DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE READING? – Charles Spurgeon

DO YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU ARE READING?

Acts 8:30-33

“And Philip ran there to him, and heard him read the Prophet Isaiah, and said, Do you understand what you are reading? And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. The place of the Scripture which he read was this, ‘He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and like a lamb dumb before His shearer, so opened He not His mouth: In His humiliation His judgment was taken away: and who shall declare His generation, for His life is taken from the earth.’” Acts 8:30-33.

How this chamberlain of the Queen of Ethiopia came to be a proselyte we do not know. The book which he was so fond of reading may have been the means of leading him to worship the God of Abraham. Certainly, it has answered that purpose thousands of times. At any rate, he followed the light he had, and though he had not yet come to the full glory of Christianity, it was more than probable that he would do so because he was evidently prepared to follow truth wherever her flaming torch should lead the way. Oh, that there were more candor among men in these latter days and less of the prejudice which puts scales upon the eyes of the mind! Be true to the Truth of God as it comes to you! If God gives you only common candlelight, make good use of it and He will trim your lamp till it shines like the sevenfold golden light of His holy place! Those who are willing to see God by the moon of Nature shall soon be illuminated by the sun of Revelation. Instead of complaining that you have no more light, make good use of what you have. Many groan over their inabilities and yet they have never gone to the end of their abilities—this is sheer hypocrisy!

Having become a proselyte to the faith of Israel, the eunuch made a long and perilous journey to Jerusalem. After he had enjoyed the solemn feast, he returned and, while he traveled along, he read the Word of God. The book of the Prophet Isaiah was the portion chosen for his meditation. Does it not strike you as being remarkable that he should be reading, at that moment, the best text that Philip could have selected? He had reached a portion of Scripture from which, without the slightest digression, the Evangelist preached to him Jesus as the slain Lamb, the willing Sacrifice for guilty men! The same conjunction of Providence and the Holy Spirit constantly occurs in conversions. What the man has read in the Bible, the preacher is often moved by the Spirit of God to declare from the pulpit, for God has servants everywhere, and His secret directions are given out so that all these servants, though they are little aware of it, are led to work together for the same predestined end! How often have the talks of young men by the wayside been reproduced by the preacher—and such amazing coincidences have struck their attention and been the means of impressing their hearts! God grant there may be something of that kind tonight—I know there will be! Into this hall years ago there strayed a wild young man. He heard me preach— he believed in Jesus—and he has long been an honored deacon of a suburban Church. Are there not other men here to whom the same salvation shall come?

This eminent nobleman is reading. That is a commendable occupation—reading is, in itself, somewhat of a hopeful sign. In these days we need hardly exhort young men to read. “Give attendance to reading,” said the wise Apostle Paul, and that was excellent advice for Timothy. Let all Christian men be reading men. But, then, Philip’s question contains these words, “What you are reading,” and that suggests a necessary enquiry. I am afraid much that is read nowadays had far better be left unread! Multitudes of books are fruits of an accursed tree—the tree of evil knowledge which is watered by the rivers of perdition! The fruits of this upas tree will yield no benefit to the minds that feed upon it, but much of solemn damage by perverting the judgment, or polluting the imagination. Souls have been ruined to all eternity by reading a vile book. Count it no trifle to have heard bad language, but count it a more serious evil to have read a bad book which has wounded your soul and left a scar upon your conscience. The writer of an evil book is a deliberate poisoner, secretly pouring death into the wells from which men drink. The printers and publishers of such works are accomplices in the crime. Young men, you will read—who among us would wish you to do otherwise?—but take heed what you read! As one who has read more greedily than most men, all sorts of books, I bear my testimony that the best of reading is the reading of the best of books. The more we read the Bible and volumes that lead up to the understanding of it, the better for us. I do not like to see in a lending library all the works of fiction needing to be recovered two or three times over, while the books of sober fact and solid teaching—and the works that speak of eternal things have never been read—since they have not even been opened. I fear that this is the general, if not the universal, rule.

