Scripture Interprets Scripture

Scripture is the interpreter of Scripture; and just as one divine perfection may set limits to another, as God's wisdom may be the limit of his power, as his truth or holiness may be the limit of his benevolence, so, in Scripture, one truth may be the limit of another, or a precept may be the limit of a promise. It is true, God gives his angels a charge concerning his saints; but then he gives his saints a charge concerning themselves. And if the angels are not to forget the saints, neither are the saints to tempt the Lord their God. Observe the condition, and the result is infallible. Fulfill you the precept, and God will fulfill the promise. But to leap from this pinnacle, when there is no end to be answered—to spring into the air, when it is not God, but Satan, who gives the command—this is to tempt Jehovah; and God's will must be done, even though the doing of it should look so pusillanimous as to provoke a sneer from the devil.