{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_52426/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_52426","id":"gutenberg_52426","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/52426","summary":null,"tags":["British and Foreign Bible Society","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: History - British","Category: Religion/Spirituality"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1816 Brightly and Childs edition by David Price,\nemail ccx074@pglaf.org\n\n\n\n\n\n                                SUBSTANCE\n                                   OF A\n                                  SERMON\n                          ON THE BIBLE SOCIETY,\n                               PREACHED AT\n                          BECCLES, OCTOBER 29th,\n                                  AND AT\n                       _ST. MARY\u2019S CHURCH BUNGAY_,\n                        ON FRIDAY, DEC. 1st, 1815.\n\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                             SECOND EDITION.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                    BY THE REV. F. CUNNINGHAM.  A. B.\n                      RECTOR OF PAKEFIELD, SUFFOLK.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 BUNGAY:\n\n                    _Printed by Brightly and Childs_;\n\n              AND SOLD BY GOWING, LOWESTOFT; SEELEY, LONDON;\n                   CONDER, IPSWICH; ASTEN, BUNGAY; AND\n                           CATTERMOLE, BECCLES.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                  1816.\n\n                           [_Price six pence_.]\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n\n\n\nSERMON.\n\n\n                                MARK xvi. 15.\n\n         _Go ye into all the world_, _and preach the Gospel to every\n                                  creature_.\n\nTHIS was nearly the last command of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,\naddressed to his disciples: and to it was annexed in another gospel, a\n_promise_, which shows that this was not only intended as a commandment\nfor that period, but for the present day.  \u201cLo I am with you _alway_\u201d (he\nsaid at the same time) \u201ceven unto the end of the world.\u201d  The command\nthen extends to as long a period as the support is promised to be\ncontinued, i.e. to the end of the world.\n\nIn placing myself therefore as an advocate for a society, the purpose of\nwhich is, the distribution of the word of God, I have not thought that I\ncould choose a text which more strongly and persuasively urges upon you a\nzealous promotion of this great work, than a command so directly laid\ndown upon this subject, and to the fulfilment of which such large\nassistance is promised.  For what is the gospel which the disciples of\nour Lord are commanded to preach?  The _Gospel_ in its strictest sense is\ngood news; it is all that good news of happiness now, which is promised\nin the ways of religion, and of salvation hereafter.  The gospel which is\nhere recommended is all the communication of God to man, which has been\nmade to us in the holy Scriptures.  It conveys all the information which\nman has of his condemned state by nature before God, and points out at\nthe same time a prospect of a full propitiation for his sins in the death\nof Jesus Christ.  It offers to sinners, to all who are weary and heavy\nladen, a free invitation to come, without any merit of their own, to\nreceive the benefits of Jesus Christ\u2019s death; it affords to those who are\nassured of their salvation, a measure by which they can determine whether\ntheir hope of salvation be reasonable, or whether it be founded upon\ntheir own delusions; it gives us a standard for every duty, an\nencouragement for every exertion, a wanting against every sin; and whilst\non the one hand it declares that \u201cwithout holiness no man shall see the\nLord,\u201d on the other it testifies that \u201cthere is no condemnation with God\nto them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after\nthe spirit.\u201d  Such is the gospel which we are commanded to preach to\nevery creature, and which is unfolded to us in the word of God.\n\nI cannot in a Christian congregation for a moment suppose that any\ncommand of our Lord can be disputed; I need, therefore, scarcely feel\nthat it is necessary to do much more than to take for granted that it is\none of the great leading duties of every Christian, to spread abroad this\ngospel, or in other words, to promote the circulation of the Scriptures.\nWhat can be the objection to circulating the simple word of God?  Is it\nthat some work ought to accompany it, in order to protect, or give it a\nright application?  The command of our Lord has no limitation of this\nkind.  \u201cGo\u201d says my text \u201cand preach the gospel;\u201d (this gospel which the\napostles have delivered down to us in the Scriptures,) \u201cgo and preach it\nto every creature.