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<title>Substance of a Sermon on the Bible Society, by Francis Cunningham</title>
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<div>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 52426 ***</div>
<p>Transcribed from the 1816 Brightly and Childs edition by David
Price, email ccx074@pglaf.org</p>
<h1><span class="GutSmall">SUBSTANCE</span><br />
<span class="GutSmall">OF A</span><br />
SERMON<br />
ON THE BIBLE SOCIETY,<br />
<span class="GutSmall">PREACHED AT</span><br />
BECCLES, OCTOBER 29th,<br />
<span class="GutSmall">AND AT</span><br />
<i>ST. MARY’S CHURCH BUNGAY</i>,<br />
<span class="GutSmall">ON FRIDAY, DEC. 1st, 1815.</span></h1>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center">SECOND EDITION.</p>
<div class="gapmediumline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><span class="smcap">By the
Rev</span>. F. CUNNINGHAM. A. B.<br />
<span class="GutSmall">RECTOR OF PAKEFIELD, SUFFOLK.</span></p>
<div class="gapmediumline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center">BUNGAY:</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><i>Printed by Brightly and
Childs</i>;</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><span class="GutSmall">AND SOLD BY
GOWING, LOWESTOFT; SEELEY, LONDON;</span><br />
<span class="GutSmall">CONDER, IPSWICH; ASTEN, BUNGAY;
AND</span><br />
<span class="GutSmall">CATTERMOLE, BECCLES.</span></p>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center">1816.</p>
<p style="text-align: center">[<i>Price six pence</i>.]</p>
<div class="gapspace"> </div>
<h2><a name="page3"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
3</span>SERMON.</h2>
<blockquote><p style="text-align: center">MARK xvi. 15.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><i>Go ye into all the world</i>,
<i>and preach the Gospel to every creature</i>.</p>
</blockquote>
<p><span class="smcap">This</span> was nearly the last command of
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, addressed to his disciples:
and to it was annexed in another gospel, a <i>promise</i>, which
shows that this was not only intended as a commandment for that
period, but for the present day. “Lo I am with you
<i>alway</i>” (he said at the same time) “even unto
the end of the world.” The command then extends to as
long a period as the support is promised to be continued, i.e. to
the end of the world.</p>
<p>In placing myself therefore as an advocate for a society, the
purpose of which is, the distribution of the word of God, I have
not thought that I could choose a text which more strongly and
persuasively urges upon you a zealous promotion of this great
work, than a command so directly laid down upon this subject, and
to the fulfilment of which such large assistance is
promised. For what is the gospel which the disciples of our
Lord are commanded to preach? The <i>Gospel</i> in its
strictest sense is good news; it is all that good news of
happiness now, which is promised in the ways of <a
name="page4"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 4</span>religion, and
of salvation hereafter. The gospel which is here
recommended is all the communication of God to man, which has
been made to us in the holy Scriptures. It conveys all the
information which man has of his condemned state by nature before
God, and points out at the same time a prospect of a full
propitiation for his sins in the death of Jesus Christ. It
offers to sinners, to all who are weary and heavy laden, a free
invitation to come, without any merit of their own, to receive
the benefits of Jesus Christ’s death; it affords to those
who are assured of their salvation, a measure by which they can
determine whether their hope of salvation be reasonable, or
whether it be founded upon their own delusions; it gives us a
standard for every duty, an encouragement for every exertion, a
wanting against every sin; and whilst on the one hand it declares
that “without holiness no man shall see the Lord,” on
the other it testifies that “there is no condemnation with
God to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh but after the spirit.” Such is the gospel which
we are commanded to preach to every creature, and which is
unfolded to us in the word of God.</p>
<p>I cannot in a Christian congregation for a moment suppose that
any command of our Lord can be disputed; I need, therefore,
scarcely feel that it is necessary to do much more than to take
for granted that it is one of the great leading duties of every
Christian, to spread abroad this gospel, or in other words, to
promote the circulation of the Scriptures. What can be the
objection to circulating the simple word of God? Is it that
some work ought to accompany it, in order to protect, or give it
a right application? The command of our Lord has no
limitation of this kind. “Go” says my text
“and preach the gospel;” (this gospel which the
apostles have delivered down to us in the Scriptures,) “go
and preach it to every creature.” Is an objection
started that <i>all</i> the word of God ought not to be
circulated, that some part of it is needless, some
unintelligible? We have in answer to this, the words of an
apostle, who declares to us that “<i>all</i> Scripture is
given by inspiration from God, and is profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness.” Thank God that very few have started
the notion, that the <a name="page5"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
5</span>Scriptures alone should not be spread abroad, and it
seems to me wonderful that any should presume to determine, that
what God has sent forth for the salvation of mankind, is not
sufficient for that purpose, or would, without the assistance of
the works of fallible men, lead his creatures into error.
