George Washington Flowers 
 Memorial Collection 
 
 DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY 
 
 ESTABLISHED BY THE 
 FAMILY OF 
 COLONEL FLOWERS 
 
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 ADDRESS 
 
 DELTYEEEI) BEFOIM' 
 
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 RANDOLPH COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY 
 
 A T riv 
 
 13 
 
 .MAY 1st. l.so 
 
 EY PROP. ROBBINS. 
 
 IF 
 
 Punished at t^e^equest of the Society : and ve-puhliRhed in 
 -pamphlet form hy the sfydenfft of Xorm<d QoUeqe, 
 
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 GREEi^SBUiiUL.Cii 
 
 ? H I XT K D A T T II E P A T 1; ■ 
 
 1853. 
 
4 
 
 'I 
 
ADDRESS 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE 
 
 THE 
 
 RANDOLPH COUNTY BIBLE SOCIETY 
 
 AT ITS 
 
 lIIIflEIMI. 
 
 MAY 1st, 1853. 
 BY PROF. ROBBirsTS. 
 
 Published at the request of the Society ; and re-published in 
 pamphlet form by the students of Normal College, 
 
 GREENSBOROUGH: 
 
 PKINTED-AT THE PATRIOT OFFICE. 
 
 1853. 
 
IHE ROWERS CO(i!CItf)N 
 
 COEllESPONDEXCE. 
 
 AsHEBortOUGii, May 2nd, 18Jo. 
 Dear Sir : At a meeting of the Executive Committee of 
 tlie Randolph County Bible Society this morning, it "was un- 
 animously resolved, " that the Secretary write to Prof. Rohhins 
 requesting a copy of his Address, delivered yesterday, for puh- 
 lication." 
 
 Permit me to add my personal solicitations to those of the 
 Committee. AYe hope you will comply with our request, and 
 that the publication of the Address will aid in promoting the 
 good cause we all have so much at heart. 
 
 Very respectfully, GEO. McXEILL, Sec'y. 
 
 PllOF. ROBBINS. 
 
 Normal College, May 10th, 1853. 
 
 Mr. McNeill : Dear Sir : Your communication, contain- 
 taining the request of the Ex. Com. of the R. C. Bible Socie- 
 ty, has been received. I am obliged to the Committee for the 
 compliment thus paid me. 
 
 The dictates of prudence would perhaps forbid my compli- 
 ance with that request, and induce me to withhold a produc- 
 tion prepared with so much haste and under so many disad- 
 vantages amid the pressure of other duties. But I waive my 
 own opinion in deference to that of the Committee, and for- 
 ward with this note a copy of the Address, to be disposed of 
 as they think best. 
 
 With considerations of personal respect and esteem, 
 
 I am yours etc., AV. MACK. BOBBINS. 
 
 Rev. Geo. McNeill. 
 
Digitized by 
 
 the Internet Archive 
 
 
 
 in 2014 
 
 
 
 https://archive.org/details/addressdelivered13robb 
 
Mr. Preside7if, Ladies and Gentlemen, 
 
 of the Randolph County Bible Society : 
 
 It affords me no small degree of gratification to 
 reflect that in this almost my first effort in public speakingy 
 good fortune has allotted me so noble a subject as that of the 
 Bible and the Bible Cause. To have been honored with an 
 invitation to address you, on any subject whatever, would have 
 been considered on my part as a high compliment ; but to be 
 selected as the advocate of this cause, I cannot but regard as 
 a peculiar favor. So much of happiness or misery in the des- 
 tiny of Man depends, in my judgment upon the promulgation 
 of the Word of God fhroughout the world, that I rejoice in the 
 opportunity of adding my humble efforts to those that are be- 
 ing made, by our Bible Societies, for that purpose. It is true 
 that this is a cause of such magnitude, that I should have been 
 deterred from occupying the position I do this day, as its ad- 
 vocate, by a fear lest the feebleness of my advocacy might 
 prejudice rather than promote it, had I not also felt that the 
 intrinsic merits of the subject arc so palpable that whatever 
 failure might be made in representing them in an impressive 
 light, the fault would be attributed to the advocate and not to 
 the cause itself To do it justice I cannot hope. The highest 
 powers of human eloquence might find a worthy theme in urg- 
 ing the responsibility that rests upon us, as a civilized and 
 Christian people, of using every effort to dispense the Word 
 of God to all men. But I may succeed in directing your at- 
 tention, for a short time, more closely to this subject ; and 
 should I, in this manner, or more immediately by anything I 
 
6 
 
 mtiy say, induce any one of you to feel a deeper interest In it, 
 and to take a more decided stand in its favor, and, by that 
 means, the Sacred Pages shoukl be unfolded to a single son of 
 Adam's hapless race, who would not otherwise have seen them, 
 my reward will be am. pie. 
 
 If there is any sentiment in the human heart more noble 
 than all the rest, — any one that goes further than all the rest 
 to assimilate Man to the Deity, setting aside reverence and 
 love to God himself, that sentiment is Philanthropy. There 
 is so much that is displeasing and hateful to the upright and 
 honest heart, in the principles and conduct of the larger por- 
 tion of the human family, that nothing is more natural nor 
 more easy than to imbibe an aversion and even a deep, dark 
 hatred for Man in general. So much the more noble and di- 
 vine, then, is that feeling in the bosom of the philanthropist, 
 that prompts him, in looking at the gloomy picture of human 
 nature, to dwell with pleasure in those brighter tints which 
 serve, in some degree at least, to relieve the darker shades, 
 and moves him, while he condemns the folly and wickedness 
 of our race, to drop a tear of pity, too, over its misfortunes 
 and its miseries. There is surely no ifher field for the exer- 
 cise of this exalted virtue, and no better opportunity for ren- 
 dering it practically operative in the amelioration of Man's 
 condition, than is afforded by the cause in which the American 
 Bible Society and its auxiliaries are engaged. Save the gift 
 of His only Son to die for our salvation, and of the Holy Ghost 
 to apply that salvation to our hearts, Heaven's best gift to our 
 race is the Bible. As God looked down upon the helpless 
 8tate of Man, groping his vray in impenetrable darkness, 
 Mercy rejoiced when tlie glorious light of Revelation was 
 handed down as a lamp to guide his wandering steps. And 
 yet, lamentable to tell, millions of our fellow-men are still 
 without that heavenly boon. Would not Mercy's face be 
 lighted up with a still more pleasing smile, could that great 
 gift of God be made, through our instrumentality, a common 
 blessing to every individual of the human family ? And might 
 not we, as the instruments, be allowed to receive into our own 
 
hearts a portion of the light of that gracious smile ? But 
 should we be so lost to every feeling of humanity as to neglect 
 the exertion of all our abilities to promote this object, how can 
 we expect to escape the frowns of indignant Heaven, justly 
 due to our selfishness and our ingratitude ? 
 
