Some Christians, especially among those advanced in years, are mortified, and some even troubled, over their defective memory in reference to the Scriptures. They find it so difficult to remember or properly quote even the most familiar portions of the Word. They enjoy the reading of them but find if difficult, and often impossible, to remember any detail of what they have read. They mourn over it as if it were a lack of proper appreciation of God's precious Word.

A retentive memory is a valuable gift, surely. The memories of some are phenomenal, and capable of great improvement by cultivation in most persons. It is said of Tertullian, that he learned many portions of the Scriptures so perfectly that he could remember even the punctuation of them. Eusebius, the early church historian, tells of one whose eyes were burned out in the Diocletian persecution, but could repeat from memory large portions of Scripture before immense assemblies. Beza could repeat them in Greek at the advanced age of eighty. Cranmer and Ridley learnt the whole New Testament by heart-the one while on his journey to Rome, and the other during his walks in Cambridge. Dr. Kidston affirms that, if the entire Bible had been lost or destroyed, Prof. Lawson could have restored it from memory. Another servant of Christ, Thomas Vincent, had the whole New Testament and Psalms by heart. These, and others which could be cited, are instances of prodigious memories; and it is a faculty not to be despised, especially by "those who labor in the Word and doctrine." We have been often pained to hear preachers, some of them men of excellent gift, misquote or give garbled renderings of the sacred Word; so let those who love the Scriptures be diligent, especially while in their youth, to memorize verses, chapters, and even whole books if able; for it is indeed valuable to any believer whether in service for the Lord, or for one's own profit.

But memory is not all, nor is it even the most important thing. It is not so much the quantity we retain of it in our minds as the effect it has upon our souls. "Sanctify them through thy truth," was our Lord's prayer for us to the Father (John 17:17).

A Christian once complained to an aged man, that he was much discouraged in reading the Scriptures, because he could not fasten on his memory what he had read. The old man bade him take a pitcher and fill it. with water:this being done, he bade him empty it out and wipe the pitcher. The other wondered to what this tended. " Now," said the old man, "though no water remains in it, yet the pitcher is cleaner than it was before; and though thy memory retains not what thou readest, yet thy heart is the cleaner for God's word having passed through it."

So be not discouraged, you Christian of sieve-like memory, who quickly forget what you have read. It is good to remember what we read, surely; yet better still it is to benefit by our reading. For one might retain in the intellect every word yet not be benefitted from what is so well remembered:not the mere letter, but the spirit of the Word is what cleanses the soul. The glorious Head of the Church is now sanctifying and cleansing it "with the washing of water by the Word " (Eph. 5:26). So read it, dear fellow-believer; let its truths be imprinted into your soul; be not over concerned as to your remembrance of its letter or details. God could give you a better memory if He wills it so (and you may apply to Him for it), but give diligence the rather to the earnest and prayerful attention to His Word; and you may, like the tortoise racing with the hare, reach the desired goal of a well-nourished soul, even before those whose powers of memory are so keen. For here also, as in other aspects of practical Christianity, the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong. While reading God's Word we are in His company; and as when we have been in the company of persons of eminence we may forget much of their discourse, yet the effect of their influence abides with us, and we are made the better or the wiser thereby, so we are blessed by having been in the company of God.
C. Knapp