On the efficacy of Divine Truth as a preservative against Sin. By the REV. TOBIAS SPICER.

Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee,' Psa. cxix, 11. In all ages of the world, sin has been the source of misery to the family of man. It was sin that introduced death; and it is sin that leads to endless pain and wo. It is therefore of great importance to know how we may get rid of so destructive an enemy. How its guilt may be removed; and how we may effectually resist its fascinating charms, so that it shall not prove our eternal ruin.

Various expedients have been tried to effect this. Philosophy has exerted its utmost skill. It has brought forth its strong reasons, and laid down its best maxims, but all in vain. It has not effected a radical cure of this inveterate disease; for the heart of man 'is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked.' Superstition too has lent its aid to accomplish what mere philosophy could not; but with as little success. For although we come before the Most High with burnt offerings, and with calves of a year old, though we offer to him thousands of rams, or ten thousands of rivers of oil; or though we offer our first born for our transgression, the fruit of our bodies for the sin of our souls; we cannot thereby atone for one of a thousand of the sins that are past, nor effectually prevent our transgressions in future.

The inspired psalmist, in the words of our text, proposes a remedy against sin, which is effectual. This he had been taught by divine inspiration; and amid the innumerable temptations and snares with which he was surrounded, he had by his own experience proved its powerful efficacy. Thy word have I hid in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.'

I. It shall be our first endeavour briefly to show what is implied in hiding the word of God in the heart.

1. The expression 'word' is frequently applied to the Holy Scriptures. And this application is made with the greatest propriety; for as a word is expressive of one's mind, so holy men of old were inspired to write the Holy Scriptures, and reveal the mind or will of God concerning man; and thus the Holy Scriptures become the 'word' of God.

"Thy word have I hid in my heart.' The first thing implied in hiding the word of the Lord in the heart, is, a firm belief in the

truths it contains.

The Holy Scriptures were written either by good men, or bad men. But whoever will examine them, cannot for a moment suppose they are the production of bad men. The morals they contain are too pure to admit such a conclusion. And whoever carefully examines the history, doctrines, and prophecies, contained in them, cannot suppose that even good men could write them, unless they had been inspired' from above. It is therefore but reasonable to conclude that holy men of old wrote as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.'

Infidelity is an effectual barrier to hiding the word of the Lord in the heart; for until a man believes the Scriptures to be the word of the Lord, he will never treasure them up, nor realize their divine efficacy. The evidences by which their divine authority will appear, are such as lie within the reach of any man who will candidly inquire for them. And the conviction these evidences produce on such inquirers, is not as feeble as some imagine. The Scriptures are not rejected because they are unsupported by evidence; but either because that evidence is totally disregarded, or because their doctrines are opposed to the iniquities of the human heart, and their precepts condemn the practices of the ungodly and the sinner.

Whoever would realize the efficacy of the word of God, must approach it as a system of divine truth; and although their feeble reason may not be able to fathom all its depths, its doctrines must be received as of divine authority,-as the word of God, and not of man.

2. The second thing that is implied in hiding God's word in our heart, is, a careful endeavour to understand it.

The Scriptures should not be read as an ordinary book, but they should be read with the greatest care, and with a faithful endeavour to understand their meaning. Nothing can be more improper than the neglect of those who seldom read the sacred pages, or than the practice of others, who, when they read them, hurry along without any inquiry what may be their meaning. It is because of this neglect, that so many continue to wander in error's thorny maze. They have neglected to read the Holy Scriptures, or else they have been too careless to understand them; and hence, with the Bible in their hands, they remain ignorant of the plan of salvation.

Although many things that are contained in the Holy Scriptures, owing to a variety of circumstances, are hard to be understood, it is nevertheless remarkable that those doctrines which are essential to be believed, and those duties which are essential to be performed, are easily discovered; and 'whoso readeth may run' in the way of life. In respect to duty, 'the wayfaring man though a fool need not err.'