How We May Read the Scriptures with Most Spiritual Profit
“And it shall be with him, and he shall read therein all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these Statutes, to do them.” — Deut. xrii. 19.
What Cicero said of Aristotle’s politics, may not unfitly be said of this book of Deuteronomy, it is full of golden eloquence. In this chapter, God instructs the Jews about setting a king over them, and there are two things specified, as to his election, and his religion.
1. His election, verse 15. “Thou shalt in any wise set him king over thee, whom the Lord thy God shall choose.” Good reason that God should have the choice of their king, since “by him kings reign.” Prov. viii. 15.
2. His religion, verse 18. “When he sitteth on the throne of his kingdom, he shall write him a copy of this law in a book, out of that which is before the priest.” Here was a good beginning of a king’s reign; the first thing he did after he sat upon the throne, was to copy out the word of God in a book. And in the text, “It shall be with him, and he shall read therein, all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, to keep all the words of this Law and these Statutes, to do them.” “It shall be with him.” The Book of the Law shall be his Vade Mecum, or daily companion. Charles the Great used to set his crown upon the Bible. Indeed the Bible is the best support of government. “And he shall read therein.” It is not below the majesty of a prince to peruse the oracles of Heaven; in them are comprised sacred apothegms, Prov. viii. 6: “I will speak of excellent things.” In the Septuagint it is “grave things,” in the Hebrew, “princely things,” such as are fit for a God to speak and a king to read. Nor must the king only read the Book of the Law at his first instalment into his kingdom, but he “shall read in it all the days of his life.” He must not leave oflf reading, till he left off reigning. And the reasons why he must be conversant in the law of God, are in the sul)sequent words: 1. “That he may learn to fear the Lord his God.” Reading of the word is the best means to usher in the fear of the Lord, 2. “That he maykeep all the words of this Law, to do them.” 3. “That he may prolong his days in his kingdom.”
I shall now confine myself to these words, “He shall read in it all the days of his life;” i. e. in the Book of the Law.
The Holy Scripture is, as Austin saith, a golden epistle sent to us from God. This is to be read diligently; ignorance of Scripture is the mother of error, not of devotion. Matt, xxii. 29: “Ye do err, not knowing the Scriptures.” We are commanded to “search the Scriptures.;’ John v. 39. The Greek word signifies to search as for a vein of silver. How diligently does a child read over his father’s will and testament! and a citizen peruse his charter! With the like diligence should we read God’s word, which is our Magna Charta for Heaven. It is a mercy that the Bible is not prohibited. Trajan the emperor forbade the Jews to read in the Book of the Law. Let us inquire at this sacred oracle. Apollos was “mighty in the Scriptures.” Acts xviii. 24. Melancthon, when he was young, sucked the sincere milk of the word. Alphonsus, King of Arragon, read over the Bible fourteen times. That Roman Lady, Cecilia, had by much reading of the word, made her heart the Library of Christ, as Jerome relates. Were the Scriptures confined to the original tongues, many would plead excuse for not reading; but when the sword of the Spirit is unsheathed, and the word is made plain to us by being translated, what should hinder us from a diligent search into these holy mysteries?
Adam was forbidden upon pain of death to taste of the tree of knowledge. Gen. ii. 17: “In the day thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” But there is no danger of touching this tree of Holy Scripture; if we do not eat oi this tree of knowledge we shall surely die. What will become of them who are strangers to the Scriptures? Hosea viii. 12: “I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing.” Many lay aside the Scriptures as rusty armor. Jer. viii. 9. “They are better read in romances than in Paul; they spend many hours between the comb and the glass, but their eyes begin to be sore when they look at a Bible. The very Turks will rise up in judgment against these Christians. They reverence the Books of Moses; and if they find but a leaf whereon any thing of the Pentateuch is written, they take it up and kiss it. They who slight the word written, slight God himself, whose stamp it bears. To slight the king’s edict is an affront offered to the person of the king. They who reject and vilify the Scriptures are in a state of condemnation. Prov. xiii. 13: “Whoso despiseth the word shall be destroyed.” Nor is it enough to read the word of God, but it should be our care to get some spiritual emolument and profit by it, that our souls may be nourished up in the words of faith. 1 Tim. iv. 6. Why else was the Scripture written but that it might profit us? God did not give us his word only as a landscape to look upon, but he delivered it as a father delivers a stock of money to his son to improve. ‘Tis sad not to profit by the word, to be like the body in a consumption, that does not thrive. Men would be loath to trade and get no profit. The grand question I am to speak to, is this. How we may read the Scriptures with most spiritual profit. In answering this question, I shall lay down several rules or directions about the reading of Scripture.
