THE DEVOTIONAL USE OF SCRIPTURE

Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.  (Psalm 119:105 NKJV)

In each verse of Psalm 119, the Psalmist mentions the Scriptures, with one exception, and the constant quotation of the Old Testament by our Lord and His Apostles yields abundant evidence of loving and reverent fellowship with the holy men of past ages, who wrote and spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. It is especially remarkable that the Lord Jesus in His temptation, in all His teaching, and in the agony of the cross bore constant witness to the unique authority of the Word of God spoken through the Old Testament saints.

We may know God, says the Psalmist, through a threefold revelation. Though they have no audible voice or language, the heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament of space, studded with myriads of stars, shows His handiwork. Though speechless, their words witness for Him to the uttermost parts of the earth.

The closing stanza of this great Psalm unfolds God's handiwork in the construction and direction of our moral nature. Between these golden clasps the Psalmist extols the Scriptures under ten striking similitude’s, and that disposition must be indeed extraordinary that does not come within the scope of one of them. The soul that needs restoring; the simple who would become wise; the sad heart who would rejoice; the eyes that would be enlightened; the soul that longs for the gold of truth; the desire for sincerity and reality; the search for understanding and righteousness, all such needs and many more are met from a devout reading of Holy Scripture.

All great ministries which have remained fresh and fragrant through long courses of years have proved the wealth of inexhaustible teaching and inspiration which lies hidden in the Bible. Let's each one resolve to soak ourselves in the Scripture before turning to prayer, as water poured in to moisten the sponge, it will help to draw up the living water of truth.

PRAYER

Teach us, Heavenly Father, to read, mark, learn and inwardly digest Your words, that we may be thoroughly furnished unto all good works, and be enabled to lead others into a true understanding of and love for its hidden treasures. I pray you in Jesus' name, Amen.

God's Daily Promise

Promise #251:
I made you alive in Jesus simply because I love you. 

Ephesians 2:4-5 (WEB)
4 But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us, 
5 even when we were dead through our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ 
(by grace you have been saved),