Evening star., 1919-09-21
BY REV. HUGH t. STEVENSON.

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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 a 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 hish as
the throne of the Infinite. as enduring
as the life of the Almighty, and its
of God" In any event, space will only
permit but a review of the funda-
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 1900 years in bringing 1t forth
through inspired men, who delivered
it to mankind. The Scriptures have
come to US through the literary work
OIL many men OF ON fehe SeoeSo
velopment, yet it is not lacking in
unity. as it has in reality God as it's
author and His guiding hard and
thought is revealed from Genesis to
Revelations.
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
no books in any degree comparable to
the Bible. There have been great
works that have been for an era, for
a nation. for a 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 1t 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
of the holy word. AS it became dis
seminated among the people the tre-
mendous power of the book began to
make itself felt in reforms that had
of the masses whose hearts were
stirred and moved by it's precious
teachings. 1t made for freedom and
/ enlightenment and democracy.
There can be no doubt but that the
widespread incubation of the truths
taught by the book has made for human
progress.
Apart from its spiritual character,
the Holy Scriptures command our at
tention and respect as 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, poetry, philosophy.
history. prophecy. songs. law. ethics
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"
It would be difficult to measure the
influence Of the Scriptures upon the
literature Of modern times and modern
writer's. Taking the English-speaking
nations alone, what scholar could
estimate it? In the writings of
Tennyson, for example. we find $50
quotations from fifty-two books of
the Bible. To go a little further
back, it is said that thirty-seven of
Shakespeare's 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
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
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-
ton between the teachings of the Old
Testament and the political principles
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 1t 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 dispeIs 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-
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
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.
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