 In order to arrive at a just appreciation of the vast impor- 
 tance of this subject, let us turn a slight glance at the present 
 condition of man. And first as regards his ignorance. It is 
 computed that there are at least eight hundred millions of in- 
 habitant^ on the globe. Of these, Europe and America con- 
 tain perhaps three hundred millions ; Africa, Asia, and the 
 Islands adjacent, the remaining five hundred millions. With- 
 out particularizing to an unnecessary degree, and yet preserv- 
 ing sufficient accuracy for our purpose, we may consider the 
 bulk of the former as in a civilized state. The great body of 
 the latter must be regarded as uncivilized and occupying va- 
 rious grades of barbarism. A very large portion of them, 
 however, are in a condition the most abject and savage. It is 
 difficult to conceive the human mind so dark and so destitute 
 of correct knowledge as it is found by observation to be among 
 the people of those ciuntries. Their information concerning 
 the most common matters is exceedingly limited. Their 
 knowledge of the arts of life is almost nothing. There arc 
 some marks of inventive genius among them, it is true ; but 
 the means they use to procure subsistence, and supply the 
 other wants of nature, are in general, far less adapted to the 
 intended end than those emplo}' ed by the beasts that roam the 
 deserts or lurk in the jungles around them. As for the 
 comforts of life, and its conveniences, they know nothing, for 
 the most pai t, concerning them. A slight exception to this re- 
 mark may perhaps exist in the case of the Chinese, who seem to 
 have advanced a step on the way to civilization. But it is on- 
 1}^ a step. Nothing but impending famine, on account of the 
 denseness of population, seems to have driven them thus far. 
 And they appear no^Y to be stationary. Ages have elapsed 
 since they occupied very nearly their present position ; and 
 there is no prospect that, without some external impulse, they 
 
8 
 
 '^Tould ever make any considerable advancements beyond it. 
 But degraded as her condition is, by far the larger portion of 
 Africa and Asia will bear no comparison Tvith China. We may 
 perhaps be able to form a more correct estimate of the state of 
 knowledge among the heathen by viewing for a moment its 
 deficiency among ourselves. We doubtless live in the most 
 enlightened nation that exists or ever has existed upon the 
 face of the earth, taking all classes of population together. 
 Learning has been assiduously cultivated among us ever since 
 our birth as an independent nation, and for a consiberable 
 time before that period, among our ancestors on the other side 
 of the water. And yet what an astonishing amount of ignor- 
 ance still remains among a large majority of our population in 
 regard to almost every part of Human, as well as Divine, 
 knowledge. Take for example the science of Astronomy, — a 
 science, which men in a low state of civilization have always 
 cultivated perhaps to as great an extent as any other ; because 
 the principal objects about which it discourses are ever present 
 and open to the eye. Relate some of the more common and 
 well-known facts of this science, such for instance as the rev- 
 olution of the Earth on its axis, or of Jjie planets round the 
 Sun : and among a majority of individuals are you compre- 
 hended, or do you gain credence ? Do you not rather expose 
 yourself to derision, and are not your hearers ready to exclaim, 
 as Festus did to Paul, *'Thou art beside thyself; much learn- 
 ino; doth make thee mad?" But leave the sciences, and como 
 down to common affairs. Consider the slowness with vrhich 
 improvements are made and the vast amount of labor it re- 
 (juires to convince the masses of our people of the utility of 
 enterprises which all observation has proved to be well calcu- 
 lated to promote individual as well as national prosperity. 
 Look at the great backwardness with which large classes of 
 the community adopt and apply useful inventions, and the ex- 
 treme propensity to adhere to old and absurd customs, in spite 
 of demonstration that such a course is suicidal and pernicious ; 
 all which things proceed from a deficiency in correct and lib- 
 eral knowledge ; and you will be able to form some idea of the 
 
9 
 
 nmount of ignorance tliat still exists among us. Consider 
 then that the most learned do not outstrip the most ignorant 
 classes in our own country, more than ihese excel even the 
 best informed of the inhabitants of uncivilized nations, and 
 some faint notion may be gained of the amazing and pitiable 
 darkness that broods over their minds. Recollecting that wo 
 have taken as an illustration the most enlightened people on 
 the globe, and that the great masses even of other civilized 
 nations are far from coming up to this standard, while those 
 of barbarous countries, which comprise much the larger por- 
 tion of the human family, fall so infinitely far below it, 
 truly the condition of man, as regards knowledge, appears 
 deplorable. And yet we view the state of the heathen at a 
 distance, and the worst of their condition does not appear. 
 For distance hides deformity and softens the rugged aspect 
 of all evils. Could we but draw near and view these things 
 as they really exist ; could we but see the depths of darkness 
 into which millions of glorious and, immortal minds are sunk ; 
 if there be the smallest degree of pity or of sympathy remain- 
 ing in our hearts, they would bleed at the spectacle. 
 
 As ignorance drowns the nobler, and developes the baser 
 portions of human character ; as it fosters impiety by remov- 
 ing the restraints which a knowledge of God imposes ; as it 
 rivets the yoke of the oppressor, and is the parent of wretch- 
 edness ; so we find men debased to the lowest degree, we find 
 them daringly wicked, ground to the dust by tyranny, and al- 
 most completely miserable. As a specimen of the baseness 
 and degradation of heathen nations consider only one of their 
 practices, that of Cannibalism. Kotliing can be more repug- 
 nant and disgusting to a civilized man than even to think of 
 such a custom ; so much so that we should be disposed, for the 
 credit of human nature, to deny its existence altogether, were 
 we not furnished with convincing evidence that, in some parts 
 of the world, it is by no means uncommon. Other things al- 
 most equally degrading are universally practiced among sav- 
 age nations. Common decency and cleanliness are entirely 
 disregardad. So debased indeed are the inhabitants of many 
 
10 
 
 of those nations, that their food, habitations, and everything 
 they use, seem to please them more in proportion as they pos- 
 sess less of those qualifications. 
 
 Man is enslaved to his fellow-man. This is the case to a 
 large extent at present even among civilized nations. Great ' 
 Britain and the United States are the only nations that enjoy 
 much genuine freedom. A few years ago the voice of liberty 
 was heard calling her sons to the rescue all over America. 
 The prospects of our sister nations on this continent were 
 cheering for a while. But alas ! now the friends of true Free- 
 dom may weep to see that she " has a name to live and is 
 dead." The lifeless form of Republicanism is left, it is true ; 
 but the spirit that should animate it, is gone. One or two 
 years only have elapsed since Europe arose with a mighty 
 struggle and seemed aboat to shake herself from the dust. 
 But despots have triumphed. Sad as it is to relate, the foot 
 of tyranny is again upon the necks of the people. No voice is 
 raised in behalf of right and justice but it is quickly stifled by 
 the hand of the executioiier. Like some horrid demon, Mon- 
 archy stands watchin:: with irrim satisfaction the Goddess of 
 Liberty as she lies bleeding at his feet; and at every faint 
 gasp or motion he plunges his accursed dagger afresh into her 
 man^-led bosom. Thank God I she is immortal ! And, thouixh 
 down-trodden now, she shall yet arise and cheer the weeping 
 nations with her smile ! For the present, however, all is dark. 
 Execution succeeds execution. Murder follow murder. And 
 all over continental Europe a period seems hastening on when 
 those words of the Boman poet, used in his description of the 
 Iron Age, will again be applicable ; — 
 
 " Vir2:o cEDcle madenies 
 Ultima crrlestum terras Aslra;a reliquit.'' 
 
