The. .Bible > Searching the Scriptures by Andrew Murray

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At the beginning of this book there is more than one passage upon the use of God's word in the life of grace. Ere I take leave of my readers, I would fain once again come back to this all-important point. I cannot too earnestly and urgently address this call to my beloved young brothers and sisters: Upon your use of the word of God your spiritual life in great measure depends. Man lives by the word that proceedeth from the mouth of God. Therefore seek with your whole heart to learn how to use God's word aright. To this end, receive the following hints. Read the word more with the heart than with the understanding: with the understanding I would know and comprehend; with the heart I desire, and love, and hold fast. Let the understanding be the servant of the heart. Be much afraid of the understanding of the carnal nature, that cannot receive spiritual things. (1 Cor. 1:12,27; 2:6,12; Col. 2:18)

• 1Co 1:12 Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ.
• 1Co 1:27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty;
• 1Co 2:6 Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
• 1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
• Col 2:18 Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, intruding into those things which he hath not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind

Deny your understanding, and wait in humility on the Spirit of God. On every occasion, still keep silent amidst your reading of the word, and say to yourselves: this word I now receive in my heart, to love and to let it live in me. (Ps. 119:10,11,47; Rom. 10:8; Jas. 1:21)

• Ps 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
• Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
• Ps 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.
• Ro 10:8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
• Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.

Read the word always in fellowship with the living God. The power of a word depends on my conviction regarding the man from whom it comes.


First set yourself in loving fellowship with the living God under the impression of His nearness and love: deal with the word under the full conviction that He, the eternal God, is speaking with you; and let the heart be silent to listen to God, to God Himself. (Gen. 17:3; 1 Sam. 3:9,10; Isa. 50:4; 52:6; Jer. 1:2)

• Ge 17:3 And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
• 1Sa 3:9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, LORD; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
• 1Sa 3:10 And the LORD came, and stood, and called as at other times, Samuel, Samuel. Then Samuel answered, Speak; for thy servant heareth.
• Isa 50:4 The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.
• Isa 52:6 Therefore my people shall know my name: therefore they shall know in that day that I am he that doth speak: behold, it is I.
• Jer 1:2 To whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.

Then the word certainly becomes to you a great blessing. Read the word, as a living word in which the Spirit of God dwells, and that certainly works in those that believe. The word is seed. Seed has life, and grows and yields fruit of itself. The word has life, and of itself grows and yields fruit. (Mark 4:27,28; John 6:63; 1 Thess. 2:13; 1 Pet. 1:23)

• Mr 4:27 And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how.
• Mr 4:28 For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear.
• Joh 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
• 1Th 2:13 For this cause also thank we God without ceasing, because, when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe.
• 1Pe 1:23 Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

If you do not wholly understand it, if you do not feel its power, carry it in your heart; ponder it and meditate upon it: it will of itself begin to yield a working and growth in you. (Ps. 119:15,40,48,69; 2 Tim. 3:16,17)

• Ps 119:15 I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways.
• Ps 119:40 Behold, I have longed after thy precepts: quicken me in thy righteousness.
• Ps 119:48 My hands also will I lift up unto thy commandments, which I have loved; and I will meditate in thy statutes.
• Ps 119:69 The proud have forged a lie against me: but I will keep thy precepts with my whole heart.
• 2Ti 3:16 All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
• 2Ti 3:17 That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

The Spirit of God is with and in the word.


Read it with the resolve to be, not only a hearer, but a doer of the word. Let the great question be: What would God now have of me with this word? If the answer is: He would have me believe it and reckon upon Him to fulfil it: do this immediately from the heart. If the word is a command of what you are to do, yield yourself immediately to do it. (Matt. 5:19,20; 7:21,24; Luke 11:28; Jas. 1:21,25)

• Mt 5:19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
• Mt 5:20 For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
• Mt 7:21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
• Mt 7:24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
• Lu 11:28 But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.
• Jas 1:21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls.
• Jas 1:25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.

O there is an unspeakable blessedness in the doing of God's word, and in the surrender of myself to be and to act just as the word says and would have it. Be not hearers, but doers of the word.


