Systematic Bible-Reading.
THERE is a gain in systematic and thorough Bible study; there is a gain in intelligent Bible-reading, topically or by a single book at a time; there is also a gain in the regular daily reading of the Bible, chapter by chapter, in course, throughout the year. This latter reading may, at times, be perfunctory, but it has its practical value even then. Those men who are most familiar with the Bible in all its parts are commonly those who have been in the habit of reading the Bible through, in course, year after year, and who have thereby become gradually familiar with portions of the Bible which they would not have looked up in ordinary topical reading or study. Nor does this formal reading of the Bible interfere with more earnest and thorough occasional Bible-reading. On the contrary, it makes that kind of reading all the more satisfactory when it is undertaken. It is a good thing to read a chapter in the Bible at the close of the day's work, even though its reading be somewhat irksome, and the temptation to sleep be a strong one for the hour. But that should not be one's only way of Bible-reading; nor is it likely to be.—Sel.