God, and to confirm our faith. It is by them that the Scriptures are proved to be his word; for they are the attestation which he gave to the divine mission of Moses and the Prophets, of Christ and his Apostles. The same purpose is served by the prophecies, as it is manifest that the Prophets were his inspired messengers, who foretold, long before they happened, events which no human sagacity could have foreseen, and which depended upon the free agency of men. They serve also to confirm our belief of the moral administration of God, when we see the system of human affairs conducted according to a plan previously revealed by him; and they minister to the encouragement and consolation of the saints, by throwing a cheering light upon the future, and unfolding the prospect of the reign of righteousness and truth in the earth, and of the final deliverance of the Church from the power of her enemies.

The utility of the devotional parts of Scripture is obvious. They present models to be imitated by the saints in their pious exercises, and excitements to cultivate communion with God. The Psalms of David, in particular, have been held in high estimation in every age. There, we are presented with an example of faith and love, soaring to a height which few have reached, even with all the advantages of the superior light and grace of the Gospel. We see the ardent longings of his soul for God; his deep distress when sin had interrupted his fellowship with him, or the violence of men had excluded him from the sanctuary; and his joy when God again made the light of his countenance shine upon his soul. We see how he, and the other holy men whose compositions are found in the same collection, trusted in God amidst affliction, and persecution, and desertion, adored his judgments, embraced his promises, obeyed his commandments, and prayed for his favour. These things are examples to us; "They are written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope."* They are a specimen of the manner in which God deals with his people; they show us how spiritual joy is gained and lost; what is the exercise suitable to the particular circumstances in which we are placed; how we should wait upon God; and what are the advantages of perseverance in prayer and supplication. They are the means of infusing the same spirit into others; and often has the devotion of Christians been kindled by the flame which glowed in the bosom of these holy Jews.

The word is to be used by reading and hearing it, both being appointed to be means of salvation: "The Spirit of God," says our Church, "maketh the reading, but especially the preaching of the word, an effectual means of convincing and converting sinners, and of building them up in holiness and comfort through faith unto salvation." I shall not call in question this proposition, so far as it respects the pre-eminence of preaching; although I must say, that the Scriptures quoted in proof, do not appear to me to establish the point, but when fairly interpreted, to imply nothing more than that God accomplishes his gracious designs by the word, whether read or heard; for some of them relate to the one mode of dispensing it, and some to the other, and none of them gives the preference to either. I acknowledge that more is said concerning the effects of the preaching, than of the reading of the word; although nothing can be stronger than the assertion of Paul, that the Scriptures read "are able to make us wise unto salvation;" but for the more frequent mention of the former, it is easy to account without the supposition of its superior efficacy. For some time after Christ gave a commission to the Apostles, no part of the New Testament was written; and when its books were published, they existed only in manuscripts, which could not be transcribed without much time and expense, and to which therefore comparatively few could have access. From † Shorter Catechism, Q. 89.

• Rom. xv. 4.

2 Tim. iii. 15.

the nature of the case, the Gospel was chiefly propagated by preaching, and the references to this mode of dispensing it are consequently frequent. Preaching was necessarily the principal means by which the world was converted, and the primitive church was established; and it must have continued so, till copies of the Scriptures were multiplied, in consequence of the invention of printing. There is no doubt that God has, in every age, blessed the reading of the word for illuminating the minds of men, and changing their hearts; and that many a conversion has been affected, in private dwellings as well as in the Church, by the silent perusal of the Scriptures as well as by the living voice of the ambassadors of Christ. The benefit which the saints derive from the study of them is the subject of daily experience; and they can tell how Divine light has shined into their minds, and their hearts have been filled with peace and joy; how their drooping spirits have been revived, and their impaired strength has been recruited, while they turned over the sacred pages, and devoutly meditated upon their contents. In our own times, the Scriptures have proved effectual to open the eyes of not a few Heathens, and Mahometans, and Jews, and Roman Catholics, and nominal Christians in the Protestant Churches; and from the unexampled zeal to circulate them, which has been recently displayed, and which, there can be no question, is under the direction of Providence, there is reason to believe that it is the Divine intention to make eminent use of them in accomplishing the great spiritual revolution which is approaching.