As <i>Christians</i> then, we must admit that the Scriptures
should be universally circulated. We are also called upon
to circulate them as members of a <i>Protestant</i> church; for
we must not forget, that in distinction from those, from whom we
as a church dissented, that the great maxim upon which our
fathers acted, and for which so many of them gave up their lives,
was “that the Bible, and the Bible alone is the religion of
Protestants.” As <i>Protestants</i> therefore we are
called upon to circulate the word of God. As members also
of the <i>Church of England</i>, we are bound to engage in the
same work. Our church has called herself the daughter of
the Bible. This was the holy origin from which it was all
its boast to have sprung. Our church certainly had its
origin at a time, when, of all others in this country, the Bible
was the best understood, and was the most simply interpreted; it
was constructed moreover by men who with their blood, sealed the
commentary which they made upon the Scriptures, when they
compiled the liturgy, articles, and discipline of our
establishment. Whether then we come to the consideration of
the question of distributing the sacred Scriptures without note
or comment, as <i>Christians</i>, as <i>Protestants</i>, or as
<i>members of the established Church</i>, we must admit that it
is our duty, our high and bounden duty to do it; and, as the
apostle said, “Woe is me if I preach not the gospel,”
so we must say, Woe is me, if I do not, as much as in me lies,
seek to give the Bible to every creature. The question now
is, what are the best means to effect this end? and this, I
venture to suggest, is the British and Foreign Bible Society.</p>
<p>I shall endeavour to establish in the first place as a
principle, that it is only by a <i>system of co-operation of all
parties</i> that the work of universally distributing the
Scriptures can be effected. Let us look to a fact upon this
point. In our own country, a society was instituted, about
a century since, which is now called the Bartlett’s
Buildings’ Society, or <a name="page6"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 6</span>Society for promoting Christian
knowledge. The object of this society was to distribute the
word of God over the world, and to promote the preaching of the
gospel. This society is confined to our own church, for it
admits no members who do not give good security that they are
churchmen. The <i>object</i> of this society was as pure as
possible; the administration of that branch of it at least which
has been employed in the circulation of the Scriptures, has, as
far as I know, continued faultless; but the operations of the
whole society have been necessarily contracted, because it was
confined to the church. The effect produced by this society
may be seen by examining the result of an hundred years’
trial. It was found about twelve years since, that in many
villages of England, the Bible, except in the churches, was
hardly known; within a mile of its depository, not one half of
the families were in possession of the word of God; and in this
diocese it was calculated, that ten thousand families were
without a Bible. At this period the principle of the
co-operation of all parties, who took the Bible as the basis of
their religion, began to be understood, and the Bible Society was
formed, which admitted all subscribers of whatever denomination
into its ranks; the most astonishing results have thus been
obtained. This society has distributed, in the course of
eleven years, nearly one million four hundred thousand Bibles and
Testaments; and the Bible has been translated and printed, in
whole or in part, in fifty-five different languages or
dialects. By this fact we may see the <i>comparative
power</i> of the two societies; and also it is manifest, that a
society, even carried on by the largest and most opulent part of
the community, <i>could not</i> effect the object intended; and
that therefore no society, made up of only one class in the
country, could accomplish the great work which it is our hope to
perform. <a name="citation6"></a><a href="#footnote6"
class="citation">[6]</a></p>
<p><a name="page7"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 7</span>Now
conceive a man contriving some great work which he hopes will be
a national blessing; which will cure the diseases, or lessen the
sorrows of his countrymen, and which work requires the exertion
of all his countrymen to carry into effect. Would he stop
short in his design, because he might, by bringing all parties to
bear upon the common object, <i>unite</i> them in that
object. Would he say, My object is indeed of the highest
importance, but I cannot consent to unite all parties in it,
because the union of all parties, although for a good purpose,
would be an evil? Would he say, for example, I cannot bring
all a country together to build an hospital, or to erect an
infirmary, because by doing so, I should make peace amongst
discordant neighbours, or I should heal political breaches?
