News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1915-08-11

books as follows
M at ew, two
hours; Mark, one hour and quarter;
Luke, two hours ana quarter; John
one hour and three-qrarters, Acts, two
hours and a quarter. Without this
continual reading it is impossible tc
get the general thought of the book
you are studying.
In this general reading through of
the book your purpose is not to ana
lyze, nor is 1t even to get an outline,
but to get an impression; therefore,
pay no attention to chapter marks.
One is sometimes hindered In Bible
study by stopping at the end of a
chapter. For instance, John ends
with the words: "And every man unto
his own house," chapter 81 reads
Jesus went unto the mount of o.
ives" Now, suppose we end with the
first clause, have we not stopped In
the midst of beautiful thought? The
thought is this: That while every man
had his own home to which to go, that
while the foxes had holes and the
birds of the air had nests, yet Jesus
had no place to call his own, so he
went to the mount of Olives. To obvi-
ate the difficulty of which we are
speaking it is well to read the Revised
Version.
II. Read the book over and over
again. In the second reading of the
book you will see things that you did
not see clearly, if at all, in the first
reading. What at first sight was dim
and misty will, in the third or fourth
reading, begin to assume clear and
definite outline.
A careful and repeated reading of
the gospel of Matthew, as here sug-
gested reveals the fact that it has a
threefold division, each introduced by
tie words, From that time Jesus be-
gan" Reading up to All we come
to point which marks the first divi-
sion from the second: From that
time Jesus began to preach" These
words are an indication of the outline
of the book: (1) Jesus periou of prep
aration, 1:4-16; (2) Jesus period Of
evangelistic effort, 4:17-16:21; CO Je-
sus' period of passion, 16:21-2S:20;
indicated by the words, From that
time forth began Jesus to show unto
his disciples, how that he must
suffer-" This brief outline is sufficient
to illustrate the great advantage of
the continuous reading of the book I'M
der study.
III. Read the book prayerfully. Re-
member that the Bible is in a very
real sense no ordinary book. It is an
extraordinary production; it is su-
pernatural work. The Spirit of God
inspired its writer's. The same power
must illumine its readers if they are
to understand its meaning. We ought
never to attempt the reading of Gods
Word without the prayer of David in
our hearts: open thou mine eyes,
that / may behold wondrous things out
of thy law" (See I Cor. 2:9-16; lisa. /
90: 10-12.)
". Read the Book without the use
Of any helps. This does not mean that |
we are to despise or lightly esteem all
that God has said to the race through
godly men. But we must allow the
Bible to speak for itself. /
V. Suggestions for the study of the
Epistle to the Ephesians: /!
l. Begin by reading the epistle
through three times at one sitting,
making no special effort to do any.
hing more than catch the authors
spirit and the drift of his argument
Read now for general impression only.
2. Read the book through the fourth
ime carefully and thoughtfully for the
purpose of finding out and classifying
Iuestions of introduction, such as,
Who wrote the book? Why was it
What was the character Of
he people to whom it was written?
Have by your side as many sheets
If paper as there are questions of In
reduction. Write headline on each
beet, viz: On sheet one-The author;
Who wrote the book? Sheet two-The
'ersons addressed; to whom written?
'heet three-When written? Sheet
our-Why written?
Now begin to read the text care
uly. praye-sully and thoughtfully.
,hapter 1. verse 1, gives us two points
1.-The ay1hor of the book and the per
ons addressed. Now write down on
'heet one, Paul, 1:1;" and on Sheet
wo write "the saints which are at
,phesus, and the faithful in Christ
'esus, i'll"
Read through the epistle with these
uestions in mind, and whenever an
nswer occurs write It down on its
espective sheet, giving the words Of