Last week at T4G I was struck afresh by the powerful preaching of men – like Piper, Platt, and Duncan – who use illustration and analogy quite sparingly. From whence does their power come?
The word of God.
They know that illustrations are vital homiletical tools, but stories and analogies cannot animate a soul dead in sin or heart assaulted by Satan’s wiles. Only the word of God can give life. Therefore, in addition to faithful and clear exposition, we ought to recover the beauty of a sermon whose entire content has the melody of Scripture.
Samuel Miller, that old trainer of preachers at Princeton, knew how powerful preaching can be when it is gloriously brimming with biblical language. He said, “Let everyone who wishes to excel in Sermonizing, take the utmost paints to have his mind deeply imbued with the spirit and language of the Word of God.” Telling his students that true eloquence is spiritual in nature, Miller goes on to say,
Whether, then, you wish to form the best pulpit style, to attain the highest spirit of real eloquence, or most effectually to awaken, instruct and impress those who hear you – let your Sermons – and, in order to this, let your minds be deeply imbued, thoroughly pervaded and filled with the spirit and language of the Bible.
PRICK YOUR PREACHING
We want to be like John Bunyan, of whom Spurgeon said, “’Why, this man is a living Bible!’ Prick him anywhere—his blood is Bibline, the very essence of the Bible flows from him. He cannot speak without quoting a text, for his very soul is full of the Word of God. I commend his example to you, beloved.”
How might we strive after an imbuing of Bible that makes ones blood bibline?
4 PURSUITS FOR BIBLINE BLOOD
Read the Bible. As much as we’d wish this could be a “given,” it sadly isn’t. With Lloyd-Jones, we say that every preacher ought to read the entire Bible at least once a year. “But isn’t that legalistic?” you ask. Banish away such a silly notion and dark scheme! If you are a preacher you are a Bible-man first and foremost. Master this text before you master the Puritans, Calvin, or any other towering giant in Christian history. A Bible reading plan like M’Cheyne’s will be a faithful friend in this pursuit.
Memorize the Bible. Be like the blessed man in Psalm 1 who meditates on the Word day and night. Memorizing verses here and there is good, but memorizing books of the Bible is better. It helps protect against proof-texting that ignores context. It will fill you soul with life-giving words. I’d recommend memorizing an epistle and then memorize some choice Psalms. Andy Davis’ little booklet on Scripture memorization is most useful.
Pray the Bible. Not only is praying Scripture a great way to infuse life into your secret prayer, it’s also a powerful way to let the word get dug down deep. The Psalms and prayers of Paul are great places to start.
Talk about the Bible. I do believe the preparation for preaching is a unique vehicle to fill the mind with Bible, but I am thinking about more casual conversation here. Read a book of the Bible with young men in your church, talk about it with your kids, and converse about it at every opportunity. You’ll find the soul soaking up truth at every turn.