“Do you understand what you are reading?” is a question I would hardly put until a man has made up his mind that he will not read mere rubbish and falsehood, but will with deep attention read that which is accurate, truthful, devout and ennobling. Read, but take heed what you read and then seek to understand what you read! It was a very sharp-pointed question that Philip put to this gentleman. He made honest and earnest use of a rare opportunity for reaching one of the upper ten. We find it tolerably easy to put questions to a man who is poor, but how shall we approach the rich? We have sermons for the working-classes and it would be a fair and useful thing to have sermons for the House of Peers—and evangelistic addresses for the Commons! Are there any bigger sinners anywhere than you might find in those two chambers? The rich are neither better nor worse than the poor—the various classes have bad and good in each of them—in much the same proportion. I am persuaded that there are noble lords and honorable gentlemen who would be all the better for a little teaching upon the things of the Kingdom of God. For instance, it might do many of them good to hear a plain sermon from, “You must be born again.” Why is it that we are so apt to be plain-spoken with working men and not with their employers? I admire Philip for his outspokenness to the royal treasurer. This gentleman keeps a carriage! Look at his retinue and his brave display! He is a very important person and yet, Philip, who is nobody in particular—only a poor preacher of the Word of God—runs up to the chariot and solemnly asks, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Young men, never be irritated by plain questions from a servant of Christ, or else you will not be as noble as this Ethiopian chamberlain! And, young men, when you know the Lord, do not be ashamed, yourselves, to put important questions to other people. Bold enquiries often give less offense than the more polite and indirect address which timidity suggests. I fear the world can seldom charge the Church with being too violent in its appeals. Look at what the ungodly will do to us. Where can you live in a street of London, especially in this part of town, without having night made hideous with their loud licentious songs and shouts? They force upon us their irreligion—may we not introduce our religion in return? If we go up to a man straight away and speak to him in the name of Christ, perhaps he will say, “You intrude.” Well, we are not the only people that intrude, for many intrude their filthy tongues upon us as we go down the streets! And they force their infidelity upon us in the daily prints. The world sets the fashion and if we follow its customs, it has no right to complain. When the wicked grow so delicate that they are afraid of hurting our feelings by their unbelieving speeches, we may take into consideration how we can go delicately, also. Meanwhile, is there anything which a man of God has not a right to say if it is the Truth of God and if he is earnestly aiming at the salvation of his fellow men?

This was the question, “Do you understand what you are reading?” Ah, my Brothers and Sisters, you and I have need to understand the Bible. I will suppose you read it—let me hope I am not mistaken—but when you read it, labor, above all things, to understand it! The Book was written to be understood. It is the Book which speaks to us about our lives (for the soul is the true life), and about the eternal bliss and the way to win it. It must be so written as to be understood, since it were a mockery for God to give us a Revelation which we could not comprehend! The Bible was meant to be understood and it benefits us in proportion as we get at the meaning of it. The mere words of Scripture passing over the ears or before the eyes can do us little good. I heard a person say, once, concerning a great doctrine which I hold to be very plainly taught in Scripture, that he had read the Bible through—I think he said six times—on his knees, but he could not find that doctrine. I replied, “Brother, that is an awkward position in which to read the Bible. I would have sat upon a chair and studied the pages in a natural and easy posture. Moreover, I would not have galloped through it at the rate at which you must have raced over the chapters. I would rather have read a little at a time and tried to understand it.”

I. What is Most Essential to Be Understood in This Book?

I do verily believe that it is contained in the passage which the eunuch was reading. It is a very singular passage. A section of the Bible begins at Isaiah 53 and goes onward through several chapters. I will read you a verse or two out of that part which the eunuch would soon have read had he continued to peruse the words of the Prophet. Already he had noted the words— “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” There was something for him, for he had gone astray and knew his lost estate. Go on to chapter 54, verse 3, and read this—“You shall break forth on the right hand and on the left; and your seed shall inherit the Gentiles, and make the desolate cities to be inhabited.” He might have thought, “I am one of the Gentiles and, therefore, I am of the nations that shall be possessed by the seed.” When he reached the 55th chapter, how his eyes would sparkle as he began to read, “Ho, everyone that thirsts, come you to the waters”! And this, “Seek you the Lord while He may be found, call you upon Him while He is near.” Here, too, He would hear the voice of God inviting men to come to His Anointed and he would mark that promise, “Behold, you shall call a nation that you know not, and nations that knew not you shall run unto you because of the Lord your God.” He would rejoice to see that the Ethiopians were included in those who knew not the Christ, but would, nevertheless, run to Him. I beg you to look at the 56th chapter and the third verse. I fancy the eunuch had read the portion before—it must have been a favorite passage with him, for it runs thus—“Neither let the eunuch say, Behold, I am a dry tree. For thus said the Lord unto the eunuchs that keep My Sabbaths, and choose the things that please Me, and take hold of My Covenant; even unto them will I give in My house, and within My walls, a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters.” Was not that pointedly personal and full of consolation? I do not wonder that he liked to be found reading near such a choice promise, wherein he saw the tender compassion of the Lord for beings who are usually despised. The passage from which Philip’s text was taken contains the most essential thing for every young man to know. Let him know and understand the sixth verse of the 53rd chapter of Isaiah. It begins with, “All,” and ends with, “All”— therefore carry it in your memories—“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

