Forest City press. (Forest City, Potter County, D.T. [S.D.]) 1883-19??, 1913-06-20
THE MAN WITH A BOOK
Terse Comments Upon the Uni.
form Prayer Meeting Topic Of
the Young Peoples Societies,
Christian Endeavor, Etc, For
June I, 1.-THE Ideal Christian,
W. His Bible Study" Deu., vi,
1.o.
BY william T. Ellis.

BY William T. Ellis.
over the great fireplace in the hall of
the library of Union Theological semin-
airy. Richmond. Is the inscription. There
Is but one book" TIL quotation, as is
well KNOWN is the utterance of Sir Walter
Scott when he was dying, and asked for
I book" Mohammed distinguished
Jews and Christians as people having I'll
religion OF the book" The bible is not
only i~nwrought with Christian history.
and inseparable from 1t. but ii Is also a
vital factor in the life OF the Individual
Christian and in the extension of the
church. The faith that is not founded on
the impregnable rock of Holy Scriptures
as Gladstone called 1t, is not a sure and
living and growing faith.
Christianity is more thar a philosophi-
cal s~peculation: 1t is a divine revelation,
the mind of the eternal made known to
Given a Christian who loves the bible,
and studies 1t. and we nave one who Is
ever growing toward that ideal life of
which Jesus Christ is the exemplar. For
we grow In grace by growing in the
knowledge-of the Lord. i.
They go Gods way who are guided by
Gods word.
A dusty bible is not the possession of a
spotless Christian.
The ideal Christian must have the
Christian ideals: and these are to be got
anywhere except in the inspired scrip
lures. A friendliness toward Chris
tianity, and a general morality one may
have apart from the bible. but robust
Christian character. and that mystic
sweet communion with God, are the pos
session only OF those who mediate upon
the word wherein God reveals Himself to
His children.
An old familiar series of receipts for
roubles folk is worth reprinting:
III you have the blues read the Twen-
~ty-seventh Psalm.
'If your pocketbook IL empty, read the
Thirty-seventh Psalm.
III people seem unkind, read the 18th
chapter of st. John.
If you are discouraged about your
work read the 126th Psalm.
IF you are all out of sorts read the
18th chapter of Hebrews.
IF you are losing confidence in men.
read the 18th chapter of Corinthians.
eff you can't have your own way in
everything read the third chapter of st.
James"
They who put brains and belief into
bible study get most of blessing out of 1t.
Life needs horizons, and 30 does bible
study. 1t Is scarcely too much to say
that the person who has regarded the
bible merely as a collection OF tests and
maxims has failed to understand it's mes
sage. The plain. obvious and reasonable
purpose of the books of the bible IL that
NJ Rhnyv1A akn ~nn<3 A~ H. ke~.A 49, S,.rA
like any other bookA-Who ever imposes
that Paul's letters to the ancient churches
were read piecemeal. one fragrant a
week, a year or two being consumed in
reading the whole? The idea is absurd.
Well. then, let us take those same letters
in the same way, each in it's completeness,
at one sitting. Only thus can we get the
inspired writer's message, with it's hori-
IONS. Instead of a few verses q day, or
in addition thereto, the Christian should
make 1t q practice to read at least one
complete book of the bible every week,
and at a single sitting.
A few helps to bible study are almost
Indispensable to the student who is not
familiar with the original tongues of the
scriptures, or with bible times and lands.
A bible dictionary, a concordance and q
commentary are a simple, inexpensive IL
brary.
The place which the bible holds in the
business of literature is set forth by this
quotation from The Literary Digest:
ut is ~conservatively stated that more
copies Of the bible were sold last year of
any other 100 books Of the world combined.
The oxford Press turns out 10000 bibles a
week. The British and Foreign society
prints the bible in 400 languages. The head
of one Of the great publishing houses of
London stated recently that It had been
impossible for several years for the house
with which he was connected to print
bibles rapidly enough to supply the de-
mand. 1t was stated that the Boxer war
In China would drive bible religion from
that empire. yet. the issue of bibles for
annual issues OF scriptures are over
1900. 900 volumes.
"Twcnty-seven bible societies are print
Ing the bible; one In the United States.
three in Great Britain and q on the Euro
pean continent"
Gen. Robert e. Lee once gave this per-
sonal testimony to the place Of the scrip
lures In the life OF q man of affairs:
The bible is a book in comparison with,
which all others. in my eyes, are Of minor.
Importance. and which in all my perplcxi-
ties and distresses has never failed to give
me light and strength"