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I. THE HOLY DESCRIPTION OF THE SACRED WRITINGS HERE GIVEN. It tells of —

1. Their high authority. The men who wrote these books say, "The Spirit of God spoke by me, and His Word was upon my tongue," "Thus saith the Lord," and so on. Thus they claim high authority. But you may ask, "How are we to know it?" Therefore note —

2. Their inherent sanctity. "The words of the Lord are pure words." And are they not so? Some say the book is immoral because it records immoral actions. But could the Scriptures have given a faithful account of human nature without such records? Those who study the Bible most are those who most of all live and practise all the public and social virtues. Modern infidels are not so candid as those of the former century. Rousseau could say, "I will confess that, the majority of the Scriptures strike me with admiration, as the purity of the Gospel hath its influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers, with all their pomp of diction: how mean, how contemptible are they compared with the Scriptures! Is it possible that a book at once so simple and sublime should be merely the work of man?"

3. Their intrinsic worth. In our text they are compared to the finest silver and gold. And in Psalm 119. And this eulogy is deserved, because they speak of God and man reasonably and in harmony with our experience. They satisfy man upon the most anxious questions.

II. THE SCRUTINY THEY HAVE ENDURED. "Tried in the furnace, purified seven times." The reference is to the searching process of the refiner, by which he detects the presence of any alloy and removes it. And the Word of God has passed under a scrutiny like that of fire: It is not accepted on mere hearsay and because of the teachings of priests.

1. It has been thoroughly investigated. Josephus gives his testimony to the sacred books of the Jews. Hence the Old Testament is evidently not a book of yesterday. And from the testimony of the Fathers we know that the books of the New Testament have existed from the time they profess. The ancient versions confirm this. The entire New Testament might be collated out of the quotations made by the Fathers.

2. Then there has been antiquarian and scientific research. And these do homage to the testimony of revelation.

3. Philosophical and moral discoveries likewise bear their testimony in the philosophies of China and India, and yet others, have been searched, and they have been found poor and unsatisfactory, like the glimmer of gas lights at noonday, compared with the Scriptures. That eminent Oriental scholar, Sir William Jones, says, "The Scriptures contain, independently of a Divine origin, more true sublimity, more exquisite beauty, purer morality, more important history, and finer strains, both of poetry and eloquence, than could be collected within the same compass from all other books that were ever composed in any age or in any tongue." Now these are not the testimonies of priests, but of laymen, learned, travelled, and who have become acquainted with the literature of all nations. And should any be disposed to trifle with the Bible, let me quote to him two lines from a poem penned by one of the greatest geniuses that has ever adorned our empire, and whose intellectual light has been just lost to us —

"Better he had ne'er been born

Who reads to doubt, who reads to scorn."

(J. Blackburn.)

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KJV: The words of the LORD are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times.

WEB: The words of Yahweh are flawless words, as silver refined in a clay furnace, purified seven times.