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Thy Word is a Lamp, July 20
Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the
God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his
paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from
Jerusalem.
Isaiah 2:3
.
The Old Testament Scriptures were the lesson book of Israel. When the lawyer
came to Christ with the question “Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?”
... the Saviour said, “What is written in the law? how readest thou? And he
answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor
as thyself.” Christ said, “Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live”
(
Luke 10:25-28
)....
If there were not another text in the Bible, this statement carries sufficient light
and knowledge and assurance for every soul. The lawyer had answered his own
question, but willing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?”
(
Verse 29
). Then by the parable of the Good Samaritan, Christ showed who is our
neighbor, and gives us an example of the love we should manifest toward those
suffering and in need. The priest and Levite, whose duty it was to minister to the
needs of the stranger, passed by on the other side.
At the conclusion of the narrative Christ asked the lawyer, “Which now of
these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves? And
he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou
likewise” (
Verses 36, 37
).
There are practical lessons in the Word of God.... That Word teaches living,
holy principles, which prompt men to do unto others as they would have others do
unto them, principles which they are to bring into the daily life here, and carry
with them into the school above.... The altar and the plough are the experiences
for all who seek eternal life. We know altogether too little of the greatness of the
love and compassion of God. Let students put to the stretch the faculties of their
mind, that they may comprehend such chapters as the forty-fifth of Isaiah, which
should be placed in form, and brought into our schools as valuable studies. They
will be better than romance or fable. Why have our schools been so dependent
upon books which tell so little of the city we claim to be seeking, whose Builder
and Maker is God? ... Heaven is our home. Our citizenship is above, and our lives
must not be devoted to a world which is soon to be destroyed. We need the Word
of God revealed in living characters. What pure, excellent language is found in
the Word of God! What elevating, ennobling principles!—
Manuscript 96, July 20,
1899
. “The Bible as Our Study Book.”
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