{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_64731/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_64731","id":"gutenberg_64731","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/64731","summary":null,"tags":["Bible -- Sermons","Bible. Deuteronomy IV, 12-17 -- Sermons","Book burning -- Ireland","Category: Essays, Letters & Speeches","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Catholic Church -- Ireland -- Controversial literature","D\u00fan Laoghaire (Ireland) -- Church history","Sermons, English -- Ireland -- 19th century","Wesleyan Methodist Church -- Sermons -- 19th century"],"text":"Transcribed from the 1855 John Robertson edition by David Price.\n\n\n\n\n\n                          A VOICE FROM THE FIRE:\n\n\n                                 A Sermon\n\n                            OCCASIONED BY THE\n\n                PUBLIC BURNING OF THE BIBLE AT KINGSTOWN,\n\n                       BY THE REDEMPTORIST FATHERS,\n\n                      ON THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER, 1855.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                               PREACHED BY\n                         THE REV. ROBERT WALLACE.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 DUBLIN:\n                    JOHN ROBERTSON, 3 GRAFTON-STREET.\n\n                                  1855.\n\n                                * * * * *\n\n                                 DUBLIN:\n                       PRINTED BY WHITE, BROTHERS,\n                             45 Fleet-street.\n\n\n\n\nA SERMON.\n\n\n    \u201cAnd the Lord spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard\n    the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.\n    And he declared unto you his covenant which he commanded you to\n    perform, even ten commandments; and he wrote them upon two tables of\n    stone.  And the Lord commanded me at that time to teach you statutes\n    and judgments, that ye might do them in the land whither ye go over\n    to possess it.  Take ye therefore good heed unto yourselves, for ye\n    saw no manner of similitude on the day that the Lord spake unto you\n    in Horeb, out of the midst of the fire, lest ye corrupt yourselves,\n    and make you a graven image, the similitude of any figure, the\n    likeness of male or female.\u201d\u2014DEUT. iv. 12\u201317, _the passage on the\n    outer page of the fragment taken out of the Fire_, _and given to the\n    Preacher upon the spot_.\n\n    \u201cGOD who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past\n    unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto\n    us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, and by whom\n    also he made the worlds.  Therefore we ought to give the more earnest\n    heed to the things which we have heard.  For if they escaped not who\n    refused him who spake on earth, much more shall not we escape if we\n    turn away from him that speaketh from heaven.\u201d\n\nSuch are the solemn sanctions under which God has entrusted us with the\nBook of Life; nor can these sanctions be considered too weighty by any\nwho rightly appreciate that gift.  Next to the gift of God\u2019s incarnate\nSon and of his Blessed Spirit, we rank the Book divine.  We are thankful\nfor the Church and its ordinances and means, and if we may distinguish\nbetween the Church and its ministers, we are thankful for them too; but\nwe value the Sacred Volume above all institutions, however sacred, and\nabove all men of whatever character.  It is not our intention at this\ntime to elaborate arguments for the necessity of a divine revelation;\nsuffice to say, that without one we could have no certainty in matters of\nfaith, and no authorised standard in matters of morality.  That \u201cthe\nworld by wisdom knew not God\u201d is proved by the history of all nations,\nancient and modern.  The classic times of Greece and Rome were as\ndestitute of correct knowledge of the true God as were the times most\ndistant and barbaric, while the highest culture of arts and science did\nnothing whatever for pure morality; God, therefore, for his own glory and\nman\u2019s good, condescended to speak from heaven, and give us a revelation\nof his will.  It was necessary that this revelation should be a written\none: for in matters of such importance no man could be satisfied with its\ntransmission by tradition.  Tradition never did and never can transmit\nany dictate of either God or man with certainty.  What tradition can do\nas a medium of supplying knowledge from the past may be seen in the case\nof those nations which bordered the kingdom of Israel\u2014whose fathers,\ndescending from the patriarchs, must have had some knowledge of both\nGod\u2019s character and his claims; yet these nations had forgotten all, and\nlapsed into the most contemptible idolatry.  It may be seen, in the case\nof the Israelites themselves.  How simple and correct the views which\nAbraham their father entertained of God, and yet so completely did his\ndescendants forget all this during their sojourn in Egypt that Moses\nfound it necessary to ask the Lord by what name he should speak of him to\nthem.  The uncertainty of tradition may be further seen by a reference to\nthe days of our Lord, when we find that by it the elders made void the\nlaw of God.  Tradition is often at fault in its very origin.  Look at one\nwhich rose among the disciples themselves.  