I. If you would profit by reading, remove those things that will hinder your profiting. That the body may thrive, obstructions must be removed. There are three obstructions must be removed, if you would profit by Scripture. 1. Remove the love of every shi. Let a physician prescribe ever so good recipes, if the patient takes poison it will hinder the virtue and operation of the physic. The Scripture prescribes excellent recipes, but sin lived in, poisons all. The body cannot thrive in a fever, nor can the soul under the feverish heat of lust. Plato calls the love of sin magmus dccmon, a great devil. As the rose is destroyed by the canker which breeds in it, so are the souls of men by those sins in which they indulge. 2. Take heed of those thorns which will choke the word read. These thorns our Saviour expounds to be the cares of this world. IMatt. xiii. 22. By “cares” is meant corctonsness. A covetous man hath such diversity of secular employment that he can scarce find time to read, or if he doth, what solecisms doth he commit in reading? While his eye is upon the Bible, his heart is upon the world; it is not the writings of the Apostles he is so much taken up with, as the writing in his account books. Is this man like to profit? You mo.y as soon extract oil and syrup out of a flint, as he any real benefit out of Scripture. 3. Take heed of jesting with Scripture; this is playing with fire. Some cannot be merry unless they make bold with God; when they are sad, they bring forth the Scripture as their harp to drive away the evil spirit, as that drunkard who having emptied his cups, calls to his fellows, “Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.” In the fear of God beware of this. King Edward IV. would not endure to have his crown jested with, but caused him to be executed who said he would make his son heir to the Crown, meaning the sign of the Crown on his tavern. Much less will God endure to have his word jested with. Eusebius relates of one who took a piece of Scripture to jest with, God struck him with frenzy. The Lord may justly give over such persons to a reprobate mind. Rom. i. 23.
II. If you would profit, prepare your hearts to the reading of the word; the heart is an instrument needs putting in tune. 1 Sara. vii. 3: “Prepare your hearts to the Lord.” The heathen, as Plutarch notes, thought it indecent to be too hasty or rash in the service of their supposed deities. This preparation for reading consists in two things:
1. In summoning our thoughts together to attend to that solemn work we are going about. The thoughts are stragglers, therefore rally them together. 2. In purging out those unclean affections which do indispose us to rear’ing. Before we come to the water of life, let us cast away the poison of impure affections. Many come rashly to the reading of the word, and no wonder if they come without preparation, they go away without profit.
III. Read the Scriptures with reverence; think every line you read, God is speaking to you. rrhe ark wherein the la was put was overlaid with pure gold, and was carried on bars, that the Levites might not touch it. Ex. XXV, Why was this but to breed in the people reverence to the law? When Ehud told Eglon he had a message to him from God, he arose from his throne. Judges iii. 20, The word written is a message from Jehovah; with what veneration should we receive it.
IV, Read the books of Scripture in order. Though occurrences may sometimes divert our method, yet, for a constant course, it is best to observe an order in reading. Order is a helji to meraory. We do not begin to read a friend’s letter in the middle.
V. Get a right understanding of Scripture. Psalm cxix. 73: “Give me understanding, that I may learn thy commandments.” Though there are some knots in Scripture which are not easily untied, yet things essential to salvation the Holy Ghost hath plainly pointed out to us. The knowledge of the sense of the Scriptures is the first step to profit. In the Law, Aaron was first to light the lamps, and then to burn the incense; the lamp of the understanding must be first lighted before the affections can be inflamed. Get what knowledge you can by comparing scriptures, by conferring with others, by using the best annotators. Without knowledge the Scripture is a sealed book; every line is too high for us; and if the word
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shoot above our head, it can never hit our heart.
