THE

CALCUTTA CHRISTIAN OBSERVER.

March, 1834.

I.-On the Study of the Sacred Scriptures, with the manifold advantages that result from it.

Ir forms no part of the design of the remarks here submitted for the reader's perusal to prove the authenticity and divine origin of the Scriptures; these points, so often and so ably proved, will here be taken for granted, and we shall advance at once to shew the duty and advantages of a devout and diligent study of the word of God. Of all the precepts given to man by his Maker, it might be said, By keeping them there is great reward; they prohibit nothing which in its own nature is not injurious; they enjoin nothing which does not tend equally to the creature's happiness, and the Creator's glory. It is especially so in the duty of studying the Scriptures, where pleasure and profit are so blended with the performance of duty, that it is almost difficult to say, whether it might not be set forth, rather as a privilege than a precept; a reward rather than an injunction: "Blessed is the man who delighteth in the law of the Lord, and in his law doth meditate day and night; he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

The duty and the advantages occurring from it are however sufficiently distinct to be viewed apart, and as it may tend to perspicuity thus to view them, we shall consider them in this order.

The Duty of studying the Scriptures may be established on several grounds, some of which are the following: It has the authority of the positive injunction of the Almighty." And these words which I command thee this day shall be in thine heart; and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes, and thou shalt write them upon the posts of thine house and on thy gates." Deut. vi. 6-9. Very similar, but still more emphatic, are the words of Joshua:

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"This

book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success. Joshua i. 8. The injunction of our Lord is," Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they are they which testify of me." John v. 39. Paul's advice to. Timothy is, "Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. Meditate upon these things; give thyself wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all." 1 Tim. iv. 13-15. The contrast, contained in a passage occurring in the second Epistle of Peter, stamps the Scriptures with a vast importance, and shews no less the duty of Christians to make them the subject of their continual study. Having spoken of the manifestation of the divine glory which he and James and John had seen and heard on the mount of transfiguration, he says, "We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn and the day-star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private (self) interpretation for the prophecy came not in old time, by the will of man; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." The intelligent reader will perceive, from the connection of this passage, that according to the judgment of Peter, an inspired Apostle, the clear and certain light of the Scripture was a surer guide and a brighter light than even visions and extraordinary revelations from heaven: the one by its overpowering splendour, often disqualifying the mind to learn; the other, by its calm, clear, and self-convincing evidence, leaving no room for hesitancy or doubt.

The duty may be established on the dignified character of the Author of Revelation. One of the Psalms of David opens with this sublime and magnificent language: "The mighty God, even the Lord, hath spoken, and called the earth, from the rising of the sun unto the going down thereof." But the same style of expression might be used as a preface to the whole volume of Revelation; for it came not, in old time, by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." From such an Author what may we not expect; from so dignified a Councillor, who is at liberty to turn away his ear? When He speaks,“ let the earth keep silence before him."

The admonitions of a parent are read with delight by every dutiful child, and the writings of a man of a vigorous and luminous mind, of a large and powerful grasp of intellect, are seized with avidity by every lover of knowledge: the holy Scriptures are the true sayings of God; that greatest and best of beings, that wisest and most affectionate of Fathers. They were indited by his good and infinite Spirit, the spirit of wisdom and understanding,

the spirit of council and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord, the spirit who searcheth all things, yea even the deep things of God. They are the words of him whose infinite knowledge makes it impossible that he should ever be deceived himself, and whose boundless goodness makes it equally certain he will never deceive others.

The practice of those of God's people, who have been most eminent for wisdom, and for piety, might be adduced as a ground of proof of the duty. The history of the church, whether as recorded by inspired or uninspired writers, scarcely furnishes an instance of a man of exalted and pre-eminent piety, or profound spiritual knowledge, but he has been a devoted and indefatigable student of the word of God. There is not a more remarkable feature in David's character than this. The Scriptures are the perpetual theme of his eulogy, as they were the constant study of his life. " Mine eyes," says he, "prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word: I rejoice at thy word as one that findeth great spoil. I hate and abhor lying, but thy law do I love: seven times a day do I praise thee, because of thy righteous judgments." Almost the whole of the Psalms, from which these words are selected, is in the same strain of admiration of the word of God. Daniel was a man devoted to the study of the Scriptures, and it was from the diligent perusal of them that he was led to set apart a time for special prayer for the restoration of his people. Timothy was acquainted with the Scripture from his youth; and from a passage in the first Epistle of Peter, we learn that the ancient prophets inquired and searched diligently into the meaning of the word of God. And the Spirit of God has declared the Jews of Berea to be more noble than their brethren, because they searched the Scriptures daily, to see if the things they heard were true. How much, it is to be feared, the conduct of those illustrious saints, who had only the Old Testament in their hands, will reprove many professing Christians, who with the volume of inspiration complete, and all the facilities afforded in the present day for ascertaining its meaning, suffer themselves to remain, to a great extent, ignorant of its invaluable treasures. "Light is come into the world, and they love darkness rather than light."

