Bible Truths Illustrated by J. C. Ferdinand Pittman

—
BIBLE TRUTHS ILLUSTRATED
We can scarcely hope to understand the Scriptures unless we
know what the purpose was. The purpose makes the teaching
plain. The application of these four questions in our study of
the oracles of God will solve many problems, answer many questions,
explain many difficulties, fathom many mysteries, and
throw a flood of light upon every page of the inspired volume.
— H. G. Harward.
762. "A man in Burmah possessed a copy of the Psalms in
Burmese, which had been left behind by a traveller stopping at
his house. Before he had finished the first reading of the book
he resolved to cast his idols away. For twenty years he worshipped
the eternal God revealed to him in the Psalms, using the
fifty-first, which he had committed to memory, as a daily prayer.
Then a missionary appeared on the scene and gave him a copy
of the New Testament. The story of salvation through Jesus
Christ brought great joy to his heart, and he said: 'For twenty
years I walked by starlight ; now I see the sun/ "
763. More serious than the abuse heaped upon this book by its
enemies is the fact that it is so frequently misused by its friends.
The Bible is made responsible for all the "isms," fads, fancies,
. . .
opinions, theories, and superstitions of the so-called Christian
world. Two men were fighting. The one man struck the
other, at the same time quoting the words of Jesus: "Whosoever
smiteth thee on the one cheek, turn to him the other also." This
was obligingly done. Then the second man hit back with all
his power, saying as he did so : "Give, and it shall be given
unto you." A man was reproved by a friend for swearing. He
asked what wrong there was in that. "Don't you know," said
the friend, "that you are breaking one of the commandments,
'Swear net at all'?" "But," replied the accused man, "I don't
swear at all; I only swear at some people." In these illustrations
we have the misuse of Scripture. H. G. Harward.
764. The late Mr. Moody did not mind telling what might
be regarded as against himself if it served to illustrate his point.
In an address on Bible reading, he said that when a lad he had
to hoe turnips on a farm, and often did his work so indifferently
that he had to stick a piece of wood in the ground at night to
•
277