Section III. — When thou consultest with the word, take heed thou comest not Avith a judgment pre-engaged to any opinion. He is not likely to hold the scales evenly whose judgment is bribed beforehand. A distempered eye sees the object of that colour with which itself is affected; and a mind prepossessed will be ready to impose its own sense upon the word, and so lose the truth by an over-conceit of his own opinion. Too many read the Scriptures, not so much to be informed by them as confirmed in what already they have taken Tip. They choose opinions, as Samson his wife, because they please them, and then come to gain the Scripture's consent. Thus the Jews first made up the match with their idols, and then ask counsel of God what they should do, Ezek. xiv. 4. It is a just judgment of God that such should not see truth when it lies before them, but be given up to an injudicious heart, to believe the word favours their fancies : ver. 4, 5, ' I the Lord will answer him according to the multitude of his idols ; that I may take the house of Israel in their own heart.' And when is a man taken in his own heart, but when ensnared in the fancies and follies which his eri-oneous mind hath woven ?
Section IV. — Go to God by prayer for a key to unlock the mysteries of his word. It is not the plodding, but the praying soul, that will get this treasure of scripture knowledge. John got the sealed bood opened by weeping, Rev. V. 5. God often brings a truth to the Christian's hand as a return of prayer, which he had long hunted for in vain with much labour and study : ' There is a God in heaven that revealeth secrets,' Dan. ii. 22 ; and where doth he reveal the secrets of his word but at the throne of grace ? ' From the first day,' saith the angel, ' that thou didst set thine heart to understand and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words wei-e heard, and I am come for thy words ;' that is, for thy prayer, Dan. x. 12. And what was this heavenly messenger's errand to Daniel but to open more fully the Scripture to him ? as appears by ver. 14 compared with ver. 21. This holy man had got some knowledge by his study in the word, and this sets him a praying, and prayer fetched an angel from heaven to give him more light. If ever we know the mind of God, we must be beholden to the Spirit of God for it : ' When the Spirit of truth is come, he will lead you into all truth,' John xvi. 13. And the Spirit is the fruit of Christ's intercession : ' I will pray the Father, and he will send the Com- forter,' &c. Now there must be a conciu-rence of om* prayer with his inter- cession. While our High-Priest is offering incense within the veil, we are to be praying without for that for which he is interceding within.
Now, to quicken thee to pray with more importunity for this manuduction of the Holy Spirit to lead thee into truth. First, Let the dread of those scrip- tures which set forth the danger of errors and false doctrines fall upon thee, that thou mayest not think thou goest on a slight errand when praying to be preserved from them, as if it were of no consequence whether thou hast thy request or not. It is one of the devil's best policies, by sinking the price of errors in the thoughts of men, to make them thereby the more vendible. Many think they shall not pay so dear for an error in judgment as for a sin in prac- tice ; yea, some fancy a man may be saved in any religion, — a principle that must needs tend to make them that hold it careless in tlieir choice. That sin shall not want customers which men think they shall pay little or nothing for. Some can be content to be drunk on free cost, that would not, were their own purse to pay the reckoning. How comes fornication to abound so much among the Romish clergy, but because it is counted so petty a sin by them ? And I wish that error, which is the fornication of the mind, were not by many among ourselves thought so little of. But woe be to those that tempt men on to sin by setting cheaper rates on their head than the word of God hath done. If once the dread of sin be worn off the conscience, no wonder if we see men as boldly leap upon it as the frogs in the fable on the log. Fear makes the body more apt to take infection, but it prescrvcth the soul from the infection of sin. Now, that thou mayest the more stand in fear of drinking in the poison of any corrupt and unsound doctrine, let thy mind ponder on a few scriptures
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