p. 14 | The Bible as Literature for Your Child

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Dec 7, 1916

The Bible as Literature for Your Child

By Mrs. Walton C. John

MRS. WALTON C. JOHN

PATRICK HENRY, that noted Virginian orator, statesman, and patriot, the one-time governor of his State, said, just before his death, when found by a friend reading the Bible: “Here is a book worth more than all other books which were ever printed, yet it is my misfortune never to have, till lately, found time to read it with proper attention and feeling.”

The Bible may well be called the mother of books. It has been the source of inspiration for many books, poems, dramas, and lyrics.

The strong, forceful, picturesque style of the English Bible has kept our language vigorous. The books that have been printed about the Bible, as explanatory texts, as illustrating gems of thought, and as reference books, added to the many thousands of copies of the Bible printed every year, make it the most widely published book in the world.

The love of the child for God’s Word is as important as the regard of the keenest Bible student; yet in many homes the Bible is robbed of the love that children should have for its perusal. Being compelled to learn some portion of it as a penance, forced to spend time daily in the preparation of the school Bible lesson, perhaps listening while it is read through from cover to cover,—a breathless passage through history, genealogy, lamentations, and admonitions,—the child may receive the idea that the Book of books is a means of punishment in the hands of father and mother, a lesson that must be daily learned, something that must be listened to every day. The beauty of the Bible passes him by. He sees nothing beautiful in it; to him it represents only a task.

There is much in this Book that is grand and noble, and that reaches the splendid heights of eloquence and pathos; but in enforcing the moral truths, the sublimity of the Bible and its power to grip the imagination are often lost sight of. It is a book containing some of the highest flights of imagery, as a study of the writings of the prophets will show. Beauty is revealed through the Gospels especially. The flowers and fields and birds, the splendor and steadfastness of the mountains, the placidity of lake and sea, bring before our eyes vistas of loveliness. ‘He hath made everything beautiful,’ and surely that includes the words that came from his own lips.

For the smaller children, the story of Joseph, of Ruth, of Moses, of David, Samuel, or Elijah should be read as biography, and connectedly. This will impress the narrative upon the young mind as a disconnected perusal can never do. The story of the Shunammite’s son, of the raising of Jairus’s daughter, of the little serving maid, of Esther, and many others are of unfailing interest to children. These stories, read and illustrated, if you can obtain copies of the paintings made of these different subjects, will impress the children, and awaken in them sympathy and understanding.

For the older children there are some magnificent odes that should deepen their love for God’s Word, and will surely arouse their enthusiasm. Note the songs of Moses and Miriam (Exodus 15), the song of Deborah (Judges 5), and the song of David (Psalm 18). These, read through by the teacher at school or by the parents at home, unmarred by comments, will leave a lasting impression of the power and beauty of the Bible.

After the reading, the music of the sentences, the onward sweep of the rhetoric, and the splendor of the imagery may be pointed out; also the many hidden beauties to be found not only in the portions referred to, but in many other parts of the Bible.