The Forrest City times. [volume] (Forrest City, Ark.) 1871-1919, 1903-11-13

closed book, not even to be opened onco
week on Sunday because the Sunday
newspaper has usurped its place Is II
not neglected Book? Some neonle -
Mr.. Moody used To say. "haye a verv
small Bible, for they only read the part
they like and leave the rest alone /" and
1t might be added that the great major
ity OF people have no Bible at all be-
cause they do not read single word
or sentence out of its pages for weeks or
months or years together. And | ven
ture TO say that if you were to make a
mousse 10 house canvass in your commun-
ity you would be surprised and shocked
TO ind out how many homes are with
out Bible or Testament. In the sec
ton OF the city where live, and which
is peculiarly blessed with many
chnrches, Sunday schools and missions,
such canvass was made durin. the past
summer, and dozens of homes were
found which did not possess a single
page OF the printed Word of God But
the weekday and Sunday newspaper,
the magazines and journals came into
thOuSH, WIlllt tIlt DlDlt ulu
not have even an honored place under a
mantle OF dust on the high shelf And
within stones throw of the church we
found a child of nearly twelve years
who had no intelligent idea of who
Christ was She had heard the name
used in profanity on the street. but had
never been to Sunday school and did not
Know who Christ was Think of it! Is
not the Bible neglected? we ask.
has been said, and truthfully. that
IL Is impossible to mentally or social
~. enslave Bibe-reading people. The
great scientist Huxley, in declaring that
the Bible as an educational and moral
influence in community and nation
was unsurpassed. substantiated his
claim by asking us to consider the
great historical fact that for three CEN
turtles this Book has been woven into
the life of all that is noblest and best
IN our history. and that ii has become
the national epic of our race; that it Is
written In the noblest and purest Eng
iish, and abounds in exquisite beauties
OF mere literary form; and finally that
is forbids the veriest hind, who never
left his village, to be ignorant of the ex-
lstence of other countries and other
civilizations and of great past. stretch
ing back to the furthest limits of the
Oldest nations in the world" John
Wesley exclaimed: Let me be homo
unlus libri "a man of one book and that
book the Bible" The great, the noble
Lincoln is said to have built up his en-
tire reading upon his early study of the
Bible. He was man of one book. F."
and instinctiyely put into practice in
his lofty craftsmanship what he had
been taught from the Bible. Ruskin' s
testimony of the influence and power of
the Bible upon his life is as follows:
My mothers list of chapters with
which she established my soul in life,
and of which learned every syllable ac-
curately. were, Exodus Is and 20; IL.
Sam. l, 5, II to end; J. Kings S; Psalms
%. 30. 80, 81. 1903, 112. 119. 1879:
Proverbs. 2, 3. s. H. Isaiah 5S; Matthew
3. 6, Z; Acts 20; |. Cor. Is. Is; James 4 !:
Revelation 5, 6. And truly, though
have picked up the elements of little
further knowledge in mathematics.
meteorology and the like, in after
life, and owe not little to the
teaching of many people. this maternal
installation of my mind in that proper
ty OF chapters | count very confidently
the most precious and. on the whole.
the one essential part of my education"
Gladstone declared that the men who
are called to the highest positions of
trust are men who have built their lives
on the impregnable rock of Holy Scrip
ture." And what more need we say of
the power and influence OF the Bible
upon individual lives and upon the lives
OF nations?