tant. The parable of the rich man and Lazarus (Luke xvi. 29-31) gives a most important testimony on this point. The rich man in torment is seeking the means to save his five brethren, and asks that a living witness may be sent to awaken them. The reply is, "They have Mosesand the prophets, let them hear them." "Nay, father Abraham," cries the lost soul, "but if one went unto them from the dead they will repent." Mark the reply, "If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rose from the dead." Here we have the law and the prophets declared sufficient, and so far sufficient that they would not be strengthened by the arguments of one risen from the dead. How much more, then, when the Gospel is added! Surely we must see the Word of God needs no interpretation.

St. Paul, in his Epistle to the Romans, xv. 4, says, "That we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope"; and more clearly still in II. Timothy iii. 15-17, “From a child thou hast known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." What more can we need? "Able to make thee wise unto salvation-perfect-throughly furnished unto all good works."

The sufficiency of the Word of God is also proved by Holy Scripture in the persons to whom the apostolic epistles were addressed. They were not sent to one central infallible church. whence they should be promulgated, and interpreted by authority, but to different small bodies, and even to individuals. If Holy Scripture were not alone sufficient, would sensual Corinth, would superstitious Galatia, would Gnostic Colosse have been intrusted with those important epistles unexplained? Or, omitting Timothy and Titus, would inspired epistles have been written to the injured Philemon, to Gaius mine host, and the elect lady and her children? Surely this fact speaks for itself, and shows that the Word of God needs no human interpretation.

And if this were not enough, see how Scripture interprets itself; how the search of which our Lord speaks is repaid by the light thrown on the inspired word by collected and compared passages.

Does St. Paul say (Rom. iv. 5), "To him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness"? St. James adds (ii. 17, 18), "Faith without works is dead, being alone. Show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works." So the one explains the other, and the two show most clearly the relative position of faith and works.

Are the readers of the gospel of St. John cast down and despondent on reading, "Without me ye can do nothing"? St. Paul shows the encouragement therein contained as he bursts forth in the expression, "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." Time does not permit of more instances being now given; but to the humble, prayerful searcher of the Bible, "God is His own interpreter." But the sufficiency of God's word as a Rule of Faith is proved by fact the thousands that have found salvation by the simple, unexplained word of God. As if to assure us of this, St. Paul gives us one special instance. When on his mission tour to Philippi, the jailor fell before him in an agony of conviction and cried, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?" How did St. Paul treat him? Did he enter into any elaborate argument or teaching? Nothing of the kind. He just takes the simple word of his Master, as recorded by St John and spoken to Nicodemus, "that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish." He applies this to the jailor, and says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved." This was sufficient; the agomised perishing heart accepted the Saviour and was at peace, thus proving the sufficiency of the simple Word of God as a Rule of Faith. Lectures are not the place for anecdote, or many authenticated proofs might be given of this point; but every minister and every teacher knows that if a soul is brought to God by any particular sermon or teaching it is almost invariably by the text or some passage quoted, and comparatively rarely by argument, however well adduced, or metaphor however carefully sustained.

Under this head, however, those who deny the sufficiency of Holy Scripture bring forward certain objections, the first of which is this: "If the Word of God is of itself a sufficient Rule of Faith, what is the need of a ministry?" To this we may reply: "If the bread which our Saviour brake was sufficient for the wants of the five thousand what was the need of the Apostles distributing it?" God can save souls without a ministry, but it is His will to work by means; and thus he employs His servants to bring the Bread of Life within the reach of all. The ministry is the ministry of the word, and the idea is that of serving all, high and low, rich and poor, with the simple Gospel of the grace of God, "which is able to make them wise unto salvation."

Another objection is, that men differ about the meaning of Scripture, or in other words, that "Holy Scripture does not so clearly state truth as to prevent men from erring." But, surely, this which is thought an unanswerable objection really refutes itself. If the finite mind of man is so liable to error as to mistake the meaning of truth when stated, even by infinite wisdom, how much more will it mistake it, when it has fettered that infinite wisdom with finite interpretation.

A third objection is taken from the Bible itself, resting on such statements as that contained in the last verse of St. John's gospel: "And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they were written every one, I suppose that even the world itself should not contain the books that should be written." From this, such objectors argue that many acts and words of Jesus and His apostles, which are necessary for our knowledge, have not been written, but handed down orally; the fatal consequences of which belief may be seen in the thirteen articles subjoined, by Pope Pius IV., to the Nicene Creed in the 16th century, of which the following specimen will suffice: "I constantly hold that there is a purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by the prayers of the faithful." "In like manner that the saints, reigning together with Christ, are to be venerated and invoked, and that they offer prayers to God for us, and that their relics are to be