Read the word with time. I see more and more that one obtains nothing on earth without time. Give the word time. (WStS Note: Emboldened emphasis is ours.) Give the word time, at every occasion on which you sit down to read it, to come into your heart. Give it time, in the persistence with which you cleave to it, from day to day, and month after month. (Deut. 6:5; Ps. 1:2; 119:97; Jer. 15:16)

• De 6:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
• Ps 1:2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night.
• Ps 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
• Jer 15:16 Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

By perseverance you become exercised and more accustomed to the word: the word begins to work. Pray, be not dispirited when you do not understand the word. Hold on: take courage: give the word time: later on the word will explain itself. David had to meditate day and night to understand it.


Read the word with a searching of the Scriptures. The best explanation of the Bible is the Bible itself. Take three or four texts upon a point: set them close to one another and compare them. See wherein they agree and wherein they differ; where they say the same thing or again something else. Let the word of God at one time be cleared up and confirmed by what He said at another time on the same subject: this is the safest and the best explanation. Even the sacred writers use this method of instruction with the Scriptures: "and again." (Isa. 34:16; John 19:37; Acts. 17:11; Heb. 2:13)

• Isa 34:16 Seek ye out of the book of the LORD, and read: no one of these shall fail, none shall want her mate: for my mouth it hath commanded, and his spirit it hath gathered them.
• Joh 19:37 And again another scripture saith, They shall look on him whom they pierced.
• Ac 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
• Heb 2:13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me.

Do not complain that this method takes too much time and pains: it is worthy of the pains: your pains will be rewarded. On earth you have nothing without pains. (Prov. 2:4,5; 3:13,18; Matt. 13:44)

• Pr 2:4 If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures;
• Pr 2:5 Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.
• Pr 3:13 Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding.
• Pr 3:18 She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her: and happy is every one that retaineth her.
• Mt 13:44 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field.

Even the bread of life we have to eat in the sweat of our face. He that would go to heaven never goes without taking pains. Search the Scriptures: it will be richly recompensed to you.


Young Christian, let one of my last and most earnest words to you be this: on your dealing with the word of God depend your growth, your power, your life. Love God's word then; esteem it sweeter than honey: better than thousands of gold or silver. In the word, God can and will reveal His heart to you. In the word, Jesus will communicate Himself and all His grace. In the word, the Holy Spirit will come in to you, to renew your heart and all your thoughts, according to the mind and will of God. O, then, read not simply enough of the word to keep you from declension, but reckon it one of your chief occupations on earth to yield yourself that God may fill you with His word, that He may fulfil His word in you.

Lord God, what grace it is that Thou speakest to us in Thy word, that we in Thy word have access to Thy heart, to Thy will, to Thy love. O forgive us our sins against Thy precious word. And, Lord, let the new life become so strong by the Spirit in us, that all its desire shall be to abide in Thy word. Amen.

Psalm 119. In the middle of the Bible stands this psalm, in which the praise and the love of God's word are so strikingly expressed. It is not enough for us to read through the divisions of this psalm successively: we must take its principal points, and one with another seek what is said in different passages upon each of these. Let us, for example, take the following points, observing the indications of the answers, and seek in this way to come under the full impression of what is taught us of the glory of God's word:--

1. The blessing that the word gives. Verses, 1,2,6,9,11,14,24,45,46,47, and so on.

• Ps 119:1 Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.
• Ps 119:2 Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart.
• Ps 119:6 Then shall I not be ashamed, when I have respect unto all thy commandments.
• Ps 119:9 Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.
• Ps 119:11 Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.
• Ps 119:14 I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches.
• Ps 119:24 Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counsellors.
• Ps 119:45 And I will walk at liberty: for I seek thy precepts.
• Ps 119:46 I will speak of thy testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed.
• Ps 119:47 And I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have loved.

2. The appellations that in this psalm are given to God's word.

3. How we have to handle the word. (Observe -- walk -- keep -- mark -- and so on.)

4. Prayer for divine teaching. Verses 5,10,12,18,19,26.

• Ps 119:5 O that my ways were directed to keep thy statutes!
• Ps 119:10 With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments.
• Ps 119:12 Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes.
• Ps 119:18 Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.
• Ps 119:19 I am a stranger in the earth: hide not thy commandments from me.
• Ps 119:26 I have declared my ways, and thou heardest me: teach me thy statutes.