These observations are not designed to impugn the common doctrine of the superior efficacy of preaching; although, at the same time, I would say, that unless it can be established by scriptural proofs, it is no article of faith, and must be considered merely as a deduction of experience. There can be no dispute that the preaching of the Gospel has been productive of mighty effects, not only at the commencement of the present dispensation, but in all the subsequent ages. The promise which our Lord made to the Apostles has been continued to their successors in the ministry: "Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." It is an ordinance of Christ, which he will accompany with his blessing. It has been, and it will be, the effectual means of awakening the careless, of leading the convinced sinner to the Saviour, of comforting the dejected, of confirming the wavering, of conducting the saints from one degree of faith and holiness to another, till they "come to the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

There are some peculiar advantages in the mode of dispensing the word by preaching. A minister may be compared to a guide, who points out to the traveller objects which might have escaped his notice, and explains things which he might not have otherwise understood. It is not my meaning that the Scriptures are so dark as to need a commentary, and to be a sealed book to the unlearned. In all matters necessary to salvation, they are plain to every person of common capacity. But the truths of revelation, although they compose a regular system, all the parts of which are closely connected, are not delivered in a systematic form. They are scattered up and down in the Bible; and it requires attention and time to bring them together, and arrange them, that they may throw light upon one another, and exhibit in one view all the information communicated to us on the subject of religion. Besides, there are in the Scriptures things hard to be understood, subjects which are obscure from their own nature, or from their relation to other things, which no longer exist, or are not generally known, and which thus require learned and laborious research. Hence, it is necessary that there should be persons, who are fitted by their education, and bound by their profession, to engage in those inquiries; and at the same time enjoy leisure and retirement from the bustle of the world. Matth. xxviii. 20.

Such a class of men is provided by the institution of the ministry; and as in the primitive times they were qualified for their office by the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, the want of these must now be supplied by diligent study, Thus the preachers of the word are enabled to bring "out of their treasures things new and old;" to lay open the whole scheme of revelation; to illustrate what is dark; to solve what is difficult; to reconcile what seems contradictory; to display the connexion and harmony of Scripture; and to render every part of it subservient to the design of making the Christian perfect. The utility of the ministry does not absolutely depend upon the superior talents of the persons by whom its duties are performed. Suppose that their abilities should not be greater than those of some of their hearers, or should not even be equal, yet the latter may be benefitted by their instructions; because their attention has been more directed to the subject, and they may be well conceived to understand better than others, a book which is their daily and principal study.

The preaching of the word possesses also this advantage, that the occasion, the place, the voice of the speaker, the solemnity and earnestness of his delivery, are calculated to make an impression. Ministers, indeed, however eloquent they may be, can operate only on the natural affections, and move them in various ways; but the circumstances already mentioned have an obvious tendency to excite attention to the truths of religion; and this state of mind is more favourable than the listlessness with which men often peruse their Bibles at home. This, however, is a secondary consideration, which will not account for the success with which the preaching of the word is attended.

It should be remembered that, when we represent the word, read and heard, as contributing to accomplish the salvation of sinners, we consider it only as a mean, the success of which is owing to a power that works unseen. Rational arguments will convince the understanding, and the descriptions and appeals of eloquence will move the affections; but the heart, even the word of God, when left alone, is not able to change. There is no virtue in its terms more than in those of ordinary language. Its subjects, indeed, are the most interesting that were ever presented to human contemplation; but the mind is so blind that it does not perceive their excellence, and the heart is so corrupt that it cannot relish them. "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned."*

To ensure the success of his word, God has promised the Holy Spirit to accompany it; and it is his office to remove the veil which hides its glories from our eyes, and the obstacles which prevent its entrance into our hearts. If there is an incapacity in men to discern spiritual things, it cannot be remedied but by supernatural influence; as a man born blind cannot be made to see but by the same power which created the light and the eye. Whence is it that men who have been trained to accurate thinking, and are capable of perceiving the evidence and estimating the importance of religion, do often disregard its truths, and even treat them with contempt; while others of far inferior ability discover the marks of a Divine origin in the Gospel, and gave it a cordial reception? Whence is it that it fixes the attention of the giddy, but escapes the notice of the thoughtful; and that of the members of a family who have been educated in reverence for it, and upon whom its lessons have been frequently and solemnly inculcated, one, it may be, believes, while the rest continue indifferent to its truths? These things, I think, cannot be accounted for, but by the Scripture doctrine of grace, which operates according to its sovereign will; for if the word possessed a power in itself to convert the soul, we might expect the change to be accomplished in every case where the means were used with equal diligence, and the effect to be greatest in those who were predisposed by

* 1 Cor. ii. 14.

the superior cultivation of their faculties. Upon no other principle can we explain other facts in the history of religion; as, that the word of God should at last engage the serious attention of a person who had, for a long series of years, discovered the utmost indifference to it; and that it should make a sudden impression, like a flash of lightning betokened by no appearance of the sky, but an impression which ever after remains. It is evident that now the time of gracious visitation is come. The man is the same as he ever was, and the truths are the same which he has repeatedly heard; but a new power attends them, by which his attention is arrested, and his mind is convinced. While the word was left to work by its own power, it effected nothing; but now it proves mighty through God, and brings every thought into captivity to Christ. When Paul preached to the women of Philippi, who were assembled for prayer, they all heard; but of one the historian says,—“ A certain woman named Lydia heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.”* And this is the true account of every conversion. The change is secretly effected, by the Spirit of God concurring with the word. Paul may plant and Apollos water, but it is God that giveth the increase.†

LECTURE LXXXVI.

