Practical directions. Difficulties. Disputes. she is calm. A Christian death-bed very often exhibits the astonishing spectacle of composure and happiness in the one who is to drink the cup, while those around, who are only witnesses of the scene, are overwhelmed in agitation and sorrow. The very one who is to encounter the suffering, is the only one who can look forward to it without fear. It is because the Bible has been shedding its influences upon her heart, and by a moral power, which no other means can exert, has disarmed death, the very king of terrors, and given to a weak and suffering mortal the victory over all his power, But I must close this chapter, and with it close the short and simple view I have been endeavoring to give of the evidences of Christianity. I cannot but hope that my readers see evidence enough to satisfy them that the Bible is really the word of God. If you do, lay up the conviction in your heart, and let it guide and influence you. But let me, before I dismiss the subject, give you two or three short practical directions. 1. Do not think there is no other side to this question. There are a great many things which may be said against the Bible, and some things which you, with your present attainments in Christian knowledge, perhaps cannot answer. But they do not touch or affect the great arguments by which the authority of the Bible is sustained. They are all small, detached difficulties. Then let your mind rest, calmly and with confidence, upon the great but simple arguments on which the strong foundations of your belief stand. 2. Never be inclined to dispute upon the evidences of the Christian religion. The difficulty with unbelievers is one of the heart, not of the intellect, and you cannot alter the heart by disputing, When they present you with arguments against Christianity, reply in substance, "What you say seems plausible; still it does not reach the broad and deep foundations upon which, in my view, Christia Doing duty. nity rests; and consequently, notwithstanding what you say, I still place confidence in the word of God." 3. Notice this, which, if you will watch your own experience, you will find to be true. Your confidence in the word of God and in the truths of religion will be almost exactly proportional to the fidelity with which you do your duty. When you lose your interest in your progress in piety, neglect prayer, and wander into sin, then you will begin to be in darkness and doubt. If you are so unhappy as to get into such a state, do not waste your time in trying to reason yourself back to belief again. Return to duty. Come to God and confess your wanderings, and submit your heart to be inclined to him. If you do this, light for the intellect and peace for the heart will come back together. CHAPTER VIII. STUDY OF THE BIBLE. "Able to make us wise unto salvation." It is not my intention in this chapter to give any description of the Bible itself, or of its history since it came into the world; nor shall I endeavor to establish its divine authority, or present the evidences or the nature of its inspiration. My object is to point out practical duty, and I shall confine myself to a description of the best methods of reading and studying the book. I ought, however, to remark at the outset, that I intend the chapter to be of a highly practical character, and I shall go accordingly into minute detail. Besides, I am writing for the young, and shall, as I have generally done in this book, confine myself exclusively to them, Able to make us wise unto salvation. Way to study the Bible. for I have much more hope that they will be influenced to follow the course which I shall endeavor to describe, than that my efforts will produce any good effect upon those who have gone beyond the meridian of life. If a man has passed the age of thirty without the Bible, it is to be feared that he will go on unaided by its light through the remainder of his pilgrimage. It is different, however with the young. You shrink from passing life in impiety. You know that the Bible can be the only safe lamp to your feet; and if you are not now living by its light, there is hope that you may be persuaded to come and give vourself up to its guidance. There should be a distinction made between the manner of reading the Bible on the Sabbath, and during the bustle of the week. The two objects to be accomplished, and the method of accomplishing them I shall describe. On the Sabbath the Bible should be studied. Every person, old or young, ignorant or learned, should devote a portion of tine every Sabbath to the study of the Scriptures, in the more strict and proper sense of that term. But to show precisely what I mean by this weekly study of the Bible, I will describe a particular case. A young man with only such opportunities as are possessed by all, resolves to take this course. He selects the epistle to the Ephesians for his first subject; he obtains such books and helps as he finds in his own family, or as he can obtain from a religious friend, or procure from a Sabbath School library. It is not too much to suppose that he will have a sacred Atlas, some Commentary, and probably a Bible Dictionary. He should also have pen, ink and paper; and thus provided, he sits down Sabbath morning to his work. He raises a short but heartfelt prayer to God that he will assist and bless him, and then commences his inquiries. The Epistle to the Ephesians I have supposed to be The young man's experiment. his subject. He sees that the first question evidently is, "Who were the Ephesians?" He finds the city of Ephesus upon the map; and from the preface to the Epistle contained in the commentary, or from any other source to which he can have access, he learns what sort of a city it was-what was the character of the inhabitants, and if possible what condition the city was in at the time this letter was written. He next inquires in regard to the writer of this letter or Epistle, as it is called. It was Paul; and what did Paul know of the Ephesians? had he ever been there? or was he writing to strangers? To settle these points, so evidently important to a correct understanding of the letter, he examines the Acts of the Apostles, (in which an account of St. Paul's labors is contained,) to learn whether Paul went there, and if so, what happened while he was there. He finds that many interesting incidents occurred during Paul's visits, and his curiosity is excited to know whether these things will be alluded to in the letter; he also endeavors to ascertain where Paul was when he wrote the letter. After having thus determined every thing relating to the circumstances of the case, he is prepared to come to the Epistle itself, and enter with spirit and interest into an examination of its contents. He first glances his eye cursorily through the chapters of the book, that he may take in at once a general view of its object and design-perhaps he makes out a brief list of the topics discussed, and thus has a distinct general idea of the whole before he enters into a minute examination of the parts. This minute examination he comes to at last-though perhaps the time devoted to the study for two or three Sabbaths is spent in the preparatory inquiries. If it is so, it is time well spent; for by it he is now prepared to enter with interest into the very soul and spirit of the letter. While he was ignorant of these points, his knowledge of the Epistle itself must have been The family circle. Distribution of books. very vague and superficial. Suppose I were now to introduce into this book a letter, and should begin at once, without saying by whom the letter was written, or to whom it was addressed. It would be preposterous. If I wished to excite your interest, I should describe particularly the parties, and the circumstances which produced the letter originally. And yet how many Christians there are, who could not tell whether Paul's letter to the Ephesians was written before or after he went there, or where Titus was when Paul wrote to him, or for what special purpose he wrote! Take another case. The father or mother whom Providence has placed at the head of a family, contrive to close their worldly business at an early hour on Saturday evening, and gather around the table at their fireside all those who are committed to their charge. They choose some subject for examination-real, thorough examination. Perhaps it is the rebuilding of Jerusalem after the captivity. The various books calculated to assist their inquiries are distributed among the members of the group; the reference Bible is given to one- -the Concor dance to another-an Expositor to the third-the Bible Dictionary to the fourth; and then, when all are seated, and the divine blessing has been asked upon their labors, the father asks them all to turn to any part of the Scriptures which gives information upon the subject. They examine first the account of the destruction of the city, when the Jews were carried captive, that they may know in what condition it was probably found on their return. They search in several books for an account of the first movements in Babylon of those who were desirous of return; they examine the plans they formed; compare one account with another; every question which occurs is asked, and the information which it seeks for, obtained. The two expeditions of Ezra and Nehemiah are examined— the object of each and the connection between them |