grace of God into lasciviousness, Jude 4. And he that does either of these, cannot be said to be severely dealt with, though he be cut off from the mercies of the Gospel. For a life led in opposition to the plain practical rules of Christianity, or without that faith which Christianity requires, are either of them a sufficient cause of our condemnation. And therefore such a wilful wresting of Scripture, as occasions either of these, must, in its consequence, be damnable, and excuse God, in pronouncing this sentence, from all manner of severity or rigour in his dealings with us. This is the account of the true meaning of St. Peter's assertion of the text, and of the justness also, and reasonableness of it. Which points being thus stated and cleared, I come now, as I proposed, to make use of them, in some observations and inferences that they afford us. And, First, it may be observed, that the Scriptures were perverted, and turned by ill men to ill purposes, in the times of the apostles themselves; that they were no sooner written but they were wrested. we may learn these two things.

From whence

First, that if this happened in the apostles' day, then well might it happen in after-times; especially in this age which is at so great a distance from the time of the apostles' writing. We may cease to wonder, how it has come to pass, that so many controversies have been started about the sense of Scripture, that it has been urged to so many wrong and different purposes, and brought to support and countenance so many heretical opinions in latter days, when we find that during the lives of St. Paul and St. Peter themselves, it was thus insincerely and unfairly dealt with. The ink was hardly dry, which fell from the apostles' pens, but men began to dispute about the words that were wrote in it; to misconstrue and misapply them, every one to such doctrines as pleased him best; and to draw from the inspired writings things destructive of faith and salvation, in the face of the inspired authors of them, without asking, or at least, without taking their opinions in the

point; who surely had been the properest men to have given an account of their own meaning. And if these things were so then, what wonder is it, if ever since, and especially now, in these dregs of time, there be wilful men found, who will oppose their own vain fancies and novelties to the general sense of the whole body of Christians, and not submit themselves to such a concurrent testimony in the exposition of Scripture, as, though of the utmost moment towards determining our assent, yet falls far short of infallibility and inspiration.

From the same observation also we may learn, in the Second place, that an unerring expounder of Scripture is not so useful and necessary, as some men would make us believe it is; because if there were such an one, and he were known and acknowledged to be such by all men, yet would not that secure all men from misinterpreting Scripture, as is plain from the instance of the text. The apostles were certainly unexceptionable interpreters of their own writings, and infallible judges of all controversies that could arise from them; and yet, notwithstanding this, their writings were in their own time perverted, to countenance erroneous and heretical doctrines; and so doubtless would they be now, though there were an infallible judge upon earth still. And vain therefore is the pretence of our adversaries of the church of Rome, that such an infallible judge is necessary, to assure us of the true sense of Scripture, and put an end to all controversies concerning it; since plain it is, that, when there was such an infallible judge, he did not put an end to all controversies of this kind: there were still a great many proud, pertinacious, and opinionative men left, that would not be concluded by him.

Now, if the inferring the necessity of God's acting in such or such a manner, from the convenience that would redound to mankind from his so acting, be no very good argument in divinity, even when that convenience is allowed; what kind of argument must that be,

which would prove the necessity of an infallible judge, from the great expedience of it towards determining all controversies, when even that expedience itself (as we have seen) wants to be proved?

But to go on. We may observe from St. Peter's

assertion in the text,

Secondly, what temper of mind, what precautions, what degree of knowledge are requisite, in order to make our inquiries into the obscure parts of Scripture innocent and useful to us. It is plain that this is an attempt of some hazard, and that it may happen to cost us dear, as it did those in the text, if we do not fitly prepare and guard our minds against the danger of it. Which may be done, if we manage our searches of this kind by these following rules and directions.

