The great work of a pastor is instruction in the truths of the Bible;
and wherever else he may fail, he must at least be a master in the
Gospel. Ignorance on some of the topics already mentioned, though
unfortunate, may still be tolerated, but in the man who ventures into
the pulpit as a public instructor in the Bible, a want of biblical
knowledge and the utterance of crude, undiscriminating statements of
truth can never be excused. No mere rhetorical power or seeming
earnestness can atone for a want of thorough mastery of the themes of
the pulpit. Biblical and theological investigation should, therefore,
have a large place in the pastor's plan of study.
1. _Here, first of all, and most important, is the direct study of the
Bible, bringing the mind into living contact with God's Word._ As
students in the Hebrew and Greek, let a part of each day be given to
careful, critical study of the Scriptures in the Divine originals as
they were indited by the Holy Spirit. No translation, however perfect,
can possibly give one the whole impression of the original. A little
careful work each day in reading the original Scriptures will soon make
the process easy and delightful, and its value is above all price. But,
whether in the inspired original or in a version, the Bible should be
carefully studied. It is God's own Word, the great instrument of His
power, "the sword of the Spirit." The Holy Spirit works only through
Divine truth, and that must ever be the mightiest pulpit which most
fully and clearly unfolds these living words of God. (1.) As accessory
to biblical interpretation, I suggest the study of the geography and
history of Bible lands. The power to localize the characters and events
of Scripture and place them in their historical surroundings is of the
highest importance. Thus, in reading the Pentateuch and earlier
historical books, how much more vividly are the events conceived if you
are familiar with the localities in Egypt, the desert, and Palestine;
or in reading Ezra, Nehemiah, and Daniel if you have clear ideas of the
place and history of Assyria and Babylon; or in the New Testament if
you have studied the condition and localities of the Roman Empire, then
dominant! For this such works as Smith's _Old and New Testament
History,_ Rawlinson's _Five Ancient Monarchies,_ and Milman's _History
of the Jews_ or Stanley's _Jewish Church,_ would furnish the historical
information, while a good biblical atlas, kept always open before you,
would give the needed maps. Full historical and topographical
discussions will be found in Smith's _Bible Dictionary,_ Robinson's
_Biblical Researches,_ or Thompson's _Land and the Book._ (2.) The
Bible, I also suggest, should be studied in its unity. The book of God,
from Genesis to Revelation, is one whole, from first to last unfolding,
by successive steps, one system of truth and method of redemption. It
is not a mere fortuitous collection of sacred writings, but one grand
revelation from God, each part related to every other and essential to
the whole. The types and prophecies and symbols of the earlier
Scriptures contain the germs of the later Gospel, and no man will
thoroughly understand the one Testament without a careful study of the
other. This interior, vital unity in the several parts of Scripture is
developed in such works as Fairbairn's _Typology_ and the _Philosophy
of the Plan of Salvation._ (3.) The books of the Bible should be
studied in their chronological and historical connection. Suppose one
is studying the prophecy of Isaiah: he will ascertain its meaning far
more clearly if he have carefully studied the period when Isaiah lived,
the reigns of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah as given in Kings and
Chronicles. Or suppose he is reading the Epistles of Paul: their
interpretation will be far more clear if he have studied the character
of Paul and the circumstances under which he wrote as they are
developed in the Acts and the Epistles, aided by such a work as
Conybeare and Howson's _Life and Epistles of St. Paul._ (4.) The Bible
should also be studied analytically. A cursory reading of the
Scriptures does not interpret them; they must be carefully analyzed if
one would penetrate into their full meaning. For example, one is
reading Romans; he begins, "Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to
be an Apostle, separated unto the Gospel of God, which He had promised
before by His prophets in holy Scripture, concerning His Son, Jesus
Christ, our Lord; who was made of the seed of David according to the
flesh, but declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the
Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." Now analyze or
extract the propositions here contained. It is affirmed here of Paul,
1. That he is a servant (_doulos_) of Jesus Christ; 2. That he is a
Divinely-called Apostle; 3. That as an Apostle he is set apart unto the
Gospel of God. It is said of the Gospel, 1. That it was foreannounced
by the prophets in Holy Scripture; 2. That its subject-matter is
concerning Jesus Christ our Lord. It is declared of Christ, 1. That as
to His flesh, or human nature, He descended from David; 2. That as to
His spirit of holiness, or Divine nature, He was clearly shown to be
the Son of God by the fact of His resurrection. Now, the man who will
patiently, steadily work out such an analysis of God's Word as he
studies it will penetrate the heart of it, and its richness will
astonish him. The great thoughts of God will be laid open to his view
as they never can be to the careless, superficial reader; and if, with
such biblical work in the study, the pastor devotes a part of the
Lord's Day either to expository preaching or to a lecture in his Bible
school, this direct connection of the work of the study with that of
the pulpit will add interest and force to both.
2. _In the study of the Christian doctrines it is, first of all,
important to have a system._ This plan of work should be so arranged
that in a course of years, taking one subject at a time, the pastor may
make a thorough investigation of all the leading topics. As the basis
take such a work as Hodge's _Outline of Theology,_ or any good
compendium of theology, and, following the order of subjects, work in
each until its main points have been mastered. For illustration,
suppose the subject is the doctrine of inspiration. First work out
carefully the questions in your chosen text-book, and read some of the
best authors on the subject, as Lee, Woods, Gaussen, and Hodge. All the
points involved will thus be brought distinctly before the mind. Then
collect the leading passages of Scripture bearing on it and examine
each critically and patiently and note down your own impressions.
Follow this by writing a full and careful statement of your own view as
the result of the investigation. Or suppose the subject to be that
great central doctrine of the Gospel, the atonement. After working out
the questions as presented in your text-book and reading the best
authors accessible to you, so as to become master of the vital points,
then examine the priesthood and sacrifices of the Old Testament, the
predictions of the atonement in prophecy, and the passages bearing on
this doctrine in the New Testament. Having thus before you the elements
of a decision, write out fully your own view. Such a process of
theological investigation, steadily pressed year after year, and
connected as it would be with the reading of the great masters in
theology, could not fail to make the pastor a clear, strong religious
thinker and his pulpit a power in leading religious thought. Let me
also urge the study of the history of doctrines in connection with such
a course of theological investigation. Take such a work as Hagenbach's
or Shedd's _History of Doctrines,_ in which the course of theological
thinking on each of the great truths of the Bible is traced through the
ages, and the varying phases of the doctrine through successive
periods, and the forms in which it has been held by the world's
profoundest thinkers are presented. Such a study is wonderfully
stimulating to thought and affords a broader basis for the formation of
opinions. If also, in direct connection with this investigation of a
great truth, the pastor should preach on the leading points involved in
it, he would greatly add to the definiteness of his own views, while
the work of the study would thus come into the work of the pulpit,
enhancing the interest and power of the sermons.