Would he not account the union, even the partial and temporary
union of all parties, to be in itself a great benefit?
Would he not be glad, if by any influence, and especially by a
good influence, he could lay to rest the evil spirit of bigotry
or malevolence? He would surely say, My plan has in it two
great benefits: in the first place, by bringing all persons
together, I shall be enabled to effect my <a
name="page8"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 8</span>purpose; and
secondly, I shall unite those persons between whom discord and
rancour prevailed.</p>
<p>It is just in this way I would reason about the Bible
Society. We have a great work to perform, a work which, as
I have shewn, can alone be effected by the co-operation of all
parties. We are bound to this work by the most solemn and
unequivocal command of our Saviour. But now the question
arises, whether to effect this great point, we <i>may</i> admit
of an union of all parties to accomplish it? An
unprejudiced person would say, this union is an additional motive
for my exertion.</p>
<p>But <i>opposers</i> have said, that by all parties being
brought together, Christians have been led to feel less
distinctly the points upon which they disagreed, and that thus
great evils have arisen <i>amongst Christians in general</i>, and
to the <i>Establishment</i> in particular. I will now then
endeavour shortly to examine the effect of the union of all
parties, which is produced by this institution, upon
<i>Christians in general</i> and <i>upon the Church</i>.</p>
<p>What, in the first place, has been the effect upon <i>the
general body of dissenters</i>? But a few years since,
within the recollection of many of us, the consequences of a
thoroughly dissenting spirit, in politics and religion, were to
be seen. No temper was then preserved, either on the side
of the church, or the dissenters. Each party was employed
in discovering all that was objectionable in the other: little
evils were magnified—particular faults generalized: a
spirit of envy and hatred reigned in the meetings of men, who, as
Christians, might have taken “sweet counsel
together.” <i>Now</i>, this is certainly not the
case. Both amongst churchmen and dissenters, a considerable
abatement of hostility has taken place. Whilst, on the one
hand, churchmen have, in general, fulfilled more carefully the
duties of their profession; I may say, that on the other, the
spirit of dissenters has exceedingly changed. Dissenters
may have had some well-grounded blame to attach, in many cases,
to the members of our church; yet, it is likely that they by no
means gave the church itself credit for the good which now they
find to be in it. They thought that the lamp of our temple
<a name="page9"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 9</span>had gone
out, that the branch was withered which once produced that
glorious fruit, in the time of the Reformation. But now I
believe that the dissenters are undeceived; and that the Bible
Society has tended to undeceive them. They have seen that
want of zeal, is not the effect of the system, but of the
individuals; and, as they have discovered this, I may say, most
honourably to themselves, they seem to have laid down the weapons
of controversy against us, and are engaged in fighting our common
enemies, in wielding that sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God. Now the meetings which we have of dissenters and
churchmen, are not to wrangle and dispute with each other, but to
take new pledges that we will oppose the enemies of our common
Christianity; they are to join in consuming the brand, which once
might have been pointed against one another, upon an altar of
unity, piety, and peace.</p>
<p>But now, in the second place, what has been the effect of this
union upon the members of the <i>Established Church</i>? It
may be said, that such meetings will tend to unfix our decided
approbation of the doctrines and discipline of the Established
Church. But they can know nothing of the nature of these
meetings who urge this objection. There is nothing in them
either to convert a churchman or a dissenter. The churchman
will come away still a churchman; and the dissenter still a
dissenter. No one church-principle, or church-feeling; no
one point of doctrine, of discipline, or of practice, will be the
least affected, or called in question, by attending a meeting of
the Bible Society. The sole object for which churchmen and
dissenters are united, is to distribute the word of God; but can
the distribution of the word of God be injurious to the
establishment? If we believe that the tenets of dissenters
are plainly contradicted in the Bible, should we not then as
churchmen, be thankful that they are willing to circulate,
throughout the world, a refutation of their own system? Can
the distribution of the word of truth, under any circumstances,
be injurious to a true church? To say that the circulation
of the Bible can injure the Establishment, seems to me an
unwarranted scandal upon it; and perhaps no notion would be more
injurious to the interests <a name="page10"></a><span
class="pagenum">p. 10</span>of the Church of England, than that
it cannot bear examination, if brought to the test of the word of
God.</p>
<p>It has been said, that the Bible Society is <i>an
instrument</i> of <i>dissenters to overturn the church</i>.