First, we must take care that the end we propose to ourselves in these inquiries be good and laudable. They must not be entered upon out of mere curiosity and wantonness, not out of a vain and fruitless desire of knowledge, nor out of a design of being more skilful and learned than other men, and of appearing to understand every thing; but the end of all our searches in this case ought to be, that we may improve in the skill of those divine truths which were on purpose committed to writing, that there might be matter in Holy Writ, fit always to employ our repeated meditations, and to exercise our strictest attention: that we may, by such searches, gain to ourselves higher and more enlarged apprehensions of God, a truer and clearer sense of the deep wisdom of all his mysterious dispensations; and may thus raise up our minds into greater degrees of holy admiration, reverence, and awe.

We must intend to qualify ourselves by these searches for the removing the objections raised by those who are no friends to Scripture, for the justifying the darkest, as well as the brightest parts of it, and making out to fair unprejudiced men the beautiful harmony of all the different, but agreeing branches of the divine revelation.

Secondly, we must come to this work as with a right intention, so with a mind rightly disposed and qualified to pursue that intention; not presuming on our own strength, not with an high opinion and, conceit of our particular gifts, abilities, or advantages, as if we alone were able to clear up all difficulties, and to go to the bottom of all mysteries, and that nothing were too hard for us. This is not a temper of mind, either naturally fitted for such a work, or which God delights to bless with supernatural assistances and discoveries. No, if ever we hope to make our inquiries of this kind successful and profitable to us, we must be sure to conduct them with great modesty, with a becoming diffidence and distrust of ourselves, humbly and chiefly relying upon God for his gracious help and assistance; and in order to it, putting up frequent and fervent petitions to that good Spirit, which indited the Holy Scriptures, that he would please to enlighten us with the knowledge of all the deep mysteries contained there. It is humility and devotion that principally qualify us for such searches as these; and will do inore by themselves towards giving a man a true understanding of Scripture, than all the gifts and parts in the world will do when separated from them. For it is true in this. instance, as well as in many others, that God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the lowly, James iv. 6.

And as a good way to keep alive and improve this humility of mind in us, let us be sure,

3dly, in our searches of this kind, ever to carry this truth along with us (a truth I have largely explained, and proved to you in a former discourse), that there is no place of Holy Writ hard to be understood, that is. needful to be understood by us. If we maintain this reflection constantly upon our minds, it will teach us not to lay too great stress upon these difficulties, nor to employ too inuch of our time upon them, so as to be in the least taken off from considering what is more plain and profitable in Scripture, what can more easily and usefully be understood, and is indeed more necessary

to be understood by us. Some men pore so much, and so long, upon passages of a disputed meaning, as if they thought it indispensably requisite to determine themselves of one side or other of the question; as if the whole of religion were concerned in such difficult inquiries; they are so busy in opening and explaining hard places, that they forget to meditate upon plain ones, and to govern their lives under a lively and vigorous sense of the doctrines contained in them: which is doing just as the Pharisees did; tithing mint and rue, and all manner of herbs; and passing over judgment and the love of God, Luke xi. 42. Whereas (as our Saviour in that case decides) these ought they to have done, and not to have left the other undone. A due reflection therefore upon this truth, that the understanding the obscure places of Scripture, is not a thing strictly required of us, or needful for us, will be of use to moderate our too great eagerness in the pursuit of such kind of knowledge to render us less impatient and uneasy under what we do not understand of it, and less positive and dogmatical in what we do. And thus the two greatest temptations towards perverting Scripture will be removed, an excessive curiosity in searches of this kind, and an over-weening fondness for our own private interpretations and opinions.

4thly, if we would not wrest the hard places in Scripture, we must be sure to make that an inviolable rule and law to ourselves, never to expound them so as to oppose perspicuous and clear ones; but so to order our interpretation of doubtful points, as to make them fall in with the clear and intelligible parts of the same revelation; so as together with them to make up one complete body of truths, perfectly agreeing with each

other.

The best way of knowing whether a line be crooked or not, is to apply it to one that is confessedly straight; and the surest way of not erring in obscure passages, is to make plain texts the measure and judge of them. The greatest part of the abuses and misinterpretations