Study of Bible

Character studies will be found very profitable, bringing under review Moses, David, Solomon, Absalom, Miriam, Samcharacter. son, Saul, Jonathan, Peter, Thomas, John, Lydia, Paul, and others prominent in the Scriptures. In one evening a study of the Twelve Apostles would have the merit of bringing into contrast their several traits.

Sacred geog

Bible geography opens a field of great importance and of delightful interest. An evening in Jerusalem, an evening in raphy. Damascus, an evening in Tyre, an evening in Shechem, an evening among the sacred mountains, an evening on the rivers of Palestine, taking as our general guide Whitney's valuable Hand-book of Bible Geography, would be full of charm and profit.

Manners and customs.

Five evenings might be devoted to the study of manners and customs as illustrated successively in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Acts, having Dr. Freeman's valuable hand-book to illu mine the subject. Palestine exploration as outlined by Bishop Vincent, and ploration. aided by the rich suggestions and lit erature furnished by his pen, would be a gen

Palestine ex

uine delight. "A Journey from New York to Jerusalem" serves finely for an evening's study, bringing forward the best routes, seasons of travel, fares, objects of interest on the way, and in the holy city. The life of Christ may with great profit and inspiration be studied in thirteen successive evenings, following the plan of the thirteen exercises of Dr. Hurlbut's Chautauqua text-book on the subject, which may be furnished at a trifling cost to any member of the league. It is difficult to name any line of study more full of instruction and incentive than this.

The life of
Christ.

Occasionally a portion of an evening may be given with profit to the proper names of the Bible, their correct pronunciation Sundry topics. and meanings. A study in the natural history of the Bible-animals, plants, minerals-with the spiritual meaning of any, will be full of profit. The art of alphabetical writing and the preparation and care of ancient manuscripts; the tabernacle; the priesthood; the synagogue; the temple, Solomon's, Zerubbabel's, Herod's, attended by an actual building of Solomon's by cards of pasteboard, carefully prepared with respect to relative dimensions;

the holy of holies, the ark, mercy-seat, cherubim, Shekinah, and significance of each; government of the Jewish people under judges, kings, priests, and Sanhedrin; the Jewish festivals, passover, pentecost, feast of trumpets,feast of tabernacles, year of jubilee, etc; religious sects, Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes; ScriptReligious sects. ure coins, measures and weights; the sacred numerals, three, four, seven, twelve, with their multiples, and their spiritual meanings; the names and titles of Christ ; the names and titles of the Church; the apocryphal books; versions of the Bible-the Peshito, Septuagint, Targums, Vulgate, and modern versions, as Wiclif's, Tyndale's, Cranmer's and Archæology. others; archæology, as the discoveries in Babylon and Nineveh; Egyptology, as the finding of the mummied Pharaohs on the Upper Nile. These and kindred subjects may be so analyzed, apportioned, and simplified that their study may be made fascinating, and large numbers of young people may be led to actively participate in the work. All this means thought and tact and patience on the part of those who direct the programmes, go before the young people and outline their work.

Only one suggestion more can be offered in this chapter. The Bible lays claim to a supernatural character. If it be indeed

Evidences.

the word of God it must come to us attended with evidences fully establishing its claim. Rearing lofty standards of holy living, it places itself athwart the pathway of human passion, and is therefore made the object of fierce assault. Wicked men would be glad to believe its teachings false. They therefore originate and promulgate arguments designed to overthrow its claims. They deny that it is a revelation from God. Besides, many honest and careful thinkers encounter difficulties, and, for reasons not to be compassed here are disposed to reject the supernatural altogether. Now this skepticism pervades much of the literature of to-day, and is peculiarly dangerous to young people. And as a matter of fact thousands of young men reared in Christian homes, but unconsciously affected by the doubt coloring their reading and the conversation to which they listen, are slowly slipping their cables and drifting away from the faith in their mother's Bible and their father's God.

A partial remedy for this is to be found in a

careful study of the subject of Christian evidences. For such a study Bishop Vincent's short and easy text-book on this subject will be found invaluable, supplemented, as each " exercise" should be, with comments from the president or pastor, or by brief essays and familiar talks on the sub-topics treated. Such a study will serve to bring into clear light the immovable foundations on which the Book of God abides eternally secure, and will not only fortify our young people against the assaults of skepticism, but equip them with weapons for a vigorous defense of their faith in the Monarch Volume-the word of our God which “endureth forever."