The devotional use of the Bible

How can a ruler remain sensitive to the needs of his people, wise in his decisions, humble in the exercise of his power, and committed to peace and justice throughout his country?

The same way that a preacher can remain vital in his ministry. The same way that a Christian layman can testify of a growing relationship with Christ. Through the devotional use of the Holy Scriptures.

Millennia ago the Lord stipulated that the king in Israel should make himself a copy of the law of Moses: " 'And it shall be with him, and he shall read in it all the days of his life, that he may learn to fear the Lord his God, by keeping all the words of this law and these statutes, and doing them; that his heart may hot be lifted up above his brethren ... so that he may continue long in his kingdom, he and his children, in Israel'" (Deut. 17:19, 20).*

The king of Israel was especially obliged to read the Sacred Scriptures daily. Only then would he know the sovereign will of the King of kings and be able to rule Israel with wisdom. Only then would he be kept from the tyranny of self-deification. Only then would his heart remain humble and sensitive to the needs of his fellow men and be the promoter of peace and justice in Israel. Only then would he learn how to fear the Lord and represent the kingdom of God on earth correctly.

To Moses' successor, Joshua, the Lord gave an explicit injunction to meditate on the Torah day and night as a condition for the victorious conquest of the Promised Land: " 'This book of the law shall not depart out of your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you shall make your way prosperous, and then you shall have good success'" (Joshua 1:8).

The secret of Joshua's success, then, was to make the Torah his guide and counselor. Not to speed-read Scripture, but to meditate on it day and night.

From the counsel given to the king and to Joshua, we may conclude that God intended Scripture to serve a very practical purpose. It was to be a guide and counselor for statesmen. Through it they would learn how to rule a nation and command an army in a manner to be approved by the Ruler of the universe. Thus the Bible is first given as marching orders for an army, not as bedtime reading to help one sleep more soundly.

The book of Psalms, on the other hand, was intended primarily for the communal worship of the people of God, as it is used still. The major letters of the apostles likewise were directed toward churches. The last Bible book explicitly blesses him who reads aloud the apocalyptic messages in the presence of church congregations (Rev. 1:3).

Today, all too often, there is a strange silence in the church: from the pulpit, where topical sermons often promote the preacher's word rather than God's; from the pew, where saints doze fitfully.

In his book The Strange Silence of the Bible in the Church, Dr. James D. Smart warns that the church can remain the body of Christ only when it remains "open, responsive, and obedient" to the witness of Scripture. "Let the Scriptures cease to be heard, and soon the remembered Christ becomes our imagined Christ, shaped by the religiosity and the unconscious desires of His worshipers." —Page 25.

God intends that the Scriptures instruct not only political and religious leaders but the individual believer, bringing him life, joy, and wisdom. Psalm 19 promises, "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart" (verses 7, 8).

The book of Psalms is the devotional book par excellence for both the individual and the worshiping community. From this book of songs and prayers has poured out all conceivable emotions of the human heart—joy and fear, exaltation and depression. This most religious book of Israel's worship opens with a firm assurance of God's blessing on a certain kind of worshiper:

"Blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,

nor stands in the way of sinners,

nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

He is like a tree planted by streams of water,

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers" (Ps. 1:1-3).

The Biblical secret for cultivating love for God and His Word and for victorious Jiving is not the occasional reading of a few texts, but constant meditation on God's Word. Only thus is the soul filled with the presence of God.

"We should meditate upon the Scriptures. . . . We should seek to comprehend the meaning of the plan of salvation. ... By constantly contemplating heavenly themes, our faith and love will grow stronger. Our prayers will be more and more acceptable to God, because they will be more and more mixed with faith and love. They will be more intelligent and fervent."— The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on Ps. 19:14, p. 1145.

What a tremendous blessing is connected with meditating on the Scriptures! How we need to revive our determination to know the Scriptures and their power! We must cultivate love for Bible study and meditation on God's Word and its heavenly themes. There is no substitute for Bible reading. We need to learn to meditate on Scripture, to memorize its words, to assimilate its messages into our very soul until they are flesh and blood of our thinking and living.