\u201d  Is an objection started that _all_ the word of God\nought not to be circulated, that some part of it is needless, some\nunintelligible?  We have in answer to this, the words of an apostle, who\ndeclares to us that \u201c_all_ Scripture is given by inspiration from God,\nand is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for\ninstruction in righteousness.\u201d  Thank God that very few have started the\nnotion, that the Scriptures alone should not be spread abroad, and it\nseems to me wonderful that any should presume to determine, that what God\nhas sent forth for the salvation of mankind, is not sufficient for that\npurpose, or would, without the assistance of the works of fallible men,\nlead his creatures into error.  As _Christians_ then, we must admit that\nthe Scriptures should be universally circulated.  We are also called upon\nto circulate them as members of a _Protestant_ church; for we must not\nforget, that in distinction from those, from whom we as a church\ndissented, that the great maxim upon which our fathers acted, and for\nwhich so many of them gave up their lives, was \u201cthat the Bible, and the\nBible alone is the religion of Protestants.\u201d  As _Protestants_ therefore\nwe are called upon to circulate the word of God.  As members also of the\n_Church of England_, we are bound to engage in the same work.  Our church\nhas called herself the daughter of the Bible.  This was the holy origin\nfrom which it was all its boast to have sprung.  Our church certainly had\nits origin at a time, when, of all others in this country, the Bible was\nthe best understood, and was the most simply interpreted; it was\nconstructed moreover by men who with their blood, sealed the commentary\nwhich they made upon the Scriptures, when they compiled the liturgy,\narticles, and discipline of our establishment.  Whether then we come to\nthe consideration of the question of distributing the sacred Scriptures\nwithout note or comment, as _Christians_, as _Protestants_, or as\n_members of the established Church_, we must admit that it is our duty,\nour high and bounden duty to do it; and, as the apostle said, \u201cWoe is me\nif I preach not the gospel,\u201d so we must say, Woe is me, if I do not, as\nmuch as in me lies, seek to give the Bible to every creature.  The\nquestion now is, what are the best means to effect this end? and this, I\nventure to suggest, is the British and Foreign Bible Society.\n\nI shall endeavour to establish in the first place as a principle, that it\nis only by a _system of co-operation of all parties_ that the work of\nuniversally distributing the Scriptures can be effected.  Let us look to\na fact upon this point.  In our own country, a society was instituted,\nabout a century since, which is now called the Bartlett\u2019s Buildings\u2019\nSociety, or Society for promoting Christian knowledge.  The object of\nthis society was to distribute the word of God over the world, and to\npromote the preaching of the gospel.  This society is confined to our own\nchurch, for it admits no members who do not give good security that they\nare churchmen.  The _object_ of this society was as pure as possible; the\nadministration of that branch of it at least which has been employed in\nthe circulation of the Scriptures, has, as far as I know, continued\nfaultless; but the operations of the whole society have been necessarily\ncontracted, because it was confined to the church.  The effect produced\nby this society may be seen by examining the result of an hundred years\u2019\ntrial.  It was found about twelve years since, that in many villages of\nEngland, the Bible, except in the churches, was hardly known; within a\nmile of its depository, not one half of the families were in possession\nof the word of God; and in this diocese it was calculated, that ten\nthousand families were without a Bible.  At this period the principle of\nthe co-operation of all parties, who took the Bible as the basis of their\nreligion, began to be understood, and the Bible Society was formed, which\nadmitted all subscribers of whatever denomination into its ranks; the\nmost astonishing results have thus been obtained.  This society has\ndistributed, in the course of eleven years, nearly one million four\nhundred thousand Bibles and Testaments; and the Bible has been translated\nand printed, in whole or in part, in fifty-five different languages or\ndialects.  By this fact we may see the _comparative power_ of the two\nsocieties; and also it is manifest, that a society, even carried on by\nthe largest and most opulent part of the community, _could not_ effect\nthe object intended; and that therefore no society, made up of only one\nclass in the country, could accomplish the great work which it is our\nhope to perform. {6}\n\nNow conceive a man contriving some great work which he hopes will be a\nnational blessing; which will cure the diseases, or lessen the sorrows of\nhis countrymen, and which work requires the exertion of all his\ncountrymen to carry into effect.  