VI. Read the word with seriousness. I one go over the Scripture cursorily, says Erasmus, there is little good to be got by it; but if he be serious in reading it, it is the savor of life; and well may we be serious if we consider the importance of those truths which are bound up in this sacred volume. Deut. xxxii. 47: “It is not a vain tiling for you; it is your life.” If a letter were to be broken open and read, wherein a man’s whole estate were concerned, how serious would he be in reading it. In the Scripture our salvation is concerned; it treats of the love of Christ, a serious subject. Christ hath loved mankind more than the angels that fell. Heb. ii. 7. The loadstone, indiflerent to gold and pearl, draws the iron to it; thus Christ passed by the angels, who were of more noble extraction, and drew mankind to him. Christ loved us more than his own life; nay, though we had a hand in his death, yet that he should not leave us out of his will. This is a love that passetk knoidcdge; who can read this without seriousness? The Scripture speaks of the mystery of faith, the eternal recompenses, and the paucity of them that shall be saved. Matt. XX. 16: “Few chosen.” One saith the names of all the good emperors of Rome might be engraved in a little ring; there are but (comparatively) few names in the Book of Life. The Scripture speaks of striving for heaven as in an agony. Luke xiii. 24. It cautions us of falling short of the promised rest. Heb. iv. 1. It describes the horrors of the infernal torments, the worm, and the fire. Mark ix. 44. Who can read this and not be serious 7 Some have light, feathery, spirits; they run over the most weighty truths in haste, (like Israel who eat the Passover in haste,) and they are not benefited by the word. Read with a solemn, composed spirit. Seriousness is the Christian’s ballast, which keeps him from being overturned with vanity.
VII. Labor to remember what you read. Satan would steal the word out of our mind; not that he intends to make use of it himself, but lest we should make use of it. The memory should be like the chest in the ark, where the ark was put. Psalm cxix. 52: “I remembered thy judgments of old.”
Jerome speaks of that religious lady, Paula, that she had most of the Scriptures by heart; we are bid to have “the word dwell in us.” Col. iii. 16, The word is a jewel; it adorns the hidden man, and shall we not remember it 7 If the word stays not in the memory, it cannot profit. Some can better remember a piece of news than a line of Scripture; their memories are like those ponds where the frogs live, but the fish die.
VIII. Meditate upon what you read. Psalm cxix. 15: “I will meditate in thy precepts.” The Hebrew word to meditate, signifies to be intense in the mind. In meditation there must be a fixing of the thoughts upon the object. Luke ii. 19: “Mary pondered those things.” Meditation is the concoction of Scripture; reading brings a truth into our head, meditation brings it into our heart; reading and meditation, like Castor and Pollux, must appear together. Meditation without reading is erroneous; reading without meditation is barren. The bee sucks the flower, and then works it into the hive, and so turns it into honey; .by reading we suck the flower of the word, by meditation we work it into the hive of our mind, and so it turns to profit. Meditation is the bellows of the afiection. Psalm xxxix. 3: “While I was musing the fire burned.” The reason we come away so cold from reading the word, is because we do not warm ourselves at the fire of meditation.
IX. Come to the reading of Scripture with humble hearts; acknowledge how unworthy you are that God should reveal himself in his word to you. God’s secrets are with the humble. Pride is an enemy to profiting. It has been said that the ground on which the peacock sits is barren; that heart where pride sits is really barren. An arrogant person disdains the counsels of the word, and hates the reproofs: is he likely to profit? James iv. 6: “God giveth grace to the humble.” The most eminent saints have been of low stature in their Own eyes; like the sun at the zenith, they showed least when they were at the highest. David had “more understanding than all his teachers.” Psalm cxix. 99: but how humble he was. Psalm xxii. 6: “I am a worm and no man.”
