J.C. Ryle
“Search the
Scriptures” (John 5:39) “How readest
thou?” (Luke 10:26)
Next to praying there is
nothing so important in practical religion as Bible-reading. God has mercifully
given us a book which is “able to make us wise unto salvation through
faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). By reading that book we may
learn what to believe, what to be, and what to do; how to live with comfort,
and how to die in peace. Happy is that man who possesses a Bible! Happier still
is he who reads it! Happiest of all is he who not only reads it, but obeys it,
and makes it the rule of his faith and practice!
Nevertheless it is a
sorrowful fact that man has a sad ability to abuse God’s gifts. His
privileges, and power, and abilities, are all ingeniously perverted to other
ends than those for which they were bestowed. His speech, his imagination, his
intellect, his strength, his time, his influence, his money—instead of
being used as instruments for glorifying his Maker—are generally wasted,
or employed for his own selfish ends. And just as man naturally makes a bad use
of his other mercies from God, so he does of the written Word. One sweeping
charge may be brought against the whole of Christendom, and that charge is
neglect and abuse of the Bible.
To prove this charge we
have no need to look elsewhere: the proof lies at our own doors. I have no
doubt that there are more Bibles in our country at this moment than there ever
were since the world began. There is more Bible buying—and Bible
selling—more Bible printing and Bible distributing—than ever was
since we were a nation. We see Bibles in every bookstore, Bibles of every size,
price, and style—large Bibles, and small Bibles—Bibles for the
rich, and Bibles for the poor. There are Bibles in almost every house in the
land. But all this time I fear we are in danger of forgetting, that to “have”
the Bible is one thing and to “read” it quite another.
This neglected Book is
the subject about which I address the readers today. Surely it is no small
thing what you are doing with the Bible. Surely, when the plague is spreading
in other lands, you should search and see whether the plague-spot is on you.
Give me your attention while I supply you with a few plain reasons why every
one who cares for his soul ought to value the Bible
highly, to study it regularly, and to make himself thoroughly acquainted with
its contents.
The Bible is “given
by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16). In this respect it is utterly
unlike all other writings. God taught the writers of it what to say. God put
into their minds thoughts and ideas. God guided their pens in writing down
those thoughts and ideas. When you read it, you are not reading the self-taught
compositions of poor imperfect men like yourself, but the words of the eternal
God. When you hear it, you are not listening to the erring opinions of
short-lived mortals, but to the unchanging mind of the King of kings. The men
who were employed to write the Bible did not speak themselves. They “spake as they were moved by
the Holy Ghost” (2 Peter 1:21). All other books in the world,
however good and useful in their way, are more or less defective. The more you
look at them the more you see their defects and blemishes. The Bible alone is
absolutely perfect. From beginning to end it is “the Word of God.”
I will not waste time by
attempting any long and laboured proof of this. I say
boldly, that the Book itself is the best witness of its own inspiration. It is
the greatest standing miracle in the world. He that dares to say the Bible is
not inspired must give an explanation why he believes this, if he can. Let him
explain the peculiar nature and character of the Book in a way that will
satisfy any man of common sense. The burden of proof seems to my mind to lie on
him.
It proves nothing against
inspiration, as some have asserted, that the writers of the Bible have each
different style. Isaiah does not write like Jeremiah, and Paul does not write
like John. This is perfectly true, and yet the works of these men are not a bit
less equally inspired. The waters of the sea have many different shades. In one
place they look blue, and in another green. And yet the difference is due to
the depth or shallowness of the part we see, or to the nature of the bottom.
The water in every case is the same salt sea. The breath of a man may produce
different sounds according to the character of the instrument on which he
plays. The flute, the bagpipe, and the trumpet, have each their peculiar note.
And yet the breath that calls forth the notes is in each case one and the same.
The light of the planets we see in heaven is extremely various. Mars, and
Saturn, and Jupiter, each have a individual colour. And yet we know that the light of the sun, which
each planet reflects, is in each case one and the same. Just in the same way
the books of the Old and New Testaments are all inspired truth, and yet the
aspect of that truth varies according to the mind through which the Holy Spirit
makes it flow. The handwriting and style of the writers differ enough to prove
that each had a distinct individual being; but the Divine Guide who dictates
and directs the whole is always one. All are inspired. Every chapter, and
verse, and word, is from God.
Oh, that
men who are troubled with doubts, and thoughts about inspiration, would
calmly examine the Bible for themselves! Oh, that they would take the advice
which was the first step to Augustine’s conversion, “Pick it up and
read it! Pick it up and read it!” How many difficulties and objections
would vanish away at once like mist before the rising sun! How many would soon
confess, “The finger of God is here! God is in this Book, and I did not
know it.”
This is the Book about
which I address the readers of this paper. Surely it is no light matter “what
you are doing with this Book.” It is no light thing that God should have
caused this Book to be written for our learning, and that you should have
before you the very words of God (Romans 3:2; 15:4). I charge you, I summon you to give an honest answer to my questions.
What are you doing with the Bible? Do you read it at all? How do you read it?
II. THERE IS NO KNOWLEDGE
ABSOLUTELY NEEDFUL TO A MAN’S SALVATION, EXCEPT A
KNOWLEDGE OF THE THINGS WHICH ARE TO BE FOUND IN THE BIBLE.
We live in days when the
words of Daniel are fulfilled before our eyes: “Many shall run to and
fro, and knowledge shall be increased” (Daniel 12:4). Schools are
multiplying every where you look. New colleges are set up. Old Universities are
reformed and improved. New books are continually coming out. More is being
taught—more is being learned—more is being read than there ever was
since the world began. It is all good. I rejoice at it. An ignorant population
is a perilous and expensive burden to any nation. It is a ready prey to the
first who may arise to entice it to do evil. But this I say—we must never
forget that all education a man’s head can receive will not save his soul
from hell, unless he knows the truths of the Bible.
A man “may have
immense learning and yet never be saved.” He may be master of half the
languages spoken around the globe. He may be acquainted with the highest and
deepest things in heaven and earth. He may have read books till he is like a
walking encyclopaedia. He may be familiar with the
stars of heaven—the birds of the air—the beasts of the earth, and
the fishes of the sea. He may be able, like Solomon, to speak of “trees,
from the cedar tree that is of
A man “may be a
very ignorant man, and yet be saved.” He may be unable to read a word, or
write a letter. He may know nothing of geography beyond the bounds of his own
city or county, and be utterly unable to say which is nearest to
There is much talk in
these days about science and “useful knowledge.” But a knowledge of the Bible is the one knowledge that is
needful and eternally useful. A man may get to heaven without money, learning,
health, or friends, but without Bible knowledge he will never get there at all.
A man may have the mightiest of minds, and a memory stored with all that strong mind can grasp—and yet, if he does not
know the things of the Bible, his soul is damned forever. Woe! woe! woe to the man who dies in
ignorance of the Bible!
This is the Book about
which I am addressing the readers of these pages today. It is no light matter “what
you do with such a book.” It concerns the life of your soul. I summon
you, I charge you to give an honest answer to my question. What are you doing
with the Bible? Do you read it? How do you read it?
