thought , the more scattered were my conclusions . I tried to stop thinking , but my thoughts would not be controlled . I was truly wretched , but did not understand the cause . I murmured and complained , but knew not of whom . I knew that there was a wrong , but knew not how or where to find the right . I mourned , but without hope ."
In this state he continued for some months . " Suddenly ," he says , " the character of a Saviour was vividly impressed upon my mind . It seemed that there might be a being so good and compassionate as to himself atone for our transgressions , and thereby save us from suffering the penalty of sin . I immediately felt how lovely such a being must be , and imagined that I could cast myself into the arms of , and trust in the mercy of , such a one . But the question arose , How can it be proved that such a being does exist ? Aside from the Bible , I found that I could get no evidence of the existence of such a Saviour , or even of a future state . . . .
" I saw that the Bible did bring to view just such a Saviour as I needed ; and I was perplexed to find how an uninspired book should develop principles so perfectly adapted to the wants of a fallen world . I was constrained to admit that the Scriptures must be a revelation from God . They became my delight ; and in Jesus I found a friend . The Saviour became to me the chiefest among ten thousand ; and the Scriptures , which before were dark and contradictory , now became the lamp to my feet and light to my path . My mind became settled and satisfied . I found the Lord God to be a Rock in the midst of the ocean of life . The Bible now became my chief study , and I can truly say , I searched it with great delight . I found the half was never told me . I wondered why I had not seen its beauty and glory before , and marvelled that I could have ever rejected it . I found everything revealed that my heart could desire , and a remedy for every disease of the soul . I lost all taste for other reading , and applied my heart to get wisdom from God ." --S . Bliss , Memoirs of Wm . Miller , pages 65-67 .
Miller publicly professed his faith in the religion which he had despised . But his infidel associates were not slow to bring forward all those arguments which he himself had often urged against the divine authority of the Scriptures . He was not then prepared to answer them ; but he reasoned that if the Bible is a revelation from God , it must be consistent with itself ; and that as it was given for man ' s instruction , it must be adapted to his understanding . He determined to study the Scriptures for himself , and ascertain if every apparent contradiction could not be harmonized .
Endeavouring to lay aside all preconceived opinions , and dispensing with commentaries , he compared scripture with scripture by the aid of the marginal references and the concordance . He pursued his study in a regular and methodical manner ; beginning with Genesis , and reading verse by verse , he proceeded no faster than the meaning of the several passages so unfolded as to leave him free from all embarrassment . When he found anything obscure , it was his custom to compare it with every other text which seemed to have any reference to the matter under consideration . Every word was permitted to have its proper bearing upon the subject of the text , and if his view of it
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