X. Give credence to the word written; believe it to be of God; see the name of
God in every line. The Romans, that they might gain credit to their laws, reported that they were inspired by the gods at Rome. Believe the Scriptures to be divinely inspired. 2 Tim. iii. 16: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God.” Who but God could reveal the great doctrines of the Trinity, the atonement of Jesus Christ for sinners, the resurrection? Whence should the Scriptures come, if not from God? 1.’ Sinners could not be the authors of Scripture; would they indite such holy lines, or inveigh so fiercely against the sins which they love? 2. Saints could not be the authors of Scripture; how could it stand with their sanctity to counterfeit God’s name, and put “thus saith the Lord,” to a book of their own devising? 3. Angels could not be the authors of Scripture. What angel in heaven durst personate God, and say, “I am the Lord?” Believe the pedigree of Scripture to be sacred, and to come from the Father of light. The antiquity of Scripture speaks its divinity. No human history extant reaches farther than Noah’s flood; but the Scripture treats of things before time. Beside, the majesty, profundity, purity and barmonv of
Scripture, show it could be breathed from none but God himself. Add to this the efficacy the written word hath upon men’s consciences; by reading Scripture they have been turned into other men, as may be instanced in Austin, Junius, and others. If you should set a seal upon a piece of marble, and it should leave a print behind, you would say there was a strange vu-tue in that seed; so that, when the written word leaves a heavenly print of grace upon the heart, it argues it to be of divine authority. If you would profit by the word, you must believe it to be of God. Some skeptics question the verity of Scripture; though they have the articles of religion in their creed, yet not in their belief. Unbelief enervates the virtue of the word and makes it abortive; who will obey truths he does not believe? Heb. iv. 2: “The word did not profit them, not being mixed with faith.”
XL Highly prize the Scriptures. Psalm cxix. 72: “The law of thy mouth is better to me than thousands of gold and silver.” Can he make a proficiency in any art who doth slight and depreciate it? Prize this book of God above all other books. Gregory calls the Bible the heart and soul of God. The Rabbles say that there is a mountain of sense upon every point and tittle of Scripture. Psalm xix. 7: “The law of the Lord is perfect.” The Scripture is the library of the Holy Ghost; it is a code of divine knowledge, an exact model, and platform of religion. The Scripture contains in it the Credenda, the things which we are to believe, and the Ageiida, the things which we are to practise; it is able to make us wise unto salvation. 2 Tim. iii. 15. The Scripture is the standard of truth, the judge of controversy; it is the pole star to direct us to heaven. The Scripture is the compass by which the rudder of our will is to be steered; it is the field in which Christ, the pearl of price, is hid; it is a rock of diamond; it is a sacred Collyrium, or eye-salve; it mends their eyes who look upon it; it is a spiritual optic glass, in which the glory of God is resplendent; it is the panacea, or universal medicine for the soul. The leaves of Scripture are like “the leaves of the tree of life for the healing of the nations.” Rev. xxii. 2. The Scripture is the breeder and feeder of grace. How is the convert horn, but by “the word of truth?” James i. 18. How does he grow but by “the sincere milk of the word?” 1 Peter ii. 2. The word written is the book out of which our evidences for heaven are fetched; it is the sea-mark which shows us the rocks of sin; it is the antidote against error and apostasy; the two-edged sword which wounds the old serpent. It is our bulwark to withstand the force of lust, like the Capitol at Rome, which was a place of strength and ammunition. The Scripture is the tower of David, whereon the shields of our faith hang. Take away the word, and you deprive us o the sun, said Luther. The word written is above an angelical embassy, or a voice from heaven. 2 Peter i. 18: “This voice which came from heaven we heard; we have also a more sure word.” If Caesar so valued his Commentaries, that in preserving them he lost his purple robe, how should we estimate the sacred oracles of God? Job xxiii. 12: “I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.” King Edward VI., on the day of his coronation, had presented before him three swords, signifying that he was monarch of three kingdoms. The King said there was one sword wanting; being asked what that was, he answered, “the Holy Bible, which is the sword of the spirit, and is to be preferred before all these ensigns of royalty.” Robert, King of Sicily, did so prize God’s word, that, speaking to his friend Petrarch, he said, “I protest the Scriptures are dearer to me than my kingdom, and if I must be deprived of one of them, I had rather lose my diadem than the Scriptures.”