What is needed is that we first understand that we have all gone astray. He who does not know that he has gone astray will not care for the Shepherd who comes to fetch him back. A humbling, heart-breaking sense of our personal wanderings from the Lord is a main force by which the heavenly Father leads us to the Lord Jesus and His salvation! I want every young person here to know and understand the Truth of God that salvation is the gift of Divine mercy to those who are guilty—and is never the reward of human merit. Christ did not come to save you because you are good, for you are not good. Nor because you have merit, for you have no merit. He would not have come to save you if you had possessed merit. Why should He? There would have been no need! I hear the doctor’s carriage rattling down the street at a great pace and I wonder where he is going. It never occurs to me that he is rushing to call upon a hale and hearty man! I am persuaded that he is hastening to see someone who is very ill—perhaps someone in dying circumstances—otherwise he would not drive so fast. It is just so with Jesus Christ. When He is hurrying on the wings of the wind to rescue a child of man, I am sure that the soul He visits is sick with the malady of sin and that the Physician is making haste because the disease is developing into corruption and death. He came not “to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

II. What is the Test of a Man’s Understanding His Bible and of Understanding This Passage in It?

I answer that the test of a man’s understanding this important part of Scripture is that Jesus Christ is everything to Him, for Philip, who did understand it, when he explained it, preached unto the eunuch Jesus and nothing else. I try with all my might to preach my Lord Jesus Christ—and I love to meet with people who delight in this theme. Certain critics call upon us to preach something fresh. This, also, will I do, for I will preach Jesus—and He is always fresh—there is nothing stale in Him! He has forever the dew of His youth! It may be said, “But new doctrines are brought out continually.” Yes, but they grow stale in a month! They are a poor kind of Covent Garden stuff and need to be carted away quickly, otherwise they decay. I have lived to see a score or more sorts of modern theology—they all come and go—but Jesus Christ remains the same yesterday, today and forever! If you have Jesus Christ, you have everything—top, bottom and middle as well! Have Christ and nothing else but Christ. You will not be safe if you rest without having a firm hold of Jesus, the Divine Savior.

III. What Can Be Done to Obtain Such a Desirable Understanding of the Scriptures?

“I read the Bible,” says one, “and get a great deal puzzled over it.” Let me advise that when you read a passage in the Scriptures which you do not understand, you should read it until you do. “I should have to read often.” Well, that would not hurt you. “But suppose I never understand it?” Keep on reading it all the same. “Can passages of Scripture which we do not understand do us any good when we read them?” Yes. They gradually filter into our souls—by long considering them we get light out of them. Here is a little boy whose father is an artisan and uses a great many technical terms when talking about his work. The boy is apprenticed to the trade and wants to know all about it and, therefore, he listens to his father. And when the day is over, he says to himself, “I heard my father say a great deal, but I do not understand much of it.” “But you did understand a little of it?” “Oh, yes.” To that little he is faithful and, day by day, he adds to his store of information, learning more by the help of that which he already knows. He hears his father talk, again, the next day, and still he does not understand much, but at last, by hearing the terms often and by meditating upon them, light breaks in and, at length, he can talk like his father, using the same words with understanding. So I have found it. When I do not comprehend a chapter, I say—“This is probably comprehensible. I will, therefore, hear my great Father speak, even if I do not understand, at first, what He may say to me. And I will keep on hearing Him until at last I grasp His meaning.” I fear we do not understand some passages because we have not read them often enough, nor thought upon them with full concentration of mind. Once or twice they pass before the mind and produce no impression—let us observe them, yet again, and then their effect will be deep and permanent. Do as the photographer does when he allows an object to be long before the camera until he obtains a well-defined picture. Let your mind dwell on a passage till at last it has photographed itself upon your soul by the Light of God.

The next bit of advice I would give is always read with a desire to understand—always have the pliers with you to crack the nuts, that you may feed upon their kernels. Some may say, when reading the Bible, “That may be a very blessed passage, but I don’t, in the least, know what it means.” Be not content to leave the text in that condition! Weep much because no man can open the book and loose its seven seals. Pray over the words and study them again and again, till, at last, you come at the essence of the text. Reading with that view, it is wonderful how soon you will obtain the understanding you seek!

