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burden, but will gladly and thankfully begin at the beginning, omitting nothing, but
patiently and prayerfully follow the unfolding of the purpose of the ages, which it is the
chief purpose of the Bible to make known, discovering also on almost every page some
feature that illumines the character, the Person or the Work of Him Whose name, too, is:
The Word.
In conclusion we give the following extract from the work, The Study of the Bible:--
"In reading Scripture, we are bound, and that most emphatically,--no less by
reverence for its author than by integrity of heart, to ask but one question,--`What
does it say?' And if, to get this question answered, it is necessary to ascertain not
only what the precise words are, but when and to whom they were spoken,--to
observe the connection in which they stand, and to note the circumstances in
which they were uttered. We must neither grudge the labour that may be
involved, nor imagine that we can evade its necessity by indulging in our own
fancies, however ingenious they may be, or by prolonging mere meditation,
however spiritual or devout. When the true meaning of a passage is made out,
and not till then, shall we be able to apply it with simplicity of purpose, or
receive and realize as living words that which has been written or spoken."
Facts and Inferences.
(From "The Study of the Bible.").
p. 220
"The revelation contained in the Scriptures extends only to FACTS: not to the theory
of these facts, of their original causes. The most important truths are communicated in a
dogmatic, not a theoretic manner. We are taught, on the testimony of Him Who cannot
lie, insulated facts, which we cannot connect with those reasons with which they are
undoubtedly connected, or the Divine mind. They rest solely on the basis of Divine
Authority; and we are left as much in the dark with respect to the mode of their
existence, as if they were not revealed" (Robert Hall).
"St. Peter teaches most distinctly that Christ "hath once suffered for sins, the just for
the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (I Pet. 3: 18); that "His Own self bare our
sins in His Own body on the tree"; that "by His stripes we are healed" (2: 24); while
St. Paul, with equal distinctness, asserts that Christ "redeemed us from the curse of the
law, being made a curse for us" (Gal. 3: 13); the author of the epistle to the Hebrews,
that "without shedding of blood is no remission" (9: 22); and our Lord Himself, that
"the Son of man came to give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20: 28).
"They are revealed FACTS on which the doctrine of Atonement rests; and happy is
he who, receiving them in the spirit of a little child, believes and lives."
"The INFERENCES ordinarily deduced are various, and commonly relate rather to
the philosophy of the Atonement, than the fact of its having been made."