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The Key of Knowledge

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Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 20, 1872

FromReview and Herald, Vol. 40, No. 10.

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The Key of Knowledge.

By B. F. Merritt

“Woe unto you, lawyers! for ye have taken away the key of knowledge.” Luke 11 : 52.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.” Hosea 4 : 6.
Few of those who fill responsible positions in the world seem to realize the power they exert in shaping the destiny of their fellow-beings. The more important the trust committed to man, the more important is it that his mind should be illuminated by the Infinite Mind, and his heart be warmed by the love of God, and that his powers all be consecrated to God, that he may be a proper instrument, in the hand of God, to perform the assigned work.
“Ye have taken away the key of knowledge.” Beware, ye influential men, lest you do this unwittingly. Have you thought how easily you can take away this key from some poor soul? A trusting heart and an inquiring mind will gain the desired knowledge. But should you cause distrust in the holy word, or impress the mind with the thought that it cannot be understood, the key—the motive that prompts the penetrating power that unfolds the truth—is gone.
Why is it that so many millions of conscientious men and women in this land of Bibles are so ignorant of God's will, and can see no way to God but through that great barrier of church, priests, pope, and saints? Because the key of knowledge has been taken from them. Every creed that prescribes a faith, and says, “Thus far shalt thou come in the knowledge of the doctrines of the Bible, but no farther,” takes away the key from those who adhere to it.
I suppose the most common and effectual way of taking the key of knowledge from the people, in these days, is by impressing the mind with the thought that the declarations of the Bible are to be taken in a spiritual sense, that God does not mean what he says, and therefore learned divines must be heard to explain before it can be understood.
Oh! that minds could be disabused, and souls made to properly appreciate the word of God.
Think not, dear reader, that it is useless for you to try to understand God's word. It is a kind letter from your loving Father to you. He did not make a mistake, as some shepherds do, and place the feed so high that the little ones of the flock cannot reach it. He understood well our natures and our capacities when he sent his word to us, and it is perfectly adapted to our wants. He did not err. And now the effort that we must put forth to gain a proper knowledge of the truth is just what we need to invigorate and prepare us to appreciate it.
Jesus would give you the key of knowledge. He says, “Search the Scriptures;” “Seek and ye shall find;” “Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear;” “Whoso readeth let him understand.”
Read and study God's holy word, as a letter of kind admonition and instruction from a loving Parent, who, with the utmost solicitude, seeks your present and eternal good. It is his will that we should be noble men and women, and attain to the highest state of excellence, and his word points out the way.
“My son, if thou wilt receive my words, and hide my commandments with thee; so that thou incline thine ear unto wisdom, and apply thine heart to understanding; yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding; if thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; then shalt thou understand the fear of the Lord, and find the knowledge of God. For the Lord giveth wisdom; out of his mouth cometh knowledge and understanding.” Prov. 2 : 1–6.
B. F. MERRITT.