and customs, and to see the practical application of the principles he advances. 3.  Consider the principal scope or aim of the book; or, what was the author’s object, design, or intention, in writing it.  Notice also the general plan or method which he has pursued.  This will enable you to discover his leading ideas, if it be an argumentative work; or the particular instructions of God’s providence, if it be historical. 4.  Where the language is difficult to be understood, pay strict attention to the context, and you will generally find the author’s meaning explained.  But, if you do not, consider whether the difficult phrase is a peculiarity of the writer’s style.  If so, look out the place where he has used it in a different connection, and see what meaning is attached to it there.  But, if this does not satisfy you, examine the passages, in other parts of the Scriptures, which relate to the same subject, and compare them with the one under consideration.  This will generally clear up the darkest passages.  But, if you still feel in doubt, you may find assistance from consulting commentators, who have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with all the particulars I have mentioned; which, with a knowledge of the language in which the book was originally written, may have enabled them to remove the difficulty.  But, do not trust the opinions of commentators any farther than you see they agree with the general system of revealed truth; and, above all, do not follow them in any scheme of fanciful interpretation or visionary speculation.

(3.) Do not task yourself with a certain quantity of reading at the regular seasons devoted to the study of the Bible.  This may lead you to hurry over it, without ascertaining its meaning, or drinking in its spirit.  You had better study one verse thoroughly, than to read half a dozen chapters carelessly.  The nourishment received from food depends less on the quantity than on its being perfectly digested.  So with the mind; one clear idea is better than a dozen confused ones; and there is such a thing as overloading the mind with undigested knowledge.  Ponder upon every portion you read, until you get a full and clear view of the truth it contains.  Fix your mind and heart upon it, as the bee lights upon the flower; and do not leave it till you have extracted all the honey it contains.

(4.) Read in course.  By studying the whole Bible in connection, you will obtain a more enlarged view of the plan of God’s moral government.  And you will see how it all centres in the Lord Jesus Christ.  But I would not have you confine yourself entirely to the regular reading of the whole Bible in course.  Some portions of the historical part do not require so much study as that which is more argumentative and doctrinal; and some parts of the word of God are more devotional than others, and therefore better fitted for daily practical use.  A very good plan is, to read the Old and New Testaments in course, a