The Advantages accruing from a devout and diligent perusal of the word of God come next to be considered.

There are two things in particular which make any writings valuable, and on account of which they ought to be studied;-either first, because they convey interesting and important instruction; or second, they have a happy influence on our manners;—either inform the judgment, or reform the life. Under these two divisions may be ranged most of the advantages to be obtained from a devout and diligent perusal of the Scriptures. In the first place they are an inexhaustible fund of interesting and important information. We have not used these words at random, but intend to

return upon them for the purpose of illustrating and confirming our proposition.

They are, we observed, a fund of information, and that of the most interesting character. The Bible gives us the history of a period, and that little short of 3,500 years, of which we know little or nothing from any other quarter: and of that period this volume contains a lucid account of events the most stupendous and important, and of characters the most interesting. Of the creation of all things, the formation of man, his nature, his ruin and recovery, of the customs, habits, and religion of the earliest progenitors of the human race, the birth of arts and sciences, the foundation of kingdoms and empires, the general deluge, the repeopling of the earth and by whom, their dispersion into different quarters, with many other points interesting to every inquiring mind. We should have been in next to total ignorance, had it not been for the historical records of Scripture. Herodotus and Thucydides. the earliest historians on whom any reliance can be placed, were contemporary with Ezra and Nehemiah, about 450 years before Christ, and 3,500 from the creation of the world; over that vast sea of time our only chart is the volume of Revelation.

To the same book we are indebted for the earliest specimens, both in prose and verse, of composition. Ages before the period assigned to the siege of Troy, which forms the theme of Homer's celebrated poem, Moses had flung his hand across the harp of poesy, and from its trembling chords brought forth tones of most expressive harmony; chords which still vibrate with sounds of deepest pathos, truest sublimity, and unequalled grandeur.

From the same source we derive our knowledge of several momentous facts relating to the government of God, which serve to illustrate and explain phenomena in the character and circumstances of man, and the general aspect of the world, which would otherwise be inexplicable, such as the prevalence of depravity, disease, and death. Taken therefore on this comparatively low ground, for how much information are we indebted to the sacred Scriptures! It was on this ground that Sir William Jones took them when he said of them, "I have carefully and regularly perused these holy Scriptures, and am of opinion, that the volume, independently of its divine origin, contains more sublimity, purer morality, more important history, and finer strains of eloquence, than can be collected from all other books in whatever language they may have been written."

The information contained in the holy Scriptures is not only interesting, but it is vastly important. It may be said of it as Moses emphatically does of the law, "It is not a vain thing for you, because it is your life." Many of the subjects treated of in the volume of Revelation are such as human reason never could have discovered; and others are illustrated, confirmed, and enforced by

representations, arguments, and motives, to which the mind of man was unequal.

By the enemies of Revelation, strenuous efforts have been made to prove the sufficiency of what they call "nature" to lead man to a knowledge of God, and of his duty. In corroboration of this sentiment, they appeal to the sentiments contained in their own writings, which they profess to have derived from sources independent of the Scriptures. Nothing can be more unfair, uncandid, or disingenuous than such an appeal. Those writers would not, we should suppose, with all their self-esteem, give themselves credit for possessing minds of larger dimensions, or more comprehensive views than many of the sages of heathen antiquity; at least of this we are certain, that their readers will not: but if not, how shall we account for the fact, that whilst on all other subjects they are only humble imitators of those ancient masters, on those of religion and morals they go so far before them? The solution lies near at hand: from their birth these men have been brought up in the midst of that general light and knowledge which the Scriptures, wherever they are disseminated, never fail to produce, so that truths too pure and too sublime for the loftiest flights, or the profoundest research of unassisted reason, become the common property, the general stock of sentiments to a people blest with Revelation; who from their childhood imbibe them, unmindful and almost unconscious of the fountain whence they flowed. You might as well attempt to separate light from a sun-beam, as the knowledge of God existing in a Christian nation from the truths of Revelation. Those truths are blended with our language, our literature, and our laws; with our habits, and customs, and manners; with our arts and sciences; and they constitute a part of our national character. But under such circumstances were these writers brought up; and it is easy to perceive whence they derived sentiments which they unjustly arrogate as the offspring of their own minds; they have stolen materials from the temple of Revealed Truth, with which they have garnished and adorned their own edifice; and their system, like a cloud of mist, is partially illuminated and tinged with splendour by the beams of that sun which it strives to conceal.

We have only to look at the sentiments entertained by the wisest heathens on subjects connected with religion, for a full confirmation of what has been advanced. What did they know of the nature of God and the character of his government? They speak of him as a God of power, wisdom, and justice; but as a God of holiness, of mercy, and of grace, they knew him not. They worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for evermore. If however of His nature they knew little, of the method of reconciliation to him they knew still less. That they were conscious of the necessity of some expiatory sacrifice is obvious from the rites and ceremonies of almost all people. They all