ON THE SACRAMENTS.

Definition of the Term.-Their Nature and Design.-Account of them.-Observations on their Origin; their Significancy; how they are to be Used, and by Whom; and the Source of their Efficacy, not Affected by the Intention of the Administrator.

THE word of God read and heard, is the principal mean which is employed for the salvation of men. We have spoken of it at some length in the preceding lectures, and shall now proceed to consider the other means which concur with the word, to accomplish the gracious designs of heaven with respect to believers. However beneficial they are, they are not all of equal necessity with the word, and are to be viewed as auxiliaries to it. It is by the word alone that faith is produced, and the seeds of holiness are sown in the heart. The office of the other ordinances to which I refer, is to assist in maintaining and strengthening faith, and in rearing the Christian graces to maturity. There is no doubt that men might be saved without the sacraments, if they were placed in such circumstances that they could not enjoy them; but we have no authority to say that they might be saved without the word.

As I am now to enter upon the consideration of the Sacraments, it is proper to begin with a definition of the term. A Sacrament is defined to be "the visible form of invisible grace." Others have called it "a sign and seal of the grace of God in Christ;" or more fully, "a visible sign and seal, divinely instituted, to signify and seal to our consciences the promises of grace in Christ, and to engage us to faith and obedience to God." The Church of England says, in the twenty-fifth Article, "Sacraments ordained of Christ, be not only badges and tokens of Christian men's profession; but rather, they be certain sure witnesses and effectual signs of grace, and God's good-will towards us, by the which he doth work invisibly in us, and doth not only quicken, but Acts xvi. 14. † 1 Cor. iii. 7.

also strengthen and confirm our faith in him." The doctrine of our own Church on this subject, is thus expressed in the Confession of Faith:-" Sacraments are holy signs and seals of the covenant of grace, immediately instituted by God, to represent Christ and his benefits, and to confirm our interest in him; as also to put a visible difference between those that belong unto the church and the rest of the world; and solemnly to engage them to the service of God in Christ according to his word."* There is a more concise definition in the Shorter Catechism: "A sacrament is a holy ordinance instituted by Christ, wherein by sensible signs, Christ and the benefits of the new covenant are represented, sealed, and applied to believers." These definitions, which are virtually the same, are substantially true; but are objectionable on this ground, that they are founded on too limited a view of the subject. As definitions of the sacraments of the New Testament, they are right; but their particularity renders them not strictly applicable to sacraments in general. It will afterwards appear that there are other Divine institutions to which the name of sacrament may be given, besides baptism and the Lord's supper, and even circumcision and the passover. I would therefore prefer a more general definition, and say, that a sacrament is a sign and seal of the promises of God, a visible institution, by which we are assured that the blessing promised will be bestowed upon those to whom the promise is made.

The word Sacrament, which has been adopted into the language of the church, is not found in the Scriptures. Use has rendered it sacred, insomuch that if any person should object to it, he would run the risk of being accounted profane. He might with propriety be called scrupulous and whimsical, or might be suspected of affecting singularity, but for the charge of profaneness there would be no foundation; because the term, being of human origin, might be set aside at any time, if another more convenient were discovered. Sacrament is a word borrowed from the Latin language, in which it bears different significations. First, it denotes the sum of money which each of the parties in a law-suit was required to lay down at the commencement, and which, being forfeited by the party who was cast, was devoted to sacred uses, and hence was called sacramentum. Secondly, it signifies an oath, on account of its sacred nature; and particularly the oath by which the Roman soldiers bound themselves "to obey their commanders in all things to the utmost of their power, to be ready to attend whenever he ordered their appearance, and never to leave the army but with his consent." It is supposed that in this sense it was anciently applied to the symbolical institutions of the church, because in these, we, as it were, enlist under the banner of Jesus Christ, and engage to follow him whithersoever he leads us; and this idea is brought forward almost in every book and every sermon on the subject of the sacraments. I have long been disposed to doubt whether this is the true account of the ecclesiastical application of the term. In the writings of the early Christians it received a new meaning, of which I believe there is no example in the classics. It signifies a mystery, as every person knows who is conversant with the ancient records of the church, and as any of you may learn by looking into the Vulgate translation. To give you a few examples: "Great is the mystery of godliness," is there rendered, "Great is the sacrament of godliness""magnum est pietatis sacramentum;" for the words of Paul subjoined to the account of the institution of marriage, "This is a great mystery, but I speak of Christ and the church;"§ we have, "This is a great sacrament,”-sacramentum hoc magnum est; and in the Revelation, "The mystery of the seven stars, which thou sawest in my right hand," is "the sacrament of the seven stars," sacramentum septem stellarum. This is the translation of the word

+ 1 Tim. iii. 16.