 ^ut however woeful the slaver}^ of civilized L\irope may be, 
 
 Hi h far from being like that of the nations of xVfrica and 
 
 Asia.. There is more struggle, there is a keener sense of 
 
 wrong and a deeper spirit of indignation and resentment a- 
 
 niong the people of Europe. But though less felt and le?s 
 
 complained of, African and Asiatic tyranny is far more de- 
 
11 
 
 grading and far more effectual in extinguirihing every noble 
 iand generous impulse of the human heart. Spiritual and civil 
 despotism grinds them to the dust. Go to the abject minions 
 of the Turkish and Persian despots ; — go to the palace of the 
 Ethiopian monarch with its pavements formed from the skulls 
 of his wretched victims; and learn there the full meaning of 
 the word Oppression, — the more dreadful from the fact that 
 its objects have ceased to struggle and resist, and have long 
 been calmly sunk in the silence of despain 
 
 So great have been the misfortunes, and so glaring and 
 dreadful the wrongs of Man, that I would gladly pass by th^it 
 portion of the picture which exhibits his sins and his wicked- 
 ness. But the subject demands at least some notice ; for 
 there is no characteristic in Man's condition that stands out 
 to our view with more prominence than this. The words of 
 Inspiration, spoken ages ago, are lamentably true still, That 
 the wickedness of man is great." So defective is his knowl- 
 edge of God, and so great the perverseness of his heart, that 
 the most daring impiety is substituted for a proper worship 
 and adoration of his Maker, in the superstitious hope of gain- 
 ing His favor by doing those things which He most of all hates 
 and forbids. That Omnipotent Being who has forbidden mur- 
 der is worshiped by the most inhuman and unnatural of all 
 murders, that of the infant by the hand of its m.other. 
 With the same view of pleasing God, thousands are crushed 
 to death under the rolling car of an Idol, and many a living 
 female victim offers herself a sacrifice in the funeral flames of 
 her spouse. In uncivilized countries, theft, robbery, injustice, 
 and cruelty stalk abroad unrestrained. The voice of Human, 
 and the thunders of Divine, Law are equally unheard; But 
 why need I attempt to describe that which the eye of Jeho- 
 vah alone can fully see, and the words of Inspiration alone 
 delineate ? Mercy, as well as Justice is infinite ; or " the 
 vials of the wrath of God " would ere this have been poured 
 out, and blotted our race from existence forever. 
 
 From vrhat has been said, surely no oiie will be disposed to 
 doubt that Man is miserable. AVretchedness is the legitimate 
 
offspring of vice and sin. One sin "brought Death into the 
 world, and all our woe." Misery is the necessary effect 
 of disobedience, and all unhappiness is traceable to that, 
 "Where the cause is so predominant Ave "would naturally look 
 for much of the effect. And do not experience and observa- 
 tion verify it ? Turn to your neighbor and ask him if he is 
 happy. You need not ask. The lines of care and sorrow are 
 already on his brow. Ask the cheerful-faced you^h if he is 
 happy. Ask the fair damsel as she trips so lightly along. 
 These look happy, and they will perhaps say Yes ! Eut gnaw- 
 ing discontent, and a secret, unsatisfied longing for something 
 yet unpossessed, will answer more truly in their hearts, No ! 
 Go ask the down-trodden slave, as the yoke of the oppressor 
 bows him to the earth, if he is happy. Ask the proud op- 
 pressor, too, if there is peace in his heart. Inquire of the 
 man of wealth, if his treasures bring content. Ask of the 
 toil-worn laborer, as evening brings him back weary and ex- 
 hausted to his home, and he sinks down hungry and forlorn, 
 while his children cry around him for the bread he has net to 
 give, if he is happy. Nay, rather, insult not his bursting 
 lieart with such a question. Go, ask of the heathen mother, 
 as she stands upon the banks of the Ganges and watches with 
 tearful eye while the flood devours her babe, if she has ob- 
 tained the happiness she sought. Go, ask of the prisoner in 
 his cell if there is music in the clanking of his chains. Ask 
 of the weeping exile, as he mourns for his native land. 
 
 And sighs for the friends who can meet him no more/' 
 if he is blest. Alas ! the result of every inquiry will but con- 
 vince us more fully of the truth -of what the Scottish poet has 
 so touchingly sung, — Man was made to mourn." Well 
 might we exclaim with the prophet of God, " Oh ! that my 
 head were waters, and mine eyes a fountain of tears !" that I 
 might weep over the miseries of Man ! AYho that has a heart 
 to feel can contemplate the wretchedness and woes of the hu- 
 man race, which I have so feebly attempted to discribe, with- 
 out a tear of commiseration and an ardent desire to find if 
 possible, some means to remove or alleviate them ? Man's 
 
13 
 
 condition calls loudly for remedy. An appeal is made to ev- 
 ery noble and humane sentiment in our breasts to use the ut- 
 most eflforts in our power to provide one. Thank God ! there 
 is a sovereign remedy, — one which is fully able to eradicate 
 all the diseases, and bind up all the wounds of the human 
 heart. And while the power to give it efficacy belongs to God 
 alone, it is both our privilege and duty to co-operate with 
 Him in the great work of its dispensation. That remedy is 
 the Bible. This, too, is the only remedy, and the one around 
 which cluster all the hopes of Man. It was commissioned from 
 Heaven to guide him into all truth and lead him to the foun- 
 tain of life. It shall ultimately accomplish its object. Through 
 its mighty influence, as the instrument in the hands of God, 
 Man shall yet be raised from his low estate and " renewed af- 
 the image of Him that created him." This is indeed a vast — 
 a mighty work, and wonderful must be the instrument that is 
 able to effect it. The greatness of the end naturally awakens 
 our interest in regard to the means. In order then to satisfy, 
 in some degree, the interest we feel, and to understand more 
 clearly the adaptation of the Bible to the great object it pro- 
 poses to accomplish, let us for a while examine its contents, 
 and weigh, as well as we are able, its merits. 
 
