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Do you know Abraham Lincoln's plan of learning English? It was a very simple and direct way of making the Bible English his own. The Bible, we are told, was one of the four or five books which Lincoln read and loved as a boy. He knew it well and to his study of it he owed the simple, strong, and beautiful English which gave his speeches--his address at Gettysburg, the Second Inaugural address, and many others--their high place among the most perfect and enduring of all writings.
This was his plan: He would read a story, or a part of one, very slowly and thoughtfully, oftentimes aloud. When every detail of it was clear in his mind, he would close the book, take pencil and paper and write the story for himself, using as many of the Bible words as he could remember, and trying always to tell the story aswelland ascompletely, and yet in asfew wordsas the Bible.
He tells us his stories were never quite so clear, so brief, and yet so perfect, as those of his model. But he did learn to command its simplicity, its strength, its brevity, and its imagery.
Try Lincoln's way, using the following selections:--
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From your knowledge of general history, link up the stories of Daniel, Esther, and Nehemiah in point of time, remembering that:--
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The Bible is a mirror "in which each man sees the motions of his own soul. Many of the Psalms express in exquisite words the kinship which every thoughtful human heart craves to find with a supreme, unchanging, loving God, who will be to him a protector, guardian, and friend." Many of the Bible passages give utterance to the ordinary experiences and the familiar thoughts of men.
Readers will get more help from the Bible if they know where to look for just what they need. Following is an index to many of the great passages in THE BIBLE STORY, arranged under names suggestive of their purpose.
Not only from Israel's experience come many words of comfort and cheer but also from the lives of early saints, from the Catholic Newman, the reformer Luther, the non-conformist Watts, the American bishop Brooks, and others. They are helpful because they are rich with life. Scattered through these pages they will be to many, from their associations, "like withered flowers that make the pages sweet."
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Do not use these questions simply to "Mark Time." Let their message to you be--"Forward March." Interrogation, not statement, stirs the mind. The questions are framed to draw out the reader's knowledge and provoke discussion that will bring to light interesting points without consuming too much time.
Try the questions in this way: Select one of the following stories and read it. After the reading, ask the questions that bear on the story. By means of the subtitles and page numbers the desired questions may be readily found in the pages that follow. The whole family may join in this test and it will be doubly interesting if conducted as a game, such as the old-fashioned "spell-down."
Other stories than those here suggested may be chosen and used in the same way. Select from the titles any part of the Bible that you may wish for any particular reason,--its bearing on the Bible School lesson perhaps, its seasonal interest, or personal message,--you can find the text by means of the page reference. So using these questions you can make definite strides in knowledge of the Bible.
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