Human nature in its fourfold state ... In several practical discourses

That all mankind, however differenced by their rank and station in the world, have an equal concern in what is revealed concerning another and future world, will be readily owned; and it must be as readily granted, that however allowable it may be for men of learning and parts, to please themselves with fineness of language, fullness of thought, and exact connection in writings upon other subjects; yet they ought not to indulge themselves in the same taste in discourses on divine things, lest they expose themselves to the just censure of acting with the same indiscretion, as a person in danger of famishing by hunger, would be guilty of, if he perversely rejected plain wholesome food, when offered to him, for no other reason than the want of palatable sauce, or order and splendour in serving it up.

That all mankind, however differenced by their rank and station in the world, have an equal concern in what is revealed concerning another and future world, will be readily owned; and it must be as readily granted, that however allowable it may be for men of learning and parts, to please themselves with fineness of language, fullness of thought, and exact connection in writings upon other subjects; yet they ought not to indulge themselves in the same taste in discourses on divine things, lest they expose themselves to the just censure of acting with the same indiscretion, as a person in danger of famishing by hunger, would be guilty of, if he perversly rejected plain wholsome food, when offered to him, for no other reason than the want of palatable sauce, or order and splendor in serving it up.

The sacred book we call the Bible, has a peculiar sublimity in it, veiled with unusual dialect and seeming inconnection: but it is not therefore to be rejected by men who bear the name of Christians, a• uncouth or unintelligible; true wisdom dictates quite another thing, it counsels us, by frequent reading, to acquaint ourselves well with it, become accustomed to its peculiar phrases, and search into its sublimities: upon this ground, that the matters contained in it, are of the utmost consequence to us, and when rightly understood, yield a refined delight, much superior to what is to be found in reading the best written books on the most entertaining subjects. What pleads for the parent is a plea for the progeny; practical discourses upon divine subjects are the genuine offspring of the sacred text, and ought therefore to be read carefully and with attention, by persons of all ranks and degrees, though they are indeed calculated for, and peculiarly adapted to such as move in low spheres of life.