70 SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. [SeR. CXII.
ns, "but God hath drawn a straight line for us to heaven, Avliicli if wo follow wc cannot miss. Again, partly becanse man's condition since the fall is such that he needs a supernatural remedy ; before he can be happy, he needs a redeemer. Now the gift of a redeemer depending upon the free grace of God, cannot be found out by natural light, for that can only judge of things necessary, and not of sucli things as depend upon the arbiti-ary love of God, therefore this light cannot guide, John iii, 16. Well, then, because tlie candle of the" Lord that is within us is not enough to direct us, God hath set up a lamp in the sanctuary to give us light, and to guide us in the pursuit of true happi- ness, and that is the scripture. Now, if they have God for their author, surely they must needs be clear and full, for nothing indited by his Spirit can be dark, confused, and inconveniently expressed, either with respect to the things revealed, or to the persons to whom this revelation is made. For if God sliould speak darkly (here is my argument), espe- cially in necessary things, it is either because God could not speak otherwise, or would not. The former is direct blasphemy; he that made the eye, cannot he see ? and he that made the mouth, cannot he speak plainly and intelligibly to his people, so as to be understood by them ? And the latter cannot be said, that God would not, for that is contrary to his goodness and love to mankind : Ps. xxv. 8, ' Good and upright is tlie Lord ; therefore will he teach sinners in the way.' If this be true, that God is a just good God, he will teach us plainly; the Psalmist infers it, he is just, and will not lead us wrong ; he is an upright God, and he is a good God ; and therefore, though we have fallen from the state of our creation, though the candle of the Lord burn dim in our hearts since the fall, yet he is a good God, therefore he will show us the way. Now it is not to be imagined that there should not be light in the Avord of God, that that should be dark, con- fused, and unintelligible ; that the most powerful and wise monarch, and most loving of all, that he should write a book to teach men the way to heaven, and do it so cloudily, that we cannot tell what to make of it. Therefore if God be the author, this book must be true ; here must be light, a clear and sure direction to guide us in all our ways.
[2.] I prove it by reason again, from the instruments used in this work. Shall I take those words for my groundwork? 2 Peter i. 21, ' For the prophecy came not,in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost ;' that is, it is not the fancies or dictates of men, but the word of God ; for they were holy men, and holy men guided by the Holy Ghost, and so guided as that they were moved, borne up by the special motion of the Spirit. Let me reason thus : those that God hath em[)loyed to deliver his mind to the Avorld, look either to the prophets of the Old Testa- ment or apostles of the New, and you will find them to be holy men, burning with zeal for God and love to souls ; and it is not to be imagined that they would deliver God's mind so darkly that nobody could understand their meaning. Oln-istians they were, not men that were to act a part of their own upon the stage of the world, not men that aimed at ostentation of wisdom and curiosity of science ; but they were holy men, they were free from ambition and envy, and other such vile affections, which are wont to make writers to affect obscurity ;
VeR. 105.] SERMONS UPON PSALM CXIX. 71
therefore in all simplicity of style, plainness of heart, and faithfulness to their message, they minded their master's honour and the people's good ; they renounced pomp of words and lofty speculations, minded that people might understand the mind of God published by them. As they were holy men, so they were acted by the Spirit of God. Now the Spirit of God is not a spirit of darkness but a spirit of light, which gives understanding to all men, therefore they spake luminously and clearly. Nay, they were not only acted by the Spirit, but they were borne up by the Spirit, carried by the Holy Ghost while they were employed in this work, publishing the mind of God to the church ; they were carried beyond the line of their natural spirits, by an extraordinary impulse infallibly borne up, so that they could not err and miscarry. Now from such holy men that were not swayed by ambition and private aims, so guided, so acted by the Spirit, what can be expected but what is sure, clear, and plain ?
[3.] I argue and reason again from the end of God in giving us the scriptures ; all which doth clearly infer that here is a sure and plain direction that will lead you to heaven. There is a fourfold end wherefore God hath given us the scriptures : —