posted by Phil Johnson
The PyroManiacs devote some space each weekend to highlights from The Spurgeon Archive. The following excerpt is from "How to Read the Bible," a sermon published in 1879.
eed I suggest the question as to whether you do read your Bibles or not? I am afraid that this is a magazine-reading age, a newspaper-reading age, a periodical-reading age, but not so much a Bible-reading age as it ought to be.
In the old Puritanic times men used to have a scant supply of other literature, but they found a library enough in the one book, the Bible. And how they did read the Bible! How little of Scripture there is in modern sermons compared with the sermons of those masters of theology, the Puritanic divines! Almost every sentence of theirs seems to cast sidelights upon a text of Scripture; not only the one they are preaching about, but many others as well are set in a new light as the discourse proceeds. They introduce blended lights from other passages, which are parallel or semi-parallel thereunto, and thus they educate their readers to compare spiritual things with spiritual.I would to God that we ministers kept more closely to the grand old book. We should be instructive preachers if we did so, even if we were ignorant of "modern thought," and were not "abreast of the times." I warrant you we should be leagues ahead of our times if we kept closely to the word of God.
As for you, my brothers and sisters, who have not to preach, the best food for you is the word of God itself. Sermons and books are well enough, but streams that run for a long distance above ground gradually gather for themselves somewhat of the soil through which they flow, and they lose the cool freshness with which they started from the spring head. Truth is sweetest where it breaks from the smitten Rock, for at its first gush it has lost none of its heavenliness and vitality. It is always best to drink at the well and not from the tank. You shall find that reading the word of God for yourselves, reading it rather than notes upon it, is the surest way of growing in grace. Drink of the unadulterated milk of the word of God, and not of the skim milk, or the milk and water of man's word.
18 comments:
Oh, that CD-Host would take heed to those words! (debate blog)
You shall find that reading the word of God for yourselves, reading it rather than notes upon it, is the surest way of growing in grace. Drink of the unadulterated milk of the word of God, and not of the skim milk, or the milk and water of man's word.
Amen!!
Words of wisdom. I know that I spend too much time reading what other men and women have written and too little time reading what God has written. I have nothing to say in my own defence. Spurgeon is correct again. God help me.
Brilliant.
I warrant you we should be leagues ahead of our times if we kept closely to the word of God
That's quite true. You live long enough (and learn history), you find that:
1. The world goes through its fads
2. Bible-believers see through them
3. Evanjellybeans start clamoring after
4. Years later the world changes
5. Believers are already there
6. Evanjellybeans are still on the old "me-too" track
The sheep surely need to be fed by the chosen shepherds of the Lord. I look forward to being fed this morning by my pastor.
I agree though, that being fed by the "Chief Shepherd", as I read, study, and meditate prayerfully on His Word, is "the surest way of growing in grace".
Have a blessed Lord's Day.
Read more Bible!
Read fewer blogs!
Oh... present company excepted of course.
And, I'm glad I got to make that crack before anyone else did. ;-)
As usual Mr. Spurgeon address the issues that we still have today. Thanks for remember us some things just don't change. God's Word is still the best book to read.
r u the same ppl that made agenerationfortruth.blogspot.com? u are both rockin 2 jesus!!!!1 its good 2 see a lot of god-fearing ppl int the worlld!!!1
Amen. God continues to use Spurgeon long after his death.
Amen, brother Spurgeon! Good to hear. I believe there are too many Christian books on the market, and too much reading of them rather than the Word of God.
Claudia: I believe there are too many Christian books on the market, and too much reading of them rather than the Word of God.
It's not too many Christian books, its too many sensationalist "Left Behind" type books, and not enough books about the operation of the Holy Spirit, for example, in the life of the Church.
@ jackson scott:
Yeah, we r the ppl who luv the Rock that duzunt roll.
@ jeff:
Now, for a try at the Queen's English, and since I will never supersede Mr. Spurgeon, let us use the full-fat milk of the word of God to thank the minister for his message: Proverbs 25:11.
Truth is sweetest where it breaks from the smitten Rock, for at its first gush it has lost none of its heavenliness and vitality. It is always best to drink at the well and not from the tank.
Amen to you, jeff!
Let us pray - for each other - that we spend more time in the Book of Life.
Spurgeon nails it again. Thanks for posting a sobering reminder that I shouldn't be posting this comment, but rather reading the Word.
Today I read:
Mk 8:10-38
Ge 22: 1-23:20; mt 7:21-8:13
Proverbs 1
Psalms 1-5
Tomorrow will be more of the same! Thanks to Pastor Phil for answering my many questions along the way.
Blessings in Christ..
David U.
I didn't read this post. Was too busy reading Amos.
David:
"Today I read:...
Ge 22: 1-23:20; "
Egad, you read backwards, too? ;)
A rebuke from the past. And a timely one at that.
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