In this series of postings, I’m slowly working my way through Charles Bridges’ classic book Christian Ministry.
Christian Ministry (Charles Bridges) – Chapter 7b
In Chapter 7 Bridges writes about preparation for leadership of God’s people. Chapter 7 in his book is longer than the previous six chapters combined.
Bridges bases this chapter on the proposition that
A season of preparation – employed in storing the mind with Scriptural doctrine and in directing it to devotional and practical purposes, – in habits of self-communion and converse with God and in the exercise of active godliness, will turn to most profitable account throughout the course of a protracted ministry (pg 44).
Bridges identifies four aspects of preparation as important and devotes a section of chapter 7 to each of these aspects: Habits of General Study (pg 44-67), Special Study of the Scriptures (pg 68-80), Habits of Special Prayer (pg 81-85) and Employment in the Cure of Souls (pg 85-89). In this posting I summarize his second section.
Special Study of the Scriptures
In the previous section Bridges wrote about study in general. Here he turns his attention to the importance for those who lead God’s people of developing ongoing habits of the study of Scripture, or, as he puts it, “the enlightened and fruitful study of the word of God.” He notes insightfully,
The intellectual excitement of literary or theological study needs much watchfulness lest it should deaden the freshness of our mind to the more spiritual study of the Scriptures (pg 68).
By study, Bridges means close, detailed study. He quotes from a biography of Matthew Henry to make his point,
Men get wisdom by books, but wisdom towards God is to be gotten out of God’s book; and that by digging. Most men do but walk over the surface of it, and pick up here and there a flower. Few dig into it. Read over other books to help you understand that book. Fetch your prayers and sermons from thence. The volume of inspiration is a full fountain, every overflowing , and hath always something new (footnote 1, pg 68).
Special study of the Scriptures involves both close, detailed study and continual reading of large portions of Scripture,
While continuing the study of Divine truth, it is also of vast moment to keep up the daily reading of considerable portions of the pure word of God and so to keep Scriptural truth (as it has been observed) continually revolving in the mind. It will be the only effective preservative against the taint and deterioration, which the mind might otherwise receive from reading human authors (pg 69).
The proper attitude toward Scripture is important as we study it. Bridges describes it as “the patient investigating spirit of the miner, digging into hidden treasure.” We are to “read Scripture with such exactness as to weigh every expression, and the connexion, as if I were about to preach upon every verse; and then to apply the result to my own case, character, experience and conduct, as if it had been directly addressed to me” (quoting Scott).
