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wanders through the pathless forests of far distant lands, and, with pain and toil, grows familiar with the habits of every thing that lives; but, after he has gone the round of all creation in search of wisdom, he answers, with mournful aspect, "It is hid from the eyes of all living, and kept secret from the fowls of the air." The anatomist makes the writhing animal agonize under his torturing hand, and slays it, that perchance in the page of death the mystery of life and of wisdom may be found written; but he will venture, in reply, to say no more than that destruction and death say, “We have heard the sound thereof with our ears.”

But, while all the oracles of science are silent on this great question, lo! through the thick darkness a ray of light descends, and a voice, solemn but benignant, proclaims to us as it did to the first anxious seeker after truth—“The fear of the Lord, that is wisdom; and to depart from evil is understanding."

HINTS ON THE INTERPRETATION OF THE

SCRIPTURES.

NO VIII.

BUT it is time to bring these observations to a close. My object in laying down the foregoing rules has been not to supersede, but to assist our labours in the study of the sacred volume: not to give us a short and untrodden way towards the attainment of Scripture truth, but to facilitate its attainment by marking down a certain method on which to proceed, and some general points to be borne in mind.

Toil must be expended, and efforts exerted, before we become "scribes instructed unto the kingdom of heaven." But that toil will be lightened, and those efforts rendered effective, by being methodized. The road must be still traversed along, by which alone each child of God arrives at the knowledge of his Lord's will. But it will be rendered plain and simple, by having land marks reared to guide us in our course. I would wish, in conclusion, to add a

few remarks on some collateral points connected with this subject:

Always realize the simple object, which, as Teachers, you ought to have in view in studying the Bible. It is not to gratify the curiosity of an irreligious and prying mind; it is not merely to gain expertness in reasoning on divine things; it is not to store the head and furnish food to the memory, while the affections are untouched, and the will undirected; but a Teacher's object therein ought to be that he may be made wise unto salvation himself, and that he may make others wise also. This will lead him to peruse, with the minutest attention, those doctrines which are most necessarily connected with this end, and to bestow less care on those which have a more distant reference to it. This will lead him to select and ponder over, and illustrate those duties which go with God's blessing most directly towards the maturing of his faith and love, and keep in the back ground those which are more unimportant and indifferent.

With this grand object before him, he will be prevented from digressing too widely, either in his own Scripture reading, or in expositions to his class, into subjects which are not for the use of edifying, or suited to the comprehension of his pupils. His motto will be, "These are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that, believing, ye might have life through his name."

Then, again, be careful that the frame of mind in which you study the Bible is serious and devout, and in dependance on God's Spirit. These are weighty words which bishop Gibson addressed to the people of his diocese, when suggesting means for checking infidelity and scepticism: "As a farther proof of your sincerity, be careful and diligent particularly in reading the Scriptures, and making them familiar to you, and comparing one part of them with another, by which a moderate capacity may make considerable advancement in the knowledge of religion. And you must not fail to pray to God, that in all your searches and enquiries after the truth, he will be pleased to guide and direct you by his holy Spirit; which he is always ready to vouchsafe to

every humble and sincere mind."* And Teachers must not think it enough to read over hurriedly, on a Sunday morning, the Scripture portions intended for the day. Relying on a ready utterance and fancied facility for offhand explanations, many scarcely glance over the lessons before them. But God's Word must not be so dealt with. Teachers must devote a stated time in the previous week for serious and prayerful preparation. Even those who are the most busily employed, may set apartsay an hour or two on Saturday evenings-when they may retire, and in the solitude of their chamber, seek for guidance and a blessing on their labours. They will there learn what to say, and in what manner to say ithow to exhort their class seriously without dulness, and cheerfully without levity. They will there see how best to state a doctrine, and how best to illustrate it: and as each individual of their class passes before the mind, and the particular character, failings, besetting sins, and wants of each, rise in the review, they will there learn how to point their style with short and effective personal application-intended for each, and useful to all. Whereas, without any such preparation, there will be found-however great the natural advantages be of which a Teacher is possessed—a lamentable and ever increasing defect in his instructions, his pupils, and himself. He is long in finding quotations which he thinks illustrate the passage under review, and perhaps after leading his scholars to some particular chapter, discovers that the object of his search is in some other distant part of the Bible, or is, at last, obliged to give it up in despair. His illustrations which, perhaps, have some genuine force in them, are applied obscurely, or stated inaptly; or some feature in them which is laughable, and which, if he had thought them over previously, he might easily have avoided, is delineated in the hurry of the moment, the attention of the scholars drawn to it, amusement created, and all effect lost. Grave and serious are the evils which follow in the train of a loose and careless habit of mind in neglecting preparation.