III. NO BOOK IN EXISTENCE
CONTAINS SUCH IMPORTANT MATTER AS THE BIBLE.
Time would fail me if I
were to enter fully into all the great things which are to be found in the
Bible, and only in the Bible. It is not by any sketch or outline that the
treasures of the Bible can be displayed. It would be easy to fill a volume with
a list of the exceptional truths it reveals, and yet the half of its riches
would be left untold.
How glorious and
soul-satisfying is the description it gives us of God’s plan of
salvation, and the way by which our sins can be forgiven! The coming into the
world of Jesus Christ, the God-man, to save sinners—the redemption He has
accomplished for man by His suffering, in our place, the just for the
unjust—the complete payment He has made for our sins by His own
blood—the justification of every sinner who simply believes on
Jesus—the readiness of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, to receive, pardon,
and save to the uttermost—how unspeakably grand and comforting are all
these truths! We would know nothing of them without the Bible.
How comforting is the
account it gives us of the great Mediator of the New Testament—the man
Christ Jesus! Four times over His picture is graciously drawn before our eyes.
Four separate witnesses tell us of His miracles and His ministry—His
sayings and His actions—His life and His death—His power and His
love—His kindness and His patience—His ways, His words, His works,
His thoughts, His heart. Blessed be God, there is one thing in the Bible which
the most prejudiced reader can hardly fail to understand, and that is the
character of Jesus Christ!
How encouraging are the
examples the Bible gives us of good people! It tells us of many who were of
like passions with ourselves—men and women who had cares, crosses,
families, temptations, afflictions, diseases, like ourselves—and yet “through
faith and patience inherited what has been promised,” and got safely home
(Hebrews 6:12). It keeps back nothing in the history of these people. Their
mistakes, their weaknesses, their conflicts, their experience, their prayers,
their praises, their useful lives, their happy deaths—all are fully
recorded. And it tells us the God and Savior of these men and women is still
the same today as yesterday, and still waits to be gracious.
How instructive are the
examples the Bible gives us of bad people! It tells us of men and women who had
light and knowledge and opportunities like ourselves, and yet hardened their
hearts, loved the world, clung to their sins, would have their own way,
despised reproof, and ruined their own souls forever. And it warns us that the
God who punished Pharaoh, and Saul, and Ahab, and Jezebel, and Judas, is a God
who never changes, and that there is a real hell.
How precious are the
promises which the Bible contains for the use of those who love God! There is
hardly any possible emergency or condition for which it does not have a word of
hope and encouragement. And it tells men that God loves to be put in
remembrance of these promises, and that if He has said He will do something,
His promise will certainly be fulfilled.
How blessed are the hopes
which the Bible holds out to the believer in Christ Jesus! Peace in the hour of
death—rest and happiness on the other side of the grave—a glorious
body in the morning of the resurrection—a full and triumphant acquittal
in the day of judgement—an everlasting reward
in the kingdom of Christ—a joyful meeting with the Lord’s people in
the day of gathering together—these, these are the future prospects of
every true Christian. They are all written in the book—in the book which
is all true.
How striking is the light
which the Bible throws on the character of man! It teaches us what men may be
expected to be and do in every position and occupation of life. It gives us the
deepest insight into the secret springs and motives of human actions, and the
ordinary course of events under the control of human agents. It is the true “judge
of the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12). How deep is
the wisdom contained in the books of Proverbs and Ecclesiastics! I can
correctly understand an old Christian saying, “Give me a candle and a
Bible and shut me up in a dark dungeon, and I will tell you everything that the
whole world is doing.”
All these are things
which men could find nowhere except in the Bible. We probably do not have the
least idea how little we would know about these things if we did not have the
Bible. We hardly know the value of the air we breathe, and the sun which shines
on us, because we have never known what it is to be without them. We do not
value the truths on which I have been just now dwelling, because we do not realise the darkness of men to whom these truths have not
been revealed. Surely no tongue can fully tell the value of the treasures this
one volume contains. Well might old John Newton say that some books were copper
books in his estimation, some were silver, and a few were gold but the Bible
alone was like a book all made up of bank-notes.
This is the Book about
which I address the reader of this paper this day. Surely it is no light matter
what you are doing with the Bible. It is no light matter in what way you are
using this treasure. I charge you, I summon you to give an honest answer to my
question—What are you doing with the
Bible? Do you read it? How do
you read it?
IV. NO BOOK IN EXISTENCE
HAS PRODUCED SUCH WONDERFUL EFFECTS ON MANKIND AT LARGE AS THE BIBLE.
(a) This is the Book
whose doctrines turned the world upside down in the days of the Apostles.
Many centuries have now
passed away since God sent forth a few Jews from a remote corner of the earth
to do a work which according to man’s judgment,
must have seemed impossible. He sent them out at a time when the whole world
was full of superstition, cruelty, lust, and sin. He sent them out to proclaim
that the established religions of the earth were false and useless, and must be
forsaken. He sent them out to persuade men to give up old habits and customs,
and to live different lives. He sent them out to do battle with the most
perverted idolatry, with the vilest and most disgusting immorality, with a
bigoted priesthood, with sneering philosophers, with an ignorant population,
with bloody-minded emperors, with the whole influence of
And how did He arm them
for this battle? He gave them no worldly weapons. He gave them no worldly power
to compel agreement, and no worldly riches to bribe belief. He simply put the
Holy Spirit into their hearts, and the Scriptures into their hands. He simply
commanded them to expound and explain, to require compliance and to publish the
doctrines of the Bible. The preacher of Christianity in the first century was
not a man with a sword and an army to frighten people, or a man with a license
to be sensual, to allure people, like the priests of the shameful idols of the
Hindus. No, he was nothing more than one holy man with one holy book.
And how did these men of
one book prosper? In a few generations they entirely changed the face of
society by the doctrines of the Bible. They emptied the temples of the heathen
gods. They starved out idolatry and left it high and dry like a stranded ship.
They brought into the world a higher condition of morality between man and man.
They raised the character and position of woman. They altered the standard of
purity and decency. They put an end to man’s cruel and bloody customs,
such as the gladiatorial fights—there was no stopping the change.
Persecution and opposition were useless. One victory after another was won. One
bad thing after another melted away. Whether men liked it or not, they were
slowly affected by the movement of the new religion and drawn within the
whirlpool of its power.
The earth shook, and
their rotten shelters fell to the ground. The flood rose, and they found
themselves obliged to rise with it. The tree of Christianity swelled and grew,
and the chains they had thrown around it to arrest its growth, snapped like
string. And all this was done by the doctrines of the Bible! Talk about great
victories! What are the victories of Alexander, and Caesar, and Napoleon,
compared with those I have just mentioned? For magnitude, for completeness, for
results, for permanence, there are no victories like the victories of the
Bible.