XII. Get an ardent love to the word. Prizing relates to the judgment, love to the affections. Psalm cxix. 159: “Consider how I love thy precepts.” He is likely to grow rich who delights in his trade; a lover of learning will be a scholar. Austin tells us before his conversion he took no pleasure in the Scriptures, but afterwards they were his delights. David thought the word sweeter than the honey which drops from the comb. Thomas h Kempis used to say he found no content Imt in a corner, with the book of God in his hand. Did Alphonsus, King of Sicily, recover of a fit of sickness from the great pleasure he took in reading Quintus Curtius? What infinite pleasure should we take in reading the book of life! There is enough m the word to breed holy complacency and delight; it is a specimen and demonstration of God’s holy love to us. The Spirit is God’s love token; the word his love letter; how doth one rejoice to read over his friend’s letter! The word written is a divine treasury, or store-house; in it is scattered truth as pearls, to adorn the inner man of the heart. The word written is the true manna, which hath all sorts of sweet taste in it; it is a sovereign elixir; it gives wine to them of a heavy heart. I have read of an ancient Rabbi, who, in a great concourse of people, made proclamation of a sovereign cordial he had to sell; many resorting to him and asking him to show it, he opened the Bible, and directed them to several places of comfort in it. Holy David drank of this cordial; Psalm cxix. 50: “This is my comfort in my affliction; for thy word hath quickened me.” Chrysostom compares the Scripture to a garden; every line in it is a fragrant flower, which we should wear not in our bosom but in our heart.
Delight in the word causeth profit: and we must not only love the comforts of the word, but the reproofs. INIyrrh is bitter to the palate, but good for the stomach.
XIII. Come to the reading of the word with honest hearts. Christ speaks of the “honest heart.” Luke viii. 15.
What is it to read the word with an honest heart?
1. To come with a heart willing to know the whole counsel of God. A good heart would not have any truth concealed, but saith as Job: “What I see not, teach thou me.” When men pick and choose in religion, they will do some things the word enjoins them, but not others; these are unsound hearts, and are not benefited by holy writ. These are like a patient, who having a bitter pill prescribed, and a julep, he will take the julep, but refuseth the pill.
2. To read the word with an honest heart is to read that we may be made better by it. The word is the medium and method of sanctification, and we come to it not only to illuminate but to consecrate us. John xvii. 17: “Sanctify them through thy truth.” Some go to the Bible as one goes to the garden to pick flowers, i. e. fine notions. Austin confesselh that before his conversion he went to hear Ambrose, more for the elegancy of speech and quaintness of notion, than the spirituality of the matter. This is like a woman that paints her face, but neglects her health. But this is to have an honest heart, when we come to the Scriptures as Naaman to the waters of Jordan, to be healed of our leprosy. “O,” saith the soul, “that the sword of the spirit may pierce the rock of my heart; that this blessed word may have such a virtue in it as the water of jealousy, to kill and make fruitful, that it may kill my sin, and make me fruitful in gnrace.” Numb. V. 27.
XIV. Learn to apply Scripture; take every word as spoken to yourselves. When the word thunders against sin, think thus: God means my sins; when it presseth any duty, God intends me in this. Many put off Scripture from themselves, as if it only concerned those who lived in the time when it was written; but if you intend to profit by the word, bring it home to yourselves. A medicine will do no good unless it be applied. The saints of old took the word as if it had been spoken to them by name. When king Josiah heard the threatening which was di THEBIBLE.
written in the book of God, he applied it to himself; he “rent his clothes and humbled his soul before the Lord.” 2 Kings xxii. 11.