But if so, it is a work in which the greatest, the most wise and
attached friends of the Establishment have joined; it has been
supported by bishops, and ministers, and princes: men of all
parties, and of no precisely similar views, or interests, or
feelings. It is urged, that remote evils <i>may</i> arise,
that the present principle of the Bible Society <i>may</i> be
departed from; that dissenters <i>may</i> in time preponderate,
and direct this instrument against ourselves. Of all these
objections, it must be said, that they are entirely without
proof, or the probability of proof: besides that we are hardly,
as Christians, allowed to calculate so nicely on one side, upon
evils certainly remote, and merely conjectural; whilst, on the
other, we have this ascertained fact, that fourteen hundred
thousand Bibles have been circulated, in fifty-five different
languages. It may still be said, all churchmen should join
in the society which is attached to the Establishment. I
would urge all churchmen to do so. But I would, at the same
time, persuade them to join in this society;—for the two
societies stand upon different grounds. The <i>powers</i>
of the two societies are different, their <i>objects</i> are
different; the one is a national society, and its operations are
almost necessarily confined to home; the other takes the whole
world for its sphere: the one is doing good in the boundary of a
little family; the other comprehends all the circumference of the
globe! <a name="citation10"></a><a href="#footnote10"
class="citation">[10]</a></p>
<p><a name="page11"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 11</span>I have
now then endeavoured to point out to you the benefit of the
principle of co-operation, as proved in this society; its benefit
in the astonishing circulation which it has given to the word of
God, and in the spirit of union which it has produced. I
have also endeavoured to shew that this union has been beneficial
to Christians in general, and that it has not been injurious, nor
can be injurious, to the established church.</p>
<p>The question of the Bible Society however, is one, which in my
mind takes much higher ground than that of the advantage or
disadvantage of a particular church. It takes its stand
upon the authoritative dictate of One who has commanded us to
preach the gospel to every creature; and to whose command, if we
will not submit, the Son may be angry, and so we shall perish
from the right way: it takes its stand upon our own feeling of
the value of this book: which feeling calls upon us to act
vigorously in the dispersion of the blessed truths which it
promulgates; that as we have received mercy, so we should shew
mercy; that as Christ has loved us, so should we love one
another.</p>
<p>I will now, however, yet consider more particularly <i>some of
the results</i> which have attended the establishment of this
society; and the <i>want</i> of the Scriptures which now exists
in the world.</p>
<p>The Bible Society, which was instituted without any hope of
very great extension, has, in the course of eleven years, spread
itself not only over this country, but over the greater part of
the world. In this country it has now four hundred and
eighty-eight branches attached to it; and in the four quarters of
the world, institutions similar to itself have been formed.