The Saviour, before ascending\nto heaven, informed Peter of the manner of his death, on which this\nApostle was curious to know what should be the lot of John, who was\ncoming up at the time.  The Lord did not think it wise to satisfy that\ncuriosity, and said, \u201cIf I will that he tarry till I come, what is that\nto thee, follow thou me.\u201d  Then went this saying abroad among the\nbrethren, that that disciple should not die; yet the sacred historian\ntells us, that for this tradition there was no foundation in fact.  And\nwho among us could tell in this day what were the doctrines of our own\nglorious Reformers, if their teachings had not been placed upon record?\nWhether, therefore, the dictum be inspired or uninspired, it cannot with\nany certainty and authority be transmitted through the medium of\ntradition.  God, therefore, not only spoke from heaven, but commanded\nthat the Scriptures should be \u201c_written for our learning_.\u201d  But the\npassage before us not only speaks of a record of the teachings and\ncommandments of God, it also informs us that in the absence or neglect of\nthat record men will be not merely ignorant of God\u2019s character, but\ncorrupt themselves, and fall into idolatry.  It therefore seems to teach\nwith great force the tendency of our nature to some religious system, and\nto us it appears plain that whether we trace that tendency to traditions\nof the past, to some law of the mind, or to the \u201clight which lighteneth\nevery man that cometh into the world,\u201d the fact itself is indisputable.\nMan every where seems to feel a need of something beyond himself to which\nto look, on which to lean\u2014the object of his hope, or the object of his\ndread.  And where is it that men do not realize the warning of the text,\nthat without the Word of God they will corrupt themselves and set up\nimages, the likeness of male or female, or some other thing.  Perhaps,\nindeed, no age of the world, and no portion of the human race, could more\nfully verify the fact than the times in which we live, and the men whose\nconduct is the occasion of these remarks.  They have not thought it\nneedful to consult the Word of God to remember his TEN commandments, and\nhave therefore forgotten that God is not represented by any similitudes,\nand have made to themselves images, the likeness of male and of female.\nThere is, indeed, so striking a discrepancy between the text and the\nworship of images that it can surprise no one that those who practise the\none should renounce the other.  No one can be pleased with that which\nbears testimony against conduct he is not prepared to abandon.  \u201c_Every\none that doeth evil hateth the light_, _neither cometh to the light_,\n_lest his deeds should be reproved_.\u201d  But since the right course is to\nabandon the practice, not to insult the witness, this discrepancy is not\na mitigation but an aggravation of the conduct of which we complain.  We\nneed not say that we refer to the burning of the Holy Bible in open day,\nvery near the place in which we are met, and under the eye of Roman\nCatholic and Protestant.  We are aware that from policy or shame the deed\nhas been denied, and, therefore, our first business will be to place\nbefore you the evidence upon which our charge rests.  On Monday last,\nabout half-past ten o\u2019clock in the morning, having heard that Bibles were\nbeing burned in the yard of the Roman Catholic Chapel, we proceeded to\nthe spot; there, at the lower end of the chapel, and in sight of every\none that passed up or down the street, we saw a large heap of cinders\nfrom books or paper.  Around the edges of the heap there were patches of\nflame.  A number of persons, one of them a boy in the dress of an\nacholyte, stood round the fire.  They were kicking books, that were\nevidently small pocket Bibles, into the fire.  One of these persons\nturned round and said, \u201c_We are burning Bibles_,\u201d and asked, \u201cHave you\nany more to bring?\u201d  And then, to leave no doubt upon our mind, took up a\nportion of one out of the fire before our eyes and placed it in our\nhands.  This fragment you now behold, and from its first page we have\nselected the text.  Can evidence like this be disputed or set aside?\n\nOur next duty will be to consider, the _wickedness_ of the deed.  In\ndoing this we wish you to observe, that God threatens with severe\npunishment those persons who merely do not receive the truth in the love\nof it; still more severely such as will not hear, who turn away the\nshoulder or stop the ear; but most of all the men who dare to treat his\ncommandment with contempt.  Now we say that the act complained of was one\nthat treated the Word of God with the utmost contempt possible.  The\nburning of a book is every where, and from time immemorial has been,\nlooked upon as the worst brand that can be stamped upon its character.\nIn the times of the Apostles we read of some who, when converted from\ntheir evil practices, brought their curious books of occult arts and\nburned them as evidence of their detestation of the books and the\nsincerity of their conversion.  The burning has been sometimes conducted\nby the hands of the common executioner.  With the knowledge of these\nfacts, and that the deed should be regarded in this light, the Holy Book\nof God was, in this nineteenth century of the Christian Era, committed to\nthe consuming flame by the authority of the Redemptorist Fathers.  