The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1901-03-13
READING
THE BIBLE.
By Prof. Ambrose 5. Ottey.


was that IT. should be publicly read
The service of the Jewish church
consisted, to u great extent in this
method of worship. Bible reading in
the pulpit is older than pulpit preach,
ing. The command to read the Word
precedes the command to preach it,
Moses was commanded to read the
law, but not to preach it, and even
down to the days of our Saviour part
of the synagogue worship consisted
wholly in reading the law.
No Cody Jew was allowed even to
live in a village where there was no
school house for the reading of the
law. The Epistles were written to
be read in public The Jewish priest
was a reader of the Scriptures. The
Apostles both read and preached.
The clergyman in his present pub
lie official position holds threefold
office. First he is to speak for his
congregation TO God, this is to speak
as a man to men, both in his prayer
and his sermon; then he Is to speak
as God to men, this he does in read
ing the Scriptures. The sermon is
man talking to men. The Scripture
lesson is God talking to men and Is
therefore the most essential and vi
tai feature of all public worship.
Thus II is that he who publicly reads
the Scriptures stands between God
and man, a herald, prophet, an in
terpreter to the audience, for he con-
yeys a meaning-right or wrong-ln
every utterance, as good reading Is
not inferior to preaching Gods word.
The prayer is man talking to God.
Many people never read their BIZ
bles at home and never hear it read
only from the pulpit. In good old
fashioned times people used to take
their Bibles to church and as the
preacher read the Word they did the
same. When the Word is read. it
should be read distinctly so all can
understand. Not to be read in a
sing song Of a way, as "He that hath
yaws to yaw let him yaw."
Mannerism is the worst kind of
manners. The Bible is manly book
and should be read to mans whole
nature from the readers heart. In
reading say from the 23rd Paslm,
"The Lord is my Shepherd what
does Shepherd mean! One who
watches over me; one who tends me;
one who loves me. Therefore ! shall
not want. Gle maketh me to lie
down. where? In green pastures
where it is coolIand restful, etc.
The art of vocal expression is at
tanned by training every part of the
body. Every attitude means some
thing. Every motion speaks. All
intellectual means are manifestations
of emotions. The fire touches the
heart before it does the tongue. BIZ
BILE reading is often mere hum-drlm
more drum than hum. We must be
impressed before we can express and
we mist express before we can I'M
press. God impresses, man expresses
In Nehemiah S:S, there is a descrip-
ton of a good pulpit reading: $50
they read in the book of the law of
God distinctly, and gave sense, and
csused them to understand the read
ing" Distinctly" clear enuncla-
tion, gave the sense. Pulpit rhetor.
ic is often made to conform to the
pulpit creed. Pet dogmas and isms
are often read into the lesson through
the art of vocal eXegesis. The
Scripture lesson is too frequently
made theological wedge for the
sermon.
Never read the Bible as creed but
as a religion. The reader should I'M
derstand what he is reading, know its
truth by experience and then stand
erect, fill his lungs, open his mouth
and utter it by speaking deliberately
and artlculating dis tinctly. No min
lister should mistake pcrspiration for
inspiration, nor pounding for eS-
pounding the Scriptures A minis
ter reading Luke 2:l6, Sand they
came with haste, and found Mary
and Joseph and the babe lying in a
manger. Thus the displacement of
a comma put the whole family in the
manger. Another in reading the
pass age 81 am fearfully and wonder
fully made" dropped the letter C and
read it II am fearfully and wonder
fully mad" and proceeded at once to
use it as a text and to preach SER
mon on the divine authority for get
ting mad. Another read the words
of the Master, "Marvel not ''Mar-
bic not" and preached most fervent
sermon on the sin of playing marbles.
In conclusion then intelligent
reading plus sympathetic reading
equals effective reading. The first
requires clear enunciation and just
emphasis and a distinct conception
of the thought The second re-
quires sympathy with the sentiment
which involves some analysis of the
passage with a view to the feeling.
If man does not read the Scriptures
well either his larynX must be hope
lessly out of order or his depravity
must be total.