(b) This is the Book
which turned
No man can read the
history of Christendom as it was five hundred years ago, and not see that
darkness covered the whole professing
It was not merely the
preaching of Luther and his friends, which established Protestantism in
This is the book upon
which the well-being of nations has always hinged, and with which the best
interests of everyone in Christendom at this moment are inseparably tied. By
the same proportion that the Bible is honored or not, light or darkness,
morality or immorality, true religion or superstition, liberty or tyranny, good
laws or bad, will be found in a nation. Come with me and open the pages of history, and you will read the proofs in times past.
Read it in the history of
This is the Book to which
the civilised world is indebted for many of its best
and most praiseworthy institutions. Few probably are aware how many good things
that men have adopted for the public benefit, of which the origin may be
clearly traced to the Bible. It has left lasting marks wherever it has been
received. From the Bible are drawn many of the best laws by which society is
kept in order. From the Bible has been obtained the standard of morality about
truth, honesty, and the relations of man and wife, which prevails
among Christian nations, and which—however feebly respected in many
cases—makes so great a difference between Christians and heathen. To the
Bible we are indebted for that most merciful provision for the poor working
man, the Lord’s Day of rest—Sunday. To the influence of the Bible
we owe nearly every humane and charitable institution in existence. The sick,
the poor, the aged, the orphan, the insane, the retarded, the blind, were
seldom or never thought of before the Bible influenced the world. You may
search in vain for any record of institutions for their aid in the histories of
This wonderful book is
the subject about which I address the reader of this paper this day. Surely it
is no light matter what you are doing with the Bible. The swords of conquering
Generals—the ship in which Nelson led the fleets of
V. NO BOOK IN EXISTENCE
CAN DO SO MUCH FOR EVERY ONE WHO READS IT WITH AN OPEN HEART, AS THE BIBLE.
The Bible does not profess
to teach the wisdom of this world. It was not written to explain geology or
astronomy. It will neither instruct you in mathematics, nor in natural
philosophy. It will not make you a doctor, or a lawyer, or an engineer.
But there is another
world to be thought of besides that world in which man now lives. There are
other ends for which man was created, besides making money and working. There
are other interests which he is meant to attend to,
besides those of his body, and those interests are the interests of his soul.
It is the interests of the immortal soul which the Bible is especially able to
promote. If you want to know law, you may study Blackstone or Sugden. If you would know astronomy you may study Herschel.
But if you would know how to have your soul saved, you must study the written
Word of God.
The Bible is “able
to make you wise unto salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy
3:15). It can show you the way which leads to heaven. It can teach you
everything you need to know, point out everything you need to believe, and
explain everything you need to do. It can show you what you are—a sinner.
It can show you what God is—perfectly holy. It can show you the great
giver of pardon, peace, and grace—Jesus Christ. I have read of an
Englishman who visited
The Bible applied to the
heart by the Holy Spirit, “is the grand instrument by which souls are
first converted to God.” That mighty change is generally begun by some
text or doctrine of the Word, brought home to a man’s conscience. In this
way the Bible has worked moral miracles by the thousands. It has made drunkards
become sober—immoral people become pure—thieves become honest and
violent-tempered people become meek. It has wholly altered the course of
men’s lives. It has caused their old things to pass away, and made all
their ways new. It has taught worldly people to seek first the
The Bible applied to the
heart by the Holy Spirit, is “the chief means by which men are built up
and strengthened in the faith,” after their conversion. It is able to
make them pure, to sanctify them, to train them in righteousness, and to
thoroughly equip them for every good work. (Psalm 119:9; John 17:17; 2 Timothy
3:16-17). The Spirit ordinarily does these things by the written Word;
sometimes by the Word read, and sometimes by the Word preached, but seldom, if
ever, without the Word. The Bible can show a believer how to walk in this world
so as to please God. It can teach him how to glorify Christ in all the
relationships of life, and can make him a good leader, employee, subordinate,
husband, father, or son. It can enable him to bear misfortunes and loss without
murmuring, and say, “It is well.” It can enable him to look down
into the grave, and say, “I will fear no evil” (Psalm 23:4). It can
enable him to think about judgment and eternity, and not feel afraid. It can
enable him to bear persecution without flinching and to give up liberty and
life rather than deny Christ’s truth.
Is he weary in soul? It
can awaken him.
Is he mourning? It can
comfort him.
Is he erring? It can
restore him.
Is he weak? It can make
him strong.
Is he in the company of
the unbeliever? It can keep him from evil.
Is he alone? It can talk
with him. (Psalm 6:22).
All this the Bible can do
for all believers—for the least as well as the greatest—for the
richest as well as the poorest. It has done it for thousands already, and is
doing it for thousands every day.
The man who has the
Bible, and the Holy Spirit in his heart, has everything which is absolutely
necessary to make him spiritually wise. He needs no priest to break the bread
of life for him. He needs no ancient traditions, no writings of the Fathers, no
voice of the Church, to guide him into all truth. He has the well of truth open
before him, and what more can he want? Yes! though he
be shut up alone in a prison, or cast on a desert island—though he never
sees a church, or minister again—if he only has the Bible, he has got the
infallible guide, and needs no other. If he only has the will to read that
Bible properly, it will certainly teach him the road that leads to heaven. It
is here alone that infallibility resides. It is not in the Church. It is not in
the Councils. It is not in ministers. It is only in the written Word.
(a) I know well that many
say they have found no saving power in the Bible.
They tell us they have
tried to read it, and have learned nothing from it. They can see in it nothing
but burdensome and abstract things. They ask us what we mean by talking of its
power.
I answer, that the Bible
no doubt contains some difficult things, or else it would not be the book of
God. It contains things hard to comprehend, but only hard because we do not
have the understanding of mind to comprehend them. It contains things above our
reasoning powers, but nothing that might not be explained if the eyes of our
understanding were not feeble and dim. But is not an acknowledgement of our own
ignorance the very cornerstone and foundation of all knowledge? Must not many
things be taken for granted in the beginning of every science, before we can proceed one step towards acquaintance with it? Do we not
require our children to learn many things of which they cannot see the meaning
at first? And ought we not then to expect to find “deep things”
when we begin studying the Word of God, and yet to believe that if we persevere
in reading it the meaning of many of them will one day be made clear? No doubt
we ought so to expect, and so to believe. We must read with humility. We must
take much on trust. We must believe that what we don’t know now, we will
know later, some part in this world, and all in the world to come.
But I ask that man who
has given up reading the Bible because it contains hard things, whether he did
not find many things in it easy and plain? I put it to his conscience whether
he did not see great landmarks and principles in it all the way through? I ask
him whether the things needful to salvation did not stand out boldly before his
eyes, like lighthouses. What should we think of the captain of a steamer who
came, at night, into the entrance of the Channel, and claimed that he did not
know every parish, and village, and creek, along the British coast? Should we
not think him a lazy coward, when the lights on the Lizard, and Eddystone, and the Start, and
(b) I know well that many
raise the objection, that thousands read the Bible and are
not a bit the better for their reading.
And they ask us, when
this is the case, what becomes of the Bible’s boasted power? I answer,
that the reason why so many read the Bible without any benefit is plain and
simple—they do not read it in the right way. There is
generally a right way and a wrong way of doing everything in the world; and
just as it is with other things, so it is in the matter of reading the Bible.