It\nmust not be pleaded, as any mitigation of the daring impiety, that it was\nthe Protestant version that was burned: for many Roman Catholics of high\nauthority have admitted this version to be the Word of God, and the\ndifference between it and the Douay version, in all essential matters, is\nnot such as to allow any candid man of either creed to hesitate to\nconfess that either is the Holy Bible.  This deed was done under the most\naggravating circumstances.  It would have been great rebellion against\nGod to have burned his Word alone in one\u2019s own chamber; but in that case\nthe insult would not have been so emphatic or so daring.  It was done\nbefore the face of many Protestants, and under such circumstances that it\nmust come to the knowledge of all Protestants in the town, if not\nthroughout the kingdom.  It was an act not merely calculated to insult\ntheir creed, but to provoke them in the highest degree.  The Book of God\nwas burned in revolting association.  To increase the ignominy of our\nLord\u2019s crucifixion he was placed between two thieves; malefactors who,\naccording to their own admission, suffered justly.  \u201cHe was numbered with\ntransgressors.\u201d  On the same principle, to make the odium cast upon the\nprecious volume more complete, it was placed in the same heap with the\nworst productions of infidelity and licentiousness.  This outrage upon\nProtestant feeling was committed at a time when it became all men who\nloved their country to unite in seeking its welfare.  Amidst the\nhardships and dangers of war, and when we were looking forward with hope\nto see our country fully resuscitated from the dreadful consequences of\npestilence and famine.  Thus we find in every point of view, and by all\nits accompaniments, the deed was one of daring impiety and provocation.\nWhat judgments may be expected to follow.  Can any one suppose that God\nwill not visit for these things? that he will not be avenged for such a\ndeed as this.  \u201cBecause I called and ye refused; I will laugh at your\ncalamities and mock when your fear cometh.\u201d  This seems specially to\napply to individuals.  \u201cIf any man shall add unto these things, God shall\nadd unto him the plagues that are written in this book; and if any man\nshall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall\ntake away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and\nfrom the things which are written in this book.\u201d  This seems to refer to\nthe Church.  \u201cBecause they received not the love of the truth that they\nmight be saved, God shall send them strong delusion\u2014that they should\nbelieve a lie, that they all might be damned who believed not the truth,\nbut had pleasure in unrighteousness.\u201d  This evidently applies to such as\nknowingly turn from the true to a false system.  What God will do unto\nthe nation that turns away from and despises the holy Word of God may be\nseen in such threatenings as the following: \u201cIf thou wilt not observe to\ndo all the words of this law that are written in this book, that thou\nmayest fear this glorious and fearful name, The Lord Thy God, then the\nLord will make thy plagues wonderful, and the plagues of thy seed, even\ngreat plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sickness, and of long\ncontinuance.  And it shall come to pass that as the Lord rejoiced over\nyou to do you good, and to multiply you, so the Lord will rejoice over\nyou to destroy, and to bring you to nought.\u201d  All these judgments are\nthreatened against the rejection of the Word\u2014in fact, the mere neglect of\nit: public insult never seemed to be contemplated at all.  The only\ninstance upon record, in any wise resembling the deed we are speaking of,\nis that of Jehoiakim, who burned the roll containing the prophecy which\nGod had commanded Jeremiah to utter against Jerusalem.  And for this\nburning God threatened the king with early death; informed him he should\nhave the burial of an ass; should have no man to sit upon his throne, and\nthat the nation he ruled over should be visited with wasting desolation.\nNow, to all these judgments is the nation liable that can be guilty of a\ncrime like this.  All who approve of the deed, or who do not protest\nagainst it, must be in danger of God\u2019s displeasure; and we remember that\nBible burning was practised just before the judgments of 1846.\n\nLet us, then, address a few observations on this solemn subject to all\nclasses in the land.  And, first, to Roman Catholics themselves, at\nleast, to such as have any moderation and candour.  Surely there must be\nmany among them who do not approve the deed.  We would ask the men of\nintelligence, and rank, and property\u2014men who are anxious for the welfare\nof their country, and who especially desire the social amelioration of\nthe poorer classes.  What do these men expect from the burning of that\nbook which more than any other teaches the principles of industry, and\nleads, under God, to the exercise of self-reliance?  What do those men\nhope from the deed, who have publicly acknowledged that the difference\nbetween Ulster and other parts of Ireland in these respects is traceable\nto the circulation of the Bible alone?  We ask such Romanists as have any\ninterest in literature, what they think of the burning of a book that has\ndone more for the advancement of true learning than all others put\ntogether?  