Would he stop short in his design,\nbecause he might, by bringing all parties to bear upon the common object,\n_unite_ them in that object.  Would he say, My object is indeed of the\nhighest importance, but I cannot consent to unite all parties in it,\nbecause the union of all parties, although for a good purpose, would be\nan evil?  Would he say, for example, I cannot bring all a country\ntogether to build an hospital, or to erect an infirmary, because by doing\nso, I should make peace amongst discordant neighbours, or I should heal\npolitical breaches?  Would he not account the union, even the partial and\ntemporary union of all parties, to be in itself a great benefit?  Would\nhe not be glad, if by any influence, and especially by a good influence,\nhe could lay to rest the evil spirit of bigotry or malevolence?  He would\nsurely say, My plan has in it two great benefits: in the first place, by\nbringing all persons together, I shall be enabled to effect my purpose;\nand secondly, I shall unite those persons between whom discord and\nrancour prevailed.\n\nIt is just in this way I would reason about the Bible Society.  We have a\ngreat work to perform, a work which, as I have shewn, can alone be\neffected by the co-operation of all parties.  We are bound to this work\nby the most solemn and unequivocal command of our Saviour.  But now the\nquestion arises, whether to effect this great point, we _may_ admit of an\nunion of all parties to accomplish it?  An unprejudiced person would say,\nthis union is an additional motive for my exertion.\n\nBut _opposers_ have said, that by all parties being brought together,\nChristians have been led to feel less distinctly the points upon which\nthey disagreed, and that thus great evils have arisen _amongst Christians\nin general_, and to the _Establishment_ in particular.  I will now then\nendeavour shortly to examine the effect of the union of all parties,\nwhich is produced by this institution, upon _Christians in general_ and\n_upon the Church_.\n\nWhat, in the first place, has been the effect upon _the general body of\ndissenters_?  But a few years since, within the recollection of many of\nus, the consequences of a thoroughly dissenting spirit, in politics and\nreligion, were to be seen.  No temper was then preserved, either on the\nside of the church, or the dissenters.  Each party was employed in\ndiscovering all that was objectionable in the other: little evils were\nmagnified\u2014particular faults generalized: a spirit of envy and hatred\nreigned in the meetings of men, who, as Christians, might have taken\n\u201csweet counsel together.\u201d  _Now_, this is certainly not the case.  Both\namongst churchmen and dissenters, a considerable abatement of hostility\nhas taken place.  Whilst, on the one hand, churchmen have, in general,\nfulfilled more carefully the duties of their profession; I may say, that\non the other, the spirit of dissenters has exceedingly changed.\nDissenters may have had some well-grounded blame to attach, in many\ncases, to the members of our church; yet, it is likely that they by no\nmeans gave the church itself credit for the good which now they find to\nbe in it.  They thought that the lamp of our temple had gone out, that\nthe branch was withered which once produced that glorious fruit, in the\ntime of the Reformation.  But now I believe that the dissenters are\nundeceived; and that the Bible Society has tended to undeceive them.\nThey have seen that want of zeal, is not the effect of the system, but of\nthe individuals; and, as they have discovered this, I may say, most\nhonourably to themselves, they seem to have laid down the weapons of\ncontroversy against us, and are engaged in fighting our common enemies,\nin wielding that sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.  Now the\nmeetings which we have of dissenters and churchmen, are not to wrangle\nand dispute with each other, but to take new pledges that we will oppose\nthe enemies of our common Christianity; they are to join in consuming the\nbrand, which once might have been pointed against one another, upon an\naltar of unity, piety, and peace.\n\nBut now, in the second place, what has been the effect of this union upon\nthe members of the _Established Church_?  It may be said, that such\nmeetings will tend to unfix our decided approbation of the doctrines and\ndiscipline of the Established Church.  But they can know nothing of the\nnature of these meetings who urge this objection.  There is nothing in\nthem either to convert a churchman or a dissenter.  The churchman will\ncome away still a churchman; and the dissenter still a dissenter.  