able to receive it. The real obstacle which his dis- courses met with arose from the inveterate prejudices with which the minds of his hearers were prepos- sessed. Hence they rejected his word, and denied that he was divinely authorized to promulgate the doctrines he maintained. To remove this obstacle, he told them what it was which they wanted, and what alone it was which would render his word pro- fitable to their souls. They wanted an integrity of mind, to obey the truth, as far as it should be revealed to them : and therefore he said, " Tf any man will do God's will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself."
These words will naturally lead me to shew,
I. The disposition of mind necessary for a profitable investigation of the Holy Scriptures —
Truth, which is merely practical, requires little be- sides a strong intellectual power to be exercised upon it ; but divine truth is intimately connected with the dispositions of the mind, and requires,
1. A desire to know God's will —
[We should bear in mind, that there is a superior Being, to whom we are all accountable for our actions. This may be known even from the works of creation : and the knowledge of it should make us anxious to be informed what His will is, and how we may find acceptance with him. When, therefore, a book is put into our hands, purporting to come from him, we should read it, not with mere transient curiosity, nor as a book whereon to exercise our critical skill, but with a real desire to know all that he shall have seen fit to reveal, especially respecting the duties which we owe him, and the way that he
has appointed for the conciliating of his favour The
state of our minds should be precisely like that of Cornelius and his family, when Peter was sent as a divine messenger to instruct them : " Now are we all here present before God, to hear all things that are commanded thee of Godb."]
2. A readiness to do it —
[We must not sit in judgment on God's word, complaining of this as too strict, and that as too difficult and self-denying. The only point for us to ascertain is, whether it be the word
b Acts x. 33. vol,. XIII. E E