In <i>Europe</i> forty different societies have been established:
in <i>Asia</i> four: in <i>Africa</i> two: and in <i>America</i>
upwards of eighty. Most of the capitals of Europe have a
society formed in them; and these are again, as in England,
subdivided. In the <i>Netherlands</i>, for example, there
are thirty-two subordinate societies; and the city of Amsterdam
has besides, thirty-two associations. Societies have been
formed throughout <i>Russia</i>, under the munificent patronage
of the Emperor; and, in a part of Russia, they are established <a
name="page12"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 12</span>in every
parish, under the direction of the pastor. The
establishment of this society seems to have formed a new
æra in the religious history of Russia; for we read, that
at the great meeting of the Russian Bible Society, the first
dignitaries of the Greek, Armenian, Catholic, and Georgian
churches, all most heartily co-operated in this work; none seemed
to fear the subversion of their own religion, by the
dissemination of the Bible; all, although they retained the
opinions of their respective churches, yet felt, that in this one
point, they might fully and heartily join. In Asia, and
especially amongst our own fellow-subjects in <i>India</i>, the
work of translating the Bible has been carried on with very great
success. The Bible has there been translated, or is in the
course of translation, into <i>twenty-five different</i>
languages. The New Testament has also been translated, and
is distributing in the language of <i>China</i>, which is said to
be spoken by three hundred millions of people.</p>
<p>The income of this society has of course been very large, to
meet the expenditure which has been necessary to these vast
operations. This income has every year been increasing, but
as the supplies are made, the wants of the world are more known;
and the demand at this time, seems almost to be infinite. I
will now lay before you, some of the cases in which the wants of
the world have been remarkably shewn. In the <i>province of
Georgia</i>, where a Christian church has existed about one
thousand four hundred years, and where there are about half a
million of inhabitants, there have not been found, in two
thousand churches, two hundred copies of the Scriptures; i.e. not
one Bible for ten churches. In <i>Iceland</i>, five silver
dollars have been offered in vain for a copy of the word of God;
and the case of a clergyman is presented, who had sought in vain
to obtain a copy of the Scriptures, for the long period of
seventeen years. In many parishes were found two Bibles, in
others none at all. Whatever country has been searched
into, whether catholic countries, where the Bible has never been
fully circulated; or protestant countries, where once the fire of
religion blazed with a pure flame, and spread a warmth around,
which even reached, and animated our own shores, the Bible is now
scarcely known, <a name="page13"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
13</span>or known only as a monument of departed piety, as a
relic treasured up, of other, and of better times. Europe
has not suffered more political, than it has religious
convulsions. Whatever may have been the effect of the one,
all the changes of religion seem to have been for the
worse. The Bible, which had been the support of the only
pure religions, has been taken away, and now these fabrics have
fallen, or decayed. I will only mention one more fact
concerning the wants of the world, which is that of <i>our fellow
subjects in India</i>, and which may serve to give us an idea of
heathen nations in general. Although, says the
correspondent of this society, “<i>we have ten presses at
constant work</i>, <i>we have not had a copy of the Bengalee and
Hindoostanee New Testaments the last six months</i>; <i>and we
are obliged to give away a single copy as soon as it leaves the
press</i>; <i>yet</i> we have demands from every quarter for
copies.” In this state of want and anxiety, are fifty
millions of our fellow-subjects.</p>
<p>I will now say no more upon the particular circumstances of
this society. All its statements, and the account of its
proceedings from the beginning, are in the hands of many, and
every one is requested and invited to examine its structure and
operations. It requires no other argument for its support,
to a Christian mind, than the simple recital which its own
reports unfold. In those reports are the facts specified
which I have been able so shortly to allude to; and there are the
testimonials which have been given to the blessed effects of this
society, from almost every nation, and language and tongue, and
people! There, is to be seen, pouring through this sacred
channel, the homage of an admiring and grateful world, to the
zeal, the piety, and the liberality of Britain! and there, may be
seen, how many prayers are continually rising up in her
behalf,—those prayers, which have success in
heaven,—those prayers, which will I trust, bring upon our
country the choicest blessings, and upon this society, which has
caused these petitions, a growth which shall continually extend
till all the kingdoms of the earth shall see the salvation of
God.</p>
<p>Such is the society for which I beg to claim your
support. I would use every argument by which you might be
most liberally affected towards it, for I know not of any public
<a name="page14"></a><span class="pagenum">p.
