FULNESS AND IMPORTANCE OF THE BIBLE.
By A. T. Pierson
The unique position of the Word of God lies in this, that it claims to be, and justifies the claim to be, the one Book which God has given to man as a revelation of his will. Claiming plenary inspiration, and complete adaptation to man’s wants, it is at once, as James teaches, the perfect mirror of character; as David teaches, the perfect medicine for the soul; as Paul teaches, the perfect mold of holy manhood (Rom. 6:17, Greek); and, as all inspired writers agree, the miracle-worker which transforms the heart and life. We must remember, moreover, that there is a reason, and a very special one, for giving to this authoritative Word of God a present exaltation in our daily life of study, which had been in previous centuries impossible. How few of us appreciate the difference between ancient and modern times, in the facilities for individual Bible reading and searching! Contrast the remote days of Ezra—when copies of the sacred books were so rare that all the multitude could hope to do would be to hear passages read and expounded, and when such privileges brought overwhelming joy. Nehemiah 8. Or think of Luther’s day, only three and a half centuries since, when the Bible was found only in convents and public sanctuaries, and even there was chained to a pillar as a rare and costly treasure. Finely, indeed, does Ruskin remind us in his lecture, “Sesame—Of King’s Treasuries”—how books introduce us to the company of the wise, and great, and good, at whose doors we otherwise so often wait vainly for admittance. What shall we then say of the supreme honor and privilege of Bible study, since this is the “open sesame”—the mystic watchword which opens the door to the true King’s treasuries? By this devout search into the Word of God we actually unlock the secret chambers of God, and find that “where the Word of a King is, there is power.” Eccl. 8:4. Here are the most marvelous wonders bursting on our astonished eyes. The Bible is God’s palace, and it has palatial apartments, indeed. There is one—the very sanctuary of the Word—where the living oracles are heard; another, where the complex mirrors reflect all our past and present, and even forecast our future history; yet others which are chambers of peace, whose windows look out on the heavenly hills, and the very atmosphere of which is rest. The Bible has its picture galleries, with portraits of holy men and women, and, above all, the very image of the Son of God; it has its museum with the unfolding mysteries of God, and the curious relics of antiquity for instruction and admonition; there is also a banquet hall for the refreshment of all believers, where babes may find milk, and the strong man, meat and honey. And in one of these glorious rooms we may find the crown jewels, which are there in store for God’s crowned kings in the day of Christ’s coming. Neglect of the Scriptures is in a sense a sin that hath no forgiveness; for it implies irreparable damage to spiritual life and forfeiture of spiritual blessing. No repentance and reformation can ever restore the years which this cankerworm of indifference to the Word of God has eaten. What an insult to the royal Spirit, Author, who puts in our hand the key to his treasure chambers! What a sign of apathy and lethargy of soul, when even the carnal ambition to be wise and great, and move in the society of the wise and great, actuates us more than the aspiration to be wise and great in God’s eyes, and abide in his companionship! Do Bible possessors realize that they have a chance to enjoy a university education in the school of God, that the Word of God is itself life and light, a passport to heavenly society, free to all alike, as children of the King?—Missionary Review.