No one\nchurch-principle, or church-feeling; no one point of doctrine, of\ndiscipline, or of practice, will be the least affected, or called in\nquestion, by attending a meeting of the Bible Society.  The sole object\nfor which churchmen and dissenters are united, is to distribute the word\nof God; but can the distribution of the word of God be injurious to the\nestablishment?  If we believe that the tenets of dissenters are plainly\ncontradicted in the Bible, should we not then as churchmen, be thankful\nthat they are willing to circulate, throughout the world, a refutation of\ntheir own system?  Can the distribution of the word of truth, under any\ncircumstances, be injurious to a true church?  To say that the\ncirculation of the Bible can injure the Establishment, seems to me an\nunwarranted scandal upon it; and perhaps no notion would be more\ninjurious to the interests of the Church of England, than that it cannot\nbear examination, if brought to the test of the word of God.\n\nIt has been said, that the Bible Society is _an instrument_ of\n_dissenters to overturn the church_.  But if so, it is a work in which\nthe greatest, the most wise and attached friends of the Establishment\nhave joined; it has been supported by bishops, and ministers, and\nprinces: men of all parties, and of no precisely similar views, or\ninterests, or feelings.  It is urged, that remote evils _may_ arise, that\nthe present principle of the Bible Society _may_ be departed from; that\ndissenters _may_ in time preponderate, and direct this instrument against\nourselves.  Of all these objections, it must be said, that they are\nentirely without proof, or the probability of proof: besides that we are\nhardly, as Christians, allowed to calculate so nicely on one side, upon\nevils certainly remote, and merely conjectural; whilst, on the other, we\nhave this ascertained fact, that fourteen hundred thousand Bibles have\nbeen circulated, in fifty-five different languages.  It may still be\nsaid, all churchmen should join in the society which is attached to the\nEstablishment.  I would urge all churchmen to do so.  But I would, at the\nsame time, persuade them to join in this society;\u2014for the two societies\nstand upon different grounds.  The _powers_ of the two societies are\ndifferent, their _objects_ are different; the one is a national society,\nand its operations are almost necessarily confined to home; the other\ntakes the whole world for its sphere: the one is doing good in the\nboundary of a little family; the other comprehends all the circumference\nof the globe! {10}\n\nI have now then endeavoured to point out to you the benefit of the\nprinciple of co-operation, as proved in this society; its benefit in the\nastonishing circulation which it has given to the word of God, and in the\nspirit of union which it has produced.  I have also endeavoured to shew\nthat this union has been beneficial to Christians in general, and that it\nhas not been injurious, nor can be injurious, to the established church.\n\nThe question of the Bible Society however, is one, which in my mind takes\nmuch higher ground than that of the advantage or disadvantage of a\nparticular church.  It takes its stand upon the authoritative dictate of\nOne who has commanded us to preach the gospel to every creature; and to\nwhose command, if we will not submit, the Son may be angry, and so we\nshall perish from the right way: it takes its stand upon our own feeling\nof the value of this book: which feeling calls upon us to act vigorously\nin the dispersion of the blessed truths which it promulgates; that as we\nhave received mercy, so we should shew mercy; that as Christ has loved\nus, so should we love one another.\n\nI will now, however, yet consider more particularly _some of the results_\nwhich have attended the establishment of this society; and the _want_ of\nthe Scriptures which now exists in the world.\n\nThe Bible Society, which was instituted without any hope of very great\nextension, has, in the course of eleven years, spread itself not only\nover this country, but over the greater part of the world.  In this\ncountry it has now four hundred and eighty-eight branches attached to it;\nand in the four quarters of the world, institutions similar to itself\nhave been formed.  In _Europe_ forty different societies have been\nestablished: in _Asia_ four: in _Africa_ two: and in _America_ upwards of\neighty.  Most of the capitals of Europe have a society formed in them;\nand these are again, as in England, subdivided.  In the _Netherlands_,\nfor example, there are thirty-two subordinate societies; and the city of\nAmsterdam has besides, thirty-two associations.  Societies have been\nformed throughout _Russia_, under the munificent patronage of the\nEmperor; and, in a part of Russia, they are established in every parish,\nunder the direction of the pastor.  