capacities of his hearers. (5.) Zealously.-Acts xviii. 25. The motive to zeal in the ministers of the Gospel is the highest possible; and if they feel its constraining influence they cannot but be zealous in his cause; and this motive is the love of Christ, by which Paul was always actuated.-2 Cor. v. 14, and xii. 15. A want of zeal in preaching the Gospel bespeaks no great desire to save the sinner; which is one of the great designs of the ministry; and they who are not actuated in this work by love to the souls of men, bear the name, but want the essentials which constitute the character of a minister of Christ.-2 Cor. v. 13, &c.; Col. iv. 12. (6.) Sincerely.-2 Cor. ii. 17, and iv. 2; 2 Thess. ii. 4, &c.; John vii. 18; 1 Cor. ix. 22; 1 Tim. iv. 16. Sincerity is a most necessary feature in the character of a minister of the Gospel. Unsound doctrine is of the most dangerous tendency, and most dishonouring to Christ; for his glory is not promoted, nor can the conversion, and edification, and salvation of sinners take place.

of

The Word of God is made effectual by the sole agency the Holy Spirit. The Word may be read and preached, as commanded; but it is the Spirit of God who is the life of the Word read and preached, and who alone can make it the power of God unto salvation.-1 Cor. ii. 11, and iii. 5; Ezek. xxxviii. The prophet might prophesy to the dry bones, as he was commanded; but it was the Spirit alone that could put life into them, and make them stand up and praise the Lord.

It is said, that "the Spirit of God maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the Word, an effectual means of salvation, because the preaching of the Word is the more common means; and we have full evidence that it is the most effectual.-Acts ii. 41, iv. 4, and xi. 20, 21. And in 1 Cor. i. 21, we read, that it hath pleased God to save, by the foolishness of preaching, them that believe; and in Rom, x. 17, we read, that faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.

Obs. 301.-The ends for which the Spirit makes use of the Word read, but especially of the Word preached, are, to convince and convert sinners, and to build up saints in holiness and comfort, through faith unto salvation.

1. The Spirit makes use of the Word to convince and to convert sinners, For convincing sinners, the Spirit makes use

of the law; for, saith the Scripture, "by the law is the knowledge of sin." By him the sinner is convinced, both of the nature of sin, which consists in its being a want of conformity to God's law, or in its being a transgression of it; and of the desert of sin, which includes the wrath and curse of God, both in this life and in that which is to come. The Spirit

also makes use of the Word as an effectual means of converting sinners.-Psal. xix. 7. Conversion is a spiritual motion of the whole man to a God in Christ, as the immediate and certain effect of the spiritual change which is effected in regeneration (Jer. iii. 22); which is inseparably connected with conversion as its cause. Of this supernatural change the Word is the means, but not in the hand of man himself; for he can neither prepare himself for it, nor can he cooperate with the Spirit in producing such a change.

2. The Spirit makes use of the Word to build up saints in holiness and comfort. He builds up the saints in holiness, by giving them clear and repeated discoveries of the glory of Christ, so that they are more and more transformed into the same image with him.-2 Cor. iii. 18. And he builds them up in comfort, by conveying with power into their souls the exceeding great and precious promises, which convey every ground of lasting and satisfying comfort to them; by which they are made very joyful in the God of their salvation.Eph. iv. 12, &c.; Rom. xvi. 25; 1 Thess. iii. 11, &c.; Rom. xv. 4; 1 Thess. iii. 2, &c.; Isa. xl. 1, 2.

Agreeably to Scripture, we are here informed, that the instrument by which the Spirit makes these means effectual for building up the saints in holiness and comfort, is faith. And the instrumentality which faith has, in the hand of the Spirit, in accomplishing this, is, that it rests on the faithful word of their God for the promoting of both these ends.1 Thess. ii. 13; Psal. cxxxviii. 8.

The end for which all this is done, is the complete and eternal salvation of the saints. And hence the Gospel is called "the power of God unto salvation,"—that is, deliverance from sin and from wrath-from the guilt, and punishment, and the power, and pollution of sin-from the curse of the law-and from the power of death and of the grave.

INFERENCES.

From this subject we learn,-1. The value of the Bible. 2. The necessity of the Word of life. 3. That the ministry

is an arduous work; and most important in its consequences. 4. The necessity of the reading and preaching of the Word. 5. The danger of despising or omitting it. 6. That the Spirit is most necessary to make the Word effectual. 7. The necessity of faith, without which the Word read or preached cannot profit. 8. The necessity of using the means of salvation; and that without this we are not in the way to obtain the blessing.

Proper use of the Word of God.

That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend thereunto with diligence, preparation, and prayer; receive it with faith and love; lay it up in our hearts, and practise it in our lives.

