I fell into the snare into which so many young believers fall—the reading of religious books in preference to the Scriptures. While I no longer read French and German novels, as I had formerly done to gratify my carnal mind, I failed to replace those books with the best of all books. Instead, I read tracts, missionary papers, sermons, and biographies of godly persons. Among these, I found the biographies the most beneficial, though they might have been more helpful if they had been well-selected, if I had read less of them, or if they had encouraged a deeper love for the Scriptures.

I had never developed a habit of reading the Holy Scriptures. Before the age of fifteen, I occasionally read portions of the Bible at school, but after that, God’s precious book was entirely set aside. To the best of my recollection, I did not read a single chapter of it until God began a work of grace in my heart.

The Scriptural way of reasoning would have been this: God Himself has condescended to become an author, and I am ignorant of this precious book, which the Holy Spirit has inspired through His servants. It contains all that I need to know, and its knowledge leads to true happiness. Therefore, I ought to read and study this most precious book again and again—earnestly, prayerfully, and with much meditation. This practice should continue all the days of my life. Yet, although I was aware of how little I knew of it, my difficulty in understanding the Scriptures, combined with the lack of enjoyment I experienced while reading them, caused me to neglect them. I did not recognize that prayerful reading of the Word not only increases knowledge but also deepens the delight we take in it.

As a result, like many believers, I spent the first four years of my Christian life preferring the writings of uninspired men to the oracles of the living God. The consequence was that I remained a spiritual infant, both in knowledge and grace. By knowledge, I mean true knowledge, which the Spirit alone imparts through the Word. Neglecting the Scriptures left me so ignorant that for nearly four years, I did not clearly understand even the fundamental truths of the Christian faith. This lack of knowledge hindered me from walking steadily in the ways of God.

It is the truth that makes us free (John 8:31–32)—free from the slavery of the lusts of the flesh, the lusts of the eyes, and the pride of life. This is proven by the Word, the experience of the saints, and my own life. When the Lord, in August 1829, truly brought me to the Scriptures, my life and walk changed dramatically. Though I have since fallen short of what I might and ought to be, by the grace of God, I have been enabled to live much closer to Him than before.

If any believers read this, who practically prefer other books to the Holy Scriptures, and who enjoy the writings of men much more than the word of God, may they be warned by my loss. I shall consider this book to have been the means of doing much good, should it please the Lord, through its instrumentality, to lead some of His people no longer to neglect the Holy Scriptures, but to give them that preference, which they have hitherto bestowed on the writings of men.

My dislike to increase the number of books would have been sufficient to deter me from writing these pages, had I not been convinced, that this is the only way in which the brethren at large may be benefited through my mistakes and errors, and been influenced by the hope, that in answer to my prayers, the reading of my experience may be the means of leading them to value the Scriptures more highly, and to make them the rule of all their actions.

If anyone should ask me, how he may read the Scriptures most profitably, I would advise him, that:

I. Above all he should seek to have it settled in his own mind

That God alone, by His Spirit, can teach him, and that therefore, as God will be enquired of for blessings, it becomes him to seek God’s blessing previous to reading, and also whilst reading.

II. He should have it, moreover, settled in his mind

That, although the Holy Spirit is the best and sufficient teacher, yet that this teacher does not always teach immediately when we desire it, and that, therefore, we may have to entreat Him again and again for the explanation of certain passages; but that He will surely teach us at last, if indeed we are seeking for light prayerfully, patiently, and with a view to the glory of God.

III. It is of immense importance for the understanding of the word of God, to read it in course

So that we may read every day a portion of the Old and a portion of the New Testament, going on where we previously left off. This is important:

  1. Because it throws light upon the connection; a different course, according to which one habitually selects particular chapters, will make it utterly impossible ever to understand much of the Scriptures.
  2. Whilst we are in the body, we need a change even in spiritual things; and this change the Lord has graciously provided in the great variety which is to be found in His word.
  3. It tends to the glory of God; for leaving out some chapters here and there is practically saying that certain portions are better than others, or that certain parts of revealed truth are unprofitable or unnecessary.
  4. It may keep us, by the blessing of God, from erroneous views; as in reading thus regularly through the Scriptures we are led to see the meaning of the whole, and also kept from laying too much stress upon certain favorite views.
  5. The Scriptures contain the whole revealed will of God, and therefore we ought to seek to read from time to time through the whole of that revealed will. There are many believers, I fear, in our day who have not read even once through the whole of the Scriptures; and yet in a few months, by reading only a few chapters every day they might accomplish it.
  6. It is also of the greatest importance to meditate on what we read, so that perhaps a small portion of that which we have read, or, if we have time, the whole, may be meditated upon in the course of the day. Or a small portion of a book, or an epistle, or a gospel, through which we go regularly for meditation, may be considered every day without, however, suffering oneself to be brought into bondage by this plan.

Learned commentaries I have found to store the head, with many notions and often also with the truth of God; but when the Spirit teaches, through the instrumentality of prayer and meditation, the heart is affected. The former kind of knowledge generally puffs up, and is often renounced when another commentary gives a different opinion, and often also is found good for nothing when it is to be carried out into practice. The latter kind of knowledge generally humbles, gives joy, leads us nearer to God, and is not easily reasoned away; and having been obtained from God, and thus having entered into the heart, and become our own, it is also generally carried out.