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"Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light
unto my path." Psalm 119:105
John G. Lockhart, the son-in-law of Sir Walter Scott, the
great novelist tells in the biography of Scott that when he
was old, sick and weak, he asked to be taken in his wheelchair
around his beloved Abbotsford. They went from room to room.
When they got to the library where they could look down on
the River Tweed, and after they had admired the view Scott
asked Lockhart to read from the book. "What book?"
asked Lockhart as he looked around the shelves to capacity.
"Need you ask", said Scott with the impatience of
the aged, "there is but one." Lockhart read from
John 14.
Said Scott
"That is a great comfort.
"Your work is a lamp to guide me, and a light for my path."
The statement has been uttered by people down the years as
they spoke of the Bible and their experience from its use.
Michael Faraday said:
"The Christian who is taught by God finds his guide in
the Word of God."
While the Bible has been the best selling book it is most
regrettable that so many who have it make no use of it. Among
those who do so are those who see it as a great book among
great books with wisdom with an emphasis on religious, moral,
social and political issues of continuing relevance. To the
Christian it is the Word from God to tell us of His goodness
and what He requires of us. It has life changing effect on
its readers. They speak from their own experiences. They see
it as was the pillar of fire to the Israelites when they journeyed
to the promised land; the light of God to guide us day by
day in life and through life.
To them the Bible supplies the answers to the questions of
life. It speaks of his destiny and his relationship with God
and people. It meets the needs of those people who take heed
to what it says. By the Bible God speaks to us; it is His
ordinary means of conversation with us.
People listen to God when they read the Bible. He speaks
through the church because the Bible is read and preached;
through prayer because it is the effect of what is thought
and influenced by the ideals and principles of the Bible.
The primary purpose of the book remarkably is to remind us
that Christianity is not the religion of a book of a Person
for "Christianity is Christ." The function of the
Bible is to tell people about Him. There is an old maxim:
"In the Old Testament Christ is concealed. In the
New Testament Christ is revealed."
Those who read the Bible should let it speak to them; listen
and take heed to what it says to them. These simple rules
are imperatives on the use of the Bible for the purposes to
which it is intended.
D.L. Moody repeatedly said:
"Nobody ever outgrows Scripture, the book widens
and deepens with our years. I never saw a useful Christian
who was not a student of the Bible. If a man neglects his
Bible he may pray and ask God to use him and his work, but
God cannot make use of him, for there is not much of the Holy
Spirit to act upon."
Rev. Canon Dr. S.E. Long
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