reckless woman, and then taking weakly what had been. wickedly won. There is something in that narrative which finds a man out. When we read of poor, struggling David who was always striving to get to God, yet kept back by his passions, there is something sympathetic in the whole story; it is our own story. Again the narrative finds you out, and you seem to understand at once the relations between David and God, because they are much the same as your own relations with your own conscience, which is God's voice within you. When, at last, the prophet Nathan comes and tells David the parable of a selfish man, and asks what shall be done to such a one, David says, 'He shall surely die; and when the prophet answers, 'Thou art the man,' is David only condemned? Nay, you are condemned, I am condemned; the word of God is sharper than any two-edged sword, it has found us out! What is the word of God in the Bible or elsewhere, but this same voice of conscience crying, 'Thou art the man,' and convincing one after another of righteousness, and of judgment, and of sin? People talk about the Bible not being inspired; depend upon it, it is more inspired than some of you think; the Spirit is there, and the Spirit is elsewhere too, helping our infirmities, for God will not let us be. He is evermore plaguing the heart with many sore and terrible plagues, until, like a wearied dove, it returns and finds rest.

You will find the truth about yourselves in the Bible, it is written plain enough; he who runs may read. 'You are a people who honour me with your lips, but your

hearts are far from me.' Is not that true enough, every Sunday when you come here? It is as true to-day as it was three thousand years ago. The Word of God has found you out. The Psalms are full of such words, and other words besides, which are sweet and comforting and make us strong to suffer. 'I was in misery and He helped me; turn again then unto my rest, O my soul, for the Lord has rewarded thee: and why? Thou hast delivered my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from falling.' There is something there that goes home to every heart. When a man has been taken out of great misery, nothing can destroy the spontaneous rising of the soul to God; you may prove what you can about the protoplasm of which his body is composed, you cannot silence the stirrings of the spirit within him.

Again, the Bible professes to know something about sin and the remedy for sin; it tells the wicked man that his soul is like a troubled sea; it tells the righteous man that he shall shine more and more unto the perfect day. It gives a man receipts for living which are to insure his happiness here and hereafter. Is it then so difficult to test its truth? How do we find out whether a receipt is Why we try it.

good or bad?

Christ tells us 'it is more blessed to give than to receive,' but we are all for receiving; we say, 'Give, give!' but we ourselves are not for giving. We are thirsty to be rich, but Christ says that A man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things that he possesseth.' Only here and there is a man who has

believed and acted upon Christ's advice, and he becomes happy, and men wonder; they say he is careless about gold; how can he be happy? he is so poor. Yes, but then he has the clue to happiness, he has learned to live for others as well as for himself, he has proved the words of Christ; he knows 'it is more blessed to give than to receive.'

Again, the Bible tells us that the clearest perception of what is best, the most glorious revelation of the divine is made only to those who are pure in the recesses of the heart: 'the pure in heart shall see God:' and men go about the world moaning for a new revelation, saying they cannot feel God, they have no clear ideas about right and wrong, no vivid enthusiasm for what is good, no joy in prayer; but then, they are sensual, they are liars, they are unjust, they are extortioners. But here and there a man has cleansed his hands from wickedness, and refrained his lips, so that they should speak no guile; he has prayed and striven after inward purification, and he has been rewarded with a clearness of vision vouchsafed to the ‘pure in heart.' He has seen God.

Once for all, the Bible tells a man that, if he does the will of the Father, he shall know of the doctrine whether it be of God;' but men say, 'I will know first, and then I shall do ;' but some duty lies near to your hand, why dream? do! God says do, and you shall know. And here and there a man walking by faith, and not by sight, does his duty humbly, prayerfully, and he finds, to his amazement, that his religious opinions settle

themselves; he begins to know of the doctrine; at all events, quite as much as he can understand, and more than he can practise: he has been delivered from doubt, from miserable uncertainty, from spiritual insensibility; simply by a receipt for living that he has found out in the Bible. And the Psalms and the Prophets, and the Gospels and the Epistles, are full of such blessed receipts. Let a man take and try them and hold his peace. Ho every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money, come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.'

And, let me remind you that no amount of criticism can deprive you of those life-receipts, those divine and practical truths, which constitute the real value of the Bible to us. We may prove what we like or what we can about the documents of which the Bible is composed, but the life-receipts are hung up out of the reach of criticism and these are the soul's true Jacob's ladder; by these we climb up to God; once uttered they are uttered for all time, and they are true, experimentally true, for all time: the promise is to you and to your children, the banquet is spread, ‘And the Spirit and the Bride say, Come!'

Seventh Discourse.

ON THE 'DOCTRINE' OF THE BIBLE.

DELIVERED APRIL 28, 1867.

SHALL say a few words this morning on the meaning of the word 'doctrine,' as it is commonly used in the New Testament in

such passages as these: 'That they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.' I think that we shall clear our minds about the essentials and non-essentials of belief, if we can once be got to accept the Biblical meaning and significance of this theologically vexed and tortured word.

When we ask what Christian doctrine a man teaches, we are apt to be told, the doctrine of the Trinity, or the Divinity of Christ, or Baptismal Regeneration. In short, some intellectual proposition, true or relatively true, is offered us as Christian doctrine.

But if you asked Paul what his doctrine was, he would not refer you to the Trinity or the Incarnation,