DISCOURSE VI.

MATT. XXII. 14.
Many are called but few chosen.

SCRIPTURE, considered as the word of God, must be consistent; for the God of truth cannot contradict himself. And Scripture being intended by divine wisdom to constitute a standard for the establishment of faith and practice, it having been given, as we are told, by an Apostle," for doctrine, for reproof, for "correction, for instruction in righteous

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ness, that the man of God may be per"fect;" the several parts of it must have some precise and determinate meaning.

Now the only way to ascertain the meaning of a given passage in the wrtings of any author, is to examine it fairly in

the place in which it stands, and in the relation which it bears to the subject to which it immediately belongs. Words taken apart from the subject with which they are connected, may, and often do, convey a sense very different from what was originally intended to be conveyed by them. Consequently to disregard the connection of any author's language is to take the surest way to misinterpret his meaning.

No one book has suffered so much by the injudicious practice of divorcing passages from their immediate context, as that book, which, from the importance of its contents, ought to have been the least subject to erroneous interpretation. The Bible, considered in itself, is acknowledged to be the fountain of truth; as such it is appealed to on all hands, as to the standard by which the doctrines of truth are to be ascertained. Nevertheless, in consequence of that corruption of understanding, and perversity of will, which succeeded to the Fall, it has unfortunately happened, that there are no doctrines, however absurd in themselves, however contradictory

contradictory to each other, for the support of which, their respective advocates have not the language of the Bible to bring forward. In this case common sense tells us, there must be deception somewhere. And we might be at a loss to account for it, did we not consider that men too generally disbelieve the truth, not because it has been imperfectly revealed, but because, having previously embraced error, they feel themselves unwilling to part with it.

The Bible properly interpreted, can neither authorize absurdities, nor maintain contradictions. The language of that sacred book, as containing the revelation of that great scheme of redemption, which, according to the plan laid in the divine councils, is now advancing towards its perfect completion, must have some uniform construction. "For the counsel "of the Lord shall stand;" and with him " is neither variableness nor shadow of "turning."

The great object of Revelation was to furnish mankind with that degree of knowledge, relative to the Gospel plan of salvation,

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vation, which might, through grace, be sufficient to establish them in the way that leadeth unto life: that in the words of the Apostle, Christian professors might not "be tossed to and fro, and carried "about with every wind of doctrine,

by the sleight of men, by cunning "craftiness as to the method of deceiving" but that" speaking the truth in "love, they might grow up unto him in "all things, which is the head, even "Christ."

If then the Revelation, which was intended to confirm and establish Christian Professors in the truth, by conveying to them settled ideas on the great subject of Redemption, on the ground of which they might travel in safety to the end of their Christian journey; if this Revelation be so interpreted as to leave them in a state of perplexity and uncertainty with respect to their most interesting concern; we may rest assured that such an effect is not to be attributed to the ambiguous nature of the Revelation itself, so much as .to the incorrect interpretations of some who have undertaken to explain it.

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