The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1885-05-20
Respect the Old Testament.

Respect the Old Testament.
There are not so many discouraging
features in the aspect of our times as
the opposition shown by some to the
study of the Old Testament by the
young. 1t indicates great lack of
clearness and comprehensiveness of
view in relation to the nature and claims
of the Scripture. And all experience
shows that failure here is far-reaching
in its results. Any disparagement of
the older Scripture reacts fatally upon
the later. Often men do not dream of
such a thing, but all the same the effect
follows. First, the Old Testament
should be taught in the Sunday-school
because it is a constituent part of the
Word of God, resting upon precisely
the same authority as the rest of the
volume. If men are to learn the whole
counsel of God, they must study the
whole record of that counsel. Is there
any arrogance equal to that of separat-
ing that which God has joined together?
Second, all the eucomiums of Scrip
ture in the New Testament refer to
the Old. Paul called it the Sword of
the Spirit, and that as being inspired it
was profitable for teaching and training
so as to furnish the man of God COM
slams Will; II. Timothy iii:16,17. Our
Lord used it to repel the tempter, tore
buke the Sadducees, to instruct the dis
cipl es and to utter his own last words
on the cross. Third, the Old Tesla
ment is as much needed to understand
the New as the New is to illu-
mine the Old. The later presup-
poses the earlier and builds upon
it at every step. Borrow at first
distributed the New Testament alone in
Spain, but afterwards found this to be a
mistake, for people previously ignorant
of the Bible could not get hold of the
force and meaning of the gospels and
epistles without the aid of the antece-
dent disclosures. And what becomes
of Christ's references to the fathers, and
Paul's appeals to Abraham and David
and the priestly argument of the epistle
to the Hebrews, if the Old Testament
be not read and considered ? Fourth, a
chief popularity of the Bible is that il
records a progressive revelation, all the
stages of which are closely interlocked
together Its completeness and glory
are seen only when this fact is recog
nized and receives its due weight. Are
our children to be trained in studious
ignorance of this capital truth? Fifth
the Old Testament is peculiarly fitted
to interest and please the young, SC
much of it is history, or rather chroni
Giles, annals, which tell their own story
and possess the advantage which the
concrete has over the abstract. More
than once | have seen lads, reading il
turn at family worship, lose the place
because, interested in the narrative
they had read on to see the issue
Again, the biographies of the oldel
Scripture are very fascinating. From
Abraham to Daniel there is long lis
of worthless, wonderfully varied in char
acter and circumstances, but all attract
i've by the power inherent in an abso
lutely truthful memoir, which fur
nishes an ineXhaustible mine of in
terest and suggestiveness. What Chris
tan mother could get along withou
the story of Joseph, of Samuel
of David? Further, the element o
the marvellous so prominent in the He
brew records seems exactly adapted t.
meet youthful tastes. The creation
and the deluge, the plaques of Egypt
the crossing of the Red Sea and tn
Jordan, the hailstones on Gideon, tn
exploits of Samson, the narrow escape
of the son of Jesse, the miracles wrough
by Elijah and Elisha, the story O
Esther, of Jonah, and of Daniel an
his fruits-are all adapted to meet TIL
natural craving of the young for tn
abnormal and supernatural. But the
meet it with truth, and with trut
intimately associated with moral an
religious ideas, so that the effeC
is as wholesome as it is gratifying
Once more, the poetical portions c
the Old Testament are indispensf
BILE, whether it be the didactic O
gnomic utterances in the Book of Prov
cribs, which sum up the wisdom of a
ness of Poor Richard" without hi
narrownesss and sometimes question
able morality, or the Psalms of DaviC
so sweet, so rich, so varied, so adapte
to the nature of man as man alway
and everywhere. What injustice to
child can be greater than to cut him o
from the study of compositions liB
these, the models of their kind? Ii
stead of lessening the attention give
to the Old Testament we ought to il
crease it, make it more intelligent an
searching, and above all bring to vie
its manifold, close and intimate reli
tons to the New, so that the youn
shall see and feel that the two Test
ments combine to make one whole, an
that whole is the Word of God--I'dlb
W. Chambers, DID,, IN old 1estame