Blessed is he that readeth

Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein: for the time is at hand.

Blessed is he that readeth! There is no greater blessing than that blessing which the Lord imparts. It is everlasting. It is sure! It is a divine blessing given by the Lord! I want the blessing! I want that bestowment that comes from none other than the Lord Himself.

But how do we acquire such a sublime blessing? From where does it pour forth? Where is the source of this great boon? Where do we find it? Is it readily available and easily accessible? Yes, no doubt it is! For all we need to do is read! All we need to do is open the pages of God’s Word, to look into His blessed prophecy! All that is needed is to place our eyes upon the beautiful unchanging pages of His revelation, and we have the blessed upon us. And yet, so many refuse the blessing knowingly or unknowingly. They do not open the pages of Scripture. They do not recognize where the blessing is. They think that by their effort and profitable deeds they can obtain the blessing without the help of God’s written revelation. Indeed, they believe His Word is boring, flat, and charmless. But anyone who thinks such things has never gazed into the glorious fires of the hearth of Scripture. They have never looked into the law of liberty as if in a mirror. They have never seen face answer to face. They have never with open face beheld as in a glass the glory of the Lord. For when you do this, you are changed into the same image from glory to glory! “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed,” James tells us. See James 1:21-25.

Oh my dear friend, do not miss the blessing! Do not think that there is a better blessing somewhere else outside the pages of Scripture! Do not think that the Bible is antiquated, old-fashioned, and out of style. No, my friend, it is fresh, new, and timeless if we will run to it every morning! Do you want your day to be blessed? Do you want your relationships to be blessed? Do you want your efforts and employments to be blessed? Do you want your life to be blessed by God? Then open the Scriptures each day. Open the book of the law each morning. Look into His perfect law of liberty. For blessed is he that readeth!

However, this blessing goes even beyond that great blessing that comes from God’s Word alone. For Paul commands Timothy to “Give attendance to reading” (1 Timothy 4:13). When He was in a Roman prison cell, He asked Timothy to bring his cloak to him, “and the books, but especially the parchments” (2 Timothy 4:13). Especially the parchments! There is nothing more important than the parchments! They impart the greatest blessing! But the books! They are also of invaluable importance. We must read good books! We must immerse our minds in good doctrine and nourish our minds in God’s truth. This is done first by Scripture, but it is also done by good books that deepen and widen our understanding of God and enrich our love for the things of God. For the Word of God tells us that there are many blessings we can have in the Lord, but make no mistake, blessed is he that readeth!

“O Father, thank you for the promise of the blessing given to us in Scripture, and we thank you for the simplicity of the promise. We thank you that the simple reading of God’s Word brings blessing to our lives. And I pray that we would find an extra helping of your blessing as we take in the words of your revelation today. Help us also to find this blessing in our daily readings, as we seek to nourish our souls and comfort our hearts on the morsels of your goodness laid out for us. May we use the resources you have made available for Thine own glory. This we pray in the name of Thy Son, the Lord Jesus, Amen.”