Evening star., 1919-09-20
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.

! |
| unto my path."-Psalm. 119.105.
BY REV. HUGH T. STEVENSON.
The theme of this weeks lesson is
! the source of all of our Sunday school
studies, the Holy Scriptures. One
might well hesitate to write upon
| such subject. The religious writer
or teacher can have no wider theme.
Bishop Fowler has well said of the
| Bible: Its greatness cannot be ut
tered in world or in time. The uni
Verse is too narrow for it. Time is
; too short for it. 1t is as deep as the
foundations of eternal justice, as wide
! as the moral government, as high as
the throne of the Infinite. as enduring
as the life of the Almighty, and It's
inspiration as eXhaustleSs as the love
| of God" In any event, space Will only
permit but review OF the 1unoa. .
| mental truths concerning this great
! book of books.
| God was over twenty-five centuries
in getting ready to give this library
'f SiXty-Six volumes to men. he was
fully 500 years in bringing it forth
| through inspired men, who delivered
it to mankind. The Scriptures have
come to us through the literary work
of many men of different stages OF de-
velopment. yet it is not lacking in
unity. as it has in reality God as its
author and His guiding hard and
| thought is revealed from Genesis to
| Revela tionS.
Despite the multitude of books that
| have been written. and that have held
! the attention of the world for greater
| or less periods of time there has been
the Bible. There have been great
works that have been for an era, for
a nation, for race. or for religion.
but the Bible is for all men and for
| all time. 1t is read and studied as no
other book was ever read, and today
more people are reading it than ever
| before; it is still the best seller in
this age of printing presses.
In fact, it was the printing press
that widened the sphere of influence
seminated among the people the tre-
imendous power of the book began to
make itself felt in reforms that had
their commencement IN the impulses
of the masses whose hearts were
stirred and moved by its precious
teachings. 1t made for freedom and
fself-government and democracy
There can be no doubt but that the
widespread inculcation of the truths
taught by the book has made for human
progress.
Apart from it's spiritual character,
the Holy Scriptures command our at
ltention and respect as a literary prod
uct, for in no language has there been
produced a greater volume of literary
merit. This is not to be wondered at
when we recall its divine character
and origin. In one small volume
there can be found all the range of
literature-drama,p poetry. philosophy,
! and prose. In sublimity of thought
and beauty of expression this volume
| is second to none other. The eminent
| Ewald is quoted as saying that in the
Bible, small as it is among books,
was contained all the wisdom of the
| world"
| 1t would be difficult to measure the
| influence of the Scriptures upon the
Literature Of modern times and modern
writers. Taking the Englishspeaking
nations alone, what scholar could
estimate it? In the writings of
Tennyson. for example. we find $50
quotations from fifty-twc books of
| the Bible. To go little further
back, it is said that thirty-seven of
Shakespeares plays give evidence of
| their authors dependence upon the
Bible as a source of inspiration and
language. while there are no less
than 5000 quotations from the Bible
| in all of his works. The great Ruskin
in his early days. memorized many of
| the great passages of the word. In
| cidentally, it should be remarked that
g., this is a form of Bible study that is
not practiced enough today. In the
tender formative years of childhood
the mind should be nodded an shaped
with the aid of the sublime passages
that were SO familiar to the Bible
scholars of past generations. The
| writings of Bunyan, Burns, Milton.
Pope, Whittier. Longfellow and count
less others reveal a deep knowledge
| of the inspired and "God-breathed''
| book. 1t has even been claimed that
| the best of the ancient literature of
+; the Greeks and the Romans was de-
! rived from Moses and the Old Testa-
ment prophets. From this book
Handel received his inspiration to
write his Messiah Titan, in
studying the New Testment, found
the subject for his masterpiece, THE
TRANSPORTATION" Every champion of
human liberty from the time of Crom-
well down to the present has found
| the keystone of his message in this
book of books.
| If time permitted it would also be
! interesting to trace the influence of
the Ten Commandments upon the
common law of England and the rela-
| tion between the teachings of the Old
Testament and the political principles
i of the Puritan fathers
But. after all. the Bible is more
than literature. 1t has an energizing
| force and influence beyond the scope
! of mems writings. This is only nat
! ural, as it is progressive revelation
OF the divine Creator of the uni
verse. written to men and through
men. and eliminating in the Christ
AS the morning light dspels the
| darkness and reveals the beauty and
symmetry of a great temple or ca
| thedral, SO the Bible discloses that
the God-given truth by degrees dis
| closed to mankind the true nature
and character Of God. From the days
| of Abraham to the time of the Christ
| the Bible shows us this gradual reve-
/ lation. In the early days God spoke
! in kindergarten terms. for that was
the way to begin. AS has been said
| man could no more be taught the
final and ultimate religious truths in
! the beginning than calculus and as
| tronomy can be taught in the modern
kindergarten. The Bible is. then, a
simple and beautiful record of the
search of the soul for God. on one
; hand. and on the other it is the
| story Of the attempts of the loving
God to make himself known unto
His children.
Many of the people to whom the
, Christ spoke during His ministry
professed reverence for the Scriptures
| With incessant diligence they search
ed. counting even the letters. looking
for some hidden significance in their
number. They found law and philoso.
ply, but their studies were in vain
for their failed to recognize Him OF
| Whom the Scriptures chiefly speak
| We may study the Bible as literature
as source of moral principles. but
that is not enough. The supreme
purpose of the Book is to lead to the