The Bible is not so entirely different from all other
books as to make it of no importance in what spirit and manner you read it. It
does not do any good, as a matter of course, by merely running our eyes over
the print, any more than Baptism and the Lord’s Supper do any good by the
mere virtue of our receiving them. It does not ordinarily do any good, unless
it is read with humility and earnest prayer. The best engine that was ever
built is useless if a man does not know how to operate it. The best sundial
that was ever constructed will not tell its owner the time of day if he is so
ignorant as to put it in the shade. Just as it is with that engine, and that
sundial, so it is with the Bible. When men read it without benefit, “the
fault is not in the Book, but in themselves.”
I tell the man who doubts
the power of the Bible, because many read it, and are no better for the
reading, that the abuse of a thing is no argument against the use of it. I tell
him boldly, that never did man or woman read that book in a childlike
persevering spirit—like the Ethiopian eunuch, and the Bereans
(Acts 8:28; 17:11), and miss the way to heaven. Yes, many will be exposed to
shame in the day of judgement; but there will not
rise up one soul who will be able to say, that he went thirsting to the Bible,
and found in it no living water—he searched for truth in the Scriptures,
and searching did not find it. The words which are spoken of Wisdom in the
Proverbs are strictly true of the Bible: “Yet if thou criest
after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding; If thou seekest
her as silve, and searchest
for her as for hid treasures; then thou shalt
understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God.” (Proverbs
2:3-5)
This wonderful Book is
the subject about which I address the readers of this paper this day. Surely it
is no light matter “what you are doing with the Bible.” What should
you think of the man who in time of cholera despised a sure prescription for
preserving the health of his body? What must be thought of you if you despise
the only sure prescription for the everlasting health of your soul? I charge
you, I entreat you, to give an honest answer to my question. What do you do
with the Bible? Do you read it? How do you read it?
VI. THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY
STANDARD BY WHICH ALL QUESTIONS OF DOCTRINE OR OF DUTY CAN BE TESTED.
The Lord God knows the
weakness and infirmities of our poor fallen understandings. He knows that, even
after conversion, our perceptions of right and wrong are extremely vague. He knows
how artfully Satan can overlay error with an appearance of truth, and can dress
up wrong with plausible arguments, till it looks like right. Knowing all this,
He has mercifully provided us with an unerring standard of truth and error,
right and wrong, and has taken care to make that standard a written
book—the Scripture.
No one can look around
the world, and not see the wisdom of such a provision. No one can live long,
and not find out that he is constantly in need of a counsellor
and adviser—of a rule of faith and practice, on which he can depend.
Unless he lives like a beast, without a soul and conscience, he will find
himself constantly assailed by difficult and puzzling questions. He will be
often asking himself, What must I believe? and what must I do?
(a) The world is full of
difficulties about points of doctrine. The house of error lies close alongside
the house of truth. The door of one is so like the door of the other that there
is continual risk of mistakes.
Does a man read or travel
much? He will soon find the most opposite opinions prevailing among those who
are called Christians. He will discover that different persons give the most
different answers to the important question, What must
I do to be saved? The Roman Catholic, the Protestant, and the Mormon each will
assert that he alone has the truth. Each will tell him that safety is only to
be found in his party. Each says, “Come with us.” All this is
puzzling. What will a man do?
Does he settle down
quietly in some church here at home? He will soon find that even in our own
land the most conflicting views are held. He will soon discover that there are
serious differences among Christians as to the comparative importance of the
various parts and articles of the faith. One man thinks of nothing but Church
government—another of nothing but sacraments, services, and forms—a
third of nothing but preaching the Gospel. Does he apply to ministers for a
solution? He will perhaps find one minister teaching one doctrine, and another.
All this is puzzling. What will a man do?
There is only one answer
to this question. A man must make the Bible alone his rule. He must receive
nothing and believe nothing which is not according to the Word. He must try all
religious teaching by one simple test—Does it
square with the Bible? What does the Scripture say?
I pray to God that the
eyes of the Christians of this country were more open on this subject. I pray
to God that they would learn to weigh sermons, books, opinions, and ministers,
in the scales of the Bible, and to value all according to their conformity to
the Word. I pray to God that they would see that it matters little who says a
thing. The question is—Is the thing said
Scriptural? If it is, it ought to be received and believed. If it is not, it
ought to be refused and cast aside. I fear the consequences of that submissive
acceptance of everything which “the preacher” says, which is so
common among many Christians. I fear lest they be led where they know not
where, like the blinded Syrians, and awake some day to find themselves
in the power of
I tell Christians that it
is nonsense to say, as some do, that it is arrogant to judge a minister’s
teaching by the Word. When one doctrine is proclaimed in one church, and
another in another, people must read and judge for themselves. Both doctrines
cannot be right, and both ought to be tried by the Word. I charge them, above
all things, never to suppose that any true minister of the Gospel will dislike
his people measuring all he teaches by the Bible. On the contrary, the more
they read the Bible, and prove all he says by the Bible, the better he will be
pleased. A false minister may say, “You have no right to use your private
judgement: leave the Bible to us who are ordained.”
A true minister will say “Search the Scriptures, and if I do not teach
you what is Scriptural, do not believe me.” A false minister may cry, “Listen
to the Church,” and “Listen to me.” A true minister will say,
“Listen to the Word of God.”
(b) But the world is not
only full of difficulties about points of doctrine, it
is equally full of difficulties about points of “practice.”
Every processing
Christian, who wishes to act conscientiously, must know that it is so. The most
puzzling questions are continually arising. He is tried on every side by doubts
as to the line of duty, and can often hardly see what is the
right thing to do.
He is tried by questions
connected with the management of his “worldly calling,” if he is in
business or in trade. He sometimes sees things going on that are of a very
doubtful character—things that can hardly be called fair,
straightforward, truthful, and things that you would not want done to you. But
then everybody in business does these things. They have always been done in the
most respectable houses. There would be no carrying on of a profitable business
if they were not done. They are not things distinctly named and prohibited by
God. All this is very puzzling. What is a man to do?
He is tried by questions
about worldly amusements. Horse Races, and balls, and operas, and theatres, and
card parties, are all very doubtful methods of spending time. But then he sees
numbers of great people taking part in them. Are all these people wrong? Can
there really be such mighty harm in these things? All this is very puzzling.
What is a man to do?
He is tried by questions
about the education of his children. He wishes to train them up morally and
religiously, and to remember their souls. But he is told by many sensible
people, that young persons will be young—that it is not right to check
and restrain them too much, and that he ought to attend shows, and
children’s parties, and give children’s balls himself. He is informed
that this noble person, or that lady of rank, always
does so, and yet they are considered religious people. Surely it cannot be
wrong. All this is very puzzling. What is he to do?
There is only one answer
to all these questions. A man must make the Bible his rule of conduct. He must
make its leading principles the compass by which he steers his course through
life. By the letter or spirit of the Bible he must test every difficult point
and question. “To the law and to the testimony!
