Conclusion:
Not
only is the former part of Scripture necessary for our edification
with regard to the meaning of the latter, but we also find that
Christ and his apostles assert that the moral precepts of the Old
Testament are the will of God abiding for ever, and enforce the
keeping of them, as they are there, and there only, handed down to us
in the proper form and order. Yea, the expression for the whole sum
of duty, embraced in Christ's injunction, " Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect,"
seems to have been taken from, or at least founded upon, that passage
in Leviticus 11:44, "Ye shall be holy, for I am holy;" and
is repeated by Peter, "Be ye holy, for I am holy." (1 Pet.
1:16). So that not only is the attention of men directed to the
tables of the law as they were delivered, and to each command as it
appears there singly: "Keep the commandments," but also to
all the precepts collectively - to the sum of them all in the very
words of the Lawgiver himself in the Old Testament once and again
repeated; and, finally, their attention is fixed, by the endearing
way in which Christ crowns the Old Testament idea, "If ye love
me, keep my commandments." The examples of the Old Testament
saints are referred to in the New, implying the standing use of such
records for our imitation. The instance of Elijah as an example in
prayer (James 5:17). The long catalog of "worthies," is
remarkable for their faith (Heb. 11). These and a multitude of
similar references take for granted a knowledge of the Old Testament,
and clearly show its abiding use to Christians in all ages. Besides,
there are some particulars of faith and practice, which are learned
from, and can only be fully established by the Old Testament. It
contains the sublime account of creation, and subsequently narrates
the fall of man. The moral obligation of the Sabbath, of baptism, and
of the worship of God in the family capacity; the scriptural
institution of marriage and of civil rule, and the nature and
importance of federal engagements...cannot, we think, be
satisfactorily established but by the Scriptures of the Old
Testament. The Old seems to contain the history and prophecy of the
church in all time and in eternity too. It furnishes examples of
lasting influence and the germ of all doctrines, and it guides us in
our devotions at the throne of grace. The New may be regarded as an
enlargement on the character and sufferings of Christ, as these were
witnessed by his disciples; it unfolds the manner of his life and the
matter of his teaching, and declares the nature and design of the
ordinances and institutions of the New Testament church. We do not
say that because of these things greater importance is to be attached
to the New than to the Old, but rather that on all the leading
doctrines of the Christian religion, much more enlarged and accurate
views are obtained by a careful collation of the whole Word of God.
Christians are much indebted to many parts of the Old Testament for
elevating ideas of the Deity and directions in his worship. What
soul-breathings after God are contained therein, suitable to every
age and every clime! ... Some are inclined to overlook certain
portions of the Old Testament, and labor under the mistake, that the
divine character as therein revealed is far different from that in
the New . This error seems to arise from incorrect views of the law
and the gospel. The thunders of Sinai and the fearful punishments
threatened on offenders are the true representations of God's justice
in taking vengeance on those who violate his holy law. The minister
of the gospel should see the important use of the Old Testament in
giving weight to his warnings, and the sinner should be driven by its
threats to flee from the wrath of an angry God to the covert of the
covenant. This error arises also from an idea entertained that there
are not such gospel invitations and comforts contained in the Old as
in the New . But though we have the moral law and its accompanying
terrors, we have likewise most lively and encouraging traces of the
Covenant of Grace. The sinner finds salvation in the Old as well as
in the New ; and the terrors of the law as well in the New as in the
Old. The "Sun of Righteousness" is equally the light of
both: in the one his benign beams burst forth from amid lowering
clouds; in the other the clouds may be said to have passed away, and
we behold him fully revealed. Certain it is, that much in the Old
should no longer be practiced under the New Testament dispensation,
for we are come to a more glorious and spiritual economy; but we do
not say that such parts as refer to the past economy are no longer
useful. On the contrary they are in many ways indispensable - as they
declare still the infinitely holy character of the Most High, the
necessity of awe and reverence the most profound in approaching him,
and of a strict regard to the divine glory and the welfare of the
church in administering civil and ecclesiastical law; and taken in
connection with the New , we find most valuable aid and direction
from these laws and observances in practice obsolete. In short, they
are, so to speak, the mold in which the mind of the Church of God in
past and present ages was formed and fashioned. To conclude, God as
he is in himself, and as he manifests himself in the display of his
perfections in the works of creation, providence, and redemption, is
presented in his true character in the Bible, taken as a whole. The
God who is our hope, our trust, our all, is pleased to give to man
this revelation of himself, and The Power of Truth as the Instrument
of Union taken from first to last, the view is connected, perfect,
and, we had almost said, unbounded. Isolate from the other part,
either the Old or New, and a void is left which all created wisdom
never can fill up. The Bible, as we have it, is precious and
inestimable. It is dependent in all its parts - a golden chain
suspended from the eternal throne, its links secure and inseparable.
To vary the figure, it is a mine of knowledge, too deep for man,
where every new discovery leads to others more valuable still, and
thus we may go on from one degree of Scriptural wealth to another,
until we arrive at the source and fountain of all; there to enjoy the
riches of his glory.
"This
book, this holy book, on ev'ry line
Marked
with the seal of high divinity,
On
every leaf bedewed with drops of love
Divine,
and with the eternal heraldry
No comments:
Post a Comment