XV. Observe the preceptive part of the word, as well as the promissory. The precepts carry duty in them, like the veins which carry the blood; the promises carry comfort, like the arteries which carry the spirit. Make use of the precepts to direct you, the promises to comfort j’ou. Such as cast their eye on the promise, with a neglect of the command, are not edified by Scri]»- ture; they look more after comfort than duty. They mistake their comforts, as Apollo embraced the laurel tree instead of Daphne. The body may be swelled with wind as well as flesh; a man may be filled with false comfort, as well as that which is genuine and real.
XVI. Let your thoughts dwell upon the most material passages of Scripture. The bee fastens on those flowers where she may suck most sweetness. Though the whole contexture of Scripture is excellent, yet some parts of it may have a greater emphasis, and be more quick and pungent. Reading the names of the tribes, or the genealogies of the patriarchs, is not of the same importance as faith and the new creature. Mind the “great things of the law.” Hosea viii. 12. They who read only to satisfy their curiosity, do rather busy than profit themselves. The searching too far into Christ’s temporal reign, has weakened his spiritual reign in some men’s hearts.
XVII. Compare yourselves with the word. See how the Scripture and your hearts agree; how your dial goes with this sun. Are your hearts, as it were, a transcript and counterpart of Scripture? Is the word copied out into your hearts? The word calls for humility; are you not only humbled, but humble 7 The word calls for regeneration: John iii. 7; have you a change of heart? Not only a moral and partial change, but a spiritual? Is there such a change wrought in you, as if another soul did live in the same body? 1 Cor. vi. 11: “Such were some of you, but ye are washed, ye are sanctified.” The word calls for love to the saints; 1 Peter i. 22. Do you love grace where you see it? Do you love grace in a poor man as well as in a rich? A son loves to see his father’s picture, though hung in a mean
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frame. Do you love grace though mixed with some failings, as we love gold though it be in the ore? The bringing the rule of the word and our hearts together, to see how they agree, would prove very advantageous to us. Hereby we come to know the true complexion and state of our souls, and see what evidences and certLficates we have for heaven.
XVIIl. Take special notice of those Scriptures which speak to your particular case. Were a consumptive person to read Galen or Hippocrates, he would chiefly observe what they said about a consumption. Great regard is to be had to those paragraphs of Scripture which are most apposite to one’s present case.
I shall notice three cases: 1. Affliction. 2. Desertion. 3. Sin.
1. Afiiiction. Hath God made your chain heavy? Consult these Scriptures. Heb. xii. 7: “If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as sons.” Isaiah xxvii. 9: “By this shall the iniquity of Jacob be purged.” John xvi. 20: “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy.” 2 Cor. iv. 17: “Our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worlccth for
US a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.” The limner lays his gold upon dark colors; God first lays the dark color of affliction, and then the golden color of glory.
2. Desertion. Are your spiritual comforts eclipsed? See Isaiah liv. 8: “In a little wrath I hid my face from thee, for a moment, but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee.” The sun may hide itself in a cloud, but it is not out of the firmament; God may hide his face, but he is not out of the covenant. Isaiah lvii. 16: “I will not be always wroth, for the spirits should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.” God is like the musician; he will not stretch the strings of his lute too hard, lest they break. Psalm xcvii. 11:” Light is sown for the righteous.” A saint’s comfort may be hid as seed under the clods, but at last it will spring up into a harvest of joy.
3. Sin. 1. Are you drawn away with lust? Read Gal. v. 24; James i. 15; 1 Peter ii. 11:” Abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul.” Lust kills with embracing. Prov. vii. 10, 22, 23; Prov. xxii. 14: “Go to the waters of the sanctuary to quench the fire of lust.”
2. Are you under the power of unbelief? Read Isaiah xxvi. 3: “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee, because he trusteth in thee.” Mr. Boltor speaks of a distressed soul who found much comfort from this Scripture, on his sick bed. 2 Samuel xxii. 31: “The word of the Lord is tried; he is a buckler lo all that trust in him.” John iii. 15: “That whosoever believeth m him should not perish.” Unbelief is a God-affronting sin. 1 John v. 10: “He that believeth not God hath made him a liar.” It is a soul-murdering sin. John iii. 36: “He that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Thus, in reading, observe those Scriptures which do touch upon your particularc3.se. Although all the Bible must be read, yet those texts which pomt most directly to your condition, be sure to put a special star upon.
