We are commanded to search the Scriptures. Searching is a difficult and laborious work. To induce us to engage in it, we must have a strong desire for something valuable. Here is a treasure of sufficient value to call forth this desire. This blessed book contains the revealed will of God. All who love God will be anxious to know his will. They will make it the rule of their conduct. "Thy word," says the Psalmist, "is a lamp, unto my feet, and a light unto my path." The will of God, as made known in his word, is like a lantern, which sheds a light on our path, and directs the steps of our feet. The sincere Christian will search after a knowledge of God's will, with more eagerness than he would search for hidden treasures of gold and silver. He will set his heart to the work. This is what God commands. After Moses had given the law of God to the children of Israel, he said unto them, "Set your hearts unto all the words which I testify among you this day." This is a very strong expression. To set our hearts to any work, is to go about it in earnest, with all the energies of our souls. Again; when we make great search for anything we very much desire and highly prize, and find it, we are very apt to keep it. Hence David says, "Thy word have I hid in my heart." But mark the reason of his conduct. Why did he hide God's word in his heart? He explains his motive: "That I might not sin against thee." His object, in hiding God's word in his heart, was to know how to regulate his conduct so as not to sin against him. You must feel a personal interest in the truth. You must study it as the directory of your life. When you open this blessed book, let this always be the sincere inquiry of your heart: "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" Come to it with this childlike spirit of obedience, and you will not fail to learn the will of God. But when you have learned your duty in God's word, do it without delay. Here are two very important points of Christian character, quite too much overlooked. (1.) An earnest desire to know present duty. (2.) A steadfast and settled determination to do it as soon as it is known. Here lies the grand secret of high spiritual attainments. A person who acts from these principles may make greater progress in a single day than a tardy, procrastinating spirit in a long life. The pressure of obligation rests upon the present moment. Remember, when you have ascertained present duty, the delay of a single moment is sin. With these remarks, I submit a few practical directions for the profitable reading and study of the Holy Scriptures.
1. Read the Bible in your closet, or under circumstances which will secure you from interruption, either by the conversation of others, or the attractions of other objects. Do not attempt to fill up little broken intervals of time with the reading of God's word. Leave these seasons for lighter reading. Remember, the reading of the Scriptures is nothing less than conversing with God. When any one pays so little attention to your conversation as not to understand what you say, you consider it a great breach of politeness. God speaks to you whenever you read his holy word. His all-seeing eye rests upon your heart; and he knows whether you are engaged in solemn trifling. If you read his word so carelessly as not to understand its meaning and drink in its spirit, you treat him as you would disdain to be treated by an earthly friend. O the forbearance of God, who suffers such indignity from those who call themselves his children! Never approach the word of God but with feelings of reverence and godly fear.
2. Come to the work with a preparation of heart. If you were going to visit some person of great consequence, whose favor and esteem you wished to secure, you would take care to have everything about your person adjusted in the most becoming manner. So let it be with your mind, when you come to converse with God. Shut out all worldly thoughts. Strive to bring yourself into a tranquil, holy, and tender frame, so that the truths you contemplate may make their proper impression upon your heart.
3. Seek the aid of the Holy Spirit. Christ promised his disciples that, when the Holy Spirit should come, he would "guide them into all truth." Without his enlightening influences, we cannot understand the word of God; and without his gracious influences upon the heart, we shall not be disposed to obey it. We have the most abundant encouragement to seek the aid of this Divine Instructor. Christ assures us that God is more willing to give his Holy Spirit to them that ask him, than earthly parents are to give good gifts to their children. Before opening God's word, pray that he would show you the truth, the rule of your duty, and incline your heart to obey it. As you proceed, keep your heart silently lifted up to God for the same object.
4. Read with self-application. Whenever you have discovered any truth, ask what bearing it has upon your present duty. If it relates to spiritual feelings, compare it with the exercises of your own heart. If they do not correspond, you have work for repentance. Go immediately to the cross of Christ; give yourself away to him anew, and seek for pardon and needed grace. This you may do instantly, either in a silent or an audible prayer. If it relates to the spirit and temper of Christians, in their intercourse with one another, or with the world, compare it with your own conduct. If you find yourself condemned, you have the same course to pursue, with a steadfast determination to exhibit more of the spirit of Christ. If it relates to some positive duty, inquire whether you have done it. If not, you have to go through the same work of repentance and application to the blood of Christ. But do not stop here. Do your duty immediately.
