power of the doctrines of grace as they stand related to the conscience and the heart, will be entirely lost to us; and notwithstanding the infinite love manifested in the plan of redemption, and all our intellectual light, we shall remain in spiritual darkness and death.

SECTION VIII.

MEDITATION.

It is of great importance to the clear understanding of Divine truth, that we should make it the subject of constant and earnest meditation.

Some books, says Lord Bacon, are to be tasted, others to be swallowed, and some few to be digested; that is, some books are to be read only in parts, others to be read, but not with much curiosity, and some few to be read wholly, with diligence, attention and profound thought. In this small number stands, pre-eminently, the word of God. As the food which we receive from without

repairs our wasted energies, and sustains us in life, only when, by the common, but mysterious process of digestion, it is incorporated with our very substance, and becomes flesh of our flesh, so it will be to little purpose to read the Bible, whatever be our state of mind, unless we keep the truth ever present to our conscience and heart, and make it spirit and life to our souls, by constant thought and reflection.

We recognize this disposition to meditate upon the things of God, in all the most successful students of the Bible. Their delight is in the law of the Lord, and in his law do they meditate day and night. Psa. 1: 2. "I meditate," says the Psalmist, "on all thy works; I muse on the work of thy hands;" Psa. 143: 5, "Mine eyes prevent the night watches, that I might meditate in thy word." Ps. 119: 48. And it is one of the most striking peculiarities of the Bible, that the more you meditate upon it— the more steadily and carnestly you contemplate the subjects it reveals, the more fully and clearly it unfolds its beauty, harmony, depth, and glory to the mind.

Take a single doctrine which at first seems obscure or incredible,-a historical event which, according to natural laws, appears impossible,-a precept which strikes you as unnecessary or oppressive, an exhortation of which you feel no need,-and instead of passing over it as a hard saying which cannot be understood, and would be useless if ever so plain, make it the subject of serious and long continued reflection: contemplate it in all its original connections: consider its relations to your own heart and life: dwell upon it as a part of that revelation which was written expressly for your admonition and instruction, that you through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope; Rom. 15: 4; and it will soon unfold its meaning to your soul.

As by steadily and intently gazing into waters which at first appear dark and fathomless, you by degrees penetrate their depths, and see the lost jewel that lies at the bottom, so by dwelling with earnest meditation upon the deep things of God, light comes to the mental eye, and clearness to

the thoughts. A single passage thus studied, will reveal more of truth, and do more good to the soul, than whole books read with haste and not appropriated by meditation.

This should be our mental employment in those seasons which are least occupied and disturbed by the necessary business and calls of life. In the still morning, before the world awakes around us, demanding our attention, and troubling our thoughts; in the evening, when the works of the day are over, and we are released from our bondage; -on the Sabbath, when God commands us to rest from labor, that we may attend especially to the wants of the soul; we should give our individual attention to some portion of Divine truth, and endeavor to find the treasure which is there hidden from the world. In such meditations we should feel the power of the world to come, and be penetrated and filled with the spirit and life of the Divine word.

SECTION IX.

DIVINE INFLUENCE.

As the Bible was written by inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and contains the deep things of God, we ought constantly to feel and acknowledge our need of Divine influence to make it the power of God unto our salvation.

Paul plants the good seed of the kingdom; Apollos waters it with eloquent appeals to the conscience and the heart; the mysterious wisdom which was ordained before the world unto our glory, 1 Cor. 2: 7, is spread before us, and we are required to read with all docility, attention and reverence; but God only can savingly illuminate the mind, and give us grace and strength to realize the great end of his revelations. With all our preparation, and all our efforts, if left to ourselves, the Bible will be a sealed book, and the labors of Prophets and Apostles will be vain, unless its Author becomes our Teacher, and fills