Acts 8:30-39 And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understand you what you read?… The Bible should be read — I. INTELLIGENTLY. Very often the time spent in Bible reading is time wasted, There is a certain sect in the East whose priests use a praying machine, and there are people who read the Bible every day, but they read like machines. Reading the Bible does us no good unless we understand what we read. I have met with people who have gone abroad to a beautiful country, just to be able to say that they had been there. They never noticed the beauties of the scenery, their one object was to get to a certain place and then get back again. So it is with many Bible readers. Their one object is to get through so many chapters or verses. Some of the first discoveries of gold in Australia were made by accident. A man saw a mass of rock, and struck it carelessly with a pickaxe and broke it, and found that it contained gold. Now some parts of the Bible may appear like the rock, hard and uninteresting, till we can work into them, then we find gold. II. PRAYERFULLY. We may make mistakes about the Bible as well as any other book. If you were to read some medical works, and had not received the education of a doctor, you would soon fancy that you had several different diseases; and if you were to try to treat yourself for them you would probably become really ill, or perhaps die. In the same way people may make mistakes about the Bible. A lady once came to me during a mission utterly miserable because she thought she had committed "the unpardonable sin," without knowing what it was. John Bunyan nearly went mad at one time from the same mistake. We must have light to read the Bible by; light given directly by God in answer to prayer; and from the teaching and explanation of God's Church. Men of science have just taught us how to store electricity, so that we can lay in a stock of it just as we lay in coals, sufficient to light our lamps for a given time. Well, we can store light to understand the Bible by; the more we pray over our Bible the more light we store in ourselves. III. MEDITATIVELY. Food not digested is almost as bad as poison; and so many people get positive harm from their Bible reading because they do not digest what they read. As properly digested food makes our bodies what they are, flesh, and bone, and blood, and muscle, so God's Word properly digested makes a member of the Church a Bible Christian; in the true sense of the term. IV. TO FIND JESUS THERE. You know how they collect gold dust? They take the soil which has been dug out, and wash it in running water, carefully watching for the sparkling grains. Well, we should take what we have dug out of the Bible by study, and examine it carefully, and look into it again and again till we find gold, signs of Jesus Christ. When we approach one of our English towns or villages, the most conspicuous object is the tower or spire of the church or minster rising above ell other buildings and casting its shadow over all. So when we approach our Bible reading we should see Jesus first, and His Cross rising above all other topics, and casting its shadow on every page. V. WITH THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. There is an instrument called an AEolian harp, which is silent till placed where the wind can blow upon it, then its strings give forth sweet music. Your Bible will be silent to you till the breath of God blows upon it, then it will be the music of the gospel to you. Old legends say that when the rising sun shone upon the statue of Memnon, in Egypt, the figure uttered tuneful sounds. So when the sun of the Holy Spirit shines upon the pages of your Bible, God will send forth thence His voice, yea, and that a mighty voice. "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." VI. PERSONALLY. Do not try to fit the warnings and teachings and threats of the Bible on others, but on yourselves. People too often study God's Word to find out their neighbour's sins, instead of their own. They need the sharp message — "Thou art the man!" In the old days of Greece, they tell us of a philosopher who went about from place to place with a lantern, and when asked what he was seeking, he answered that he was looking for an honest man. We are too fond of taking the lantern of God's Word, and examining our neighbours with it. Let us try to turn the light more strongly on ourselves. VII. TO REVISE WHAT YOU READ. I heard of a poor woman who heard the account of the Saviour's sufferings read; she was very ignorant, and being told that these events happened long ago, and in a foreign land, expressed a hope that after all the account might not be true. I believe that many people read the Bible, or hear it read, and never feel it, never realise its truth. It is a custom in Greenland for a stranger, when knocking at the door, to ask, "Is God in this house?" If the answer, "Yes," is given, he enters. Let the Bible ask you this question. When you read God's Word, listen for God's voice asking you the question — "Is God in this house?" Is it well with thee, is it well with the husband, is it well with the child? Let your Bible speak to your innermost heart, and let your answer be, "Speak, Lord, for Thy servant heareth." (H. J. W. Buxton.) Parallel Verses KJV: And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? |
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