[March 15th, 1863.]
I. The Scriptures are like the ocean, boundless and unfathomable. No man can ever exhaust the stores of knowledge treasured in the ocean. It may be studied for a life-time under different aspects. 1. It may be viewed in reference to its distribution and topography; its great expanse, as it spreads between Asia and America, between America and Europe and Africa, between Africa and India; its indentations, gulfs, bays, etc., and the effects which this distribution has on climate, winds, rain, fertility, and hence on commerce; and the destiny of the human race. 2. It may be studied as to its basin, its mountains and valleys, the configuration of the crust of the earth on which it rests, and the nature of its bottom in different places. 3. It may be investigated as to its animals, the innumerable genera and species of living organisms with which it abounds, from the whale to the animalcule, and the changes produced by the presence and labors of the millions of insects, rendering luminous miles of its surface, or building up reefs and islands and continents from its deeps. 4. It may be studied as to its tides, its currents, its prevailing winds. 5. As to its chemistry. 6. Besides all these kinds of knowledge, there is another kind, which can be obtained only by living on it; the knowledge of how to use it, how to avail ourselves of its power and resources. It is plain that a man may have much of the other kinds of this oceanic knowledge, and very little of the last kind. We should not like to go to sea in a ship commanded by Dr. Guyot or Prof. Agassiz.
All this may be applied to Scripture. It may be studied under different aspects, and in each, furnish inexhaustible stores of knowledge. 1. It may be viewed as a history extending from the creation to the present time, including its genealogical periods, its antediluvian period, its patriarchal period, its Jewish period, its life of Christ, its apostolic period. A man might spend his life in getting a clear knowledge of its facts, then of the bearing of those facts on ethnography, on the civilization of the world, on the destiny of the nations generally, and on the religions of men. 2. Scripture may be studied in its organic relations; the relation of the Adamic period to the Abrahamic, of the Abrahamic to the Mosaic, of the Mosaic to the prophetic, and of all to the culmination of all in the Christian period. 3. It may be studied as to its doctrines; what it teaches of the nature and perfections of God, of his relation to the material and spiritual world, of the distinction of persons in the Godhead, of the person and work of Christ, and of the Holy Spirit; what it teaches of man, his original state, his fall, his moral condition since the fall, of his ability and responsibility; what it teaches of the plan of salvation, of the application of the redemption purchased by Christ, and of man’s destiny hereafter. 4. The moral code of the Bible is another wide field, including our religious, social and political duties, and the limits of human authority in church and state. 5. There is a knowledge given in special and general introduction. 6. In the study of the Church as the body of Christ, and as a visible society, from Adam to the present time; its organization, officers, prerogatives, attributes and discipline. 7. There is a knowledge which is due to the illumination of the Spirit, including spiritual apprehension, deeper insight into the meaning of the word of God, and a firmer conviction of its truth than can be derived from any other source. 8. Besides all these kinds of knowledge, there is a familiarity with its language, a knowledge lodged in the memory, so that it can be readily quoted and applied. This is a great gift or attainment.
But as scientific knowledge of the ocean may be possessed without practical skill in navigation, so a man may possess a knowledge of Scripture history, of the relation of the parts of Scripture to one another, of its doctrines, of its moral code, of its literature and analysis, of the theory of the Church therein revealed; he may have spiritual knowledge, and have his memory stored with scriptural language, and yet not be mighty in the Scriptures. These are the requisite conditions of power, the materials rather, which power uses, and without which he can accomplish nothing; but the power itself, is the ability to use this knowledge effectively. This includes three things. 1. A mental ability; a clearness and power of the intelligence, to bring to bear the truths and facts of Scripture so as to produce the desired effect, whether that be conviction of the truth, or submission of the conscience, or the obedience of the will. 2. There is a might or power in feeling, strong conviction of the truth and importance of what the Bible teaches, and fervent desire that it should be recognized and obeyed. 3. There is a power of utterance, eloquence, the ability to convince, to persuade, and to excite.
II. After the nature of this gift of being mighty in the Scriptures, comes its importance. On this it may be remarked that the whole power of a minister as such, not as a man, or a Christian, but as a minister, is a power in the Scriptures. This exists in different degrees, but it is all any minister has, be it much or little. It is therefore the one object to be sought in preparing for the ministry, without which a minister, no matter what else he may have of knowledge or talent, will accomplish no good and may do immense harm.
III. The duty of becoming mighty in the Scriptures.
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It is our duty to obtain all the kinds of knowledge of Scripture above mentioned, especially committing it to memory, so as to be able to quote it abundantly, correctly and appropriately.
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To acquire the ability to use that knowledge. This is partly a mental discipline, partly a spiritual exercise, and partly an art—the art of effective public speaking.
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