the Old Testament we have hints and foregleams of the coming Person; in the New Testament we have the Person Himself. Who Jesus Christ is will ever remain the most interesting question as long as the world lasts. No young man can begin to wrestle with the great problems of existence without finding that the greatest question of all is, “What think ye of Christ ?” The answer which we give to it shows the drift of our life, and is a prophecy of our eternal future. And as the young men and women of each generation confront that problem, they will all in turn be compelled to consult the Evangelists for the only adequate solution. Strauss may reduce this Life to a myth, Renan to an improbable romance, the author of "Ecce Homo" and others to a problem in moral dynamics; but Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John will ever have to be recognized as the true expounders of that mighty history. The great difficulty with which the opponents of the supernatural in Christianity will always have to contend is the existence of the New Testament. The Bible holds its supreme place in the world, not because of its literary beauty, not because of the elevated tone of its moral teaching, not because of the wide and far-reaching principles which inspire its historical records, but because it pre sents us with God, with God manifest in the flesh; because it is the record of the Incarnation, the Atonement, the Resurrection, and the Ascension of the eternal Son of God. One of the most unfortunate things about this subject is that young men so often suppose that they must believe a theory of inspiration before they can profit by the Bible. This is an entire reversal of the natural process. Children do not believe a theory about it before they love its words, and find God through its teachings. Practice comes first and speculation after. There is no need to know the constitution of the sun before we warm and illumine ourselves by its rays. Nor is there any need to build up elaborate theories about the Bible before reading it and profiting by it. We must, of course, accept its history in the main as correct; but starting from that simple standpoint, we shall find ourselves a long way on the road on which it proposes to take us. If any man finds that the Book of Exodus does him no good, or that he is puzzled by the Books of Kings, or more puzzled still by the Book of Ecclesiastes, we should reply, Why not turn to Books, or even single chapters, that really help your spirit to find God? The people in Madagascar found God through a few pages of the Book of Psalms. If the Bible was given piecemeal, God will not blame a young man for taking it bit by bit to help him heavenward. Taking it! Yes, we should employ the positive method. To judge by the way in which some young men talk of the Bible, you would imagine that it contained nothing but an account of the cycles of creation, and of the Deluge. We might at least postpone the reconciliation of geology with what we suppose the Bible was meant to teach, till we had found God. We should then, perhaps, discover that the Bible is, as to science and history, on a level with the Books written in the times to which its various parts belong; but that its one signal peculiarity is that it reveals God to man. There is a destructive criticism abroad which is ever peering into every little difficulty, tracking every suggestion of doubt, and making the most of real or apparent discrepancy. Such a spirit infects some of the ablest literature of the Continent and of England; but it more often comes before young men in coarse and vulgar forms, expressed perhaps by those who have the "little knowledge which is a dangerous thing." If we are anxious to find defects in the human setting of the Divine Word, they will become apparent to us. But in that case we shall probably miss the vision of that glory and eternal life which are in God, and the discovery of which should be the supreme, and at first the exclusive, object of our search. For the true use of the Bible is to bring us into communion with God as He is revealed in Christ our Lord. It teaches us an art, not a science: the art of loving and obeying Christ our Lord. It bids us walk; it is no curious explanation of the science of spiritual activity. Its object is intensely personal. It brings God's message to every reader, and it unveils God as the Father waiting to forgive, through Christ, every penitent sinner. Its intention is to awaken the spiritual life within us, and to sustain that life by warnings, by promises, and by manifold teachings. Literary investigation, Biblical criticism and revision, are all most important branches of scriptural study. But they are to the Bible what astronomical observations are to the sun. The multitudes depend for their light on the shining of the sun, not upon scientific observations. The new version of the New Testament, published May, 1881, will be a great boon to all English readers, because it more faithfully renders the original documents into our own tongue. It should be used and studied assiduously by all young people especially. But the great question will still remain to be answered by each reader for · himself, as to how much of God he has discerned through the messages which God has sent. All other topics are side issues. To see God, to know Him as the Father of our spirits, to love and trust His Son, to be born from above by His Spirit— these are the main purposes for which these Scriptures have been granted. Millions have gained these priceless blessings from a devout and prayerful reading of the Holy Scriptures; and every earnest soul may in this generation find in them the very light and love of God. "God is not dumb that He should speak no more; If thou hast wanderings in the wilderness |