Scripture

John Willison, an 18th century pastor from Scotland, spoke of the importance of the Bible for the believer, as follows: "We should look upon it as a golden epistle, indited by the Spirit of God; we should receive it as a love-letter from heaven, opening up God's designs of love to our souls; we should go to it as for our daily food and substitence, and daily enquire in it for the will of God, and hereby consult with God about our duty in all cases . . . We should read with faith, reverence, and application to ourselves, as if we were particularly named in the precepts, reproofs, threatenings, and consolations of it . . . and in reading every part, we should still keep Christ in our eye, as the end, scope, and substance of the whole scriptures."

This reflects the Testimony of the Seceders (1736) that states, "the Word of God contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments is not only a sufficient rule, or a principal rule, but it is the only rule to direct us how we ought to glorify God and enjoy him."