Sir Walter Scott, on his deathbed, asked his son-in-law and biographer, John Gibson Lockhart, to read to him. Lockhart, observing the many books by Scott, asked him, “What book shall I read?” Sir Walter replied, “Why do you ask that question? There is but one book; bring the Bible.”

The Word of God is the only book for any dying man, or living man for that matter. John Adams, our second president, judged the Bible as “the best book in the world.” John Quincy Adams said, “Search the Scriptures. The Bible is the book above all others to be read at all ages and in all conditions of human life; not to be read once or twice through then laid aside, but to be read in small portions every day.” I am constantly preaching that we should read our Bibles every day and, as the great Apostle Paul suggested, “Pray without ceasing.”

A visiting African prince once asked Queen Victoria what was the secret of England’s greatness. She brought out a copy of the Bible and said, “This is the secret of England’s greatness.” But today England has gotten away from the Word of God, and she is no longer a first-rate nation. The very same thing is happening in the United States. We are getting farther and farther from the Bible, and our national problems are getting greater and greater.

Not only have our leaders gotten far away from God’s Word, our people in general are following down the same fatal path. Statistically, a full 80 percent no longer attend any church with regularity. In some large cities, it’s 90 percent. Like the pagan Romans, however, they crowd into sports arenas by the thousands. If only they could see and hear the truth of God’s Word! They cannot because they will not. Faith in God is waning in our country. Jesus Himself asked, “… Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).

The problems with our country and all other countries is lack of the knowledge of God. It is a wonder that God has been so patient with us. We have no doubt greatly offended Him with our foolish liberalism. We have thrown God and His Word out of our schools; and we have uprooted many old traditional markers of Christian faith, such as Nativity Scenes and crosses. We have made things legal that the Bible roundly condemns. Christian faith made this country great, and here we are abandoning it today. England became a second-rate nation for the same reasons.

Surely the cause of all the divorce and other human misery in our country today is the lack of faith in God. Surely the reason people are so unhappy, though wealthy, is the widespread lack of proper priority in their lives. If people would at least attend the right church (one which preaches the Word of God), they would find solutions to their problems and far more happiness in their lives today.