What does the Scripture say?” He ought to care nothing for what other
people may think right. He ought not to set his watch by the clock of his
neighbor, but by the watch of the Word.
I charge my readers
solemnly to act on the maxim I have just laid down, and to adhere to it rigidly
all the days of their lives. You will never repent of it. Make it a leading
principle never to act contrary to the Word. Do not care for the charge of
being overly strict, and a person of needless precision. Remember you serve a
strict and holy God. Do not listen to the common objection that the rule you
have laid down is impossible, and cannot be observed in such a world as this.
Let those who make such an objection speak out plainly, and tell us for what
purpose the Bible was given to man. Let them remember that by the Bible we will
all be judged at the last day, and let them learn to judge themselves by it
here, lest they be judged and condemned by it on Judgement
Day.
This mighty rule of faith
and practice is the book about which I am addressing the readers of this paper
this day. Surely it is no light matter “what you are doing with the
Bible.” Surely when danger is near on the right hand and on the left, you
should consider what you are doing with the safeguard which God has provided. I
charge you, I beg you, to give an honest answer to my question. What are you
doing with the Bible? Do you read it? How do you read it?
VII. THE BIBLE IS THE
BOOK WHICH ALL TRUE SERVANTS OF GOD HAVE ALWAYS LIVED BY AND LOVED.
Every living thing which
God creates requires food. The life that God imparts needs sustaining and
nourishing. It is true with animal and vegetable life—with birds, beasts,
fishes, reptiles, insects, and plants. It is equally true with spiritual life.
When the Holy Spirit raises a man from the death of sin and makes him a new
creature in Christ Jesus, the new principle in that man’s heart requires
food, and the only food which will sustain it is the Word of God.
There never was a man or
woman truly converted, from one end of the world to the other, who did not love the revealed will of God. Just as a child born
into the world naturally desires the milk provided for its nourishment, so does
a soul “born again” desire the sincere milk of the Word. This is a
common mark of all the children of God—they “delight in the law of
the LORD” (Psalm 1:2).
Show me a person who
despises Bible reading, or thinks little of Bible preaching, and I hold it to
be a certain fact that he is not yet “born again.” He may be
zealous about forms and ceremonies. He may be diligent in attending church and
the taking of the Lord’s Supper. But if these things are more precious to
him than the Bible, I cannot believe that he is a converted man. Tell me what
the Bible is to a man and I will generally tell you what he is. This is the
pulse to try—this is the barometer to look at—if we would know the
state of the heart. I have no notion of the Spirit dwelling in a man and not
giving clear evidence of His presence. And I believe it to be clear evidence of
the Spirit’s presence when the Word is really precious to a man’s
soul.
Love of the Word is one
of the characteristics we see in Job. Little as we know of this Patriarch and
his age this, at least, stands out clearly. He says, “I have treasured
the words of His mouth more than my necessary food” (Job 23:12)
Love of the Word is a shining
feature in the character of David. Note how it appears all through that
wonderful part of Scripture, the 119th Psalm. He might well have said, “Oh,
how I love thy law!” (Psalm 119:97).
Love of the Word is a
striking point in the character of Paul. What were he and his companions but
men mighty in the Scriptures? What were his sermons but expositions and
applications of the Word?
Love of the Word appears
pre-eminently in our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He read it publicly. He
quoted it continually. He expounded it frequently. He advised the Jews to “search”
it. He used it as His weapon to resist the devil. He said repeatedly, “The
Scripture must be fulfilled.” Almost the last thing He did was to “open
their [Disciples] understanding that they might understand the Scriptures”
(Luke 24:45). I am afraid that man cannot be a true servant of Christ, who has
not something of his Master’s mind and feeling towards the Bible.
Love of the Word has been
a prominent feature in the history of all the saints, of whom we know anything,
since the days of the Apostles. This is the lamp which Athanasius
and Chrysostom and Augustine followed. This is the
compass which kept the Vallenses and Albigenses from making shipwreck of the faith. This is the
well which was reopened by Wycliffe and Luther, after it had been long stopped
up. This is the sword with which Latimer, and Jewell, and Knox won their
victories. This is the manna which fed Baxter and Owen, and the noble host of
the Puritans, and made them strong in battle. This is the armory from which
Whitefield and Wesley drew their powerful weapons. This is the mine from which Bickersteth and M’Cheyne
brought forth rich gold. Differing as these holy men did in some matters, on
one point they were all agreed—they all delighted in the Word.
Love of the Word is one
of the first things that appears in the converted
heathen, at the various Missionary stations throughout the world. In hot
climates and in cold—among savage people and among civilized—in
Love of the Bible is one
of the grand points of agreement among all converted men and women in our own
land. People from many Evangelical denominations all unite in honoring the
Bible, as soon as they are real Christians. This is the manna which all the
tribes of our new
Oh, that
believers in this country would learn to cleave more closely to the
written Word! Oh, that they would see that the more the Bible,
and the Bible only, is the substance of men’s religion, the more they
agree! It is probable there never was an uninspired book more universally
admired than Bunyan’s “Pilgrim’s Progress.” It is a
book which all denominations of Christians delight to honor. It has won praise
from all parties. Now what a striking fact it is, that the author was
pre-eminently a man of one book! He had read hardly anything but the Bible.
It is a blessed thought
that there will be “many people” in heaven in the end. Few as the
Lord’s people undoubtedly are at any one given time or place, yet all
gathered together in the end, they will be “a great multitude that no one
could count” (Revelation 7:9; 19:1). They will be of one heart and mind.
They will have passed through the same experience. They will all have repented,
believed, lived holy, prayerful, and humble lives.
They will all have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb. But one thing besides all this they will have in common: they will all
love the texts and doctrines of the Bible. The Bible will have been their food
and delight in the days of their pilgrimage on earth. And the Bible will be a
common subject of joyful meditation and retrospect, when they are gathered
together in heaven.
This Book, which all true
Christians live upon and love, is the subject about which I am addressing the
readers of this paper this day. Surely it is no light matter what you are doing
with the Bible. Surely it is matter for serious inquiry, whether you know
anything of this love of the Word, and have this mark of following “in
the tracks of the sheep” (Song of Solomon 1:8). I charge you, I entreat
you to give me an honest answer. What are you doing with the Bible? Do you read
it? How do you read it?
VIII. THE BIBLE IS THE
ONLY BOOK WHICH CAN COMFORT A MAN IN THE LAST HOURS OF HIS LIFE.
Death is an event which
in all probability is before us all. There is no avoiding it. It is the river
which each of us must cross. I who write, and you who read, have to die one
day. It is good to remember this. We are all sadly apt to put away the subject
from us. “Each man thinks each man mortal but himself.” I want
everyone to do his duty in life, but I also want everyone to think of death. I
want everyone to know how to live but I also want everyone to know how to die.
Death is a solemn event
to everyone. It is the winding up of all earthly plans and expectations. It is
a separation from all we have loved and live with. It is often accompanied by
much bodily pain and distress. It brings us to the grave, the maggot, and
corruption. It opens the door to judgment and eternity—to heaven or to
hell. It is an event after which there is no change, or space for repentance.
