Scriptures can doubt the issue of a carnal and worldly life? " To be carnally-minded is death." Or who can doubt the acceptance of a sinner that humbles himself before God, and flees to Christ for refuge ? Will it be found that any one was ever cast out, who came unto God through Christ? In a word, there is no instruction wanted, which is not contained in the sacred volume, and conveyed too in the most edifying manner. Its warnings are most solemn, its invitations most earnest, its expostulations most affectionate, its promises most
enlarged If only we pay attention to them, we shall
infallibly " be kept from the paths of the destroyer0," and have " our feet guided into the way of peace."]
For this end they are fully sufficient —
[Nothing is wanting in them, God himself being wit- ness The Old Testament writers and the New, alike
declare the sufficiency of Scripture for every end that can be
desiredd It is " the rod of God's strength, whereby
he effects his work upon the souls of men, quickening the deade, sanctifying the unclean f, comforting the afflicted g, and
saving the lost h And all that is wanting to render the
word effectual, is to get it applied to our hearts by the Spirit of God' : when so applied, it becomes " the power of God to the salvation of our soulsV]
It must be remembered, however, that whilst the Scriptures are so powerful to save those who use them aright, they declare most unequivocally,
II. The hopeless state of those who disregard them — The Rich Man imagined, that, if some new method were used for the conversion of his brethren, it would be successful ; but Abraham informed him, that, where the Scriptures were ineffectual, not even a messenger from the dead would be of any avail ; 1. To convince the unbelieving — [Though a messenger from the dead might be instru- mental to awaken the attention of a person to the Scriptures, he could not convince him of any one truth contained in them. For what could he say that is not contained in the Scriptures? He could only affirm, that the truth of what they declared was now ascertained and felt by him, and placed beyond the
■ Ps. xvii. 4. d Ps. xix. 7— 11. 2 Tim. iii. 10, 17.
» Ps. cxix. 93. Jam. i. 18. f John xv. 3. Eph. v. 20.
9 Ps. cvii. 20. h Jam. i. 21.
j 1 Thess. i. 5. k Rom. i. 10.