Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-12-11

inspiration has no pagan parallel. There
Is no Influence SO potent for good the whole
world over as that which has its source at
the cross of Jesus Christ. And we want
the saving power of this divine influence to
be brought to bear upon all tempted men.
heather about the life and death of Christ
Out of Darkness Into Light.
The salvation which we would share with
our brethren in pagan lands is a salvation
out of darkness into light, out Of error into
truth, out of conjecture into certainty, out
of sorrow into Joy. 1t is concerned, first OF
all, with this present life. 1t means better
ment, uplifting, growth in grace and knowl-
edge, happiness and spiritual health.
This is the salvation unto which the Holy
Scriptures are meant to make men wise.
The Bible, if we read it rightly, will make
US better men and women. 1t will help US
out of sel6shness into fraternal love. 1t will
teach US to be honest, to be truthful, to be
kind, to be pure, to live right lives. 1t will
make us good Christians. It will save us
from our sins
But how, then, shall we read the Bible?
This great help is of no help to some people
because they do not know what to do with
it. How many Bibles lie unread? How
many more Bibles are so read as to do no
good?
The Bible, some people say, is not inter-
ing. We know it all BY heart. We have
read it over and over till there is nothing
new in it We are tired of it
The Bible in Foreign Tongue.
Read it. then, in some new way. Read it
in Greek; read it in German. Get away
from the old words 1t is astonishing what
a new book the Bible is in an unfamiliar
language. Or read it with a commentary.
Whoever imag1nes that he knows all there
is between these covers is very much mis-
taken. The wisest men are content to
study day after day for all the years of
their lives In these old writings, forever
finding out new truths We do not vet un-
derstand the Bible. There are great
thoughts hidden in it witch will yet be the
inspiration of great revolutions. The
child who knows the letters may not yet
have learned what the letters SPELL And
we who read the words may miss the deep
meanings which lie beneath them. A wise
commentary will help greatly in this dis
covery of the wonderful meanings of the
Bible.
One hindranee to the appreciation of the
Bible is its printed form. 1t is different
from any other book. The conventionality
of its appearance affects the mind of the
reader. These double columns in small
type, with divisions into verses, distract at
tention. There are few books in any litera-
ture that would no5 suffer from such typog-
raphy, If the Bible could be bound in
different volumes, the histories by them
selves, and printed straight across the page,
and arranged in paragraphs like any other
writing, and bound like any other book, it
would be read with new interest. The
Bible has been translated out Of Greek and
Hebrew, now it needs to be translated into
new typs and binding.
Reading the Story Elsewhere.
1t might be we'll for some people to stop
reading the Bible altogether for a year,
and to read, in place of it, books which tell
the Bible story and teach the Bible truth
in other words. Read StanIey's "History
OF the Jewish Church" and Edersheim's
Life of Jesus, the Messiah" " and Cony-
beare and Howson's Life of ST. Paul."
and Farrar's early Days of Christianity"
These books run along with Holy Scripture
from Genesis to Revelations. They are
written In our modern tongue. They are
commentaries and sermons with Bible
texts They are like a wise companion
who should read the Bible to us, with an ac-
compartment of illustration, of explana-
ton, of application For year keep the
Bible shut and read these books The next
wear YOU VIII Feau the DlDle, anu you Will
read as you never read it before.
The Bible ought to be read regularly, ra-
tionally and religiously Every dav, and
at certain hour of the day, consult the or
acles of God, listen to the counsels of the
wisest and best men that ever lived. Begin
the day or end it with this inspiration.
But make the reading of the Bible regular,
have a rule about it, so that it may be re-
membered part of every day Let this reg
ular reading be rational 1t is irrational to
read the Bible as if it were all one book, to
dip into it now here, now there, without re-
gard to author, or time, or context; to read
to-day chapter from the gospel OF St. John
and another chapter tomorrow from the
sBook of Ecclesiastes, and the next day to
eek advice from st. Paul, and the day after
from one of the unrighteous counsellors of
JOB The Bible is library. 1t ought to
be read with an understanding of the difer-
neces that there are between its books.
Having Favorite Biblical Authors.
1t is irrational to read any part of the
Bible which is not personally helpful.
Everyone ought to have his favorite au-
thors and his favorite books in this library as
in any other, and to read those most which
help him most. The Bible has a great
number of pages, and there is something in
in Tor every taste, for every need, for every
emergency, an answer somewhere to every
question. Let us read what We need.
And let this regular and rational reading
be religious That is, let the purpose of it
be the desire for spiritual counsel. The
mere reading of so many verses of morn
ing or an evening, after which the mind
keeps no impression, and has no remem-
brance of what is read, is only pious way
of wasting time. There is no more religion
~ lg in w Mt