 Suppose the Bible suddenly taken from the world. Sup- 
 pose we should look upon our tables where it'was accustomed 
 to lie, and its place was vacant. Yfould we not feel that we 
 had lost the dearest and truest of all earthly friends ? "Would 
 we not often speak of its excellencies, then ? AVould we not 
 wonder at the recollection of^its strange, sublime, and glorious 
 teachings, and be astonished that we never revered nor loved 
 it more ? Would not our libraries look empty and the world 
 seem almost without a book ? But familiarity detracts strange- 
 ly from our estimate of all things. We see the Bible lying on 
 our desks and tables ; everywhere we turn it meets our eyes ; 
 until we almost forget its worth, and though I trust we all 
 love and venerate it much, yet few of us, I fear, appreciate 
 its real value. It is said of Sir Walter Scott, that in his last 
 hours he requested his friend Lockhart to read to him. Being 
 
14 
 
 asked -svliat Look he would hear read, he turned liis djingejes 
 upon his friend and replied, with a look of earnestness and 
 lionestj that could never be forgotten, ^'Lockhart, there is 
 hut one Book !" 
 
 The Bible is a wonderful book, whether considered in refer- 
 ence to its origin, its contents, or its effects. Look at its ori- 
 gin. It was not the production of one man nor of one age, 
 nor >yas it even written in the same language. Time was in 
 ]ns youth when its earliest portions were penned : and he 
 shook liis hoarj locks over the ruins of falling empires ere it 
 was finished. At length the final touch was given and the noble 
 structure stood forth complete. Different workmen had pre- 
 pared the materials for the building, without any concert of 
 rction. Various artists and architects had wrought the sepa- 
 rate parts without any comparison with each other. • Yet 
 when all are brought together every part fits without difficulty. 
 There is no incongruity. There is no need for filling up in 
 one place, nor hewing off in another. Like the temple of God 
 built by Solomon ''neither hammer nor axe was heard" in 
 its erection. And yet all is proportion, — all is perfect har- 
 * r.iony. 
 
 Consider the contents of the Bible. ' As a book of History 
 it is incomparable to any other in antiquity, in authenticity, 
 and interest. Kbtliing is more natural to man, when he sur- 
 veys himself and the objects around him, than to inquire, 
 "Whence came I? And whence did this vast frame of the 
 L^niverse oi-iginate ? " But there is no subject which could pos- 
 sibly be involved in more hopeless darkness, were not the 
 riystery explained and solved by the AVord of God. With 
 this, however, all is clear. Vuth the most remarkable brevity, 
 the Creation, the Fall, and all the interesting and startling in- 
 cidents, connected with the early history of our race, are dis- 
 closed. So concise and pointed is the narration, it is like say- 
 ing, "Let there be light ; and there is light." Other histo- 
 ries begin in fable, and like lamps glimmering over a small 
 spaee, serve but to render the surrounding darkness more vis- 
 ible. Not so the Bible. Like Balboa standing on the cliffs 
 
15 
 
 of the Isthmus and gazing for the first time on the mighty Pa- 
 cific expanding its Avide waste of waters half round the globe; 
 so the Sacred Historian, raised up on a lofty stand-point, 
 viewed all of Time gone by, and even gazed out a short dis- 
 tance upon the great sea of Eternity Past, and proudly in- 
 scribes the top of his first page with those words, "In the be- 
 ginning." The sublimity of this first sentence is but a shad- 
 ow of the whole. Transcendent superiority characterizes eve- 
 ry stroke of the Divine pencil. Whether the subject is a na- 
 tion or an individual, a Master's hand is visible. Where can 
 a more complete and perfect civil history be found than is con- 
 tained in the Books of Kings and Chronicles ? Also in Biog- 
 raphy, that very interesting as well as very difficult species of 
 history, how infinitely does the Bible excel all other books ! ! 
 The stories of Job, of Abraham, of Joseph, of David and ma- 
 ny others, — how rich in instruction, — how inimitable in exe- 
 cution ! The incidents of very long lives are assorted in the 
 happiest manner and but a few of the more striking are given ; 
 and yet those characters, after a single perusal, are engraven 
 upon the mind, and we have the most accurate ideas not only 
 of their leading traits, but even of the nicer peculiarities which 
 distinguished them. And how inflexible is the impartiality of 
 these accounts. What merely Human artist, in painting such 
 favorite characters as Abraham and David, would have disfig- 
 ured the portraits by any mention of their sins ? Or if they 
 must have been mentioned, would not have defended or excu- 
 sed them ? But the Sacred Pensman not only depicts the vir- 
 tures but also the vices of his characters ; nor does he attempt 
 to conceal the one nor to tnagnify the other. Here is the 
 place to study Human Nature. Other histories so cover their 
 portraits of character with the gloss and coloring of the wri- 
 ter's fancy that our minds are imposed upon. The Bible a- 
 lone gives us faithful likenesses. A child may learn lessons 
 of wisdom and philosophy from them. 
 
 The Poetry of the Bible is unrivalled. The sweetest notes 
 that ever echoed from the lyre of Orpheus, even when the 
 animals and trees gathered round to listen, were inferior Xq 
 
16 
 
 those -which flowed so solemnly and majestically, and yet so 
 tenderly from the harp of David. Theocritus and Virgil 
 have enraptured us with their Idyls and Eclogues so natural 
 and true to the manners of pastoral life. But to my mind 
 their excellencies are tame compared with the gorgeous richness 
 of the Song of Solomon. In reading it wx seem transported 
 to some magic scene of spicy groves and limpid streams where 
 every sight is luxuriant beauty, where every sound is melody, 
 and every breath is love. The poet Gray has probably pro- 
 duced as fine a specimen of elegiac poetry as can be found in 
 any language out of the Bible ; a poem w hich will render 
 him immortal as long as the English language is read or re- 
 membered ; a poem so remarkable for its power of inspiration 
 that the hero, Wolfe, when he first read it, as he w^as sailing 
 down the St. Lawrence to make the ascent of the heights of 
 Abraham and the attack upon Quebec, is said to have re- 
 marked to his officers that he would rather be the author of it 
 than to take that city. And yet there are many passages in 
 the Bible, and among others the dirge of David upon the 
 death of Saul and Jonathan, which, read in the grand Origin- 
 al Tongue, would no doubt far excel it. But the book of 
 Psalms is the poetic glory of the Bible. Here is found every 
 species of poetry, from the*awfully sublime to the softest and 
 most tender. The Psalmist, in his evening meditations, as he 
 forgot himself in contemplating the glories of Nature, and 
 watching "the moon and stars w^hich God had ordained," 
 as they rose above the vine-clad hills east of Jerusalem, seems 
 sometimes to have snatched for his harp a note from the choir 
 of Heaven, or on echo from the "music of the spheres." 
 Again he recounts the wonderful incidents of his people's 
 story, and bursts forth into the loftiest anthems of praise to 
 the God of Israel. Then Patriotism sweeps the lyre, and we 
 }iear the captive sons of Judea lamenting : " By the rivers of 
 Babylon there we sat down, yea, we wept when we remem- 
 bered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the 
 midst thereof." "If I forget thee oh ! Jerusalem, let my right 
 hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my 
 
17 
 
 tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth !" How sublime and 
 magnificent also is that description of the appearance of Jeho- 
 vah, so often quoted as an instance of noble compositi,on ; " He 
 bowed the heavens, also, and came down, and darkness was 
 under His feet ; and he rode upon a cherub and did fly ; yea, 
 He did fly upon the wings of the wind. He made darkness 
 His secret place ; His pavilion round about Him were dark 
 waters and thick clouds of the skies !" 
 