5. Read the Scriptures regularly. To sustain these frail bodies, a daily supply of nourishment is required. Equally necessary is daily food for the soul. The word of God is the bread of eternal life. Take, then, your regular supplies of spiritual food, that your soul may not famish. Choose for this purpose those seasons when you are least liable to interruption; when you can retire and shut out the world; when you can best command the energies of your mind. There is no time more fit and suitable for this than the morning. Then the mind is clear, vigorous, unincumbered, and prepared to receive an impression. There is also a propriety in consulting God's word at the close of the day. But this depends much upon the state of bodily feeling. If you become exhausted and dull, after the labors of the day, I would rather recommend taking the whole time in the morning. But by no means confine yourself to these stated seasons. Whenever the nature of your pursuits will admit of your seclusion for a sufficient length of time to fix your mind upon the truth, you may freely drink from this never-failing fountain of the water of life.
6. Study the Scriptures systematically. If you read at random, here a little and there a little, your views of divine truth will be partial and limited. This method may indeed be pursued in regard to reading strictly devotional; but only when other time is taken for obtaining a connected view and a critical understanding of the whole Bible. The Bible is like a dish of savory meats. There is almost every variety of style and matter. There is History, Biography, Argumentative and Didactic Essays, and Poetry. Although these various kinds of writing are contained in a great number of books, written by various authors, at different times, without concert, yet a remarkable unity of design runs through the whole. They all aim at the development of the plan of God's moral government; and a most striking harmony of sentiment prevails throughout. We find everything, from the very beginning, pointing to the glorious plan of redemption revealed in the Gospel. Although we may, at first view, feel the want of a regular system of divinity, yet, a careful attention to the subject will convince us that God's plan is best. We have here the principles of his government exhibited in living examples; which give us a clearer view, and more vivid impression of them, than we could obtain from the study of an abstract system. There are several things to be observed, in the systematic and thorough study of the Bible, some of which I shall mention.
(1.) Always keep distinctly before you the grand design of the Scriptures; which is, to convince mankind of their lost and ruined condition, make known the way of salvation, and persuade them to embrace it.
(2.) Make it your constant aim to ascertain what is the plain and obvious meaning of the writer; for this is the mind of the Spirit. To aid you in this, observe the following particulars: 1. Endeavor to become acquainted with the peculiarity of each writer's style. Although the matter and words of Scripture were dictated by the Holy Spirit, yet it was so done that each writer employed a style and manner peculiar to himself. This does not invalidate the evidence of their divine origin. On the contrary, it shows the wisdom of the Spirit. For, if the whole Bible had been written in a uniform style, it would have given opposers a strong argument against its authenticity; while the want of that uniformity furnishes conclusive evidence that it could not have been the work of a single impostor. Again; a continued sameness of style would make the reading of so large a book as the Bible tedious and unpleasant; but the rich variety presented by the various authors of this blessed book, helps our infirmities, and makes the reading of it pleasing and delightful. 2. "Inquire into the character, situation, and office of the writer; the time, place, and occasion of his writing; and the people for whose immediate use he intended his work." This will enable you to understand his allusions to particular circumstances and customs, and to see the practical application of the principles he advances. 3. Consider the principal scope or aim of the book; or, what was the author's object, design, or intention, in writing it. Notice also the general plan or method which he has pursued. This will enable you to discover his leading ideas, if it be an argumentative work; or the particular instructions of God's providence, if it be historical. 4. Where the language is difficult to be understood, pay strict attention to the context, and you will generally find the author's meaning explained. But, if you do not, consider whether the difficult phrase is a peculiarity of the writer's style. If so, look out the place where he has used it in a different connection, and see what meaning is attached to it there. But, if this does not satisfy you, examine the passages, in other parts of the Scriptures, which relate to the same subject, and compare them with the one under consideration. This will generally clear up the darkest passages. But, if you still feel in doubt, you may find assistance from consulting commentators, who have made themselves thoroughly acquainted with all the particulars I have mentioned; which, with a knowledge of the language in which the book was originally written, may have enabled them to remove the difficulty. But, do not trust the opinions of commentators any farther than you see they agree with the general system of revealed truth; and, above all, do not follow them in any scheme of fanciful interpretation or visionary speculation.
(3.) Do not task yourself with a certain quantity of reading at the regular seasons devoted to the study of the Bible. This may lead you to hurry over it, without ascertaining its meaning, or drinking in its spirit. You had better study one verse thoroughly, than to read half a dozen chapters carelessly. The nourishment received from food depends less on the quantity than on its being perfectly digested. So with the mind; one clear idea is better than a dozen confused ones; and there is such a thing as overloading the mind with undigested knowledge. Ponder upon every portion you read, until you get a full and clear view of the truth it contains. Fix your mind and heart upon it, as the bee lights upon the flower; and do not leave it till you have extracted all the honey it contains.