Psalm 10:4 The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.

Psalm 63:1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is;

Yesterday I asked if there is a wrong way to study the bible. Here I set before you two different attitudes. The first is self-seeking, to bolster up one’s own position. They give no real thought to God.

The key to the second is that this man has already made God the Lord of his life and his very flesh longs to drink of the living water.

Can one who is not a follower of Jesus find God in the scriptures? Absolutely.

Psalm 105:3-4 Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord, and his strength: seek his face evermore.

There is however a difference in knowing who God is from afar off and intimately. It is the difference between knowing of God by reputation and knowing God by experience. This intimate relationship God seeks with us has to be met by accepting His invitation into that relationship. It is not enough to answer the knock at the door with “Who is there?” You have to open the door to your heart and let Him in, making Him the Lord of your life. Until that moment all your bible studies will be self-effort.

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

To answer my own question I would say: It is wrong to choose my own thinking above that of the Spirit of Truth.

Romans 12:6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;

During this series on Psalm 24 I used my gifts to read and relate what I saw in this psalm. My gifts differ from some of you. Some may study the Word of God in the same manner in which I do. Many will not and that is not to say your methods of study are wrong, only different. This has been nothing more than a glimpse into my mind going thru this psalm.

How you read and meditate on God’s Word should be personal. You will receive it as you are able by faith. No reading of God’s Word is wrong if it is done sincerely, honestly and with a heart for God. Will it be of any benefit to relate different methods of study? I don’t know. I will let you judge.

Commentaries have existed for a long time. Dedicated men have spent their lives bringing to those who follow behind massive libraries of their personal findings, thoughts and related references from those who came before them. Matthew Henry himself proffered Matthew Poole’s work. Pink often referenced works by Puritan authors. No man’s work stands alone and is built on those who came before them.

Modern bible studies contain marginal notes. These are often directed thinking, meaning they lean towards some established theology. No author gets published without a conscientious editor-in-chief.

Do you read a whole chapter at a time and refrain from thinking to allow the Word to settle into your heart without definition? Do you read passages over and over again, burning them into the memory folds of your mind? Do you have a set time to study or is that study time squeezed into a busy schedule? That is not judgment, it is just a reality of the human condition. We all have to set priorities according to our responsibilities and resources.

Do you stop and investigate those things that stand out in your mind as a puzzle or something that you don’t completely understand? Do you trust God to reveal to you understanding without research? If it is important for you to understand properly, wont God bring correction in a timely fashion?

Is there a wrong way to study?