truth. "To the law and to the testimony," says Isaiah, "if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them." (Isaiah viii. 20.)
We should notice, lastly, in this passage, the clear knowledge of duty to God and man, which the Jews in our Lord^s time possessed. We read that the lawyer said, in reply to our Lord's question, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind ; and thy neighbour as thyself." That was well spoken. A clearer description of daily practical duty, could not be given by the most thoroughly instructed Christian in the present day. Let not this be forgotten.
The words of the lawyer are very instructive in two points of view. They throw a strong light on two subjects, about which many mistakes abound. — For one thing, they show us how great were the privileges of religious know- ledge which the Jews enjoyed under the Old Testament, compared to the heathen world. A nation which possessed such principles of duty as those now before us, was immeasurably in advance of Greece and Rome. — ^For another thing, the lawyer's words show us how much