by Christopher Drewes, 1929 (CPH)
Link: Introduction to the Books of the Bible: New Testament (29-52)
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Blessed Lord, who hast caused all the Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning, grant that we may in such wise hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and comfort of Thy Holy Word we may embrace, and ever hold fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life which Thou hast given us in our Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.
Ever since God made a beginning of communicating His messages to man in writing by giving two tables of stone to Moses (Ex. 31, 18), Bible-reading has been a sacred privilege and duty of all believers. The Savior restated God's will that man should study His writings when He told both foes and friends to "search the Scriptures." John 5, 39. In the trying times of the Early Church many Christians paid for the privilege of reading the Word of God with their life-blood. The glory of the Reformation was the return of the open Bible into the hands and homes of the laity. To this day the Church of the Reformation sings: —
A trusty weapon is Thy Word, Thy Church's buckler, shield, and sword; Lord, let us in this Word abide That we may seek no other guide.
The Bible is an outstanding book for its clearness, and every reader is able to learn from its pages God's plan of salvation. Yet the valuable information contained in this book will add greatly to intelligent Bible-reading in family worship, in schools and Bible classes, and in the private study of Scripture by Bible students. A knowledge of the language, composition, writer, authenticity, and outline of the various books of the Bible as given in this little volume will deepen the interest and add to the understanding of God's Book. The references to the wonderful preservation of God's Word through the ages as well as the simple directions on how to read God's Book will certainly meet with approval. At the end of the volume the reader will find a plan showing how the Bible can be read in one or three years.
The three classes of Bible-readers here mentioned will find this handbook of great practical value. The father or mother will find that the interest will be deepened in the reading of any book of the Bible in family worship after a brief review, as given in this handy volume, of the circumstances under which that book was written. The answer to many questions directed by attentive children to their parents after the regular period of family devotion will be found here. The Bible readers in schools and Bible classes will find this book very helpful in their study of the Scriptures. In day-schools this book should serve very well to lead the pupils into the Bible itself. For the purpose of this book is not merely to add another volume to the many writings about the Bible, but to lead its readers into an intelligent study of the Bible. Bible classes in Sunday-schools will find this a valuable text-book for a one-year course of Bible study. Finally, all Bible students desiring to follow a well-planned method in their private study of the sacred Scriptures will find in this book a trusty guide.
We pray that this book may receive an even greater popular acclaim than did the Concordia Bible Class for the year 1919, in which the main parts contained in this book were originally published. The division into chapters found in the Concordia Bible Class has been retained. Many readers will welcome this.
May this volume become a blessing to many.
January 19, 1929. Wm. H. Luke.