XIX. Take special notice of the examples in Scripture; make the examples of others living sermons to you.
1. Observe the examples of God’s judgments upon snmers. They have been hanged up in chains, as a terror. How severely hath God punished proud men! Nebuchadnezzar was turned to eat grass; Herod eat up with vermin. How hath God plagued idolaters! Numbers xxv. 3, 4, 9; 1 Kings xiv. 9, 10. What a swift witness hath he been against liars! Acts v. 5, 10. These examples are set up as sea-marks to avoid. 1 Cor. X. 11; Jude 7.
2. Observe the examples of God’s mercy to saints. Jeremiah was preserved in the dungeon; the three children in the furnace; Daniel in the lion’s den. These examples are props to faith, spurs to holiness.
XX. Leave not oif reading in the Bible, jLill you find your hearts warmed. Psalm cxix. 93: “I will never forget thy precepts, for with them thou hast quickened me.” Read the word not only as a history, but strive to be afiected with it. Let it not only inform you, but inflame you. Jer. xxiii. 29: “Is not my word like as a fire 7 saith the Lord.” Go not from the word till you can say as those disciples; Luke xxiv. 32: “Did not our hearts burn within us?”
XXL Set upon the practice of what you read. Psalm cxix. 66: “I have done thy commandments.” A student in physic does not satisfy himself to read over a system, or body of physic, but he falls upon its practice. The life blood of religion lies in the practical part. So in the text: “He shall read in the book of the law all the days of his life, that he may learn to keep all the words of this law and these statutes, to do them.” Christians should be walking Bibles. Xenophon said many read the laws of Lycurgus, but few observed them. The word written is not only a rule of knowledge, but a rule of obedience; it is not only to mend our sight but to mend our pace. David calls God’s word a “lamp to his feet.” Psalm cxix. 105. It was not only a light to his eyes to see by,% but to his feet to walk by; by practice we trade the talent of knowledge, and turn it to profit. This is a blessed reading of the Scriptures, when we fly from the sins which the word forbids, and espouse the duties which the word commands. Reading without practice will be but a torch to light men to hell.
XXII. Make use of Christ’s prophetical office. He is the lion of the tribe of Judah, to whom it is given to open the book of God, and loose the seals thereof. Rev. v. 5.
Christ doth so teach, as he doth quicken. John viii. 12. The philosopher saith, light and heat increase together; it is true here, where Christ comes into the soul with his light, there is the heat of spiritual life going along with it. Christ gives us a taste of his word: “Thou hast taught me how sweet are thy words to my taste.” Psalm cxix. 102, 103. It is one thing to read a promise, another to taste it. Such as would be Scripture proficients, let them get Christ to be their teacher. Luke xxiv. 45: “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures.” Christ did not only open the Scriptures, but opened their understandmg.
XXm. Tread often upon the threshold of the sanctuary. Wait diligently upon a rightly constituted ministry. Proverbs viii. 34: “Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates.” Ministers are God’s interpreters; it is their work to open and expound dark places of Scripture. We read of pitcheis and lamps within the pitchers. Judges vii. 16. Ministers are earthen pitchers. 2 Cor. iv. 7. But these pitchers have lamps within them, to light souls in the dark.
