Thy Word is a Lamp
"It
is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words
that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life."
-JOHN 6:63 [KJV]
It
is through the word that the soul in the first instance is cleansed.
It is by the word that the soul is begotten again unto eternal life.
It is, too, by the word applied to the heart that the blessed Spirit
from time to time keeps alive communion with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Is it not so in vital experience? Some passage of Scripture drops
into the soul, some promise comes warm into the heart, and as it
comes it makes way for itself. It enters the heart, breaks down the
feelings, melts the soul, and draws forth living faith to flow unto
and centre alone in the "altogether lovely."
There
are many times and seasons when the word of God is to us a dead
letter; we see and feel no sweetness in it. But there are other
times, through mercy, when the word of God is made sweet and precious
to us; when we can say, with the prophet of old, "Thy words
were found, and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto
me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart" [JEREMIAH
15:16]. It was
so in the case of David. He says, they are "more to be
desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey
and the honeycomb" [PSALM
19:10]. When
this is felt, the sure effect is to bring the soul into communion
with the Lord Jesus, Who is the true word of God, and
makes use of the written word to draw us near unto Himself.
-Gospel
report by preacher J.C. Philpot (1802-1869 A.D.)
February
20th, EARS FROM HARVESTED SHEAVES
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