We are commanded to _search the Scriptures_. _Searching_ is a difficult and laborious work. To induce us to engage in it, we must have a strong desire for something valuable. Here is a treasure of sufficient value to call forth this desire. This blessed book contains the revealed will of God. All who love God will be anxious to know his will. They will make it the rule of their conduct. "Thy word," says the Psalmist, "is a lamp, unto my feet, and a light unto my path." The will of God, as made known in his word, is like a lantern, which sheds a light on our path, and directs the steps of our feet. The sincere Christian will search after a knowledge of God's will, with more eagerness than he would search for hidden treasures of gold and silver. He will _set his heart_ to the work. This is what God commands. After Moses had given the law of God to the children of Israel, he said unto them, "_Set your hearts_ unto all the words which I testify among you this day." This is a very strong expression. To _set our hearts_ to any work, is to go about it in earnest, with all the energies of our souls. Again; when we make great search for anything we very much desire and highly prize, and find it, we are very apt to keep it. Hence David says, "Thy word have I _hid_ in my heart." But mark the reason of his conduct. Why did he hide God's word in his heart? He explains his motive: "That I might not _sin against thee_." His object, in hiding God's word in his heart, was to know how to regulate his conduct so as not to sin against him. You must feel a personal interest in the truth. You must study it as the directory of your life. When you open this blessed book, let this always be the sincere inquiry of your heart: "Lord, what wilt thou have _me_ to _do_?" Come to it with this childlike spirit of obedience, and you will not fail to learn the will of God. But when you have learned your duty in God's word, _do it without delay_. Here are two very important points of Christian character, quite too much overlooked. (1.) An earnest desire to know present duty. (2.) A steadfast and settled determination to _do it as soon as it is known_. Here lies the grand secret of high spiritual attainments. A person who acts from these principles may make greater progress in a single day than a tardy, procrastinating spirit in a long life. The pressure of obligation rests upon the present moment. Remember, when you have ascertained present duty, the delay of a single moment is _sin_. With these remarks, I submit a few practical directions for the profitable reading and study of the Holy Scriptures.