But, lastly, which is more nearly connected with my * Pastoral Letters. I.

subject, be careful and judicious in the use of commentaries. I am supposing that in the Teacher's own or the school library, or kept by the clergyman himself, for lending, some helps of this kind are at hand. But even the best must be used with great caution. They should be ever considered, as they are in reality, human and uninspired treatises, (this applies to all, both ancient and modern,) and of secondary value; while those of good men are consulted and referred to, esteemed and respected, they must not be put in the place of, they must not precede our own diligent and careful study of the inspired record. The rules laid down will assist you in forming a judgment for yourselves on the doctrines and duties of God's Word. These works may be then brought in to illustrate, confirm, or otherwise explain these Scripture views; and in many respects they will be found valuable and instructive. But let your first labour be expended in that Word itself. Let your knowledge be extracted first of all from its sacred pages. Let your first draughts of truth be drawn from the fountain-source, and quaffed at the fountain-head. Here, only, is the stream pure and unmingled. But all other channels, though drawn from the fountain, are human and artificial; and some taint of human corruption, infirmity, and error, even in the best, mingles with and tinges the pure waters of truth. The place which commentators should hold in our system is well described by Mr. Bridges, in the following remarks, which, though originally intended for students in the ministry, I think well applies to the case of Teachers generally: "It is most important to remember that the service or disservice of commentaries wholly depends upon the place which they occupy in the system. Let them not be discarded as utterly useless; for many of them comprise the labours of men who had a far deeper insight into the word of God, than those who despise them are generally likely to attain. But let them not be placed before the Word, nor be consulted (habitually at least) until the mind has been well stored with the study of God's own book. Professor Campbell speaks most admirably upon this point: 'I would not have you at first (says he) recur to any of

them. Do not mistake me, as though I meant to signify that there is no good to be had from commentaries. I am far from judging thus of the commentaries in general, any more than of systems. But neither are proper for the beginner, whose object it is impartially to search out the mind of the Spirit, and not to imbibe the scheme of any dogmatist. The only assistances I would recommend, are those in which there can be no tendency to warp your judgment.'"*

Among those commentaries which seem to be the best suited for purposes of consultation, Mr. Scott's may, I think, be placed first. And if this valuable work be not within every Teacher's reach, there are few clergymen of parishes, who, if they possess it, would not be willing to lend it. Matthew Henry's, again, may be mentioned, as well as the Tract Society's. And for the New Testament, Doddridge's "Family Expositor" will be found to answer every purpose. And as a little work on a portion of the same, Barnes' "Notes on the Gospels." But with this last, as also the Tract Society's commentary, I have but a very slight personal acquaintance. But there are many points connected with the study of the Scriptures, in which commentaries are indispensible, and should be made a complete vade mecum. These points, are oriental and foreign customs alluded to-practices followed among the people of Palestine, historical inci.dents of other countries introduced in the narrative, facts of chronology, and so forth. Short explanations of these points are absolutely necessary to a right apprehension of the sacred text, And where we have ourselves no personal knowledge of them, a reference to competent authorities can alone elucidate their meaning. Ās for instance, could a person understand how the woman, that was a sinner, (Luke vii.) could possibly stand at Christ's feet behind him, and begin to wash his feet with tears, unless he was made acquainted with the mode of reclining at meals, usual in eastern countries, as described by authors? Calmet's "Dictionary of the Bible,” which is now published in a cheap form, in one large volume, will supply every need in this respect. Brown's

* Christian Ministry, p. 55.

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