Notice the experience of the prophet Jeremiah, who wrote: "Thy words were found, and I ate them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart" (Jer. 15:16). Here is the order: finding, eating, delighting.

Ezekiel was called to be God's prophet with the words, " 'Eat this scroll, and go, speak to the house of Israel.'. .. Then I ate it; and it was in my mouth as sweet as honey" (Eze. 3:1-3). A man called to be God's mouthpiece is first to eat and taste the sweet word of the Lord and to be imbued with the unction of the Holy One. The Advent pioneers ate the books of Daniel and Revelation; the result was the rise of the great Advent Movement. God's Word is given for practical purposes. To believe the Word is to act upon it, to submit to it, to follow it.

Have we so pondered Holy Scripture, so integrated the divine words in our existence, that the Word of the Lord has become to us a joy, our heart's delight, the all-consuming fire in our bones? Does our heart respond to David's song when he sings of the Scriptures, "More to be desired are they than gold, . . . sweeter also than honey" (Ps. 19:10)?

Holy Scripture: the presence of God in Christ

How can ancient words of old scrolls be food for our present needs? The answer is one of profound mystery: In Holy Scripture God Himself is present in Christ through His Holy Spirit.

The Word of God is "the sword of the Spirit" (Eph. 6:17) and therefore "sharper than any two-edged sword" (Heb. 4:12). " 'Is not my word like fire, says.the Lord, and like a hammer which breaks the rock in pieces?' " (Jer. 23:29). If we approach the Holy Scriptures, we are coming to God Himself. In it, said the reformer Calvin, we are, as it were, "gazing upon the majesty of God Himself" (Institutes, 1, 7, 5). He explained that the Scriptures were the living oracles of God because they contained Christ.

Ellen White saw every chapter and verse of the Bible as a communication of God to man (Testimonies, vol. 4, p. 449). Through them we stand "in the presence of God and holy angels" (The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on 2 Peter 1:21, p. 944). The believing child of God beholds in God's Word " 'the glory of a divine power, full of grace and truth' " (Selected Messages, book 1, p. 26).

"The Scriptures are to be received as God's word to us, not written merely, but spoken."—The Ministry of Healing, p. 122.

In the promises of God's Word "He is speaking to us individually, speaking as directly as if we could listen to His voice. It is in these promises that Christ communicates to us His grace and power. They are leaves from that tree which is 'for the healing of the nations.' " —Ibid.

Christ comes to us in the garment of Scripture. To know the Scriptures means to know Christ. And to know Christ means to move to the heartbeat of Scripture. The purpose of the Bible is not to convey merely moral values, but above all to bring us into contact with its divine Author. The Bible is first of all a disclosure of God Himself and His love for us.

What good would it do if we knew the letters of the Scriptures but not the Christ of Scripture? Of what avail is it for the cause of God if we have cultivated much head knowledge about the doctrine of Christ, but have little heart knowledge of Christ? If we could but behold more the glory of Christ, how we would be changed from glory to glory! Surely it is a sin to neglect study of the Word while attempting to teach it to others.

The devotional use of Scripture

For the true devotional use of Holy Scripture we find an example by David, the king of Israel and a man after God's heart, when he prays to God in Psalm 119:18: "Open my eyes, that I may be hold wondrous things out of thy law."

A right attitude toward Scripture recognizes a living connection between the Word and God. It depends on God's Spirit for the right understanding of the Word of God. It acknowledges that human reason cannot grasp the deep truths of Scripture. David had the Scriptures before him. Yet he recognized a problem. Not in Scripture, but in him self, in his own eyes. "Open my eyes," he prays earnestly. In other words, he confesses that he feels spiritually blind, unable to see what is there. The problem is not in God's Word. The problem is in our hardened heart and our darkened mind (cf. Eph. 4:18).

It is undoubtedly true that the historical-grammatical method of study dispels much ignorance and misunderstanding of the Scriptures. But even David him self felt that he needed more light, that he needed to see deeper in order to dis cover the wonderful things of the Word of God, The reason is that One was revealed in Scripture whose name is " 'Wonderful' " (Isa. 9:6).