14</span>institution which has so purely and directly for its
object the temporal and spiritual interests of mankind; I know of
no institution where so large a sum can be so well used, and
which no money can be well misused, whilst the simple object of
the society is acted upon, viz. to circulate the word of God
without note or comment. I would then call upon you by
every plea, according to your utmost ability, to give liberally
towards the great purposes of this institution. Only let us
place ourselves in the situation of those millions who have not
had the word of God given to them. Let us suppose, that
another nation were now deliberating whether the Bible should be
sent to <i>our</i> shores; let us conceive that nation, now
arguing whether some local attachment, some municipal regulation,
some system of church-government, should not restrain its hands,
when it had the power and disposition to give the Bible to
Britain. How should we, who value the word of God, who feel
that we owe to it our pure religion, and all that is excellent in
our manners, and all that is pre-eminent in our character; how
should we bear <i>from others</i> those arguments about giving
the Scriptures to ourselves, which we are compelled every day to
hear, now that the case is reversed? Would an argument of a
Russian, for instance, satisfy <i>us</i>, that the Bible should
not be given to England, because the Greek, and the Georgian, the
Armenian, and Roman catholic churches, could not, without danger,
unite in a public meeting? Should we be satisfied, that
England ought not to have the word of God, because a Roman
catholic establishment might fear the prevalence of what it might
call heresy? As then we should say, what can be the evils
arising from a meeting of Christians of all the Russian churches,
in comparison of the sin of refusing the Bible to England? what
would be the relative importance even of taking away an
established church in another country, when the alternative is,
that Britain should not have the word of God? So let us now
reason when <i>we</i> have the Bible, and a disposition has
sprung up in this country to give it to all the world; so let us
reason about our own hindrances in co-operating in this work, and
the urgent calls of the world upon us, for the dissemination of
the Scriptures. We do not however give up our
establishment, by distributing the word of <a
name="page15"></a><span class="pagenum">p. 15</span>God, we hope
to strengthen and support it; we hold out the best test by which
any church can be tried, and we shew our confidence that it is
built upon a right foundation, and that therefore no enemy shall
prevail against it.</p>
<p>Is there any one here, I may ask, who would willingly give up
the effects of Christian principles upon his own happiness, or
the value of Christian comfort to his own heart? Is there
any one here, who would consent to have no knowledge of the true
God; no hope in Jesus Christ; never to witness again the peaceful
joy of the sabbath; never to feel the consolation which the
gospel affords; when it may teach us that afflictions are but the
chastisements of a tender father; when it points out a hope
concerning our departed friends, that our brother Lazarus, that
our child, our parent, is not dead, but sleepeth? If then
we value these things so much ourselves, let us not seek to shut
them out from others; but let us on the other hand, endeavour to
disseminate them through the whole world. Let us seek that
every nation may experience, as we do, the blessings of religion,
of peace, of a humble submission to a good government. Let
us give them the Bible, which is, I may say, the corner-stone of
all that we can boast as a nation; and then they may be as wise,
as happy, as pious, as useful, as we are. O let the cries
and tears of the heathen, let their wants and misery, let their
ignorance and sin, come up before you! and let these prevail upon
you, to open your hearts, and to supply them out of your
abundance. As you value your own souls, look upon those
who, not having the Bible, are living without comfort, and dying
without the consolations of the gospel. Look upon them for
they call upon you for help; neglect them not, for to have
refused a cup of cold water, will not at the day of judgment be
unaccounted for: grant them your support and your blessings, so
shall you meet them with joy, when you with them, are called to
receive your last eternal sentence.</p>
<p style="text-align: center"><i>FINIS</i>.</p>
<div class="gapshortline"> </div>
<p style="text-align: center"><i>Brightly and Childs</i>,
<i>Printers</i>, <i>Bungay</i>.</p>
<h2>FOOTNOTES.</h2>
<p><a name="footnote6"></a><a href="#citation6"
class="footnote">[6]</a> The sentiments of the late
venerable Dr. <span class="smcap">Porteus</span>, Lord <span
class="smcap">Bishop</span> of <span class="smcap">London</span>,
are thus delivered to the world, in great part as recorded by the
bishop himself, in his life written by his relative, the Dean of
Chester.</p>
<p>“A limitation thus absolute and unequivocal,” viz.
