and religious behaviour, we fhall be all judged at the laft day. This end of reading the fcriptures is excellently expreffed by our church, in her Homily, concerning the exhortation to the knowledge and reading of the holy fcriptures, part I. "In "reading of God's word, he most profiteth, not "always that is most ready in turning of the book, "but he that is moft turned into it, that is, moft inspired with the Holy Ghoft, most in his heart and life altered and changed into the thing which he readeth. He that is daily lefs and lefs "proud, lefs wrathful, lefs covetous, and lefs de"firous of worldly and vain pleafures. He that "daily, forfaking his old and vicious life, in"creaseth in virtue more and more.". O! let us adore and bless God, who hath revealed to us the word of life and falvation, and be careful so to read and meditate in the fame, praying for the affiftance of his holy fpirit, that our underftandings may be enlightened, our faith confirmed, our hope cherished, our lives reformed, and our fouls faved in the day of the Lord Jefus. Amen.

SECTION VIII.

The Titles and Divifions of the Holy Bible, and the Books which make up the Canon of the Holy Scripture.

T

that is, the

HIS book is called the Bible,
book, for the Bible is the fame with book 9

a

as much as to fay the book of books, or the chiefeft

Biblia plur. a Biblos.

book;

book; and the Holy Bible, because infpired by God, and contains holy matters, and instructs in holinefs. Again, it is called the fcriptures, which fignifies the writings, because it contains the chiefest of all writings; and the word of God, as proceeding from him, and taught by his holy fpirit; and lastly, the Old and New Teftament, which word Teftament b not only fignifies one's laft will, (as it may in this cafe, Chrift having made his church the heir of falvation,) but is taken fometimes for a law; and then it means the old law given by Mofes, and the new law given by Chrift: Sometimes, and ufually, for a covenant, and fo it fignifies the old covenant God made with the Jews, to be their God, on condition of observing his law, and the new covenant he makes with us Chriftians, a covenant of grace and falvation through Jefus Chrift, on condition of faith and obedience. It alfo fignifies the fign of this new covenant d. This cup is the New Teftament in my blood, or the fymbol, fign, or token of that blood, in which the new covenant was established, and fo figuratively imports the Teftament, or covenant itself.

The whole Bible is divided into the Old and New Teftament: The Old contains the ftate of the church of God among the Jews; the New con taining the doctrine and privilege of the Chriftian church over all the world. We Chriftians are concerned with the Old Testament, not only by reafon of the examples, judgments, mercies, promifes, threatenings, and commands of God there

in

b Diatheke. Cafaubon exerc. 16. anni 34. Num. 35. Du Pin. Hift. of the Canon, vol. I ch. i. fect, 1. Heb. ix

16.

d Luke xxii. 20.

in mentioned; but chiefly in respect to the types and figures, and prophecies concerning the Meffiah and Saviour.

Again, the Old Teftament was divided by the Jewish rabbies (or doctors) into three parts, the law, the prophets, and the hagiographa, (or holy writings.) Our Lord, no doubt, alluded to this divifion f. In the law, and in the prophets, and in the pfalms, (or holy writings, of which the pfalms are a chief part,) concerning me, and thereby confirmed the Jewish canon, or catalogue of books of the Old Teftament.

First, The law, containing the five books of Mofes, which the Greeks afterwards called the Pentateuch, which word fignifies the five-fold volume, because it contains five books, viz. Genefis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy.

Secondly, The Prophets: Thefe they reckoned. eight, in this order; Jofhua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Ifaiah, and the twelve leffer prophets, accounted as one book, viz. Hofea, Joel, Amos, and the reft, to the end of Malachi. So that although the books of Joshua, Judges, Samuel, Kings, are properly historical, yet they were accounted in the clafs of the prophetical, as being written by men who were prophets, defcribing things already paft, as others foretold things

to come.

Thirdly, Hagiographa, (or holy writings,) in the order following, Ruth, Pfalms, Job, Proverbs, Ecclefiaftes, Canticles, Lamentations, Daniel, Efther, Ezra, (to which laft Nehemiah was annexed) and Chronicles. So that although Da

e

vid

Hottinger. Thefaurus, lib. ii. ch. 1. fect. 1. compared with Lightfoot, Hore in Luc. xxiv. 44. f Luke xxiv. 44.

vid and Daniel were prophets, and foretold things to come, yet they were not reckoned in the clafs of the prophets, because they did not live as thofe prophets did, David being a king, and Daniel a courtier. This laft part of the holy writings, were accounted divinely infpired, and therefore the Jews call them boy; but they are by them diftinguished from the other books or prophets ", because the writers of them had no public miffion, or office of prophets; and they conceive them dictated not by dreams, vifions, a voice, or otherwife, as were the oracles of the prophets, but more immediately revealed to the minds of the authors: Neither were they read publicly in their fynagogues, as the law and the prophets were: Hence, as fome think, the expreffion, This is the law and the prophets. So, they have Mofes and the prophets. Again, if they hear not Mofes and the prophets.

Another reafon is fuggefted, why the Jews ftill exclude the prophet Daniel from being read in their fynagogues, viz. because he fo clearly defines the time of the coming and death of the Meffiah, before the deftruction of the city and fanctuary, or temple ; and they had rather this prophet be not fo publicly read, than that the reading of him fhould at any time encourage fome in, and bring others over to the belief of the perfon and doctrine of Jefus Chrift.

Jofephus mentions another, and poffibly a more ancient divifion of the Old Teftament", although

not

* Luke

Bifhop Cofin on the Canon of Script. ch. 2. Hottinger. ibid. lib. II. ch. i. fect. 3. i Matt. vii. 12. xvi. 31. Acts xxiv. 14. and xxvi. 22.

1 Hottinger. ibid. m Ch. ix. Contra Apion. lib. i. non longè

p. 510.
ab initio, compare Grot. in Luc. xxiv. 44.

not altogether unlike the former; and becaufe he lived foon after Chrift's time, probably that divifion obtained then. He reckons two and twenty books in the whole; of which he fays, five of Mofes contain laws, and treat of the creation of the world, and the generation of mankind, and so to the death of Mofes; by which it is plain he means the Pentateuch, containing Genefis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. Next he mentions the prophets, from the death of Mofes to the reign of Artaxerxes, comprehending thirteen books, viz. all the hiftorical, reckoned in the clafs of prophetical, (for the reafon above mentioned,) as Jofhua, Judges, &c. to the cnd of Nehemiah, including alfo Efther and Job; and alfo the prophetical books, ftrictly fo called, as Ifaiah, Jeremiah, &c. to the end of Malachi: But he doth not mention how he reckoned them, nor how many were accounted one book: And lastly, he places the other four books, containing holy hymns and moral precepts, by which, doubtlefs, he means the Pfalms, Proverbs, Ecclefiaftes and Canticles. By the law and the prophets, Chrift might intend the two first claffes, which Jofephus mentions. Sometimes the law, among the Jews, comprehended the whole fcripture of the Old Teftament: Thus they heard out of the law, that Chrift abideth for ever; which they might gather from Dan. vii. 14. or Pfal. Ixxxix. 35, 36. or Pfal. cx. 4. but not from the law ftrictly fo called: And Chrift quoting Pfal. xxxv. 19. They hate me without a caufe, fays, it was written in their law ; and by the pfalms, (as quoted by Chrift, might be meant the whole VOL. I.

n Luke xxiv. 44. Luke xxiv. 44.

L

volume