CHAPTER XVII.

STUDY.

"And going on from thence, he saw other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother, in a ship with Zebedee their father, mending their nets; and he called them."-Matt. 4:21.

Nets are instruments with which fish are caught. It is quite necessary that they be kept in order. If they are torn the fish escape.

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Truth is the instrument with which souls are brought to God. And ᎩᎾ shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."-John 8:32. Error enslaves; truth sets the soul at liberty. Men are lost for their persistent rejection of the truth. "That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness."-II Thes. 2:12.

The truth by which men are saved is found in the Bible. "All thy commandments are truth." -Ps. 119:151. They were delivered from age to age, and gathered into one sacred volume which has come down to us. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works."-II Tim. 3:16, 17.

God does not make a special revelation of His will to each individual. The inspiration which He promises, is one that will enable us to understand the written word, and not one that will supplant it. "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth. for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come."-John 16:13.

He then who would do the will. of God, and teach that will to others must study the Bible, that he may understand what that will is, and how it should be properly applied to all the various relations in life. "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."-John 5:39. If you would win souls, whatever else you may know, or may not know, you must know "the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.-II Tim. 3:15. For this knowledge there can be no substitute. No familiarity with works of history, or philosophy, or science, or even of theology, can take the place of a thorough acquaintance with the word of God. One may be a graduate of a college and of a Theological Seminary, and yet not know how to wield "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."-Eph. 6:17. If so, he will be overmatched in the conflict with error, by men

of much less general knowledge but who are familiar with the Bible. Few an appreciate the force of metaphysical arguments, but God's word carries authority. A mechanic fails to do his work properly unless he knows what tools to use, how to use them, and where to find them when needed. So, to build up others in faith and holiness, you must know what portion of God's word is adapted to their case. To do this you must become familiar with every book of the Bible. For almost every chapter contains some new illustration or application of the truth. "Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."-II Tim. 2:15. To divide the word of truth rightly, you must be well acquainted with it as a whole, and in all its parts. Suppose you had given directions to one who was working for you; would you be pleased if he neglected to acquaint himself with these directions, for the study of anything else, however important? So he who would be "approved unto God" must study the word of God.

It required far less time for God's ancient people to learn His law than it does for us. For only a small portion of the Holy Scriptures had then been written. But they were required to use the utmost diligence, early and late, in study ing the law of God. It was to be their daily duty They were to employ every device to keep it be

fore their minds. "And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt bind them for a sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. And thou shalt write them upon the posts of thy house, and on thy gates." Deut. 6:6-9. Josephus says the Jewish children were to learn the law the first thing. "Let the children also learn the laws, as the first thing they are taught, which will be the best thing they can be taught, and will be the cause of their future felicity."

Though our translation is excellent, yet we would advise any one who can, to study the Holy Scriptures in the original. He will in this way drink more fully into the meaning. For a person of ordinary education to learn to do this, is not so great a task as is commonly imagined. Though the Hebrew letters and words are all different from ours, yet the construction of the language is simple, and easily learned. When we were at school, the Methodist preacher of the place came into the Hebrew class. Though a good preacher, he was a dull learner of languages. We helped him regularly to get out his lesson. He studied Hebrew but one term. Yet

soon after, he published in a church periodical a series of articles abounding in Hebrew criticisms, and so great was the credit he gained that he was made a Doctor of Divinity.

The Greek language is more difficult to learn than the Hebrew. And though it will require time for any person to learn the meaning of the different words found in the original Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, yet any ordinary person can gain such a knowledge of the Hebrew, or the Greek, by diligent study for three months, as to be able by the help of the Grammar and Lexicon, to study out to his satisfaction, the meaning of any text in either of these original languages. Any one who tries it faithfully will consider his time well employed.

The best method of studying the Scriptures is a question upon which opinions may differ. We recommend to read the Bible through carefully by course. This may be easily done once a year. Portions of it,-such as our Lord's Sermon on the Mount-some chapters of John's Gospel, of Isaiah's prophecies, and some of the Psalms should be carefully committed and kept in memory. They will furnish food for reflection, and material for profitable thought and conversation. Take the important doctrines of Christianity and, by the aid of a Bible Index and Concordance, see what the Bible says respecting them. Learn, so as to be able to repeat accurately, the