Presbyterian Church -- Sermons; Sermons, English; Theology -- Early works to 1800; Theology -- History -- 17th century
may “know the truth,” but you are not “known of it,” nor brought into
captivity to the obedience of it. The treasure that is hid in the
Scriptures is Jesus Christ, whose entire and perfect name is, “Way, Truth,
and Life.” He is a living truth and true life, therefore Christ is the
adequate object of the soul, commensurable to all its faculties. He has
truth in him to satisfy the mind, and has life and goodness in him to
satiate the heart, therefore if thou wouldest find Jesus Christ, bring thy
whole soul to seek him, as Paul expresseth it. He is true and faithful,
and “worthy of all acceptation,” then bring thy judgment to find the light
of truth, and thy affections to embrace the life of goodness that is in
him. Now, as much as ye find of him, so much have ye profited in the
Scriptures. If you find commands there which you cannot obey, search
again, and you may find strength under that command. Dig a little deeper,
and you shall find Jesus the end of an impossible command. And when you
have found him, you have found life and strength to obey, and you have
found a propitiation and sacrifice for transgressing and not obeying. If
you find curses in it, search again, and you shall find Jesus Christ under
that, “made a curse for us,” you shall find him “the end of the law for
righteousness to every one that believes.” When you know all the letter of
the Scripture, yet you must search into the spirit of it, that it may be
imprinted into your spirits. All you know does you no good but as it is
received in love, unless your souls become a “living epistle,” and the
word without be written on the heart, you have found nothing. As for you
that cannot read the Scriptures, if it be possible, take that pains to
learn to read them. O if you knew what they contain, and whom they bear
witness of, you would have little quietness till you could read at least
his love-epistles to sinners! And if you cannot learn, be not discouraged,
but if your desires within be fervent, your endeavours to hear it read by
others will be more earnest. But it is not so much the reading of much of
it that profiteth, as the pondering of these things in your hearts, and
digesting them by frequent meditation, till they become the food of the
soul. This was David’s way, and by this he grew to the stature of a tall
and well bodied Christian.
Lecture V.
Of The Scriptures
Eph. ii. 20.—“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles
and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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