XXIV. Pray that God will make you profit. Isaiah xlviii. 17: “I am the Lord thy God, which teacheth thee to profit.” Make David’s prayer: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.” Psalm cxix. 18. Pray to God to take off the vail on the Scriptures, that you may understand it; and the vail on your heart, that you may believe it. Pray that God will not only give you his word as a rule of holiness, but his grace as principle of holiness. Implore the guidance of God’s Spirit. Neh. ix. 20: “Thou gavest them thy good Spirit to instruct them.” Though the ship hath a compass to sail by, and store of tackling, yet without a gale of wind it cannot sail; though we have the word written as our compass to sail by, and make use of our endeavors as the tackling, yet unless the Spirit of God blow upon us, we carmot sail with profit. When the Almighty is as dexo to us, then ’ we grow as the lily, and our beauty is as the olive tree.” Hosea xiv. 5, 6: By the anointing of the Holy Ghost. One may see the figures on a dial, but he cannot tell how the day goes unless the sun shine; we may read many truths m the Bible, but we cannot know them savingly till God’s Spirit shine into our souls. 2 Cor. iv. 6. The Spirit is a Spirit of wisdom and revelation. Eph. i. 17. When Philip joined himself to the eunuch’s chariot, then he understood the Scriptures. Acts viii. 35. When God’s Spirit joins himself to the word, then it will be etlectual to salvation. These rules observed, the word written would, through God’s blessing, become an “engrafted word.” James i. 21. A good scion grafted into a bad stock, changeth the nature of it, and makes it bear sweet and generous fruit. So when the word is grafted savingly into men’s hearts, it doth sanctify them, and make them bring forth the sweet “fruits of righteousness.” Phil. i. 11.
Thus I have answered this question, how we may read the Scriptures with most spiritual profit. In conclusion,
1. Content not yourselves with the bare reading of the Scriptures, but labor to find some spiritual improvement and profit. Get the word transcribed into your hearts. Psalm xxxvii. 31: “The law of his God is in his heart.” Such as prolit by reading the book of God, are the best Christians alive; they answer God’s cost, they credit religion, they save their souls.
2. You who have profited by reading the Holy Scriptures, adore God’s distinguishing grace. Bless God that he hath not only brought the light to you, but opened your eyes to see it; that he hath unlocked his hid treasure, and enriched you with saving knowledge. Some perish by not having Scripture, and others by not improving it. That God should pass by millions, and the lot of his electing love should fall upon you; that the Scripture, like the pillar of cloud, should have a dark side to others, but a light side to you; that to others it should be a dead letter, but to you the savor of life; that Christ should not only be revealed to you, but in you; Gal. i. 16; — how should you be in an holy ecstacy of wonder, and wish that you had hearts of seraphims burning in love to God, and the voices of angels to make heaven ring with God’s praises!
But some of the godly may say they fear they ‘do not profit by the word they read. As in the body when there is a fainting of the vital spirits, cordials are employed, so let me apply a few divine cordials to such as are ready to faint under the fear of non-proficiency.
1. You may profit by reading the word, though you come short of others. The ground which brought forth thirty fold, was good ground. Matt. xiii. 8. Say not that you have obtained no profit because you are not equal with other eminent saints; those were counted strong men among David’s worthies, though they did not attain to the honor of the first three. 2 Sam. xxiii. 19.
2. You may profit by reading the word, though you are not of quick apprehension. Some impeach themselves because they are slow of understanding. When our blessed Saviour foretold his sofierings, the apostles themselves understood not, and it was hid from them. Luke ix. 45. The author to the Hebrews speaks of some who were dull of hearing. Heb. v. 11. Such as have weaker judgments may have stronger afiections. A Christian with little knowledge may be kept fi-om sin, as a man that hath but weak sight, yet is kept by it from falling into the water.
3. You may profit by reading Scripture, although you have not excellent memories. IMany complain their memories leak. Christian, art thou grieved that thou canst remember no more? Then for thy comfort,
1. Thou mayst have a good heart, though thou hast not so good a memorxj.
2. Though thou canst not remember all thou readest, yet thou rememberest that which is most material, and which thou hasl most need of; at a feast we do not eat of every dish, but we take so much as nourisheth. It is with a good Christian’s memorj’ as it is with a lamp; though the lamp be not full of oil, yet it hath so much oil as makes the lamp burn; though thy memory be not full of Scripture, yet thou retainest so much as makes thy love to God to bum.
Then, be of good comfort, thou dost profit by what thou readest, and take notice of that encouraging Scripture, John xiv. 26: “The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, he shall bring all things to your remembrance.” Amen.
SECRET PRAYER
SUCCESSFULLY MANAGED,
Y REV. SAMUEL LEE,