fection of the sacred writings! the perfection of their
utility--their certainty--their purity--their value--their
comforts--their peace--and their sweetness. And this eulogy was
pronounced by a prophet, a poet, and a king--no common assemblage.

_It secures to the lover of it, in a rich degree, the Divine favor._
"Thus saith the Lord, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my
footstool; but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and
of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word." "Such a heart," says
Matthew Henry, "is a living temple of God; He dwells there, and it is
the place of His rest; it is like heaven and earth, His throne and His
footstool."

_And it furnishes the most powerful motives to the practice of its
precepts._ For its rewards are such as "eye hath not seen, nor ear
heard;" and its threats are eminently calculated to terrify offenders.
The Bible everywhere abounds with an intenseness of zeal for the
Divine glory, and with a depth of self-renunciation on the part of the
writers. And what a contrast does it, in this respect, exhibit to all
other productions of authorship! In Scripture, God is all in all: in
other writings, man is always a prominent, and generally the sole
claimant of praise and admiration. And no man can attentively peruse
the sacred volume without being awe-struck. For O how solemn and
inspiring! and how admirably calculated to restrain from sin, and to
sublimate the views and feelings! We say, therefore, that no man can
diligently read the Scriptures without becoming a wiser and better
man. The celebrated John Locke, whose pure philosophy taught him to
adore its source, said, with his dying lips, when tendering his advice
to a young nobleman, "Study the Holy Scriptures, especially the New
Testament; for therein are contained the words of eternal life: it
hath God for its author--salvation for its end--and truth, without any
mixture of error, for its matter."

"It sweetly cheers our drooping hearts,
In this dark vale of tears."

It does more--

"It sheds a lustre all abroad,
And points the path to bliss and heaven."

[Illustration: SHISHAK AND HIS CAPTIVES ON SCULPTURED WALL AT
KARNAC.]

"Tis for our light and guidance given." And O what a source of light,
and strength and peace! How it clears the understanding, and fills the
soul with sweet delight! How it quickens our inactive powers, and sets
all our wandering footsteps right! And how