 As a Book of Eloquence, the Bible is far superior to any 
 other. It is said that that great orator, Charles Fox, remark- 
 ed of himself, that he had learned more of true eloquence from 
 the Book of Job than from all other books together; and 
 whatever attainments he might have made in that noble art he 
 attributed them in a large degree to a diligent and constant 
 study of that Book. — For flowing diction, united with the lof- 
 tiest sublimity and majesty of thought, rushing upon the soul 
 like a flood-tide of inspiration, the writings of Isaiah are inim- 
 itable. But I need not specify. From lid to lid of the Bible, 
 whether we seek among the melodies of David, or the wise 
 sayings of Solomon ; whether among the grand thoughts of 
 Job, the gorgeous imagery of Isaiah, the dark mysteries of 
 Ezekiel ; whether we listen to Paul as he stands ready to 
 be offered," or to the glorious words^ of the Saviour on the 
 Mount ; if Eloquence be the simple and forcible expression of 
 thought, warmed by the noble and impassioned feelings of the 
 heart, all is Eloquence, and such Eloquence as can nowhere 
 else be found. 
 
 The Bible is remarkable as a Book of Law; not only be- 
 cause it contains the best system of Laws extant, but because 
 it contains the only foundation upon which any rational and 
 just system of Law can be grounded. Law is based upon the 
 relations subsisting between different beings. For Law is the 
 exposition of right and duty ; and these depend upon relation. 
 Without a knowledge, then, of the relations subsisting, and the 
 consequent rights and duties, it would be impossible to frame 
 any rational system of Law, either Civil or Moral, for any 
 created being. The Bible is the only book that can give us 
 
18 
 
 a correct knowledge of God. as our Creator and Father, and 
 of the relations of brotherhood and equality that exist between 
 all men as His creatures and His children. The principles of 
 Divine and Human Law are clearly founded in those relations. 
 Kight and justice are dependent upon them. Take away the 
 Bible, then, and you not only take away all jast and proper 
 law ; but the only light by which laws could be made that are 
 suitable to the condition of Man, is removed. The Instinct 
 of Self-preservation and others of a kindred nature may, it is 
 true, as they have done, impel Man, who is a social being, to 
 form communities and enact laws to answer his purposes in 
 some degree. But we need only turn to the great examples 
 of Antiquity to be convinced that Human wisdom is insuffi- 
 cient of itself to draw the nicer distinctions between guilt and 
 innocence, and properly to graduate the scale of turpitude be- 
 longing to different crimes. The Law of the Bible, however, 
 takes cognizance not only of the outward actions, but even 
 of the deepest thoughts and intents of the heart. And how 
 comprehensively and pointedly are the great principles of that 
 Law expressed ! The substance of all is contained in those 
 wonderful tables handed down from Sinai, upon which the 
 whole Bible is but a comment. Lideed to bring down those 
 grand principles to the greatest brevity and yet the greatest 
 plainness, their Omniscient Author has concentrated them all 
 in one single word — Love. Who but Infinite Wisdom could 
 thus have digested the various contents of the fullest and most 
 comprehensive volume in the world into one word w^hich fully 
 embraces all ? 
 
 Nothing, however, is more wonderful in reference to the Bi- 
 ble than the depth of its Philosophy, Lord Bacon, in his great 
 work on the "Advancement of Learning " speaks of a "Phi- 
 losophia Prima " — a universal Philosophy, from which all the 
 separate sciences spring as the branches of a tree spring from 
 the trunk, and which binds tliem all together in a common 
 bond of brotherhood. May not the Bible be said to contain 
 the principles of this universal Philosophy ? It is the essence 
 of Truth. Let the searcher after knowledge go where he may j 
 
10 
 
 Jet Mm expand his compreliension to tlie greatest objects in the 
 Universe, and examine into their laws ; or let him descend to 
 the minutest atom that lies invisible and hidden in his pres- 
 ence, and investigate its properties ; everywhere he turns, he 
 will find the Bible has been there before him. How true those 
 words of the wise man, " There is nothing new under the sun." 
 Did Newton discover the secret chain of gravitation which 
 holds the revolving worlds in their places ? Had not Job 
 long ago darkly hinted at the "influences of The Pleiades and 
 the bands of Orion ?" This instance is but an illustration of 
 what is true in every department of knowledge. Wander 
 over every field of investigation, dive into the lowest depths 
 of science, pry into the hidden world of the human heart ; and 
 everywhere the footsteps of the sacred Pioneer are seen. 
 Every advance we make will but convince us more fully that 
 the Spirit of Wisdom which inspired the wondrous pages of the 
 Bible, saw with his penetrating eye every link of the great 
 chain which binds together all " that was, and is, and is to 
 come;" and, thus at once knowing all things, inspired His 
 Word with a view to Truth in all things. Truly the Bible is 
 a wonderful volume. Well does it deserve the appellation of 
 the Book of books. It came from the hands of the God of all 
 wisdom and power and truth ; and it bears the impress of its 
 author. 
 
 After all that has been said of the Bible, none can be sur- 
 prised that it is a book of boundless influence and power over 
 the heart of the attentive and honest reader. Its wisdom 
 must enlighten, its purity must sanctify, its lofty and sublime 
 teachings must exalt and ennoble the mind of Man. It is 
 exactly fitted to counteract the baseness of Human Nature. 
 The foundation of all improvement in the principles and prac- 
 tice of men lies in self-respect. Implant this, and you have 
 regenerated the man. Take this away, and when temptation 
 comes he will be as the brute. Nothing certainly is so well 
 calculated to inspire this sentiment in the heart as the great 
 doctrines of the Bible. What can be more apt to raise, in a 
 proper manner, Man's opinion of himself than to teach him h^ 
 
