The Preacher's Bible

We've been in a series entitled The Preacher and today friends I want us to look at the Preacher's Bible. The Preacher's Bible is of immense importance to him. I was in a pastor's study and he shared with me his special Bible that he had about 20 autographs there in different handwriting in the inside cover of his Bible of famous Baptist preachers from the last 40 years that he had asked to personally sign his Bible.

I recognize names like Adrian Rogers, Stephen Oldford, and Manly Beasley. The Preacher's Bible is special to him. J. Sidlo Baxter's wife gave me his Bible which he had preached from during the last 25 years of his active ministry and I treasure that Bible because it is replete with Dr. Baxter's handwritten comments throughout and from time to time I get it out and read his observations on the text and am thankful for his God-owned ministry.

I'm a big believer friends and marking up one's Bible. For years I've written down notes in my Bible during my morning quiet time and then right beside it today's date. It's been a fruitful exercise to go through my Bibles and see how God was dealing with me through the years.

I've worn out many a Bible and I've used different ones through the years but I found the following Bibles to be the most useful to me and I use on a regular basis three Bibles and I want to share with you today friends what those Bibles are and how they can help you. Each of the ones I use are a King James translation but vary in their usefulness and I want to share with you some of the benefits you can receive from using these three Bibles. The first is a Thompson chain Bible.

I plum worn out my first one and had to order another one several years ago but the Thompson chain Bible is useful because it uses a system of study that connects words and themes found in scripture along with their references. Say for instance you need to find all Bible references to the word repentance well in the back of the book is a number and it's a chain reference so to speak attached to repentance and all the times it's mentioned in scripture. This will not only save you time in preparing sermons but it'll help you as a deeper Bible study as well and also in the Thompson Bible are summaries of every book of the Bible as well as character studies on Bible figures like Moses and Abraham.

It's a useful tool friends which I'm sure you'll benefit from. The next Bible I use is the key word Bible which has a concordance with all the Hebrew and Greek words along with their meanings. If you're in the Gospels and you come across the word love it will have a number across its top and you turn to that number in the back of the Bible and I'll show you the different Greek words and definitions for love such as agape philo and eros.

This is a handy tool because the English word does not express the depth of the original Greek text. The third Bible which I use is my favorite of all the three it's the Matthew Henry study Bible complete with the Bible commentary by the Puritan Matthew Henry. Oh friends how this Bible has helped me and blessed me through the years.

A Spurgeon said of Henry he is most pious and pithy sound and sensible heavenly and profitable and I agree friends if you get this Bible and really study it I believe you'll have the equivalent of a theological degree. The great British evangelist George Whitfield read through his Bible and Matthew Henry's commentary on his knees. I tried it one year and I had to give up and sit in a chair.

Whitfield shames me but really friends if you're looking for a good devotional Bible I highly recommend the Matthew Henry study Bible. It is really a blessing but the preacher's Bible should be his closest companion for the preacher must know both the word of God and the God of the word. Old-time preachers knew their Bibles better than most of us today and I want to challenge you friends to spend more time in the word of God and read it through as much as you can.

When John Song the great Chinese evangelist was incarcerated in an asylum in New York City for 193 days during that time he read through his Bible 44 times. My how that should shame all of us. Most of us don't spend enough time in our Bibles as we should.

The preacher's Bible is a hammer that breaks the hard heart in pieces. It is a fire that reveals the wicked windings of the human heart and ignites and sets ablaze fervency for God. It's a sharp two-edged sword that pierces through with conviction and it is a lamp to guide for in Psalm 119 105 we read thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.

The old adage is true friends sin will keep you from the Bible and the Bible will keep you from sin. Let us pray.