Chapter 6
Chapter 6
Christian living, in my opinion, completely hinges on the way Christian people read the Bible for themselves. All sermons and lectures, all Bible readings and classes, and all religious magazines and books can never take the place of our own quiet study of God’s precious Word. We can measure our growth in grace by the growth of our love for private Bible study, and we can be sure something is seriously wrong when we lose our appetite for the Bread of Life. Perhaps we have been eating too many sweets, or exercising too little, or breathing too briefly in the bracing air which sweeps over the uplands of spiritual fellowship with God.
Those of us who have learned the blessed art of discovering the treasures of the Bible for ourselves are happy to find those gems hidden just a little below the surface, so as to test our real sincerity in finding them. No specimens are as interesting as those which the naturalist has obtained by his own efforts – each of which has a history.
No flowers are so fragrant as those which we discover for ourselves nestled in some woodland glade secluded from the eye and step of men. No pearls are as priceless as those which we have sought for ourselves in the calm, clear depths of the ocean of truth. Only those who know it can realize the joy that fills the spirit when one makes a great “find” in some previously unseen connection, some fresh reference, or some railway line from verse to verse.
A few simple rules can help many more people acquire this holy skill, and here I endeavor to write them down. May the Holy Spirit Himself own and use them.
The divine Teacher must have preset and uninterrupted hours for meeting His scholars. His Word must have our freshest and brightest thoughts. We must give Him our best and the firstfruits of our days. That’s why there’s no time for Bible study like the early morning. After we have opened our letters, glanced through the paper, and joined in the prattle of the breakfast table, we can’t give such undivided attention to the holy thoughts that glisten like diamonds on the pages of Scripture. When the Israelites of old gathered the manna, it had to be done before the dew evaporated and the sun was up, otherwise it melted. And they gathered it early in the morning, each one according to his eating; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted (Exodus 16:21).
For that reason, we should aim at ensuring at least half an hour before breakfast for the leisurely and loving study of the Bible. To some this might seem like a long time compared with what they give now. But soon it will seem all too short. The more you read the Bible, the more you will want to read it. It is an appetite which grows as it is fed.
And you will be repaid well. The Bible seldom speaks to those who always read it in a hurry, and certainly never speaks of its deepest, sweetest words. Nature can only tell her secrets to people who will sit still in her sacred temple until their eyes lose the glare of earthly glory, and their ears are attuned to her voice. And will divine revelation do what nature cannot? Never. The man who will win the heavenly joys of hearing her must watch daily at her gates and wait at the posts of her doors. There is no chance for a young man to grow who only gets an occasional mouthful of food and always swallows it in a hurry.
Of course, this time before breakfast isn’t possible for everyone. The invalid, the nurse with broken rest, the public servant whose shift often turns night into day – these are exceptions and the Lord Jesus can make it up to them. If needs be, He shall sit with them at midday beside the well. In the case of such people who can only snatch a few words of Scripture as they hurry to their work, the miracle of the manna will be repeated. He that gathered much had nothing over; that is, all we get in our morning reading isn’t “too much” for the needs of the day. And he that gathered little had no lack (Exodus 16:18); that is, when circumstances compel and we are unable to do more than snatch up a hasty handful of manna, it will last us all through the day. The pitcher of meal shall not be consumed, neither shall the cruse of oil fail (1 Kings 17:14).
It would be impossible to name everyone who has traced their usefulness and power to this priceless habit. Sir Henry Havelock always spent the first two hours of each day alone with God, and if the camp turned out at 6:00 a.m., he would rise at 4:00 a.m. Earl Cairns rose daily at six o’clock to guarantee an hour and a half for the study of the Bible and for prayer before conducting family worship at a quarter to eight, even when the late hours of the House of Commons left him with no more than two hours’ sleep. It is the practice of a beloved missionary friend of mine to spend at least three hours each morning with his Bible. He has said that he often puts aside pressing engagements so that he not only can have time but also be fresh for it.
It’s no doubt difficult to awaken early enough to get time for our Bible before breakfast, but these difficulties present no barrier to those who must leave early for work or activities of pleasure. If we mean to get up, we can get up. Of course, we must prepare for early rising by retiring early enough to get our needed rest, even though it might cost some cozy hours by the fireside on the winter’s night. But with suitable forethought and fixed purpose, the thing can surely be done. All things are possible to him that believes (Mark 9:23).
