I often used to sit and view the moon for a long time, and in the day spent much time in viewing the clouds and sky to behold the sweet glory of God in these things, in the meantime singing forth with a low voice my contemplations of the Creator and Redeemer. I have, several other times, had experiences of very much the same nature, and which have had the same effects. It is unquestionably of incalculable spiritual advantage to know any such man as this. Indeed we can hardly afford not to know him. The second advantage mentioned was that of intellectual stimulus.
Books are dangerous as well as helpful.
Much that is read would be just as well, or even better unread than read. The result of reading them is mental dissipation, and the result of that is intellectual paralysis. The larger part of our current literature is the product of no higher motive than the income which is expected to accrue to the authors and publishers. But then fortunately we are not limited to such as these. The same is true in our own peculiar domain as ministers - the domain of theology and religion.