Other mistakes may be corrected or retrieved, but not a mistake on our death
beds. As the tree falls, there it must lie. No conversion in the coffin! No new
birth after we have ceased to breathe! And death is before us all. It may be
close at hand. The time of our departure is quite uncertain. But sooner or
later we must each lie down alone and die. All these are serious
considerations.
Death is a solemn event
even to the believer in Christ. For him no doubt the “sting of death”
is taken away. (1 Corinthians 15:55). Death has become one of his privileges,
for he is Christ’s Living or dying, he is the
Lord’s. If he lives, Christ lives in him; and if he dies, he goes to live
with Christ. To him, “to live is Christ and to die is gain”
(Philippians 1:21). Death frees him from many trials—from a weak body, a
corrupt heart, a tempting devil, and an ensnaring or persecuting world. Death
admits him to the enjoyment of many blessings. He rests from his labours—the hope of a joyful resurrection is changed
into a certainty: he has the company of holy redeemed spirits—he is “with
Christ.” All this is true, and yet, even to a believer, death is a solemn
thing. Flesh and blood naturally shrink from it. To part from all we love, is a
strain and trial to the feelings. The world we go to is a world unknown, even
though it is our home. Friendly and harmless as death is to a believer, it is
not an event to be treated lightly. It must always be a very solemn thing.
It is good for every
thoughtful and sensible man to consider calmly how he is going to meet death.
Be strong, like a man, and look the subject in the face. Listen to me while I
tell you a few things about the end to which we are coming to.
The good things of the
world cannot comfort a man when he draws near death. All the gold of
Relatives, lovers,
friends and co-workers cannot comfort a man when he draws near death. They may
minister affectionately to his bodily wants. They may watch by his bedside
tenderly, and anticipate his every wish. They may smooth down his dying pillow,
and support his sinking frame in their arms. But they cannot “minister to
a mind diseased.” They cannot stop the aching of a troubled heart. They
cannot screen an uneasy conscience from the eye of God.
The pleasures of the
world cannot comfort a man when he draws near death. The brilliant
ballroom—the merry dance—the midnight frolic-the party at the
races—the card table—the box at the opera—the voices of
singing men and singing women—all these are finally distasteful things.
To hear of hunting and shooting engagements gives him no pleasure. To be
invited to feasts, and regattas, and fancy fairs, gives him no ease. He cannot
hide from himself that these are hollow, empty, powerless things. They are
noise to the ear of his conscience. They are out of harmony with his condition.
They cannot stop one gap in his heart, when the last enemy is coming in like a
flood. They cannot make him calm in the prospect of meeting a holy God.
Books and newspapers
cannot comfort a man when he draws near death. The most brilliant writings of
Dickens will be gloom to his ear. The most able article in the Times will fail
to interest him. The Edinburgh and Quarterly Reviews will give him no pleasure.
The Illustrated News, and the latest new novel, will lie unopened and unheeded.
Their time will be past. Their calling will be gone. Whatever they may be in
health, they are useless in the hour of death.
There is but one fountain
of comfort for a man drawing near to his end, and that is the Bible. Chapters
out of the Bible—texts out of the Bible—statements of truth taken
out of the Bible—books containing matter drawn from the Bible—these
are a man’s only chance of comfort when he comes to die. I do not say
that the Bible will do good, as a matter of course, to
a dying man, if he has not valued it before. I know, unhappily, too much of
death-beds to say that. I do not say whether it is probable that he who has
been unbelieving and neglectful of the Bible in life, will at once believe and
get comfort from it in death. But I do say positively, that no dying man will
ever get real comfort, except from the contents of the Word of God. All comfort
from any other source is a house built upon sand.
I lay this down as a rule
of universal application. I make no exception in favor of any class on earth.
Kings and poor men, learned and unlearned—all
are equal in this matter. There is not a bit of real consolation for any dying
man, unless he gets it from the Bible. Chapters, passages, texts, promises, and
doctrines of Scripture heard, received, believed, and rested on—these are
the only comforters I dare promise to any one, when he leaves the world. Taking
communion will do a man no more good than the Roman Catholic sacrament of “extreme
unction,” so long as the Word is not received and believed. The Roman
Catholic Priest’s absolution will no more ease the conscience than the
incantations of a heathen magician, if the poor dying sinner does not receive
and believe Bible truth. I tell everyone who reads this paper, that although
men may seem to get on comfortably without the Bible while they live, they may
be sure that without the Bible they cannot comfortably die. It was a true
confession of the learned
I might easily confirm
all I have just said, by examples and illustrations. I might show you the
deathbeds of men who have despised the Bible. I might tell you how Voltaire and
Paine, the famous atheists died in misery, bitterness, rage, fear, and despair.
I might show you the happy deathbeds of those who have loved the Bible and believed
it, and the blessed effect the sight of their deathbeds had on others. Cecil, a
minister whose praise ought to be in all churches, says, “I will never
forget standing by the bedside of my dying mother. ‘Are you afraid to
die?’ I asked. ‘No!’ she replied. ‘But why does the
uncertainty of another state give you no concern?’ ‘Because God has
said, When you pass through the waters, I will be with
thee; and when through the rivers, they will not overflow thee.” (Isaiah
43:2). I might easily multiply illustrations of this kind. But I think it
better to conclude this part of my subject by giving the result of my own
observations as a minister.
I have seen many dying
persons in my time. I have seen great varieties of character and behaviour among them. I have seen some die bad-tempered,
silent, and comfortless. I have seen others die ignorant, unconcerned, and
apparently without much fear. I have seen some die so wearied out with a long
illness that they were quite willing to depart, and yet they did not seem to me
at all in a fit state to go before God. I have seen others die with professions
of hope and trust in God, without leaving satisfactory evidences that they were
on the rock. I have seen others die who, I believe, were “in Christ,”
and safe, and yet they never seemed to enjoy much tangible comfort. I have a
few dying in the full assurance of hope, and like Bunyan’s “Standfast,” giving glorious testimony to
Christ’s faithfulness, even in the river. But one thing I have never
seen. I never saw anyone enjoy what I would call real, solid, calm, reasonable
peace on his deathbed, who did not draw his peace from
the Bible. And this I am bold to say, that the man who thinks to go to his
deathbed without having the Bible for his comforter, his companion, and his
friend, is one of the greatest madmen in the world. There are no comforts for
the soul but Bible comforts, and he who does not have a hold of these, does not
have a hold of anything at all, unless it be a broken reed.
The only comforter for a
deathbed is the book about which I address the readers of this paper this day.
Surely it is no light matter whether you read that book or not. Surely a dying
man, in a dying world, should seriously consider whether he has got anything to
comfort him when his turn comes to die. I charge you, I entreat you, for the
last time, to give an honest answer to my question. What are you doing with the
Bible? Do you read it? How do you read it?