ANALYSIS AND PROOFS.

We are here taught,

1. That the Word of God must be attended to and understood. Acts viii. 30.-" Understandest thou what thou readest?"

2. That the Word of God must be attended to with diligence. Acts xvii. 11.-" And searched the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so." See also Prov. viii. 34.

3. That the Word of God must be attended to with preparation. James i. 21.-"Lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the ingrafted Word, which is able to save your souls.' See also Luke viii. 18.

4. That the Word of God must be attended to with prayer. Psal. cxix. 18.-"Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law."

5. That the Word of God must be received with faith. 1 Thess. ii. 13.-" For this cause also thank we God, without ceasing, because when ye received the Word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but (as it is in truth) the Word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe." See also Heb. iv. 2.

6. That the Word of God must be received with love. Psal. cxix. 97.-"O how love I thy law!" See also 2 Thess. ii. 10.

7. That the Word of God must be meditated upon. Col. iii. 16.-"Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom."

8. That the Word of God must be laid up in the heart. Deut. xi. 18.—"Ye shall lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul." See also Psal. cxix. 11. 9. That the truths of to practice in our lives.

the Word of God must be reduced James i. 22.-" Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your ownselves."

EXPLANATION.

Obs. 302.-That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must attend to it with diligence, preparation, and prayer.

When it is said that we must attend to the Word, it. intimates that the Word must become our chief study while we live; and that it must be deeply engraven on the heart; and that for this good reason, that it contains that good part which shall never be taken away.

1. We must attend to the Word with diligence. Every opportunity of reading the Word, and of hearing it read and preached, must be embraced.

2. We must attend to the Word with preparation. This includes various things. We must consider well--(1.) The authority of God stamped upon the Word.-Acts x. 33; Psal. lxxxix. 6, 7. (2.) That the preaching of the Word is the ordinance of God for our salvation. (3.) That the preaching of the Word will to be us either the savour of death or the savour of life.-2 Cor. ii. 15, 16; Luke viii. 18. (4.) The necessity of laying aside all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. -Gen. xxxv. 2, 3; 1 Pet. ii. 1, 2. (5.) The necessity of banishing from the heart the cares of the world, when we hear the Word.—Matt. xiii. 22. (6.) The necessity of being washed in the blood of Christ, when we hear the Word; for an unholy soul can hold no communion with God in the ordinances of his grace.-Psal. xxvi. 6. (7.) Our own peculiar circumstances, when we hear the Word read or preached.— 1 Kings viii. 38.

3. We must attend to the Word with prayer. This is necessary, because God alone can dispose our hearts to perform aright the exercises of his worship; and, consequently, it is our duty to address him for this very purpose, that our exercises may not be in vain as to ourselves.-Psal. cxix. 18; 2 Thess. iii. 1. Before reading or hearing the Word, we

should pray that it may become the power of God to our salvation; or an effectual means in his hand for convincing, converting, and edifying our souls.-Rom. i. 16; John vi.

63.

But notwithstanding all our preparation that the Word may become effectual, we must disclaim all dependence upon it; and rest upon the promise of the Spirit to render it subservient to the important purposes for which it is designed.

Obs. 303.-That the Word may become effectual to salvation, we must receive it with faith and love.

To receive the Word, is to accept of it with all readiness of mind, as the Word of God indeed the dictates of the Holy Spirit, directed to the soul for the purposes of salvation. And the right improvement of the Word during the reading and hearing of it, is called a receiving of it, because we can derive no real benefit to our souls from the free offer and exhibition of all the blessings contained therein, unless we receive them as the free gift of God.-John iii. 27.

There

1. We must receive the Word in faith. Here the following things may be observed:-(1.) We must believe the Divine authority of every part of the book called the Bible, and credit it as God's testimony of himself to man. must be no doubt in our minds with respect to this subject; for there is abundant evidence of its truth within itself; and if we doubt, we cannot be said to receive the Word in faith. (2.) As it contains every thing necessary, not only for the salvation of sinners in general, but for that of ourselves in particular, we must not only receive it as true, but we must receive it with particular application; for it contains the message of God to us individually, as if there were none but ourselves to whom it is directed.-Lam. iii. 24; Psal. cxix. 20. (3.) If we would have any respect to our own progress in the divine life, and to our comfort, we must examine the effects which the Word has upon us.-Psal. cxix. 9, 50; Dan. x. 19.

2. We must receive the Word with love. This is the natural consequence of its being received with faith; for wherever faith is, it worketh by love and purifieth the heart. If the Word come home with power in the experience of any, as in the case of the Thessalonians, it will be accompanied with love. Compare 1 Thess. i. 5, and ii. 13, with 2 Thess. i. 3, &c., and it will be evident that their faith was