HOW TO EAT THE WORD
   by James M. Gray, D.D.

"Thy words were found and I did eat them; any Thy word was unto me the joy and
rejoicing of my heart" (Jeremiah 15:16)

There is a great difference between "finding" the word of God and "eating" it,
and it is the man who eats that gets the benefit out of it. Eating makes
digestion and assimilation possible, and when these functions are normal in
their working, the result is health and strength, - and all the usefulness and
joy of living.

But eating comes first, and the eating that counts is that which has taken
plenty of time for mastication. You must retain the food in your mouth, and
get the full taste out of it, and let it mingle with the saliva, and chew, and
chew, and chew, until the least possible amount is left to swallow. The man
who does this has learned one of the great secrets of his physical being. He
has learned how to keep well, and how to eat almost anything he likes without
ill results. Keeping the food in the mouth is the key to it all.

Something like this is true in the higher realm. Usefulness and joy in the
spiritual life depend on spiritual health and strength. But these in turn
depend on the spiritual nourishment one takes - its kind, its quantity,' its
condition. The only nourishment for man's soul is the Word of God. "Desire the
sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby," is the inspired
exhortation (1 Peter 2:2), and the more you get of it the better, always
provided that you can digest and assimilate it.

Holding the Word in Your Mind

Here comes the thought of eating again. Holding the Word in your mind is like
holding the food in your mouth. That is how to get the full taste of it.
Prayer does in the one case what the saliva does in the other. Turning it
round and round, thinking of it from this point of view and that, asking
questions about it, taking it to your parents, your Sunday school teacher,
your pastor, searching its meaning in a commentary, all these things
correspond to the chewing that makes good digestion and assimilation."

Now the only way to hold the Word in your mind is to memorize it. It is not
hard to do this, and when you begin to see the benefit of it, it becomes a
real pleasure. Make the task as easy as possible by taking a small portion at
a time.

Don't "Bolt" Your Food

In other words, while you are a beginner let the passage of Scripture be so
small that it may be readily recalled several times during the busy day. And
see that you do recall it, that is the point. Master your will in the matter
until it obeys you almost automatically and you are able to recall the
Scripture without effort. You will be surprised how soon you will be able to
do this, and it will mean so much to you. It will be better than counting the
bank notes you have been hoarding up somewhere, or tasting a sweet morsel
hidden away, or conversing with a friend whom you love very much.

The other morning at family prayers I read this verse in Proverbs 18:10: "The
name of the Lord is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is
safe." I at once fastened it correctly in my mind, and as I walked to my
office, I kept "eating" it, turning it over and over, and getting such a sweet
taste out of it and such a sense of strength and spiritual satisfaction.

What I Found in the Word

"'The name of the Lord,' " said I, "why that means the Lord Himself! He is a
'strong tower." "And the `strong tower'? In olden time, that was a place of
defense and protection, like our forts today." "The 'righteous runneth into
it.' Who can the righteous be, save those who are made righteous through
receiving Christ by faith as their righteousness?" "'Runneth,' there is a
thought of haste because of the pursuit by the enemy," and Paul's words came
into my mind, "We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
Principalities, against powers, against rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places." " 'Runneth into it and is safe.'
Oh, the security and peace of the believer who puts his trust in God!" And so
I kept on "masticating" the Word and finding something new in it at every
bite.

But that was not all. Before the day was over I needed all the strength I got
out of it. There were trials that day, the enemy was on my heels, and how glad
I was to run, and to know the place to run to and be safe!

What the Prophet Meant

I think this is what the prophet meant when he said : "Thy words were found,
and I did eat them; and Thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my
heart." And this is why I urge every Christian to memorize a portion of the
Word of God every day. It gives his soul something to feed upon, and the more
he feeds upon, and digests and assimilates it, the greater is his spiritual
strength, and joy, and power, and fruitfulness in the Lord.

Let me illustrate this. The next day after my experience with Proverbs 18:10 I
was at a prayer meeting, and being suddenly called upon to give a word of
exhortation, I had an opportunity to pass on that verse to three or four
hundred other people. And to how many more will they pass it on? They were all
Bible students preparing for Christian work in the uttermost parts of the
earth. Can you compute the number of souls to whom they may pass it on in a
lifetime, and who, in turn may pass it on, and on, and on while the age lasts?
And all because of that one little bite of truth I got that morning, and
because I held it long enough to chew it well! Memorize the Bible if you want
to be blessed and become a blessing.


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