Devotional Commentary on the Gospel Narrative.

THOUGHTS ON THE STUDY

OF THE HOLY GOSPELS

BY THE

REV. ISAAC WILLIAMS, B.D.

LATE FELLOW OF TRINITY COLLEGE, OXFORD

VỤ

NEW EDITION

RIVINGTONS

WATERLOO PLACE, LONDON

Orford, and Cambridge

"O God of my fathers, and Lord of mercy, who hast made all things with Thy word,.

"Give me wisdom, that sitteth by Thy throne; and reject me not from among thy children.

"For though a man be never so perfect among the children of men, yet if Thy wisdom be not with him, he shall be nothing regarded:

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“O send her out of Thy holy heavens, and from the throne of Thy glory, that being present she may labour with me, that I may know what is pleasing unto Thee.

"For she knoweth and understandeth all things, and she shall lead me soberly in my doings, and preserve me in her power.

"For the thoughts of mortal men are miserable, and our devices are but uncertain.

"For the corruptible body presseth down the soul, and the earthly tabernacle weigheth down the mind, that museth upon many things.

"And hardly do we guess aright at things that are upon earth, and with labour do we find the things that are before us; but the things that are in heaven who hath searched out?

"And Thy counsel who hath known, except Thou give wisdom, and send Thy Holy Spirit from above?"

THE WISDOM OF SOLOMON.

PREFACE

THE greatest of all evils, which hath ever over

taken the sons of men, was that which befell that faithless Apostle, who was admitted to walk with Jesus Christ, and to see His miracles, and to hear His word, and to witness His holiness; and yet knew Him not! and that because he had one cherished sin in his heart. So that, seeing, he saw not, and hearing, he could not understand. Danger not unlike this is incurred by every one to whom is given the high privilege to study the holy Gospels.

We are indeed now brought into the Christian Kingdom, which is no less than a restoration to the Paradise of God, and the Gospels therein are no other than that stream which flows from beneath the Throne of God;-being parted into four heads, and on whose banks is that Tree whose leaves are for the healing of the nations,-which is no other than the Cross of Christ, budding forth, like Aaron's rod, into new life. But in this kingdom, and with

us, remains also the Old Adam of human reason, and evil concupiscence, our mother Eve; and that serpent also finds access there, telling us that we shall not surely die. So that great is our cause of fear, lest we fall from this high inheritance, and forget the Presence of God, as it were, walking among the trees that are therein, in this evening of the world that precedes the final Judgment.

In approaching the Gospels we draw near to that City of God, of which "glorious things are spoken;" but lowly is the entrance to it, and we must make ourselves small by mortification, and by humiliation bow ourselves to the ground, in order to enter by that lowly portal. There is a "knowledge" that "puffeth up," and that too even in the study of Divine things; and this is a knowledge which will profit us not towards the attainment of that wisdom which is revealed only unto babes. Thus much then is certain, that if we "count ourselves to have apprehended," and are confident in our researches, and vain of our inquiries, we are in fact afar off; for the nearer all men approach unto the knowledge of Christ, the more are they humbled. One way only is there to understand the blessed Gospels, and that is to humble ourselves under the mighty hand of God, and to knock at the door by prayer. And hence it is that this undertaking, as it is the most sweet and delightful, so is it the most awful and

serious of all studies. Bright and beautiful are these flowers of paradise, and precious are those jewels that lie at the bottom of these waters of Eden; and the fruits that are therein are sweet to the taste and pleasant to the eye; so sweet and engaging is the study of the Gospels, and apt to beguile and allure us by the very abundance of every thing suited to arrest the attention of the critic and scholar. But nothing profits but that which humbles; and nothing can apprehend God but humility.

The struggle, therefore, may well be great, and great our need of circumspection, lest we take that earthly knowledge that puffeth up, for that knowledge from above which humbleth. But blessed be God, Who, as He has kept this knowledge in His own especial power, so has He promised to bestow it on every one that asketh faithfully. "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not, and it shall be given him." But to ask is not a matter of the lips only, but is that desire of the heart which is expressed by the life: by a life that ever asks for help, inasmuch as it is so conducted as ever expressing its need of help. And such a life is the most importunate of all demands; and the words of supplication that are steeped in such a desire of the heart will not be ineffectual with God.