Next, be sure to pray for the enlightenment of the Holy Spirit. If you want to understand a book and you find difficulties in it, do as I have done on several occasions with my contemporaries—write and ask them what they mean by their language. I have, in this way, obtained much valuable information. Can we do that with the Bible? Assuredly we can if we know how to pray! The Author of the Bible is never more pleased than when we go directly to Him to ask Him what He means! He puts Himself at the disposal of every earnest student, to open up by means known to Himself, those Scriptures which He has Himself dictated.

The Creator who made the brain! The Holy Spirit has a wonderful power in clearing the intellect. You shall study for a month and make no headway—but you shall pray to God about a spiritual Truth—and it shall be clear to you in a minute! There are multitudes of instances in which men have turned dark problems over and over again in their minds and have never solved them by their own mental efforts. But one flash of Divine Light has made everything bright as noonday! Wait, then, upon the Author of the Bible, and then wait upon the Author of yourself, and say, “Lord, as You open the Scriptures, so open my understanding that I may perceive their meaning.” I would earnestly entreat every man who desires to understand the Bible to consider at this moment the vital point of his natural condition and the way of salvation from it. You are lost, dear Friend. If you are an unconverted man you are still lost and you cannot save yourself—it is impossible!

You may have heard the story of that philosopher who was once on the roof of a house, when suddenly behind him came a strong man with a huge whip and told him to jump down to the ground. Certain death would have been the result. The man was a lunatic. The philosopher perceived that terrible fact in a moment and so he very wisely said, “Well, you see, any fool can jump down. The grand thing would be to jump up! Let us go down and jump up.” They went down but they never jumped up, for the gentleman thus escaped. Are there not some here who are jumping down? Some young men who are taking a desperate leap to one sin or another? Any fool can jump down! But if any of you are already down, I defy you to jump up! No, you need a greater power than your own before you can ascend the heights of holiness. If you have tried to jump up, I know, young man, you have fallen back in despair. Easy is the descent to Hell—the gravitation of our nature tends that way—but to retrace our steps—that is the work—that is the difficulty!

Turn that over in your mind and say, “If there is salvation to be had, since I cannot work out my own rescue without Divine Grace, I will trust in Jesus.” Oh, that you would seek His Grace at once! I tried to preach the Gospel just now. Let me again put it simply. A slave worded it thus, “Christ die, me not die,” and that is the Gospel! Christ dies that you may not die. Only trust Him and you are saved! When you are about it, dear young Friend, I beseech you to trust Christ out and out. A homely parable will illustrate what I mean. A father, it is said, had to go, one night, along the top of a rugged and very slippery precipice. His two boys were with him and when he started, one boy said, “Father, I will take hold of your hand.” He did so and it seemed a very wise thing to do. The other boy said, “Father, take hold of my hand,” and, as it turned out, that was a much more prudent course, for the first youngster clung to his father’s hand until he grew weary—and when they were in a very frightful place, he failed to hold on and down he went! But the other trudged along right merrily, for he was not dependent upon his hold of his father’s hand—all depended upon the father’s hold of him! Now come, young man, and begin as you mean to go on. Put yourself right into the hands of the Lord Jesus for Him to keep you! When I was a lad I heard a preacher say that Christ gave to His sheep eternal life and that they would never perish, for He would keep them to the end. This charmed me. I longed to find this sure salvation. I thought within myself, “I know James So-and-So and, Tom So-and-So, who went up to London and who were about a year older than I, and they, within half-a-dozen years, were as far gone in vice as well could be. They were better boys when they were at school than I was and yet they went to the bad. I may go and do the same thing as they did unless I get this eternal salvation. I may lose my situation, or be found pilfering, or something of that sort, for I have as bad a heart as they have.” I looked upon salvation as a spiritual insurance which would guarantee my character. So I tried the promise and now, at the age of 50, I place myself under the care of the Lord Jesus as I did at the age of fifteen! He has kept me to this day and I believe He will never let me go, however long I may live. Oh, young man, give yourself up to those dear pierced hands wholly and heartily! Let your motto be, “Jesus only.” Trust Christ a little and yourself a little and, like a man who plants one foot on the rock and the other on the quicksand, you will go down! Trust in Him alone and He will hold you fast! If Jesus does not save me, I shall be lost, for I cannot save myself. It is His business to save me, for both by name and office He is Jesus, the Savior—and I rest quite happily in Him. When we meet in Heaven we shall praise the Lord for making us understand what we read. God bless you all, for Christ’s sake. Amen.

Charles Spurgeon