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copy of the law was to be found, either in the temple of the Lord, or in the palace of the king. At length, when the sanctuary was undergoing some extensive repairs, Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord," 2 Kings xxii. 8; and Shaphan read its contents in the presence of Josiah, the pious prince. Had the sacred treasure been thus discovered in the days of Amon his father, or Manasseh his impious grandfather, it would probably have been withheld, if not destroyed. And many a later period has there been in the history of the world, and of the Church, in which, had such a destitution of the word of God prevailed, and such a discovery occurred, a miracle only could have rescued from destruction the precious volume. Princes there have been who would have suppressed it; priests who would have corrupted or concealed it; and infidels who, with blasphemous exultation, would have committed it to the flames. But, by the great goodness of its Divine Author and Preserver, it has been transmitted, in all its purity and entireness, even to our own day. Blessed are our eyes, for we read in our own language the oracles of truth, which are able to make us wise unto salvation! Happy indeed are we, if the state of our feelings and the habits of our minds be in full accordance with the sentiment expressed by Jeremiah, when he said, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of

my heart," Jer. xv. 16. It is not to a discovery precisely such as was made in the days of Josiah, that these words appear to refer, but rather to a perception of the fulness of evidence and of excellence, by which the word of God is distinguished; an impression of its unequalled value, and a reception of its joyous and consolatory truths. The word of God is justly compared to food; to food which is both agreeable to the palate, and nutritious to the frame. It is to this adaptation of the word of God to impart delight, that our attention is now to be directed. May we, by the gracious aid of the Spirit of truth, enter into the admiring views and rapturous feelings of the psalmist, when he exclaimed, "How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!-More to be desired are they than gold, sweeter also than honey and the honey-comb," Psa. cxix. 103; xix. 10.

There are two inquiries to which I would now invite your thoughts:

FIRST. In what points of view may we regard the truths of the Divine word as sources of delight?

These truths are calculated to impart pleasure to the mind,

1. As they afford most interesting occupation to the intellect.

It is essential to the preservation of life and health that we should frequently partake of food: it is an evidence, therefore, of the goodness of the Creator, that he has made us sus

ceptible of the feelings of hunger, and of the pleasurable sensations of taste. By the former we are impelled to provide that food. which we might otherwise fatally neglect; and by the latter we are in some degree reconciled to the expenditure of time, and thought, and labour, which to the great majority of mankind are requisite to its procurement. It is not less essential to the wellbeing of a rational mind to be employed, with vigour and frequency, on subjects adapted to its nature, and worthy of its energies; it is an evidence, therefore, of the goodness of the Creator, that he has connected a high degree of pleasure with the vigorous exercises. of the understanding. The human mind cannot be happy in a state of torpor and inaction; it can only be conscious of enjoyment, when it is excited to energetic efforts. Whatever rouses its activities, within the sphere of its legitimate and appropriate pursuits, is conducive to its enjoyment. It is this mental excitement which constitutes a principal part of the pleasure we derive from the studious researches of our retired hours. It is this which constitutes, in no small degree, the charm of social intercourse, when, as iron sharpeneth iron, so does the countenance of a man his friend. Prov. xxvii. 17. The suggestions of one mind excite the suggestions of another mind, and the production of the affluence of one intellect calls forth to view the corresponding wealth of another. It is this which renders the perusal of valuable books a source

of so much delight. It is not only what we read, but what the reading excites, which constitutes the richest part of our intellectual gratification.

Now, what production is there, in the whole compass of written language, in any country or of any age, which can be compared with the word of God in its power of affording interesting occupation to the intellect? Reflect on the character of its contents. It is adapted, not to readers of some particular class, as the works of uninspired authors usually are, but to men of every class, of every gradation of intellect, and of every state of society. It is not calculated for the few, but for the many, for the mass of human beings, in all the varieties of character and of condition in which human nature can be developed. The Bible gives a history of the human race, from its very origin, and of the human mind, both in its pristine purity and in its present corruption. The Bible gives a history of Divine Providence, in its most remarkable interpositions; and the history of human redemption, in all its mysterious doctrines, in all its glorious operations, and in all its triumphant results. The Bible presents to the mind of man discoveries, which have attracted the admiration and guided the researches of angels; so that "now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places is made known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." Eph. iii. 10. The Bible removes, in part, the veil which conceals a far

distant futurity, and extends its revelations beyond the limits of time, as well as of sense, into a world of boundless and eternal felicity!

Consider also the effects which the word of God has actually produced upon the human intellect.

There is no state of the human understanding, however depressed and grovelling, which, when accompanied by the power of the inspiring Spirit, it has not immeasurably elevated. It has taught men to think, who never thought before. It has awakened mental activity, even where all seemed dormant. It has rendered wise, in the knowledge of highest value, even the Hottentot, and the Bushman, and the Negro, and the Tahitian. In our own enlightened country, it interests and invigorates the mind of the labourer and the mechanic, as well as of the scholar and the man of science; and in instances without number, "the entrance of the Divine word has given light-has given understanding to the simple!" Pșa. cxix. 130. Do you resort, for refined delight, to the productions of men distinguished by intellectual energy and extensive knowledge? Then, on the very same principle, in connexion with principles of a still higher character, let me urge you to have daily recourse to the fountain of Divine truth. Yield your minds, with all their vigour and all their susceptibility, to the study of the word of God; and you cannot fail to be richly repaid, by the highest species of intellectual delight, You will find in it the true sublime

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