5. Surrender to obedience to the word. Verses 93,105,106,112,128,133.

• Ps 119:93 I will never forget thy precepts: for with them thou hast quickened me.
• Ps 119:105 Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
• Ps 119:106 I have sworn, and I will perform it, that I will keep thy righteous judgments.
• Ps 119:112 I have inclined mine heart to perform thy statutes alway, even unto the end.
• Ps 119:128 Therefore I esteem all thy precepts concerning all things to be right; and I hate every false way.
• Ps 119:133 Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.

6. God's word the basis of our prayer. Verses 41,49,58,76,107,116,170.

• Ps 119:41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
• Ps 119:49 Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope.
• Ps 119:58 I intreated thy favour with my whole heart: be merciful unto me according to thy word.
• Ps 119:76 Let, I pray thee, thy merciful kindness be for my comfort, according to thy word unto thy servant.
• Ps 119:107 I am afflicted very much: quicken me, O LORD, according unto thy word.
• Ps 119:116 Uphold me according unto thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope.
• Ps 119:170 Let my supplication come before thee: deliver me according to thy word.

7. Observance as the ground of confidence in prayer. Verses 77,159,176.

• Ps 119:77 Let thy tender mercies come unto me, that I may live: for thy law is my delight.
• Ps 119:159 Consider how I love thy precepts: quicken me, O LORD, according to thy lovingkindness.
• Ps 119:176 I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.

8. Observance as promised upon the hearing of prayer. Verses 8,17,33,32,44.

• Ps 119:8 I will keep thy statutes: O forsake me not utterly.
  Ps 119:17 Deal bountifully with thy servant, that I may live, and keep thy word.
  Ps 119:33 Teach me, O LORD, the way of thy statutes; and I shall keep it unto the end.
  Ps 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
  Ps 119:44 So shall I keep thy law continually for ever and ever.

9. The power to observe the word. Verses 32,36,41,42,117,135,146.

• Ps 119:32 I will run the way of thy commandments, when thou shalt enlarge my heart.
• Ps 119:36 Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness.
• Ps 119:41 Let thy mercies come also unto me, O LORD, even thy salvation, according to thy word.
• Ps 119:42 So shall I have wherewith to answer him that reproacheth me: for I trust in thy word.
• Ps 119:117 Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe: and I will have respect unto thy statutes continually.
• Ps 119:135 Make thy face to shine upon thy servant; and teach me thy statutes.
• Ps 119:146 I cried unto thee; save me, and I shall keep thy testimonies.

10. The praise of God's word. Verses 54,72,97,129,130,144.

• Ps 119:54 Thy statutes have been my songs in the house of my pilgrimage.
• Ps 119:72 The law of thy mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and silver.
• Ps 119:97 O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day.
• Ps 119:129 Thy testimonies are wonderful: therefore doth my soul keep them.
• Ps 119:130 The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.
• Ps 119:144 The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting: give me understanding, and I shall live.

11. The confident confession of obedience. Verses 102,110,121,168.

• Ps 119:102 I have not departed from thy judgments: for thou hast taught me.
• Ps 119:110 The wicked have laid a snare for me: yet I erred not from thy precepts.
• Ps 119:121 I have done judgment and justice: leave me not to mine oppressors.
• Ps 119:168 I have kept thy precepts and thy testimonies: for all my ways are before thee.

12. Personal intercourse with God, seen in the use of Thou and I, Thine and Mine.

I have merely mentioned a few points and a few verses. Seek out more and mark them, until your mind is filled with the thoughts about the word, which the Spirit of God desires to give you. Read with great thoughtfulness the words of that man of faith, George Mueller. He says: "The power of our spiritual life will be according to the measure of the room that the word of God takes up in our life and in our thoughts." After an experience of fifty-four years, I can solemnly declare this. For three years after my conversion I used the word little. Since that time I searched it with diligence, and the blessing was wonderful. From that time, I have read the Bible through a hundred times in order, and at every time with increasing joy. Whenever I start a fresh with it, it appears to me as a new book. I cannot express how great the blessing is of faithful, daily, regular searching of the Bible. The day is lost for me, on which I have used no rounded time for enjoying the word of God. "Friends sometimes say: I have so much to do, that I can find no time for regular Bible study. I believe that there are few that have to work harder than I have. Yet it remains a rule with me never to begin my work until I have had real sweet fellowship with God. After that I give myself heartily to the business of the day, that is, to God's work, with only intervals of some minutes of prayer."







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