20 
 
 is immortal ? For this glorious doctrine of Man's Immortality 
 vi-e are indebted to the Bible. There is indeed a spirit in 
 Man that longs for it, and fond hope might even lead him to 
 conjecture it. The ancients had some dim ideas concerning 
 it, and so have the heathen of the present day. But without 
 the Bible, nothing more than an obscure notion can be arrived 
 at. And the real belief of all, destitute of the Bible's author- 
 ity, is, at heart, as some one has expressed it ; " Death is 
 nothing, and nothing is after death." But the Bible reveals 
 the truth, and how salutary is the influence of that truth upon 
 the heart ! How cheering and ennobiing to the soul I Some 
 quiet Sabbath eve when, above all other times on earth, 
 
 ''There is a pleasure in the pathless woods," 
 who has not stolen away, with no companion but his Bible, to 
 the still grove, and there, seated on some fallen trunk or re- 
 clining at the foot of some aged oak, spread the sacred volume 
 before him and pored over its glorious lessons, until be seem- 
 ed almost transported to a happier clime ? And then while 
 twilight was casting her dewy mantle over the landscape, as 
 he laid aside the Holy Book and conversed with nature around 
 him and with his own heart ; as he gazed far into the blue 
 depths of the evening sky, while its gems were gathering 
 thicker every nioment ; and finally as night's sable curtain 
 overspread all, and upon the hushed and silent air, it seemed 
 as if spirits from other worlds were hovering ; who has not 
 then felt the inward struggles of his soul, knocking at its 
 prison-bars and exulting in its Immortality ? Who has not 
 then gloried in the name of Man ? Who has not then breath- 
 ed a he;\rt-felt expression of gratitude to God for the glorious 
 gift of his being ? And if perchance, in that consecrated hour, 
 a thought unworthy has intruded into his mind, how has he 
 scorned it and turned from it to contemplate, with rapture 
 and delight, the pure, the holy and the good ! 
 
 And how well are the sublime doctrines of the Bible suited 
 to strengthen and encourage the heart in its aspirations after 
 purity and goodness, and in its efforts to pursue a course of 
 rectitude amid the conflicts of this world. To Weakness, they 
 
 I 
 
21 
 
 give power. To Fearfulness, they give courage. To Fickle- 
 ness, they give stability. To Affliction, they give fortitude. 
 Let the hand of Misfortune be upon us, and the clouds of Ad- 
 versity gloom our heavens. Difficulties lie in the way, dis- 
 couragements assail us, perhaps friends desert and loved ones 
 deceive us. The world is dark, and not a ray of light pierces 
 the darkness to guide us along our pathway. Inspired by 
 the consoling promises of the Sacred Word, who, at such a 
 time, has not felt the infant godstirring in his heart, and sur- 
 veyed the v/aste around him with a smile of conscious great- 
 ness and a lofty sense of superiority ? Oh ! the concentrated 
 joy of such an hour ! — And whence does it come ? From the 
 Book of books. Take it from us, and we are shorn of our 
 strength. When sorrow comes we faint. Assailed by tempt- 
 ation, we are disheartened. The spirit that made us omnipo- 
 tent is gone ; and, without an effort, we forsake the field and 
 give up the conflict. 
 
 Whatever is beneficial to every individual must also be bene- 
 ficial to Society as a whole ; for the liealth of the body is in- 
 sured by the health of all the members. The Bible not only 
 brings its blessings to Man as an individual, but as a compo- 
 nent part of the Social Union, that must exist wherever Man 
 exists. It comes to those vv^ho rule, with precepts of wisdom 
 and moderation, and teaches them that povrer is not given 
 them for self-aggrandizement, but for the welfare of all. It 
 comes to those who serve and takes away the humiliation of 
 their position by teaching them that rulers are the vice-gerents 
 of God, and clothed with His and not their own authority. It 
 comes to every class with lessons of peculiar duty and pre- 
 cepts of sobriety and virtue ; and these are the great pillars 
 upon which the safety and happiness of Human Society are 
 sustained. 
 
 But for no portion of our race does the Bible do more than 
 for Woman. Look at her condition in heathen lands, down- 
 trodden and degraded, and compare it with the station of pow- 
 er and influence she occupies in civilized and christian nations. 
 Iler weakness invites oppression where Man is not actuated by 
 
22 
 
 liigh and holy principles. Implant proper sentiments in his 
 heart, and her very dependence upon him gives him courage 
 in her defence and nerves his arm with ten-fold vigor when bat- 
 tling in her cause. The Bible inspires these sentiments. It 
 teaches Man, as some one has eleganntly said, that the por- 
 tion of his body from which she was first formed was not ta- 
 ken from his feet, that he might trample upon her ; nor from 
 his head, that she might rule over him,; but from his side, 
 that she might be his equal ; from under his arm, that he 
 might shield and protect her ; and from near his heart, that 
 he might cherish and love her." Wherever the Bible has 
 gone, there and there only, Woman occupies a worthy sphere 
 and receives the respect and honor due to her virtues and her 
 sex. Gentle maiden ! the admired of every circle, — the be- 
 loved of all that know thee; — thou whose cheek shames the 
 rose and before the whiteness of whose brow the lily blushes ; 
 — thou jewel of thy father's crown and pride of a fond mother's 
 heart ; — revere the Bible I Press it to thy bosom, and thank 
 Heaven for such an i^lvocate to plead thy cause, and such a 
 deliverer to break the chain of thy slavery. 
 
 National liberty and prosperity, also, follow in the train of 
 the Bible. If other ages might have doubted this, the blind- 
 est unbeliever must be convinced at the present day. There 
 is a living example of it which stands up with prominence be- 
 fore our eyes. . Behold the might, the progress, and the glo- 
 ry of the Anglo-Saxon race. I need but mention it. Look 
 to the east, and the broad banner of glorious Old England, at 
 the mention of whose name our hearts leap with pride, to 
 think she is our mother-land, is mounted high aloft and over- 
 shadows all the rest. Turn to our own continent, and the 
 sceptre of power and of greatness is in the hands of her de- 
 scendant, the Republic of the world. What is the cause of 
 this wonderful superiority of the Anglo-Saxon nations ? The 
 question has but one answer. It is the Bible. Here almost 
 alone the Word of God is reverenced. Here alone it exerci- 
 ses a very general influence. Here almost alone has pure and 
 genuine Christianity shed her glory and her blessings in mod- 
 
23 
 
 trn times. Under her genial nurture, civil and ecclesiastical 
 freedom are brought to a high degree of perfection. Learn- 
 inor advances. The Arts flourish. Wealth increases. Com- 
 
 o 
 
 nierce widens, and with it, power and dominion ; until the 
 World almost promises to become civilized and christianized 
 by becoming Anglo-Saxon. 
 
