MEMORIZING SCRIPTURE
It’s Value Extolled by Rev. H. W. Pope in the' Christian Worker’s Magazine
0 NE of the best habits one can acquire ^ is that of committing to memory. Ghoice verges of the Scriptures. Some peo ple commit entire books of the Bible, but 1 regard that as an unreasonable tax upon tlm memory. Of course, one could easily learn the first Psalm, and the twenty-third, and the one hundredth, and the one hun dred and twenty-first. Also the Ten Com mandments and the Beatitudes. Beyond that I should advise the marking and memorizing of choice verses as we meet them in our daily reading. Suppose a farmer were to set out a dozen choice fruit trees each yean In a few years his farm would be well stocked with a great variety of fruit, and each tree fwould bear fruit as long as he lived. Each tree has its own individuality and value, and in course of time each one would come to seem like an old friend, some yielding sweet apples arid others sour. Some are early and others late. Then there are pears, and peaches, and plums, and cherries of different kinds and flavors. Suppose a person should commit to memory <^ne verse of Scripture each week. That would not be a very hard task, but how great would be the result as the years went on. Each verse is like a fruit tree which bears some kind of choice fruit to enrich his mind, and ennoble his character, and increase his usefulness. [ And these yield fruit not simply once a year, or even orice a month like the trees in the Celestial City (Rev. 22:2), but every day in the year, and all the years of his life. Take such a verse as John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. . . . Let not your heart be trou bled, neither let it be afraid.” How many times think you wohld a Christian feed his soul on that verse in a lifetime? The same is true of Matthew 11:28 and Romans 8:28, and 1 John 3:1 and Jude 24.
If one continued this habit a few years his mind would become a magnificent or chard: yielding fruit in such abundance and variety as to-supply not only the owner himself, but all his neighbors and. friends. If a pian had no other assets than a mind well stored with Scripture, he would be a rich man. But he would have other as sets, because it is declared of those who delight in, the law of the Lord, that they shall be “like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season. His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Ps. 1:3). Consider also the effect of this habit in creating a -relish for that'which is pure and wholesome in literature, and a distaste for that which/ is. vulgar. Ho orie whose mind is ..stored with the sublime sentiments of the Bible, will care for trashy and sen sational reading. Not only will it affect his mind, but his character. He will naturally love right eousness and hate iniquity. He will have high ideals because he is familiar with such men as Enoch, and Daniel, and Abraham. In time of temptatiofi the Holy Spirit will recall to. his mind some suitable verse, as he. did for our Saviour when tempted by the adversary. (When perplexed as to his duty some passage of .Scripture w'ill flash upon him and make the path of duty as clear as daylight. Besides, if he is on the alert, he will find many opportunities to help others. He can correct false impressions, answer excuses and, objections, and often lead sinners to begin the ChristianTife. I know of a case where a wife committed two vverses at an afternoon service, and at the supper table she used them on her husband. He was' so affected that he knelt right down and accepted Christ without waiting to finish his supper.
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