This is the great preparation for the soul’s admittance into the treasury of sacred truths: Go to the reading, hearing, studying of the Scripture, with hearts sensible of your own unworthiness to be taught, of your disability to learn, ready to receive, embrace, and sub- mit unto what shall be made known unto you,—this is the way to be taught of God. And in this way if you learn not so much as others, yet that which you do learn shall be of as much use, benefit, and advantage unto you, as theirs shall be who attain unto the greatest degrees of spiritual light and knowledge. The word, thus inquired into, will be as manna to them that gathered it, Exod. xvi. 18.
2. Earnest prayer for the guidance, direction, assistance, and tllu- mination of the Holy Ghost, to enable us to find out, discern, and understand, “the deep things of God.” Where this is neglected, whatever we know, we know it not as we ought. David’s prayer was, as we observed before, “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold
312 AN EXPOSITION OF THE [CHAP. IV.
wondrous things out of thy law,” Ps. cxix.18. This opening of our eyes is the immediate work of the Holy Ghost. Without this we shall never be able to discern the wondrous, mysterious things that are in the word of God, 2 Cor. iii, 18, iv. 6. The Lord Christ pro- miseth that “the Comforter shall teach us all things,” John xiv. 26; and, as “the Spirit of truth, guide us into all truth,” chap. xvi. 13. And although there may be somewhat peculiar in these promises unto the apostles, namely, to guide them by extraordinary inspira- tion and revelation, yet also there is grace promised in them to all his disciples, that they also shall be guided into the truth by the word through his instruction; for, as he tells all believers that “ his Father will give the Holy Spirit unto them that ask him of him,” so John tells them that “they have an unction from the Holy One,” 1 John ii. 20, “which abideth in them, and teacheth them all things,” verse 27,—that is, which God would have them know in their stations, and which are needful for them. That this is the only way whereby we may come to know the things of God, the great and wondrous things of God laid up in the word, our apostle discourseth at large, 1 Cor. it: The “natural man,” he tells us,—that is, such an one as hath not the help and assistance of the Spirit of God,—cannot receive the things that are of God, verse 14. He can neither find them out himself, nor own them when they are dis- covered by others. But “the Spirit searcheth the deep things of God,” verse 10. Many of the things of God in the Scripture are “very deep,” so that they cannot be discovered but by the help of the Spirit of God; as he shows they are to believers, verses 11, 12, 15,16. And to this purpose are we directed to pray by the example of our apostle, Eph. i. 16-20, iii, 16-19; Col. ii. 2. Now what is the work of the Holy Spirit in this matter, by what way and means he leads us to the knowledge and acknowledgment of sacred truths, how he guides and directs us into the discovery of the sense and meaning of God in his word, shall, if God will and I live, be handled apart in another discourse,’ and shall not therefore be now insisted on, But this is the great and principal rule, which is to be given unto those who would find out the mind of God in the Serip- ture, who would search out the mysterious truths that are contained in it, and would be kept from errors in their so doing, and that both to understand things aright for their own advantage, and interpret the word aright for the advantage and edification of others: Let them be earnest, diligent, constant, fervent in their supplications and prayers, that God, according to his promise, would graciously send his Holy Spirit, to guide, lead, instruct, and teach them, to open their understandings, that they may understand the Scriptures,
2 See “ Causes, Ways, and Means of Understanding the Word of God,” in vol. iv. of the author’s works.—Ep.
VER. 7.] EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 313
as our Lord Jesus did for the disciples by the way, and to preserve them from mistakes and errors. Unless we have this guidance we shall labour to little purpose in this matter; yea, woe be to him who leans to his own understanding herein !* And these prayers ought to be,—(1.) A constant part of our daily supplications; (2.) Brief elevations of soul unto God, whenever occasionally or statedly we read the word, or hear it; (8.) Solemn or appointed seasons.
3. Endeavour, in all inquirings into the word, to mind and aim at the same ends which God hath in the giving and granting of tt unto us. Then do we comply with the will of God in what we do, and may comfortably expect his gracious assistance. Now, in general God had a fivefold end in granting this inestimable privilege of the Scripture unto the church:—
(1.) That it might be such a revelation of himself, his mind and will unto us, as that we might so know him as to believe in him, fear him, love him, trust in him, and obey him in all things. This is the great and principal end of the Scripture, Deut. xxix. 29. Without this, all things concerning God and our duty, since the entrance of sin, are wrapped up in darkness and confusion, as is ma- nifest at this day in all nations and places left destitute of it. And this, therefore, is to be our principal aim in our study of the Scrip- ture. That we may know God as he hath revealed and declared himself; that we may come to an acquaintance with him by a rule and light infallible, given us by himself for that purpose, that so in all things we may glorify him as God, and live unto him, is the first thing which in this matter we ought to aim at. And a due con- sideration hereof will be exceeding useful and effectual to curb the vanity and curiosity of our minds, which are apt to turn us aside towards corrupt, unprofitable, and sinister ends.