The Bible Story.
by Rev. Newton Marshall Hall and Rev. Irving Francis Wood.
FOREWORD
The five volumes of THE BIBLE STORY have served to beautify and cla.s.sify the Bible and are simple and complete in themselves. They do not require explanation or enrichment. It is the desire, however, by the addition of this volume to suggest definite ways of using the work.
This book contains a series of suggestions to fit the occasion, the temperament, and the time of the user. It may be picked up often and a part of it used as opportunity offers. We believe there may be those who will wish to use all the suggestions. We are sure that all who own THE BIBLE STORY will wish to use some of them.
This volume has the following aims:--
In General:
To give a better knowledge of the Bible and thus to make reading it a delight instead of a task.
Specifically:
To show how to use the work with children and how children may use it.
To make the Bible as useful as possible in character building.
To bring out the connection of the Bible with its land.
To show the connection of the Bible with literature.
INTRODUCTION
Why Read the Bible?
If Bible readers everywhere could return their answers what diverse and interesting points of view the replies would bring!
For instance, one perceives in the Bible record the worst and the best that men have always thought and felt; for him it is full of the universal motives of humanity. He has noticed, too, that in sketching often but the single act of a character, the Book brings the essential man or woman vividly out of the darkness and into the light for all time. As a student of men, we can imagine such a one replying that the Bible is "The Book of Human Nature."
Another knows that it has been the inspiration of countless writers, and that its sayings and teachings are woven by the hundreds and thousands through and through the texture of our English masterpieces.
A student of books might well say that the Bible is the chief "Source-Book of Our Literature."
Still another would say, "The Bible is the beginning of many of our customs. Our common law is largely founded on its laws and many of our inst.i.tutions are based upon those it sanctions." So a business man, a man of affairs, might very naturally call it, "The Foundation-Book of Christian Civilization."
For many the Bible is "The Book of Salvation," pointing the way into the presence of G.o.d.
Still others draw from it counsel and strength for those who depend upon them for guidance. "G.o.d could not be everywhere, so he made mothers." And in their hands the Bible becomes "The Book of Character."
The marvel of it is that each of these viewpoints is true. And many others are equally true. For the Bible, like the diamond, reflects its light from many facets. Which one you see depends upon where you stand, upon your point of view. How clear and strong the light for you depends upon how far you have come within the circle of its radiance.
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Why are Bible Readers so Few?
Truly the harvest of Bible enlightenment is plentiful beyond measure; why then are those who reap it for themselves so few? It is because we lack time to understand. Our Bible Schools might solve the problem if only they had time, but one hour a week with the Bible is scarcely an introduction to it, never a fellowship with it. The Book of books is no shallow friend to give up all its treasures upon a superficial acquaintance. Rather it is a friend to be lived with in the home.
This book of suggestions is an invitation to you to come farther within the charmed circle of the Bible"s light. Its aim is to save your time by helping you to use it to the greatest advantage. However much or little of the Bible light has been coming to you, may this book help to increase, to clarify, to beautify it. If it shall help you to bring more time, the most precious of modern possessions, to the understanding of the Bible, the most precious wisdom of the ages, its purpose will have been abundantly fulfilled.
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PART I
THE CHILD AND THE BIBLE
_Answering Mothers" Questions_
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"So great is my veneration for the Bible, that the earlier my children begin to read it the more confident will be my hopes that they will prove useful citizens to their country and respectable members of society."
--_John Quincy Adams_.
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THE CHILD AND THE BIBLE
THE MOTHER"S PART--HOW CAN I USE THE BIBLE STORY WITH MY CHILD?
This is the most important part of the work, because it helps you to understand and use all the rest, and answers your questions in regard to the religious life of your child. These suggestions are largely for the use of "The Golden Book."
1. What Do I Have to Know in Order to Make the Best Use of THE BIBLE STORY with My Child?
You must know three things:--
That a child will not appreciate and use this work at first unless you appreciate and use it too.
That in order to appreciate and use it, you do not need to read all five volumes through at once. You may begin with any one of the suggestions here given, that pleases and interests you most, and use only what little time you may have. Little by little interest will grow and the child will be finding keen enjoyment in acquiring Bible knowledge for himself.
That even though you had time for immediate and thorough reading, the work is of such proportion that its worth cannot be grasped at once.
It is by constant daily use in the home that the beauty and effectiveness of THE BIBLE STORY are revealed and the Bible made an "open book" to many a child as well as adult.
2. How Can I Encourage My Child to Memorize Bible Verses?
This is not difficult. Childhood is the time when verbal memory is most acute. The best way to encourage the memorizing of verses is {16} to make a game out of it instead of a task. Do this by using the Bible alphabet in "The Golden Book" (page 25) and thus linking up the Bible with something familiar. Teach a verse each week and ask for daily repet.i.tion of it. After several are learned, a drill on the verses is suggested as a spur to memory. Ask what verse in the Bible begins with A? B? C? etc. For the older children there are memory verses given, one for each week in the year, in the back of each of the first four volumes. Let the child himself, so far as he can, arrange these in alphabetical order.
Memorizing is much quickened by making as many natural connections as possible, the known with the unknown. Many hymns are readily recalled by a.s.sociating them with Psalms of which they are explanations.
Children like to learn poetry. Give them the poems suggested below as well as the accompanying Bible pa.s.sages to learn. Go over them first and let the children understand the parallelism.
Psalm 23 ( 35 S.A.) Hymns (309, 291 G.B.)