The establishment of this society\nseems to have formed a new \u00e6ra in the religious history of Russia; for we\nread, that at the great meeting of the Russian Bible Society, the first\ndignitaries of the Greek, Armenian, Catholic, and Georgian churches, all\nmost heartily co-operated in this work; none seemed to fear the\nsubversion of their own religion, by the dissemination of the Bible; all,\nalthough they retained the opinions of their respective churches, yet\nfelt, that in this one point, they might fully and heartily join.  In\nAsia, and especially amongst our own fellow-subjects in _India_, the work\nof translating the Bible has been carried on with very great success.\nThe Bible has there been translated, or is in the course of translation,\ninto _twenty-five different_ languages.  The New Testament has also been\ntranslated, and is distributing in the language of _China_, which is said\nto be spoken by three hundred millions of people.\n\nThe income of this society has of course been very large, to meet the\nexpenditure which has been necessary to these vast operations.  This\nincome has every year been increasing, but as the supplies are made, the\nwants of the world are more known; and the demand at this time, seems\nalmost to be infinite.  I will now lay before you, some of the cases in\nwhich the wants of the world have been remarkably shewn.  In the\n_province of Georgia_, where a Christian church has existed about one\nthousand four hundred years, and where there are about half a million of\ninhabitants, there have not been found, in two thousand churches, two\nhundred copies of the Scriptures; i.e. not one Bible for ten churches.\nIn _Iceland_, five silver dollars have been offered in vain for a copy of\nthe word of God; and the case of a clergyman is presented, who had sought\nin vain to obtain a copy of the Scriptures, for the long period of\nseventeen years.  In many parishes were found two Bibles, in others none\nat all.  Whatever country has been searched into, whether catholic\ncountries, where the Bible has never been fully circulated; or protestant\ncountries, where once the fire of religion blazed with a pure flame, and\nspread a warmth around, which even reached, and animated our own shores,\nthe Bible is now scarcely known, or known only as a monument of departed\npiety, as a relic treasured up, of other, and of better times.  Europe\nhas not suffered more political, than it has religious convulsions.\nWhatever may have been the effect of the one, all the changes of religion\nseem to have been for the worse.  The Bible, which had been the support\nof the only pure religions, has been taken away, and now these fabrics\nhave fallen, or decayed.  I will only mention one more fact concerning\nthe wants of the world, which is that of _our fellow subjects in India_,\nand which may serve to give us an idea of heathen nations in general.\nAlthough, says the correspondent of this society, \u201c_we have ten presses\nat constant work_, _we have not had a copy of the Bengalee and\nHindoostanee New Testaments the last six months_; _and we are obliged to\ngive away a single copy as soon as it leaves the press_; _yet_ we have\ndemands from every quarter for copies.\u201d  In this state of want and\nanxiety, are fifty millions of our fellow-subjects.\n\nI will now say no more upon the particular circumstances of this society.\nAll its statements, and the account of its proceedings from the\nbeginning, are in the hands of many, and every one is requested and\ninvited to examine its structure and operations.  It requires no other\nargument for its support, to a Christian mind, than the simple recital\nwhich its own reports unfold.  In those reports are the facts specified\nwhich I have been able so shortly to allude to; and there are the\ntestimonials which have been given to the blessed effects of this\nsociety, from almost every nation, and language and tongue, and people!\nThere, is to be seen, pouring through this sacred channel, the homage of\nan admiring and grateful world, to the zeal, the piety, and the\nliberality of Britain! and there, may be seen, how many prayers are\ncontinually rising up in her behalf,\u2014those prayers, which have success in\nheaven,\u2014those prayers, which will I trust, bring upon our country the\nchoicest blessings, and upon this society, which has caused these\npetitions, a growth which shall continually extend till all the kingdoms\nof the earth shall see the salvation of God.\n\nSuch is the society for which I beg to claim your support.  I would use\nevery argument by which you might be most liberally affected towards it,\nfor I know not of any public institution which has so purely and directly\nfor its object the temporal and spiritual interests of mankind; I know of\nno institution where so large a sum can be so well used, and which no\nmoney can be well misused, whilst the simple object of the society is\nacted upon, viz. to circulate the word of God without note or comment.  