I will never forget seeing Charles Studd early one November morning, clothed in flannels to protect himself from the cold, and rejoicing that the Lord had awakened him at 4:00 a.m. to study His commands. He told me it was his custom to trust the Lord to call him and enable him to rise. Couldn’t we all do this? The weakest can do all things through Christ who strengthens (Philippians 4:13). And though you have failed again and again when you trusted your own resolutions, you can’t fail when you simply trust Him. He wakes up early, early shall he awaken my ear, that I might hear (Isaiah 50:4). And he took him by the right hand and lifted him up, and immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength (Acts 3:7).
No one can explain the meaning of his words as well as the person who wrote them. Tennyson could best explain some of his deeper references in his In Memoriam. If you want to read the Bible as you should, then make much of the Holy Spirit who inspired it through holy men. As you open the book, lift up your heart and say, Open my eyes, and I shall behold the wonders of thy law (Psalm 119:18), and say, Speak; for thy slave hears (1 Samuel 3:10).
The light commentaries cast on the inner meaning of Scripture are marvelous but meager compared to what the simple-hearted believer, depending on the aid of the Holy Spirit, will find in the Bible, because they will discover what the wisest have mistaken or missed. The apostle John said as much: Ye do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you of all things and is truth (1 John 2:27). What fire is to invisible ink, bringing the colorless fluid out black and clear, the teaching of the Holy Spirit is to passages in the Bible which had seemed meaningless and bare.
We can never know too much about literature which throws sidelights on the Bible, and which unfolds the customs of the people, difficult allusions, historical coincidences, or geographical details. Geikie’s Hours with the Bible, Kitto’s Daily Bible Illustrations, and Dr. William Smith Smith’s Bible Dictionary are invaluable books like these. But we should study them at another time other than the sacred morning hour we give to the Holy Spirit alone.
On the whole, there’s probably no better way than to read through the Bible once every year. There is a very good plan for doing this in the life of the godly M’Cheyne, who drew it up for his people. Or it may be done in a Bagster’s Bible Handbook by daily taking three columns of the Old Testament, two of the New Testament, and one of the Psalms. This system will more than do it.
The next best plan is the one adopted by Mr. Richardson’s Bible Reading Union, which consists of tens of thousands of Christians in every part of the world who read one chapter a day in regular rotation to get through the Bible in about three years.
It is wise to have a good quality copy of the Scriptures, strongly bound for wear and tear, with good clear print, and with as much space as possible for notes – a book you can make a friend and inseparable companion. But above all, in the beginning, it’s wise to select one with abundant marginal references making it easy to turn to parallel passages. For myself, this plan has infused my Bible reading with new interest. I love to have one of the paragraph Bibles from the Religious Tract Society in front of me. It abounds with well-chosen references. I also like to have a small pocket Bible in my hand, so I can easily turn to any reference I desire. Very often I get more blessing from the passages I refer to, and those to which these lead, than from the one I may be reading.
After a while, we begin to make references for ourselves. At this point, we can use a copy of the Revised Bible, so we can not only enjoy the immense advantage of reading God’s Word in the most approved English rendering, but so that we can also have the opportunity to fill the empty margins with notes about parallel passages.
But whatever system is adopted, be sure to read the Bible through on some system, as you would any other book. No one would think of reading a letter, a poem, or history like many read God’s Word. It’s no wonder they are so ignorant about its majestic prose, its exquisite lyric poetry, its massive arguments, its sublime imagery, its spiritual beauty – qualities which combine to make it the King of Books, even though the halo of inspiration didn’t shine like a crown about its brow.
It is sometimes best to read a book of the Bible in a sitting, devoting two or three hours to the sacred task. At other times, it is more profitable to take an era, or an episode, or a life, and compare all that is written about it in various parts of Scripture. At other times, again, it is best to follow the plan which Mr. Moody has so often insisted, of taking one word or thought, such as faith, or love, or able, and tracing it with the help of a concordance, from end to end of the inspired Book. But in any case, let the whole Bible be your study, because all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16). Even the rocky places shall gush with springs of water. The most barren chapters shall blossom like the rose. Out of the eater came forth food, and out of the strong came forth sweetness (Judges 14:14).
