"Whatsoever was written aforetime." There is no doubt, I think, that
by these words St. Paul means the Bible; that is, the Old Testament,
which was the only part of the Bible already written in his time.
For it is of the Psalms which he is speaking. He mentions a verse
out of the 69th Psalm, "The reproaches of Him that reproached thee
fell on me;" which, he says, applies to Christ just as much as it did
to David, who wrote it. Christ, he says, pleased not Himself any
more than David, but suffered willingly and joyfully for God's sake,
because He knew that He was doing God's work. And we, he goes on to
say, must do the same; do as Christ did; we must not please
ourselves, but every one of us please our brother for his good and
edification; that is, in order to build him up, strengthen him, make
him wiser, better, more comfortable. For, he says, Christ pleased
not Himself, but like David, lived only to help others; and therefore
this verse out of David's Psalms, "The reproaches of them that
reproached thee fell on me," is a lesson to us; a pattern of what we
ought to feel, and do, and suffer. "For whatsoever was written
aforetime," all these ancient psalms and prophets, and histories of
men and nations who trusted in God, "were written for our example,
that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have
hope."

Yes, my friends, this is true; and the longer you live a life of
faith and godliness, the longer you read and study that precious Book
of books which God has put so freely into your hands in these days,
the more true you will find it. And if it was true of the Old
Testament, written before the Lord came down and dwelt among men, how
much more must it be true of the New Testament, which was written
after His coming by apostles and evangelists, who had far fuller
light and knowledge of the Lord than ever David or the old prophets,