“that the sole and exclusive object of the society should
be the circulation of the Scriptures, and the Scriptures only,
without note or comment,” removed from the Bishop’s
mind all doubt and hesitation. He saw instantly that a
design of such magnitude, which aimed at nothing less than the
dispersion of the Bible over every accessible part of the world,
<i>could only be accomplished by the association of men of all
religious persuations</i>. He looked forward to great
results from such a combination of effort. He entertained
the hope that it might operate as a bond of union between
contending parties; and that by bringing them together in one
point of vast moment, about which there could hardly be a
diversity of opinion, it might gradually allay that bitterness of
dispute, and put an end to those unhappy divisions which have so
long tarnished the credit of the Christian world. Whilst,
therefore, he remained firmly attached to the original society,
(for promoting Christian knowledge) whose exertions, as far as
its limited sphere allowed, no one ever held in higher
estimation, he gave at the same time the sanction of his name
without scruple to the new one: <i>and the more he considered its
object</i>, <i>and the longer experience he had of the spirit ant
principles on which it was conducted</i>, <i>the more deeply he
was convinced that it merited all the support which the Church of
England could give</i>.</p>
<p>“It is now,” he observes in a passage which
strongly marks his sentiments; “it is now well known and
firmly established, and has completely triumphed over all the
attempts made to destroy it. None of those secret dark
designs, none of those plots and conspiracies to subvert the
establishment, and devour both the shepherds and their flocks,
which were so confidently predicted by a certain set of men as
the inevitable effect of this society, have yet been discovered
in it. It is in fact much better employed. It goes on
quietly and steadily, in the prosecution of its great object, and
pays no sort of regard to the sneers and cavils of its
intemperate opponents.”—In another passage, written
at a still later date, he says, “that he cannot but add, in
justice to this society, which has been so much opposed,
misrepresented, and traduced, that all the important works in
which it has been engaged have been carried on with the utmost
harmony and unanimity; without any difference of opinion; without
the slightest symptom of any hostile or treacherous design
against the church; and without any other idea upon their minds
but that of extending as widely as possible, the knowledge of the
Christian Scriptures.” The bishops of Durham and
Salisbury attended <i>several of their meetings</i>, and were
delighted with the decorum, calmness, and good temper with which
their proceedings were conducted. In short, <i>all the
apprehensions to which this society has given rise are now found
to be but vain terrors</i>; and all the prophecies of the
mischief and evil, that would result from it, are <i>falsified by
facts</i>. It is rising uniformly in reputation and credit;
gaining new accessions of strength and revenues and <i>attaching
to itself more and more the approbation and support of every real
friend to the church and to religion</i>.</p>
<p><a name="footnote10"></a><a href="#citation10"
class="footnote">[10]</a> Extract of a speech made by the earl of
Liverpool, on accepting the office of president, of the Cinque
Ports’ Bible Society, Dec. 5th. 1815.</p>
<p>As a member of the Established Church, from education and
habit, but much more so from consideration and conviction, he was
particularly desirous of promoting its interests, to the utmost
of his ability, under this impression he had recently appeared,
on a public occasion, as a supporter of the Society for promoting
Christian Knowledge. He was anxious to extend the
influences and advantages of that institution; but he saw no
reason why he should not, at the same time, afford to the British
and Foreign Bible Society every assistance in his power, and
evince an equal anxiety to promote its success. The objects
of the two Societies were one—that of dispersing the
uncorrupted word of God; and, as the means in each were pure, he
should always consider it an honour to aid them, or any other
society which had the same object in view, and was labouring to
effect the same end—the dissemination of Christianity over
the habitable globe. His lordship was a friend to the Bible
Society, because it would operate where, from national custom, or
prevalence of different sentiments, the Society for promoting
Christian Knowledge would not obtain admission. The
universality of the object proposed by the British and Foreign
Bible Society, and its tendency to unite all Christians (however
divided on subjects of minor concern) in the bonds of Christian
sympathy and benevolence, gave it, in his lordship’s mind,
a powerful claim to universal support.</p>
<div>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 52426 ***</div>
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