 While, as patriots, we rejoice in this singular prosperity of 
 our own people, as philanthropists and lovers of mankind, we 
 should labor to extend the blessings we enjoy to the whole 
 human race, and even to augment them among ourselves. The 
 Bible is very far from exercising its full influence among us. 
 There is an astonishingly large portion of our population still 
 destitute of the Word of God. Here then in our very midst 
 is a field open for efforts of benevolence through the means of 
 the Bible Society. But the amount of this destitution in our 
 own country, which is perhaps the best supplied of any, of 
 course affords no specimen of how much the Bible wanting in 
 other countries usually termed enlightened, much less in heathen 
 lands. W^e can arrive, however, at a ^^lerably correct idea of 
 Bible destitution by the consideration of one or two short and 
 simple facts. It is computed that at the beginning of the 
 present century there were not more than four million copies 
 of the Word of God in existence throughout the world, whicli 
 would furnish one copy to about every two hundred person?. 
 Principally through the agency of Bible Societies, in this 
 I country and Great Britain, there have been issued, since that 
 time, upwards of seventy million copies in nearl}^ two hundred 
 languages and dialects. Allowing all these to have been 
 equally distributed there would be one Bible in the possession 
 of every dozen persons on the globe. But of course they are 
 not nor could have been equally distributed. Very many 
 copies, also, must have been worn out and destroyed. Prob- 
 ably not many more than half of them are now in existence, 
 and these are mostly confined to two or three countries. The 
 opening, then, for the exertion of Christian Philanthropy in 
 this direction is still almost boundless. The world calls for 
 our aid. 
 
24 
 
 In attending to this call, whicli comes to us resounding from 
 %. the frozen regions of the Pole to the sunny tracts of the Equa- 
 tor, besides our sympathy for the condition, and our anxiety 
 for the amelioration of mankind in heathen countries, there 
 are other powerful motives which may well lead us to activity. 
 AYe live in turbulent times. There is indeed at present no 
 very startling outbreak in any part of the world. It requires 
 but half an eye, however, to see that almost everywhere Hu- 
 man Society is a smouldering volcano. Elements are at work 
 and fires are secretly augmenting, that shall ere long shake 
 the nations as with an earthquake. Among other agencies 
 that aye operating with activity, a very conspicuous one is 
 Popery. And all her efforts seem to be used in the promotion 
 of evil. Superstition, persecution, cruelty are in her train. 
 Under a mask she is working all manner of wickedness and 
 heaping up a mountain of iniquity which already reaches well- 
 nigh to heaven. She is the foe of all true Religion, and, like 
 « some insidious serpent, seems to be stealthily entwining her 
 deadly coils around tli# heart of vital Christianity everywhere, 
 as if designing at length to crush it at once by one mighty con- 
 traction. The Bible has no more mortal enemy, not even in 
 Infidelity itself. Strange as this might seem, at the first view, 
 the strangeness will disappear upon a slight examination of 
 the principles on which she acts. Tyranny of every kind 
 iiourishes best in the dark. The light of liberal knowledge 
 soon withers and destroys it. There can be no more com- 
 plete nor heartless tyranny than that of Popery, at least in 
 principle. If her practice falls short in any degree, it is be- 
 cause she lacks power. Once she exulted in a lord-ship over 
 the civil as well as spiritual affairs of men. Driven almost 
 entirely from the former position and weakened somewhat iu 
 the latter, she still clings with a tenacious grasp to all that is 
 left her. She struggles too with wonderful energy and with some 
 success to regain what she has lost both in ecclesiastical and 
 political influence. The Bible is no friend either of temporal 
 or spiritual oppression. It fills the soul with a disdain of hu- 
 man despotism by teaching every man that he is a god. It 
 
25 
 
 shows the humble inquirer after the road to future bliss, that 
 there is a more direct and sure path to Heaven than through 
 the mediation of any one like himself. It bids him come him- 
 ■ self directly to the well of salvation and " take of the waters 
 of life freely." Hence the priest trembles at the general dif- 
 fusion of the Word of God. Like the silversmith of Ephesus 
 he fears there is " danger that his oraft will be set at nought." 
 No wonder then that the most brilliant bonfires at Rome are 
 those in which the Bible is committed to the flames. But a. 
 short time since a vessel from this country, at anchor in a 
 Catholic port, was searched and every copy of the Sacred 
 Volume found on board was taken and destroyed. For the 
 simple crime of reading the Bible for themselves some persons 
 have, until very recently, been imprisoned in the dungeons of 
 the Tuscan monarch who is the tool of the Pope in' this mat- 
 ter ; and on being released lately the mind of one of them 
 was found to be irrecoverably impaired by the intensity of his 
 sufferings under the cruel treatment he received during con- 
 finement. A few years ago the Sai^lwich Islands were al- 
 most completely christianized, and a lovelier or happier coun- 
 try existed not on earth. A French force attempted to land 
 there for the purpose of forming a friendly station, as they 
 pretended, but really with a view to facilitate the introduc- 
 tion of Catholic priests, and to carry out the almost ec|ually 
 pernicious design of selling ardent spirits to the natives. Be- 
 ing prohibited from doing so, they sought a quarrel with the 
 Islanders, finally efiected a landing, drove the queen from her 
 throne, and expelled the missionaries. This was done through 
 the machinations of Popery. These instances I have men- 
 tioned are but faint specimens of her dark deeds. When the 
 history of them all shall be fully written out and exposed to 
 the gaze of angels and of men, the annals of time will afford 
 no rival to their blackness. Does it not become Protestant- 
 ism to meet these iniquitous eflforts, on the part of Popery, to 
 obtain influence and supremacy, with a bold and united front ? 
 And the w^eapon with which we must contend is the Word of 
 God, This is the " Sword of the Spirit " which shall smite 
 
2G 
 
 our foes. This Is the bulwark of Protestant Christianity; 
 and Protestant Christianity is the hope of Man. Let Poperj 
 gain the complete ascendency, and experience proves that she 
 Trill not stop at any cruelty nor hesitate any outrage to crush 
 her opposers. There are now upon her records the decrees 
 of councils, held a century or two ago, devoting to the flames 
 every one who dares to read the Word of God for himself. 
 The sentiments of mankind have made these enactments a 
 dead letter. But only give Catholicism again control of the 
 sentiments and dominion over the minds of men, as she once 
 possessed it, and all the horrors of persecution will be revived, 
 the Inquisition will again flourisH, and the true Christian, 
 who will not " worship the beast and his image," will be driven 
 as of yore to seek a home " in the dens and caves of the 
 earth." 
 