I have now given the
reasons why I press on every reader the duty and importance of reading the
Bible. I have shown that no book is written in such a manner as the Bible,
—that knowledge of
the Bible is absolutely necessary to salvation
—that no book
contains such matter
—that no book has
done so much for the world generally
—that no book can
do so much for every one who reads it
—that this Book is
the only rule of faith and practice
—that it is, and
always has been, the food of all true servants of God
—and that it is the
only Book which can comfort men when they die.
All these are ancient
things. I do not pretend to tell anything new. I have only gathered together
old truths, and tried to mould them into a new shape. Let me finish everything
by addressing a few plain words to the conscience of every group of readers.
(1) This paper may fall
into the hands of some who “can read, but never do read the Bible at all.”
Are you one of them? If
you are, I have something to say to you. I cannot comfort you in your present
state of mind. It would be mockery and deceit to do so. I cannot speak to you
of peace and heaven, while you treat the Bible as you do. You are in danger of
losing your soul.
You are in danger,
because “your neglected Bible is plain evidence that you do not love God.”
The health of a man’s body may generally be known by his appetite. The
health of a man’s soul may be known by his treatment of the Bible. Now
you are manifestly living with a serious disease. Will you not repent?
I know I cannot reach
your heart. I cannot make you see and feel these things. I can only enter my
solemn protest against your present treatment of the Bible, and lay that
protest before your conscience. I do so with all my soul. Oh, beware lest you
repent too late! Beware lest you put off reading the Bible till you send for
the doctor in your last illness, and then find the Bible a sealed book, and
dark, as the cloud between the hosts of
(2) This paper may fall
into the hands of someone who is “willing to begin reading the Bible, but
wants advice on how to begin.” Are you that man? Listen to me, and I will
give a few short hints.
For one thing, “begin
reading your Bible this very day.”
The way to do a thing is
to do it, and the way to read the Bible is actually to read it. It is not meaning,
or wishing, or resolving, or intending, or thinking about it, which will not
advance you one step. You must positively read. There is no royal road in this
matter, any more than in the matter of prayer. If you cannot read yourself, you
must persuade somebody else to read to you. But one way or another, through
eyes or ears, the words of Scripture must actually pass before your mind.
(b) For another thing “read
the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it.”
Do not think for a moment
that the great object is to turn over a certain quantity of printed paper, and
that it matters nothing whether you understand it or not. Some ignorant people
seem to fancy that all is done if they read so many chapters every day, though
they may not have an idea what they are all about, and only know that they have
pushed on their bookmark so many pages. This is turning Bible-reading into a
mere form. It is almost as bad as the Roman catholic
habit of buying indulgences, by saying an almost incredible number of “Hail
Mary’s” and “Our Fathers.” Settle it in your mind as a
general principle, that a Bible not understood is a Bible that does no good.
Say to yourself often as you read, “What is all this about?” Dig
for the meaning like an man digging for gold. Work
hard, and do not give up the work in a hurry.
(c)
For another thing, “read the Bible with childlike faith and humility.”
Open your heart as you
open your book, and say, “Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening.”
Resolve to believe implicitly whatever you find there, however much it may run
counter to your own prejudices. Resolve to receive heartily every statement of
truth, whether you like it or not.
Beware of that miserable
habit of mind into which some readers of the Bible fall. They receive some
doctrines because they like them: they reject others because they are
condemning to themselves, or to some lover, or relation, or friend. At this
rate the Bible is useless. Are we to be judges of what ought to be in the Word?
Do we know better than God? Settle it in your mind that you will receive
everything and believe everything, and that what you cannot understand you will
take on trust. Remember, when you pray, you are speaking to God and God hears
you. But, remember, when you read, God is speaking to you, and you are not to “talk
back” but to listen.
(d) For another thing, “read
the Bible in a spirit of obedience and self-application.
Sit down to the study it
with a daily determination that “you” will live by it rules, rest
on its statements, and act on its commands. Consider, as you travel through
every chapter, “How does this affect “my”- view and course of
conduct? What does this teach “me?” It is improper to read the
Bible from mere curiosity, and for speculative purposes, in order to fill your
head and your mind with opinions, while you do not allow the book to influence
your heart and life. That Bible is read best which is put into practice in our
daily lives.
(e) For another thing, “read the Bible every
day.”
Make it a part of every
day’s business to read and meditate on some portion of God’s Word.
Private means of grace are just as needful every day for our souls as food and
clothing are for our bodies. Yesterday’s meal will not feed the worker
today, and today’s meal will not feed the worker tomorrow. Do as the
Israelites did in the wilderness. Gather your manna fresh every morning. Choose
your own periods and hours. Do not hurry your reading. Give your Bible the best
and not the worst part of your time. But whatever plan you pursue, let it be a
rule of your life to visit the throne of grace and the Bible every day.
(f) For another thing, “read
all the Bible, and read it in an orderly way.”
I fear there are many
parts of the Word which some people never read at all. This is a very arrogant
habit. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable
for doctrine” (2 Timothy 3:16). To this habit may be traced that want of
broad, well-proportioned views of truth, which is so common in this day. Some
people’s Bible-reading is a system of perpetual dipping and picking. They
do not seem to have an idea of regularly going through the whole book. This is
also a great mistake. No doubt in times of sickness and affliction it is
allowable to search out seasonable portions. But this exception, I believe it
is by far the best plan to begin the Old and New Testaments at the same time,
to read each straight through to the end, and then begin again. This is a
matter in which everyone must be persuaded in his own mind. I can only say it
has been my own plan for nearly forty years, and I have never seen cause to
alter it.
(g)
For another thing, “read the Bible fairly and honestly.”
Determine to take
everything in its plain, obvious meaning, and regard all forced interpretations
with great suspicion. As a general rule, whatever a verse of the Bible seems to
mean, it does mean. Cecil’s rule is a very valuable one, “The right
way of interpreting Scripture is to take it as we find it, without any attempt
to force it into any particular system.” Well said Hooker, “I hold
it for a most infallible rule in the exposition of Scripture, that when the
literal construction will stand, the furthest from the literal is commonly the
worst.”
(h) In the last place, “read
the Bible with Christ continually in view.”
The primary object of all
Scripture is to testify about Jesus:
Old Testament ceremonies
are shadows of Christ.
Old Testament judges and
deliverers are types of Christ.
Old Testament history
shows the world’s need of Christ.
Old Testament prophecies
are full of Christ’s sufferings.
Old Testament prophecies
are full of Christ’s glory yet to come.
The
first coming and the second.
The
Lord’s humiliation.
The
Lord’s kingdom.
The Lord’s cross
and crown.
All these shine forth
everywhere in the Bible. Remember this clue, if you would read the Bible right.
I might easily add to
these hints, if space permitted. Few and short as they are, you will find them
worth your attention. Act upon them, and I firmly believe you will never be
allowed to miss the way to heaven. Act upon them, and you will find light
continually increasing in your mind. No book of evidence can be compared with
that internal evidence which he obtains who daily uses the Word in the right
way. Such a man does not need the books of learned men—he has the witness
in himself. The book satisfies and feeds his soul. A poor Christian woman once
said to an unbeliever, “I am no scholar. I cannot argue like you. But I
know that honey is honey, because it leaves a sweet taste in my mouth. And I
know the Bible to be God’s book, because of the taste it leaves in my
heart.”