I\nwould then call upon you by every plea, according to your utmost ability,\nto give liberally towards the great purposes of this institution.  Only\nlet us place ourselves in the situation of those millions who have not\nhad the word of God given to them.  Let us suppose, that another nation\nwere now deliberating whether the Bible should be sent to _our_ shores;\nlet us conceive that nation, now arguing whether some local attachment,\nsome municipal regulation, some system of church-government, should not\nrestrain its hands, when it had the power and disposition to give the\nBible to Britain.  How should we, who value the word of God, who feel\nthat we owe to it our pure religion, and all that is excellent in our\nmanners, and all that is pre-eminent in our character; how should we bear\n_from others_ those arguments about giving the Scriptures to ourselves,\nwhich we are compelled every day to hear, now that the case is reversed?\nWould an argument of a Russian, for instance, satisfy _us_, that the\nBible should not be given to England, because the Greek, and the\nGeorgian, the Armenian, and Roman catholic churches, could not, without\ndanger, unite in a public meeting?  Should we be satisfied, that England\nought not to have the word of God, because a Roman catholic establishment\nmight fear the prevalence of what it might call heresy?  As then we\nshould say, what can be the evils arising from a meeting of Christians of\nall the Russian churches, in comparison of the sin of refusing the Bible\nto England? what would be the relative importance even of taking away an\nestablished church in another country, when the alternative is, that\nBritain should not have the word of God?  So let us now reason when _we_\nhave the Bible, and a disposition has sprung up in this country to give\nit to all the world; so let us reason about our own hindrances in\nco-operating in this work, and the urgent calls of the world upon us, for\nthe dissemination of the Scriptures.  We do not however give up our\nestablishment, by distributing the word of God, we hope to strengthen and\nsupport it; we hold out the best test by which any church can be tried,\nand we shew our confidence that it is built upon a right foundation, and\nthat therefore no enemy shall prevail against it.\n\nIs there any one here, I may ask, who would willingly give up the effects\nof Christian principles upon his own happiness, or the value of Christian\ncomfort to his own heart?  Is there any one here, who would consent to\nhave no knowledge of the true God; no hope in Jesus Christ; never to\nwitness again the peaceful joy of the sabbath; never to feel the\nconsolation which the gospel affords; when it may teach us that\nafflictions are but the chastisements of a tender father; when it points\nout a hope concerning our departed friends, that our brother Lazarus,\nthat our child, our parent, is not dead, but sleepeth?  If then we value\nthese things so much ourselves, let us not seek to shut them out from\nothers; but let us on the other hand, endeavour to disseminate them\nthrough the whole world.  Let us seek that every nation may experience,\nas we do, the blessings of religion, of peace, of a humble submission to\na good government.  Let us give them the Bible, which is, I may say, the\ncorner-stone of all that we can boast as a nation; and then they may be\nas wise, as happy, as pious, as useful, as we are.  O let the cries and\ntears of the heathen, let their wants and misery, let their ignorance and\nsin, come up before you! and let these prevail upon you, to open your\nhearts, and to supply them out of your abundance.  As you value your own\nsouls, look upon those who, not having the Bible, are living without\ncomfort, and dying without the consolations of the gospel.  Look upon\nthem for they call upon you for help; neglect them not, for to have\nrefused a cup of cold water, will not at the day of judgment be\nunaccounted for: grant them your support and your blessings, so shall you\nmeet them with joy, when you with them, are called to receive your last\neternal sentence.\n\n                                 _FINIS_.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n               _Brightly and Childs_, _Printers_, _Bungay_.\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES.\n\n\n{6}  The sentiments of the late venerable Dr. PORTEUS, Lord BISHOP of\nLONDON, are thus delivered to the world, in great part as recorded by the\nbishop himself, in his life written by his relative, the Dean of Chester.\n\n\u201cA limitation thus absolute and unequivocal,\u201d viz. \u201cthat the sole and\nexclusive object of the society should be the circulation of the\nScriptures, and the Scriptures only, without note or comment,\u201d removed\nfrom the Bishop\u2019s mind all doubt and hesitation.  