SECTION II. 593 creatures, together with the obligations to duty which are de- rived thence, and which branch themselves into all the parts of morality and religion. It is requisite to have some acquaintance also with the heathen writers, the folly and madness of pagan idolatry, the history and the customs of ancient ages and nations, and the history of the church of the Jews and of christians, in order to establish our faith in the doctrines of christianity, and to prove the religion of Christ to be divine, and that the bible is the word of God. When this great point is once settled, then our chief busi- ness will be to understand this bible, and to find out the mean- ing of the holy scriptures ; and for this end (as well as for the reading of ancient heathen authors) it is requisite that we should. have some skill in the tongues : and particularly those wherein the scriptures were written, viz. Hebrew and Greek, that we may be able at least to judge a little for ourselves, concerning the translation of any text in our language. For this purpose also some knowledge of the customs of the ancients, both Jews and Pagans, is necessary, in order to give us a juster idea of many things recorded in scripture ; and we should get some ac- quaintance with geography and chronology, which will be of great service to set before our eyes, the (listant places and times wherein those ancient affairs were transacted, which the scrip- ture relates, andwithout which the history of scripture, as well as some of the prophecies, cannever be well understood. Nor is it an unprofitable study to read some of the writings of the fathers, who lived in the very first ages of christianity, that we mayknow the sentiments and customs of those who lived nearest to the days of the apostles ; this may give a little light to some expressions,and phrases used in scripture, and enable us sometimes better to understand what the evangelists and apostles wrote. But it must he confessed, that immediately after the apostolic age, and indeed before the apostles were dead, there were so many corruptions and mistakes both in faith and wor- ship, so many fancies and inventions of men crept into the church, that there is scarce one ancient writer perfectly free, and not one of them to be entirely trusted, as a director of our consciences, or as a regulator of our belief or practice. St. Paul himself tells us, that in his days the mystery of iniquity began to work ; L Thess. ii. 7. The fathers, as they are called, have many wean and fanciful things in their writings ; it is the bible alone that must be our guide ; the word of the Lord is pure and perfect. Above all things therefore, the constant reading and study of the holy scriptures are necessary, in order to a larger and more complete acquaintance with our divine religion. Here our faith andconscience may rest safely, in all our enquiries about matters of voc,. Tv. P r
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