revealed Truth.

The ore must pass into the furnace, but it must first of all be extracted from the earth; and the man of learning, unaided by piety, will never succeed in doing this. With all his knowledge, he will do no more than dig the surface of the soil, into the bosom of which he ought to penetrate. Were knowledge, therefore, the ultimate object, it would still be requisite to cultivate the religious feelings; and what is this but to assert, that in studying Scripturé we must unite the method adapted to the private Christian to that of the Teacher?

I will go further, and say, that the Christian Divine must not only do this, if he would fulfil his task; he must do it in order even to have a will to the undertaking. In fact, Brethren-and this is an important consideration-the method proper for the divine demands, above all things, a mind well disposed for examination, that is to say, animated by a love of truth, open to its influence, and which nothing can blind or prejudice against it. In all that has been said, I have supposed the theological inquirer to be calm, impartial, obedient to the voice of revela

tion. But is this a temper so easy to create and maintain within us? Alas! does his being adorned with the honourable title of theologian, render the minister of Christ less accessible to prejudices, to the love of disputation, or to intractability of the will? Subject as we are to weakness and to passion, who shall preserve us from self-conceit, from deference to human opinion, from obstinacy, from the mania of explaining and defining every thing, from fondness for system, and from whatever leads us to search the Bible for what suits us, and not for what it teaches-dispositions, any one of which would suffice to defeat examination, and poison our divinity at the root? Oh, My Brethren! how much need have we of uprightness, humility, candour, love of God-in a word, of true piety! This alone can inspire us with an earnest desire to know the truth, as God has been pleased to reveal it to us, and with a fixed intention to embrace it, when known. Consequently, in this respect again, piety, after having made Christians of us, will make theologians of us also. You are expected, then, My Brethren, not merely to

read the Bible, but to love it; not merely to seek for truth in it, but to make that inquiry with a pure, a feeling, and a devout heart; with a profound desire to obey God, and to be truly acquainted with his will. Once again, therefore, I observe, the method of the mere Christian must be united to that of the man of learning, even with a view to rendering the latter effectual.

Let us be assured, that the biblical student who sacrifices devotion to knowledge, and the enjoyments of the soul to the pleasure of scientific acquisition, is unworthy the name of a divine. Whilst the true divine developes at the same time all the faculties which God has given him, by the mutual aid of each other,whilst he employs all his powers, by turns, upon the noblest objects,-the critic, who in the study of the Bible knows not how to be more than a critic, in vain illustrates alternately the particulars and the general scheme; he is wanting in that, which would give him the truest, deepest insight, whether into the nature or the Word and works of God-I mean, an experience of the wonderful hidden relations

which exist between the Gospel and the wants of his own heart. He knows not, he seeks not, these relations; his inquiries do not tend towards them. Wholly occupied with explaining and illustrating, he hardly, in fact, examines any thing but doubts and difficulties; and passes over without observation, whatsoever is plain and profitable. He keeps his attention constantly fixed upon exceptions and limitations, upon the smallest and least useful details of those Scriptures, the broad majestic volume of which requires to be read with more enlarged views. Strange perversity! He turns away from the light that surrounds him, and observes only a few points which remain amid the shade. Busied in measuring or restoring the mouldings of the temple, he raises not his eyes to contemplate the stately proportions of the edifice, and forgets to enter the sanctuary. Influenced by this exclusive pursuit, which chills, misleads, and degrades him, he loses the perception and the very recollection of thosequalities in Scripture, which are designed to move the heart and exalt the feelings. The

consequence is, that even his learning ceases to have any other effect than to mislead. Like certain medicines which, if taken in too great quantities, or injudiciously compounded, become poisons, it probably ends in the destruction of both faith and feeling. His belief daily grows feebler, and at last wholly perishes, from the effect of confined and distorted views, and a false conduct of the understanding. One observes him with surprise, incapable of comprehending the clearest and most striking points, because for their comprehension love and faith are required. One finds him seeking unnatural and far-fetched explanations of things which present no difficulty whatever to the mind of the simple believer. That knowledge which enables those in whom it is united with love to look, as it were, with eagle-eyes, upon the source of warmth and light, seems, in his hands, to have degenerated into an instrument of controversy, of pride, and scepticism. From this time, it ceases even to afford him that exalted satisfaction which every kind of intellectual advancement would seem calculated to impart; because, in fact, it