We ask the men of that creed who profess liberal principles,\nwhat they think of the burning of a book which is the Magna Charta of our\nprivileges\u2014the palladium of our civil and religious liberty?  Above all,\nwe ask those who have any interest in piety or morality, do they consent\nto ignore a book which is the source of the one and standard of the\nother?  Now, it will not do for such Roman Catholics as these to say,\nthey did not do the deed, and were not cognizant of it.  It was done\nunder the direction of their clergy; and, until they protest against the\ndeed, they must be held answerable for its results.  Suppose the deed to\nhave been done\u2014if I may venture upon such a supposition\u2014by a minister of\nany Protestant community, would not every minister and every man of that\ncommunity throughout the kingdom be held accountable for the outrage?\nAnd we do not hesitate to tell the Roman Catholics that their Protestant\nfellow countrymen can place no confidence in any profession of moderation\nor liberality till they wash their hands of an enormity such as this.  We\nhave been informed that during the visit of these men many persons from\nthe different Protestant bodies have joined the Church of Rome.  Whether\nthis be so or not, we have no means to determine, and God forbid that we\nshould interfere with the fullest exercise of the understanding or\nliberty of conscience, but if there have been any who, from levity of\ndisposition or sinister motives, have forsaken the teaching of the\nScriptures, and have aided in this deed or given it their countenance, we\ndare not address to them other language than that of this holy book: \u201cFor\nif we sin wilfully, after that we have received the knowledge of the\ntruth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin; but a certain fearful\nlooking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the\nadversaries.\u201d\n\nLastly, we address ourselves to Protestants: and what duties devolve on\nthem in this case?  We hope no one will be so foolish as to say\u2014none.\nThe persons concerned in this act are our fellow-subjects\u2014our next-door\nneighbours\u2014and with whom we are brought into contact every day in the\nduties of life; it is therefore impossible to consider ourselves mere\ndisinterested hearers or spectators of the deed.  As citizens, as\nChristians\u2014and, above all, as lovers of the Bible, we are deeply\nconcerned therein.  Let us, then, first of all, thoroughly appreciate its\nreal character.  There must be no blinking the question or softening it\ndown; there could be no real charity or generosity in this, but a mere\nextenuation of a dreadful crime.  We must apprehend the danger of living\nin contact with a system that could sanction it, and rouse ourselves to\naction.  We must not, indeed, transfer the hatred we bear to the act to\nthose who committed it.  This may be hard; but the Gospel requires it.\nThere must be no anger, malice, or revenge\u2014nothing inconsistent with the\nutmost charity, the love of God and man.  But while we must think\nnothing, feel nothing, do nothing, which charity forbids; all that\ncharity allows, all that it demands, is expected from us now.  The love\nof country\u2014the love of learning\u2014of liberty, religion, and of God\u2014calls us\nto wake to action.  All that we can do by prayer, by personal effort, by\nthe multiplication of evangelical agencies, is forced upon us now.\nEspecially, what a lecture does this read us on union among ourselves,\nunion among all evangelical denominations.  In view of transactions like\nthis what are our differences\u2014can they be worthy one unbrotherly thought.\nLet us love our several systems much, but our Saviour more; let us wish\nwell to our party, but long more eagerly for the salvation of our\ncountry.  Let us unite to press upon all men more fully the great\ndoctrine of the Reformation and of the Bible\u2014justification by faith\nalone.  Let us agree to declare throughout the length and breadth of the\nland that he that hath the Son hath life.  He that hath the Son as the\nfoundation of his faith\u2014he that hath the Son within him as the hope of\nglory\u2014that hath the Son before him as the pattern of his life\u2014he,\nwhatever his creed or his party, hath life; he lives \u201cby the faith of the\nSon of God\u201d on earth, and is passing to the fuller life in heaven.\n\u201cBut,\u201d on the other hand, \u201che that hath not the Son hath not life;\u201d he\nthat hath not the Son in these respects, with whatever church he stands\nconnected\u2014whatever opinions he subscribes\u2014whatever forms he\npractises\u2014hath no real life on earth, and can have none in heaven.\nShould God of his infinite mercy, as the result of these doings, give us\nthat grace, that will unite us more closely among ourselves, give us more\nsingleness of eye in our efforts, and supply us with greater zeal for the\nsalvation of our fellow-countrymen\u2014what was intended by the Redemptorist\nFathers as the laying of the topstone of their triumph may turn out the\nloosening of a stone in the mystic building, and accelerate the period\nwhen heaven and earth will unite in the cry\u2014\u201cBABYLON THE GREAT IS\nFALLEN!\u201d","title":"A voice from the fire : $b a sermon occasioned by the public burning of the Bible at Kingstown, by the Redemptorist Fathers, on the 5th of November, 1855","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":3550}