 As Americans we are doubly called upon to be zealous in 
 this cause. If there be any country, upon which Popery has 
 cast an evil eye, it is doubtless our own. Ours is the land 
 where Human Freedo», expelled from almost every other 
 spot on earth, has found a resting place for her weary foot. 
 Her blessings have rendered us glorious and her smiles have 
 made us happy. Here we have reared up a vast tower of Lib- 
 erty for all the nations " to see to ;" and upon the vertex of 
 that tower we have planted the " stars and stripes " as a 
 beacon light to cheer the hearts of sea-tossed mariners in 
 search of freedom, and to guide them into port. The bosoms 
 of tyrants burn with hatred against us ; and Popery, their 
 truest friend and firmest ally, is secretly plotting our destruc- 
 tion. Deep, dark, and insidious, the mine is being pre- 
 pared and the train laid that is expected to rend us in pieces 
 by its explosion. God grant that its fury may burst upon its 
 wicked projectors and smite them into ruin in a moment. And 
 such we trust will be the case. The hand of God has clearly 
 been for us. His Sacred Word is still with us, our safe-guard 
 and the palladium of our liberties. The oppressed of all na- 
 tions have already ^' risen up and called us blessed." May 
 we not hope that when the efforts of Popery to work our over- 
 
•21 
 
 throw shall become more fully know, all mankind will see her 
 cloven foot, and with a mighty voice, united with the thunders 
 of Jehovah Himself, pronounce upon her a curse that will 
 wither and blast her forever ? 
 
 Like aU benevolent actions, there is a strong inducement to 
 labor in the Bible cause on account of the beneficial eifects 
 produced upon those engaged in it. These effects are many, 
 and I have not time now to enlarge upon them. I may but 
 mention one, — that liberality of sentiment and sympathy of 
 feeling generated among the various orthodox denominations 
 of Christians by thsir united efforts is this cause. The heart 
 of the great-souled man sickens and bleeds to see how much 
 the progress of true Religion has been retarded by narrow- 
 minded Bigotry. Divided by prejudice and tied to sets of 
 forms and expression of their own, the different sects of Chris- 
 tians have regarded each other as enemies rather than as 
 brothers; and the talent and intellect, which should have 
 struggled gloriously in evangelising the world, has been wasted 
 and worse than wasted in petty contests about trifles and things 
 of only secondary importance. But the cause of the Bible is 
 common ground on which all Protestants may stand. The 
 Bible is a watch-word to which thej may all respond. Here 
 they may lay aside their little heart-burnings, and, with a 
 feeling of enlarged charity, embrace each other as fellow-sol- 
 diers contending in a common cause and against a common 
 enemy. Here they may learn to love one another, and to feel 
 ^'how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity," 
 
 There is encouragement also to labor in this cause from a 
 view of what has already been accomplished, and the assu- 
 rance of final success. When the first efforts were made to 
 circulate the Scriptures among the Heathen, many of their 
 languages had to be reduced to grammatical order. Nearly 
 one hundred and fifty have been thus reduced, and the Bible 
 is now printed in them. Instead of four millions which ex- 
 isted half a century ago, there are now forty or fifty millions 
 of Bibles in the world. The Missionary has taken the Holy 
 Book in his hand and gone forth for the healing of the na- 
 
£8 
 
 tions. But a comparatively short time has elapsed since the 
 first vessel of missionaries left our shores. Nations, almost, 
 have been regenerated, and deserts made "to rejoice and 
 blossom as the rose." And still the prospect brightens. 
 There are difficulties and opposing inflaences to combat. But, 
 in the words of the dying Wesley, " the best of all is God is 
 with us." The time shall come, through the wise Avorkings 
 of His providence, (aye, has it not already come?) when the 
 ears of all nations shall be open to the tidings of Christianity, 
 and 'Hhe Isles shall wait for His law." And that better 
 time we trust will come ere long, when the World shall not 
 only hear but obey the glorious gospel of the Son of God ; 
 
 when the leopard shall lie down with the kid," "and the 
 lion shall eat straw like the ox." "Nation shall no more 
 rise up against nation," " neither shall they learn war any 
 more." " But the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the 
 Lord as the w^aters cover the sea," 
 
 Who, then, will not aid in hastening on this glorious period ? 
 Who will not lend the hand of assistance to this noble cause ? 
 Young man ! instead of wasting your means in extravagance 
 4.ind dissipation, cast it into the treasury of God. Lovely 
 maiden ! so mere a trifle as the ring upon your finget might 
 save a Human soul. Without that link perhaps the chain will 
 be incomplete which might otherwise have raised some heart 
 now sunk in sin and shame, and bound it forever to the throne 
 of God in Heaven. Christian mother ! as you press your ten- 
 der babe to your bosom, and rejoice in the possession of such 
 a treasure, remember that v/ithout the Word of God you might 
 have sacrificed it in the vain hope of thereby winning the 
 approbation of your Maker. And will not you cast in your 
 mite that others like you may be spared the pain and guilt of 
 such an action? Aged man ! your head white with the snows 
 of many winters, and your form bowed by the weight of years ! 
 as you assemble your children and grand-children, night and 
 morning, around the ancestral hearth, and spread before you 
 the well-worn pages of the dear old Family Bible, and read 
 its glorious promises, and exult as its blessed light unfolds to 
 
29 
 
 your dimmed eye visions of Heaven and of Glory that lie jus J 
 before you, remember that many an aged man like you, mth 
 hoary locks and trembling hands, is now tottering on the 
 verge of the grave, and he has never seen that Book of Con- 
 solation. Perhaps his childrcr^ untaught in its principles of 
 duty and obedience, have wrung his heart with anguish by 
 their cruelty. Life to him has been one long day of sorrow. 
 Now he is about to die and aJl is dark before him. No ray 
 of hope gilds the sunset of his days. Will you not hasten and 
 send him the Word of God, that it may guide him safely 
 through the valley of Death, and you may greet him soon on 
 the shores of the better land ? 
 
 Come one I come all ! and rejoice in the privilege and the 
 honor of aiding the cause of the Bible. 'Tis the cause of 
 Humanity. To do good is what we live for. No finer field 
 for benevolence will ever be oiFered. In this field work, then, 
 while it is day. The reward shall come. The time of the 
 harvest hasteneth. To feel that we have wiped away the tear 
 of sorrow from the cheek of a brother man, is no mean re- 
 ward. To see that we have given him prosperity and happi- 
 ness even in this life, can thrill the heart with joy. But to 
 know that we have pointed him the path to endless felicity 
 and given him a lamp to guide his feet to the portals of Hea- 
 ven, would pour a stream of pure delight into the soul that 
 angels might covet. If you wish this, aid in the Bible cause. 
 The remembrance that you have done so will cheer you along 
 life's wearisome pathway, it will comfort you when bowed 
 down with sorrow, it will smooth your pillow on the bed of 
 death, and add many a nectared drop to your cup of bliss 
 hereafter. 
 
^U. C. ^04 Z99M v.l 372436 
 Nos.l-lS 
 
 N,C.-- Rell 
 
 gloxis-FaTiphle t s 
 
 
 
 "C 
 
 CALL NUMBER 
 
 Vol. ^- 
 
 i 
 
 
 Date (for periodical) > 
 
 Copy No. Il 
 
 N.C. 204 Z99M v.l 57245S 
 
 •'OS. 1-18