Fulton County tribune. (Wauseon, Ohio) 1883-1925, 1915-01-29

M l n e W, TWO
hours; Mark one hour and a quarter;
Luke, two hours and quarter; John,
one hour and three-quarters; Acts. two
hours and a quarter Without this
continual reading it is impossible to
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 it 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
chapter. For instance, John z ends
with the words; And every man unto
his own house," chapter 81 reads:
Jesus went unto the mount of Oh
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 1t 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, II at all, in the first
reading. What at first sight was dim
ana 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
the words, From that time Jesus be-
gan" Reading IN to 4:17 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 tina outline
of the book: ~ Jesus period Of prep
aration. 1:416; (2) Jesus period of
evangelistic effort, 4:17-16:21; (3) Je-
sus' period of passion, 16:21-26:20;
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 un.
der study.
I'LL Read the book prayerfully. Re.
member that the Bible is in a very
real sense no ordinary book 1t is an
extraordinary production; it is SUI
pernatural work. The Spirit of God
inspired its writer's. The same power
must illumine its readers if they are
to understand it's 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 Cor. 2:s-16; lisa
80: 1O-12.)
Nv. Read the Book without the use
of any helps. This does not mean thai
we are to despise or lightly esteem al
that God has said to the race through
godly men. But we must allow the
Bible to speak for itself. If we reat
more of the Bible and less of the hu
man criticism and even suggestion
that has been allowed to throw it.
shadow over the pages of Scripture
we shall come to deeper and more
satisfactory understanding of the mind
win and purpose of God as revealed
in his written revelation.
v. Suggestions for the study of tn,
Epistle to the Ephesians:
1. Begin by reading the epistl,
through three times at one sitting
making no special effort to do any
thin more than catch the author
spi It and the drift of his argument
Real now for general impression only
2. Read the book through the fourtl
time carefully and tloughtfully for th'
purpose of finding out and classifyinl
questions OF Introduction, such as
Who wrote the book? Why was
written? What was the character O
the people to whom it was written
When was it written?
Have by your side as many sheet
of paper as there are questions of In
PRODUCTION. Write a headline on eacl
sheet. viz: On sheet one-The author
who wrote the book? Sheet two-Th
persons addressed; to whom written
Sheet three-When written? Shee
four-Why written?
Now begin to read the text care
fully, prayerfully and thoughtfully
Chapter 1, verse 1, gives us two point
the author of the book and the PEI
sons addressed. Now write down o.
Sheet one. Paul, 1:1;" and on Shee
two write "the saints which are a
Ephesus, and the faithful in Chris
Jesus, Ill" Reading on farther yo
find something else to write on shee
two: The persons addressed wer
"Gentiles, 2:11; 81, 6, 8; 4:17;" ''for
} merly living in lust, go, g." "formerl
in darkness, 4:1S; 5:S."
Read through the epistle with thes
questions in mind. and whenever a
answer occurs write 1t down on il
respective sheet, giving the words {
Tho foyt aud tbo avoof rofarouca