Surely, then, the time is come to speak. Surely the watchman is bound to sound the note of warning. Surely the whole company of God’s believing people should know well the reason of the hope that is in them, that they may be able to take their place with boldness in the armies of the Lord; and, in the last great fearful struggle against Antichrist, be found standing stedfast, amongst the fearless, faithful, followers of the Lamb.

It is my intention, therefore, to preach a short course of sermons on some of the leading principles of our protestant church. It will be my endeavour rather to set forth the truth than to occupy your time in exposing error. God’s people come here to be fed with the bread of life, and they must not be robbed of their daily food by the introduction of cold and cheerless controversy. Our constant desire and prayer to God for you all is, not that you should be subtle controversialists, but well instructed and practical believers in your Lord. This great end I now hope to keep steadily in view.

Pray for me, dear brethren, that my intention may be carried into effect. Pray that the spirit of the living God may himself direct me in this effort for his glory! Pray for us, as we pray for you, “that speaking the truth in love, we may grow up unto him in all things.”

Now the controversy between the church of England, and that of Rome, hinges mainly upon one great turning point, namely this, they deny the Bible to be the only rule of faith, and appeal to other writings as a sufficient authority in their statements of sacred truth. To the Bible, then, as the rule of faith, we must direct our first attention, and will endeavour to point out,

I. Its supreme authority.

II. Its complete sufficiency.

III. Its clear intelligibility.

I. First, then, for its supreme authority. There is no occasion now to enter into proofs of its inspiration. That all scripture is given by inspiration of God, we may regard as an admitted truth: we are not dealing with the infidel, but with those who profess to believe the Scriptures: we are to receive it “not as the word which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth:” to listen to it, “as it is in truth, the word of God.” All that we are concerned with now is the supreme authority, which, being inspired, it possesses over man. Our object is to point out, that as the word of God, it has absolute authority in all its statements of divine truth, and that just as the written law is the one rule for the nation’s government, so the written word is the one rule of the Church’s faith. Who can reveal the truth of God but God himself? “The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” And when God speaks, who shall dare to give an opposing judgment? “Be silent, O all flesh, before the Lord!” Let us strive then to realize this fact, that the Bible comes direct from “God, who cannot lie;” that it is his own statement of his own divine purposes; that He has, as it were, put his seal and signature to it, to mark it as his own; that he has brought it forth amongst us with the solemn preface, “Thus saith the Lord;” and there can then be no doubt left as to its certain, its invariable, its unfailing, its authoritative truth. There it stands, unshaken in its supremacy: like the Sun in heaven, beyond the reach of man’s attack: like the great mountains, immoveable by man’s effort. “Thy word is truth,” saith the Saviour, certain, unfailing, unerring truth; and though multitudes may deny, though thousands may resist, though the whole body of unconverted men may hate its message, it is still truth; the pure, unmixed, unadulterated truth of God. Nor can any amount of human evidence rival its authority. Multiplication does not make inspiration. Ten thousand butterflies do not make an eagle; nor can the human intellect, however multiplied, be measured for a moment with the mind of God. Thus, if it were to fall out, (which thanks be to his grace it never can), that all living men, of all ages and all ranks, were to agree in the denial of any one doctrine of the gospel; if all the great, all the learned, all philosophers, and all divines; all that now live, or ever have lived, were to concur in one united opinion, and that opinion were in opposition to the Bible; then all must be wrong, and the Bible must be right; for they are men, and the Holy Ghost is God; and “Let God be true, and every man a liar.”

Now, we fully admit that the Church of Rome does not openly deny the supreme authority of Scripture, but it virtually sets it aside by two principles: the one, that it is not complete; the other, that it cannot be understood without the interpretation of the Church. We must examine, therefore,

II. Its complete sufficiency.