The Holy Scriptures are like no other writings. All other writings
have had their origin in the mind of man, and are written with the
conviction and expectation that the reader will be able to grasp the
meaning of what is written. But this is not the situation with the
Scriptures. The writers of the Bible not only make no assumption
that the mind of man will be able to seize the thoughts recorded
therein, but his inability to do so is very distinctly affirmed (see
Luke 24: 45; 1 Cor. 2: 14). God, who inspired the writers, is the
only One who can enable us to understand that which He has caused to
be placed on record for our instruction.
Therefore a mere
study of the Word is not sufficient of itself to place us in
possession of the thoughts of God. Certainly we should read it, pay
attention to all that it brings before us, believe it even when we
do not grasp its meaning, and meditate upon its precious
utterances—but this is not enough. All, all of this
must be done in
prayerful dependence upon its Author, the Holy Spirit, and in
distrust of our own natural reason which ever revolves in its own
blind orbit, excluding every ray of divine light.
If any study of
the Bible is to be truly profitable, there must be the utmost
confidence in it as a revelation from God. Attention must be given
to its most minute details, for there is nothing unnecessary placed
on record, nor shall we find any vain repetitions crowding its
pages. Neither must we imagine that any question has arisen among
His people unforeseen by Him, since it is impossible for the enemy
to deliver a surprise attack upon One who knows the end from the
beginning. Every twist given to the evident meaning of Scripture by
the stubborn sectarian (who would compel it to lend support to his
miserable counterfeit of the truth), and every dogmatic display of
isolated texts, wrenched away from their proper connection in order
to turn the heart from the living Christ in heaven—all was foreseen
by the Author of this wonderful book, and ample provision made for
its detection and exposure.
The Bible is a
sharp sword for the conscience, and many a wandering soul has felt
its edge. It is a light that lays bare the secret chambers of the
heart of man, and manifests its deceitful intentions, and all its
bitter enmity against God. Yet at the same time, it reveals the
heart of God in all His fathomless love to the guilty. It guides the
footsteps of the pilgrim through this wilderness where there is no
way, and discloses before his heavenward gaze that celestial home,
in which there is fullness of joy, and pleasures for evermore. It
gives us a glimpse into the eternity that is past, and also directs
our eyes forward into the rest of God, and to the day when all
things will be made new, bathed in the glory of redemption.
The
characteristics of the children of the devil it faithfully
delineates, and the children of God it minutely describes. The
worthless musings of the human mind are recorded, as are also the
counsels of the eternal God. The folly of the creature and the
wisdom of the Creator; the way of falsehood and the way of truth;
the way of righteousness and the way of sin; the way of life and the
way of death; the way of man and the way of God—all are recorded
there for our enlightenment and eternal blessing. Happy is the man
whose confidence is in its heavenly origin, and whose heart and mind
are filled with its precious truths!
Its blessings are exalting, and enriching, and its curses are
blasting, bewildering, abasing and impoverishing. Obedience to its
precepts purifies the soul, and rebellion against its commandments
hardens the heart, benumbs the conscience, and deadens the
sensibilities. It criticises its critics, judges its judges, makes
liars of its calumniators, and forever justifies its friends. It
will have the last word at the last day, and from its sentence there
shall be no appeal. It is a well–spring of living water in this arid
waste, and living bread in this famine–stricken scene. It makes the
deaf to hear, the blind to see, and the dead to live. In the might
of the Spirit, it is living and powerful, sharper than any two–edged
sword, piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart (see Heb. 4: 12). As to the one who despises its
testimony, it were good for that man had he never been born!
In His
marvellous grace, God has given us this wonderful volume, and He
would have us approach it with fear and trembling—not because we are
uncertain of our deliverance from the judgment to come, but because
of its holy and sacred character. It tells us that there is “no
condemnation to those in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8: 1)—the believer’s
redemption by the blood of the Lord Jesus, his relationship to God,
and his eternal security, occupy an important place on its sacred
pages. But just because it is a revelation of God, it is to be
approached with holy reverence, and not with the lightness with
which one may take up any other book.