He saw instantly that a\ndesign of such magnitude, which aimed at nothing less than the dispersion\nof the Bible over every accessible part of the world, _could only be\naccomplished by the association of men of all religious persuations_.  He\nlooked forward to great results from such a combination of effort.  He\nentertained the hope that it might operate as a bond of union between\ncontending parties; and that by bringing them together in one point of\nvast moment, about which there could hardly be a diversity of opinion, it\nmight gradually allay that bitterness of dispute, and put an end to those\nunhappy divisions which have so long tarnished the credit of the\nChristian world.  Whilst, therefore, he remained firmly attached to the\noriginal society, (for promoting Christian knowledge) whose exertions, as\nfar as its limited sphere allowed, no one ever held in higher estimation,\nhe gave at the same time the sanction of his name without scruple to the\nnew one: _and the more he considered its object_, _and the longer\nexperience he had of the spirit ant principles on which it was\nconducted_, _the more deeply he was convinced that it merited all the\nsupport which the Church of England could give_.\n\n\u201cIt is now,\u201d he observes in a passage which strongly marks his\nsentiments; \u201cit is now well known and firmly established, and has\ncompletely triumphed over all the attempts made to destroy it.  None of\nthose secret dark designs, none of those plots and conspiracies to\nsubvert the establishment, and devour both the shepherds and their\nflocks, which were so confidently predicted by a certain set of men as\nthe inevitable effect of this society, have yet been discovered in it.\nIt is in fact much better employed.  It goes on quietly and steadily, in\nthe prosecution of its great object, and pays no sort of regard to the\nsneers and cavils of its intemperate opponents.\u201d\u2014In another passage,\nwritten at a still later date, he says, \u201cthat he cannot but add, in\njustice to this society, which has been so much opposed, misrepresented,\nand traduced, that all the important works in which it has been engaged\nhave been carried on with the utmost harmony and unanimity; without any\ndifference of opinion; without the slightest symptom of any hostile or\ntreacherous design against the church; and without any other idea upon\ntheir minds but that of extending as widely as possible, the knowledge of\nthe Christian Scriptures.\u201d  The bishops of Durham and Salisbury attended\n_several of their meetings_, and were delighted with the decorum,\ncalmness, and good temper with which their proceedings were conducted.\nIn short, _all the apprehensions to which this society has given rise are\nnow found to be but vain terrors_; and all the prophecies of the mischief\nand evil, that would result from it, are _falsified by facts_.  It is\nrising uniformly in reputation and credit; gaining new accessions of\nstrength and revenues and _attaching to itself more and more the\napprobation and support of every real friend to the church and to\nreligion_.\n\n{10} Extract of a speech made by the earl of Liverpool, on accepting the\noffice of president, of the Cinque Ports\u2019 Bible Society, Dec. 5th. 1815.\n\nAs a member of the Established Church, from education and habit, but much\nmore so from consideration and conviction, he was particularly desirous\nof promoting its interests, to the utmost of his ability, under this\nimpression he had recently appeared, on a public occasion, as a supporter\nof the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge.  He was anxious to\nextend the influences and advantages of that institution; but he saw no\nreason why he should not, at the same time, afford to the British and\nForeign Bible Society every assistance in his power, and evince an equal\nanxiety to promote its success.  The objects of the two Societies were\none\u2014that of dispersing the uncorrupted word of God; and, as the means in\neach were pure, he should always consider it an honour to aid them, or\nany other society which had the same object in view, and was labouring to\neffect the same end\u2014the dissemination of Christianity over the habitable\nglobe.  His lordship was a friend to the Bible Society, because it would\noperate where, from national custom, or prevalence of different\nsentiments, the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge would not\nobtain admission.  The universality of the object proposed by the British\nand Foreign Bible Society, and its tendency to unite all Christians\n(however divided on subjects of minor concern) in the bonds of Christian\nsympathy and benevolence, gave it, in his lordship\u2019s mind, a powerful\nclaim to universal support.","title":"Substance of a Sermon on the Bible Society: preached at Beccles, October 29th, and at St. Mary's Church Bungay, on Friday, Dec. 1st, 1815","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":5622}