(Acts 17:11.)

What a priceless heritage we possess in the Word of God! (Ps. 119:111). Both the inspiration and the preservation of Scripture have been miraculous. It has stood the test of ages, and in spite of the many assaults upon it by unbelieving men, the Book has stood, has continued, and we possess it now.

What a source of light, comfort and strength it has been throughout many generations! It has been the one perfect standard by which to test every doctrine, every preacher, every teacher. "What saith the Scriptures?" was the divine test used by the apostle Paul, and it remains still the divine standard after almost nineteen hundred years since his time.

But neglect in reading the Scriptures is now very common. Considering their great value and importance, we should read and search them daily as for hidden treasure, value their contents more than silver and gold, and would thus find them sweeter than honey to our taste (Ps. 119:124, 126-128).

We read that in the early days of Christianity the Bereans "searched the Scriptures daily." Paul's preaching and teaching were such that whole cities and countries were stirred and moved to earnest inquiry; and to ascertain the truth, these Bereans searched the records daily. What a fine example they have left us!

Some of us can remember early days when this was-still characteristic-when men and women "searched the Scriptures daily"-clear evidence of the Holy Spirit's leading. But conditions have changed in these later years. In all spheres of life things move with more rapid pace, and these changed conditions have had a far-reaching effect, both upon the Church as a whole, and on the life of individual Christians. The change has not been for the better, spiritually, but rather for the worse. In almost all circles of society less time is given to reading, and especially (among professing Christians generally) less time is given to "searching the Scriptures daily." Wherever the two prominent features of spiritual life- constant prayer and daily reading the Word of God- are neglected, spiritual declension will ever follow.

While admitting the changed conditions of today, the marks of a pious life and of distinct witnessing for Christ, ever remain the same; these never change. Enoch, in the early days, "walked with God," and the God-given word of prophecy he possessed influenced and governed his life in the days before the flood. In a world of ungodly men, as the judgment was approaching, he walked with God and bore a distinct witness for Him before the world. In our day, we too are called by grace to bear a distinct witness for God as we approach the end of all things on earth.

We may boast of being saved, and be able to discuss the doctrine of eternal security, or even to open up the subject of prophecy with a fair degree of intelligence, but mere knowledge of those things will not benefit us at the judgment-seat of Christ, if our lives have not also been governed by the Word of God and guided by the Holy Spirit. This is an important consideration for every believer (Isa. 66:2).
With these facts before us let us pause to take a fresh inventory, as do business men at certain times of the year, and so learn what is our present condition before God. If such examination shows us to possess things that are a hindrance to spiritual progress, or that we lack others that are necessary to progress in our testimony for the Lord, such an exercise will be healthful and helpful. This exercise will concern first our individual life, then our home circle, and finally our relation to the assembly. It will test us if we have given the Word of God its proper place in our whole testimony.

The daily reading of the Scriptures, both individually and in the home circle, should be our constant exercise. And preferably in the morning, if possible, for after a night's rest of body and mind all our perceptions are more keen and ready to take in the daily lesson.

The reading of the Scriptures imparts strength and tone to the spiritual life. Such an exercise at the beginning of the day resembles the gathering of the manna each morning by the Children of Israel, by which they were furnished with food for their daily need (Exod. 16:15-20).

Then it was in the morning that the Lord instructed Moses to present himself before Him to receive fresh communications, later to be conveyed to the Children of Israel. "Be ready in the mourning, and come up in the morning unto the mount …. and present thyself to Me" (Exod. 34:2).

With David the King, we learn that the early morning characterized his spiritual devotions and prayers; in his psalms he describes his ardent desires, his heart-breathings in the morning. Also, led by the Holy Spirit, in those psalms he prophetically opens up lessons concerning the Lord Jesus upon the earth, by which we are furnished with instruction for a life of devotion and heavenly-mindedness here upon earth (Ps. 5:3; 55:17; 59:16; 88:13; 92:2; 143:8). "O God, Thou art my God; early will I seek Thee:my soul thirsteth for Thee, my flesh longeth (pineth) for Thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is" (Ps. 63:1).

Still later, in the days of Ezekiel the prophet, when the nation had departed from Jehovah and were worshiping idols, and the Word of God was not only neglected, but openly disobeyed, we are told, "In the morning came the word of the Lord to me" (Ezek. 12:8). The prophet was thus furnished with his message to deliver to Israel.

Again, the early morning had a special place in our Lord's life here on earth. The prophet Isaiah wrote concerning Him, "He wakeneth morning by morning, He wakeneth Mine ear to hear as the learned" (Isa. 50:4). And Mark, the evangelist, describing the heavenly character of the perfect life of God's perfect Servant displacing Israel, the imperfect servant, writes, "And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed" (Mk. 1:35).

Both the prophet and the evangelist unite in their testimony that our Lord and Master received His fresh daily communications from the Father, and engaged in the sacred exercise of prayer to the Father, in the early morning.

How necessary in our busy age, to be reminded of this. To the examples mentioned could be added a long list of men and women' who have followed the example of saintly Lois and Eunice, Timothy's mother and grandmother, in observing the custom established in Israel, reading the Scriptures daily in the home circle. The family altar was a sacred spot around which parents and children gathered; its sanctity we need to establish and safeguard today.

Since the days of saintly Timothy, a host of men and women, among them many faithful, earnest preachers, have left their testimony that it was in the home circle, sanctified by the daily, reverential reading of Scripture, that they received their first light, their first impress, the first impulse, changing the whole character of their lives and fitting them for future usefulness as witnesses for Christ (Deut. 4:9; 6:6-12; 11:18-21; 2 Tim. 1:5; 3:14-17).

This maintenance of the family altar, the daily reading of the Word of God, brings into the home each day a spiritual and heavenly influence. For those in the pressure of business life, how necessary to carry from the home the sweet and hallowed influence and spirituality that the reading of the Word of God alone supplies. This testimony and influence in the home was also illustrated by the Children of Israel in Egypt. At a time (as in the world to-day) when darkness covered the whole land, a people under the shelter of the blood of the lamb had "light in their dwellings" (Exod. 10:21-23).

We remember a man in the Middle West who, the first morning after professing faith in Christ, read a chapter to the family at the breakfast table, and then upon bended knees thanked God for forgiveness of sins and the knowledge of present salvation, and implored the Lord to guide and safeguard each member of the family through the day. Writing a servant of Christ to tell of his new-found joy, he said, "Although it was but the humble home of a poor man, yet the home that morning was gilded all over with the glory of God." A. E. Booth