I supposed I knew my Bible,
Reading piecemeal, hit or miss:
Now a bit of John or Matthew,
Now a snatch of Genesis,
Certain chapters of Isaiah,
Certain Psalms—the twenty-third?
Twelfth of Romans, first of Proverbs:
Yes, I thought I knew the Word;
But I found a thorough reading
Was a different thing to do,
And the way was unfamiliar
When I read the Bible through.
You, who treat the crown of writings
As you treat no other book―
Just a paragraph disjointed,
Just a crude impatient look —
Try a worthier procedure,
Try a broad and steady view:
You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through.
Amos R. Wells.
I am so thoroughly delighted with the above little poem called “How Readest Thou?” that I thought I would again give my readers a word about the Bible, for indeed it is a truth that when you really read the Bible regularly, wholly, and read it through from beginning to end you will, as the little poem says,
“You will kneel in very rapture
When you read the Bible through.”
Yes, dear friends, stick to the Bible, and do not say as some grievous members of the C. M.S. lately said, “The Bible contains the Word of God.” No such thing, The Bible is the Word of God. The Sword of the Spirit as it says in Hebrews 4:12,12For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. (Hebrews 4:12) “is quick and powerful, sharper than any two-edged Sword. “Do as I have done all my life — read the Bible, regularly, morning and evening—and at noon sometimes, if not prevented. I have, thank God, read four chapters every days and two Psalms—one chapter of the Old Testament and one of the New, each morning, and the same in the evening. From Genesis to Job in the morning, and Proverbs to Malachi in the evening, and Matthew to Acts in the Morning, and Romans to Revelation in the evening.
Emily P. Leakey.