Let us never forget that the Bible is one Book; it is the work of one infinite Spirit, speaking through prophet and priest, shepherd and king, the old-world patriarch and the apostle who lived to see Jerusalem leveled to the ground. You can subject its words to the most thorough test, but you will find they always have the same meaning and move in the same direction. Let the Bible be its own dictionary, its own interpreter, its own best commentary. It is like a vast, buried city in which every turn of the spade reveals some new wonder, while passages branch off in every direction calling for exploration.
Writing about F. R. Havergal, her sister says, “She read her Bible at her study table by seven o’clock in the summer, and eight o’clock in winter. Sometimes, on bitterly cold mornings, I begged that she would read with her feet comfortably to the fire, and received the reply: ‘But then, Marie, I can’t rule my lines neatly; just see what a find I’ve got! If only one searches, there are such extraordinary things in the Bible!’ She resolutely refrained from late hours and frittering talks at night, in place of Bible searching and holy communings. Early rising and early studying were her rule through life.”
In my judgment, no one has learned the secret of enjoying the Bible until they have started to mark it, neatly. Underlining and dating special verses, which have cast light on their path on distinctive days. Drawing connections, across the pages, between verses which repeat the same message, or ring with the same note. Jotting down new references, or the catchwords of helpful thoughts. All these methods find plenty to occupy the pen and fix our treasures for us permanently. Our Bible then becomes the precious memento of bygone hours, and records the history of our inner life.
Don’t read the Bible for others, for class or congregation, but for yourself. Bring all its rays to a focus on your own heart. While you’re reading, ask often that some verse or verses may jump out from the printed page as God’s message to you. Never close the Book until you feel you are carrying away your portion of meat from that hand which satisfies the desire of every living thing. Sometimes it is best to stop reading and to seriously ask, “What does the Holy Spirit mean for me to learn from this? What influence should this have on my life? How can I work this into the fabric of my character?”
Don’t let the Bible simply be like a history book, a treatise, or a poem to you, but look at it as your Father’s letter to you –a letter which offers some things you won’t understand until you come into the circumstances that require them, but a letter which is also full of present help. There’s a great difference between the way a child away from home scans through newspapers versus the way he devours the letter from home through which the beloved parent speaks. Both are interesting, but the one is general, and the other is totally written to him. Read the Bible, not like a newspaper, but as a letter from home.
If a cluster of heavenly fruit hangs within reach, gather it. If a promise lies on the page of scripture like a blank check, cash it. If a prayer is recorded, adopt it as your own and launch it like a feathered arrow from the bow of your desire. If an example of holiness shines before you, ask God to do as much for you. If a truth is revealed in all its intrinsic splendor, pray that its brilliance may always light the hemisphere of your life like a star. Interweave the climbing creepers of holy desire about the latticework of Scripture, and you will come to say with the psalmist, O how I love thy law! It is my meditation all the day. (Psalm 119:97).
It is sometimes best to read over Psalm 119 while on our knees; it’s so full of devout love for the Bible. And if any want to scold us for spending so much time on the Old Testament, or the New, let us remind them of the words of Christ: It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). The Old Testament must be worth our study since it was our Savior’s Bible, deeply pondered and often quoted. And the New Testament demands it, since it is so full of what He said and did, not only in His earthly life, but also through His holy apostles and prophets.
Advantages of a Deep Knowledge of the Bible
The advantages of having a deep knowledge of the Bible are more than can be numbered here. It is the storehouse of the promises. It is the sword of the Spirit, before which temptation flees. It is the all-sufficient equipment intended for Christian usefulness. It is the believer’s guidebook and directory in all possible circumstances. Words fail to tell how glad, how strong, how useful the daily life will be for those who can say with the prophet: Thy words were found, and I ate them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart (Jeremiah 15:16).
Practice What You Learn
One thing should be said after everything else, because it is most important and should linger in the memory and heart even if all the other advice of this chapter should pass away like a summer brook. It is this: it is useless to dream of making headway in the knowledge of Scripture unless we are prepared to practice each new and clearly defined responsibility which looms out before our view. We are taught, not just for our pleasure, but also that we may do what it says. But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves (James 1:22). Through the dear grace of Jesus Christ our Lord, if we turn each holy precept or command into instant obedience, God will keep nothing back from us. He will open His deepest and sweetest thoughts to us, but as long as we refuse to obey even the smallest command, we will find that the light will fade from the pages of Scripture, and the enthusiasm will die down quickly in our own hearts.
This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth, but thou shalt meditate therein day and night that thou may keep and do according to all that is written therein; for then thou shalt make thy way to prosper. (Joshua 1:8)