INQUIRY CONCERNING THE BOOK.
BY ABBIE MILLS.
Money had found
its way into the treasury for the purpose of repairing the house of the Lord,
but when that which had been deposited was brought forth, a Book was also
discovered-a Book which a people running after strange gods had left unused.
Bet now that the land had been cleansed and the temple prepared for the worship
of the Lord God, its words were full of meaning that caused fear and
astonishment- that sent them to inquire of the Lord concerning this living Word
that was sharper than the enemy’s sword.
In the race after
the things that engross the attention of the nations of the world, sometimes
the professed follower of Jesus leaves his Bible almost untouched, or, reading,
it is only with the vail upon the heart that shuts out its true import. And so the
round of duty is traveled over, again and again, and still the wonders of the Books
are hidden from his eyes. But there comes a morning when the Holy Spirit shines
into the heart-temple’s inmost recesses; a cleansing is begun, and amid
material for repairs, such as sermons, songs and prayers, the word of God is
that which pre-eminently fixes the attention.
The wide
departure from its commands is noted with trembling, but its promises inspire
hope; and as the Lord is inquired of concerning these words, the unfold more
and more, until the inquirer wonders how he could have lived so long in poverty
when such wealth was his for the rightful seeking.
Now he knows how
blind he has been, and he also feels that he has but entered the borders of his
wondrous inheritance that waits for the explorer to walk through its length and
breadth. Science, alone, only wearies him amid tangled labyrinths; with the
Holy Spirit as his guide, he runs without weariness, and his lips can only give
faint expression to the wondrous surprises in his path. And still brighter and
richer it grows, until the only interludes of praise are calls to his
companions to inquire of the Lord concerning the words of the Book, that they
may understand that the only begotten Son became poor that they might be rich –
so rich now and in all future years of this life, and evermore in the world to
come.
Come, reader,
join the petitioners who cry, “Open Thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous
things out of Thy law!”
Rockford, Ill.