Here is recognition that man can stand in awe and wonder before God's revelation of Himself. The feeling of wonder is a precious gift. It is the parent of our desire to know and of our urge to in quire.

We should expect wonderful things from Scripture, because we serve a God greater than all our concepts of Him. We receive according to our faith, according to our perseverance in knocking on the door of Holy Scripture.

Luther pounded a long time on that door. He believed there was something there that he had not seen yet. Time after time, day and night, he wrestled with God, seeking the real truth of the phrase "the just shall live by faith." When his eyes were opened, he saw the glory of the Lord in the understanding that God justifies the believer through faith in Christ, by grace alone. With the open Bible before him, Luther wrote later: "Here I felt that I was altogether born again and had entered paradise itself through open gates."— Luther's Works, vol. 34, p. 337.

The Bible is the key that opens the gates of paradise to sin-sick souls. But many do not walk by faith in heavenly places. They fail to cultivate the habit of staying with the Lord in His audience chamber.

"Many, even in their seasons of devotion, fail of receiving the blessing of real communion with God. They are in too great haste. With hurried steps they press through the circle of Christ's loving presence, pausing perhaps a moment within the sacred precincts, but not waiting for counsel. They have no time to remain with the divine Teacher. With their burdens they return to their work." —Education, p. 260.

Jesus' use of Scripture

Jesus' use of the Sacred Scriptures is an inspiring example for young and old today. From childhood on, Jesus was not interested in the rabbinical requirements only in the Hebrew Scriptures. He trained Himself to learn Scripture by heart. The words "Thus says the Lord" were ever upon His lips (The Desire of Ages, p. 84) to justify His conduct. "Jesus seemed to know the Scriptures from beginning to end, and He presented them in their true import." —Ibid., p. 85.

Often He was reproached and intimidated even by His own brothers. "Of the bitterness that falls to the lot of humanity, there was no part which Christ did not taste."—Ibid., p. 88. But Christ knew His mission and what God wanted Him to do.

"When the priests and teachers required Mary's aid in controlling Jesus, she was greatly troubled; but peace came to her heart as He presented the statements of Scripture upholding His practices." —Ibid., p. 90.

To Him, what Scripture said, God said! How did Christ Jesus attain the moral power and wisdom to live such a holy life? "In His youth the early morning and the evening twilight often found Him alone on the mountainside or among the trees of the forest, spending a quiet hour in prayer and the study of God's Word." —Education, p. 185.

When Jesus was asked why He was so different, His answer was often a quotation from Psalm 119:9-11: " 'How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to thy word ... I have laid up thy word in my heart, that I might not sin against thee.'" On other occasions He loved to recite verses 1-3 and verses 14-16 of the same psalm (see The Desire of Ages, pp. 88, 89).

Later, when He had been ordained as the Messiah in His baptism and met Satan in a hand-to-hand struggle, His only weapon of warfare was the Word of God (ibid., p. 120). Satan asked for a miracle in order to be convinced. But a greater sign was given him, a firm reliance upon a "Thus says the Lord."

"'"Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God" ' " (Matt. 4:4). Christ teaches us that the only thing in ,the world upon which we can rely is the Word of God. He teaches us that the true devotional use of the Bible is to obey its counsels and to trust its promises.

How about us today? How can we come to know Scripture and its Christ?

"It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit." —The Desire of Ages, p. 83.

"Neglect the exercise of prayer, or engage in prayer spasmodically, now and then, as seems convenient, and you lose your hold on God." —Gospel Workers, p. 255.

"God's messengers must tarry long with Him, if they would have success in their work. The story is told of an old Lancashire woman who was listening to the reasons that her neighbors gave for their minister's success. They spoke of his gifts, of his style of address, of his manners. 'Nay,' said the old woman, 'I will tell you what it is. Your man is very thick with the Almighty.'"—Ibid.

Do we want to be "thick with the Almighty"? The book of Psalms invites you with the words: "The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant" (Ps. 25:14).