(3) This paper may fall
into the hands of some one who “loves and believes the Bible, and yet
reads it only a little.”
I fear there are many
such people in this day. It is a day of hustle and hurry. It is a day of
talking, and committee meetings, and public work. These things are all very
well in their way, but I fear that they sometimes clip and cut short the
private reading of the Bible. Does your conscience tell you that you are one of
the persons I speak of? Listen to me, and I will say a few things which deserve
your serious attention.
You are the man that is
likely to “get little comfort from the Bible in time of need.”
Trials come at various times. Affliction is a searching wind, which strips the
leaves off the trees, and exposes the birds’ nests. Now I fear that your
stores of Bible consolations may one day run very low. I fear lest you should
find yourself at last on very short allowance, and come into the harbour weak, worn and thin.
You are the man that is
likely “never to be established in the truth.” I will not be
surprised to hear that you are troubled with doubts and questions about
assurance, grace, faith, perseverance, and the like. The devil is an old and
cunning enemy. Like the Benjamites, he can “sling
a stone at a hair and not miss” (Judges 20:16). He can quote Scripture
easily enough when he pleases. Now you are not sufficiently ready with your
weapons to be able to fight a good fight with him. Your armour
does not fit well. Your sword sits loosely in your hand.
You are the man that is
likely to “make mistakes in life.” I will not wonder if I am told
that you have erred about your own marriage—erred about your
children’s education of spiritual things—erred about the conduct of
your household—erred about the company you keep. The world you steer
through is full of rocks, and reefs, and sand bars. You are not sufficiently
familiar either with the search lights or your charts.
You are the man that is likely
to “be carried away by some deceptive false teacher for a time.” It
will not surprise me if those clever, eloquent men, who can “make the lie
appear to be the truth,” is leading you into
many foolish notions. You are out of balance. No wonder if you are tossed to
and from, like a cork on the waves.
All these are
uncomfortable things. I want every reader of this paper to escape them all.
Take the advice I offer you this day. Do not merely read your
Bible “a little,” but read it a great deal. “Let the word of
Christ dwell in you richly” (Colossians 3:16). Do not be a mere babe in
spiritual knowledge. Seek to become “well instructed in the kingdom of
heaven,” and to be continually adding new things to old. A religion of
feeling is an uncertain thing. It is like the tide, sometimes high, and
sometimes low. It is like the moon, sometimes bright, and sometimes dim. A
religion of deep Bible knowledge, is a firm and
lasting possession. It enables a man not merely to say, “I feel hope in
Christ,” but “I know whom I have believed” (2 Timothy 1:12).
(4) This paper may fall
into the hands of someone who “reads the Bible a lot, and yet believes he
is no better because of his reading.”
This is a crafty
temptation of the devil. At one stage he says, “do
not read the Bible at all.” At another he says, “Your reading does
you no good: give it up.” Are you that man? I feel for you from the
bottom of my soul. Let me try to do you good.
Do not think you are
getting no good from the Bible, merely because you do not see that good day by day. The greatest effects are often silent,
quiet, and hard to detect at the time they are being produced. Think of the
influence of the moon upon the earth, and of the air upon the human lungs.
Remember how silently the
dew falls, and how unperceptively the grass grows.
There may be far more going on than you think in your soul by your
Bible-reading.
The Word may be gradually
producing deep “impressions” on your heart, of which you are not
presently aware. Often when the memory is retaining no facts, the character of
a man is receiving some everlasting impression. Is sin becoming every year more
hateful to you? Is Christ becoming every year more precious? Is holiness
becoming every year more lovely and desirable in your eyes? If these things are
so, take courage. The Bible is doing you good, though you may not be able to
trace it out day by day.
The Bible may be
restraining you from some sin or delusion into which you would otherwise run.
It may be daily keeping you back, and hedging you up, and preventing many a
false step. Yes, you might soon find this out to your hurt, if you were to
cease reading the Word! The very familiarity of blessings sometimes makes us
insensible to their value. Resist the devil. Settle it in your mind as an
established rule, that, whether you feel it at the moment or not, you are
inhaling spiritual health by reading the Bible, and unknowingly becoming more strong.
(5) This paper may fall
into the hands of some who “really love the Bible, live upon the Bible,
and read it regularly.”
Are you one of these?
Give me your attention, and I will mention a few things which we will do well
to lay to heart for time to come.
Let us resolve to “read
the Bible more and more” every year we live. Let us try to get it rooted
in our memories, an engraved into our hearts. Let us be thoroughly well
provisioned with it against the voyage of death. Who knows but we may have a
very stormy passage? Sight and hearing may fail us, and we may be in deep
waters. Oh, to have the Word “hid in our hearts” in such an hour as
that! (Psalm 119:11).
Let us resolve to be “more
watchful over our Bible-reading” every year that we live. Let us be
jealously careful about the time we give to it, and
the manner that time is spent. Let us beware of omitting our daily reading
without sufficient cause. Let us not be gaping, and yawning and dozing over our
book, while we read. Let us read like a
Let us resolve to “honour the Bible more in our families.” Let us read
it morning and evening to our children and spouses, and not be ashamed to let
men see that we do so. Let us not be discouraged by seeing no good arise from
it. The Bible-reading in a family has kept many a one from the jail and the
prison, and from the eternal fires of hell.
Let us resolve to “meditate
more on the Bible.” It is good to take with us two or three texts when we
go out into the world, and to turn them over and over in our minds whenever we
have a little leisure. It keeps out many vain thoughts. It tightens the nail of
daily reading. It preserves our souls from stagnating and breeding corrupt
things. It sanctifies and quickens our memories, and prevents them becoming
like those ponds where the frogs live but the fish die.
Let us resolve to “talk
more to believers about the Bible” when we meet them. Sorry to say, the
conversation of Christians, when they do meet, is often sadly unprofitable! How
many frivolous, and trifling, and uncharitable things are said! Let us bring
out the Bible more, and it will help to drive the
devil away, and keep our hearts in tune. Oh, that we may all strive so to walk
together in this evil world, that Jesus may often draw
near, and go with us, as He went with the two disciples journeying to Emmaus!
Last of all, lot us
resolve “to live by the Bible more and more” every year we live.
Let us frequently take account of all our opinions and practices—of our
habits and tempers—of our behaviour in public
and in private—in the world, and in our own homes. Let us measure
everything by the Bible, and resolve, by God’s help, to conform to it. Oh
that we may learn increasingly to “cleanse our way? By
taking heed according to thy Word.” (Psalm 119:9).
I commend all these thing to the serious and prayerful attention of
every one into whose hands this paper may fall. I want the ministers of my
beloved country to be Bible-reading ministers—the congregations,
Bible-reading congregations—and the nation, a Bible-reading nation. To
bring about this desirable end I cast in my resources into God’s
treasury. The Lord grant that it may prove not to have
been in vain!