claim for them simply what they claim for themselves, that they "are able to make wise unto salvation." And we advocate the Societies which combine christians of different denominations in efforts to send abroad the scriptures in their native simplicity and entireness, because experience shows that these institutions are the most efficient means for multiplying copies of the sacred volume in a world which has long been most lamentably destitute of it. The way to give the most extensive effect to the labours of those who have explained and illustrated the sacred text, or summed up its contents in the form of creeds and liturgies, is to put the text itself into the hands of all men. Both the Word written, and the Word preached, are God's great ordinance for saving man. Bible Societies are the means of spreading the former; while God in his holy providence is raising up other institutions for the universal co-operation of the latter; nor need our zeal for the one, at all interfere with our zeal for the other : For, secondly, the question is not, whether it is the duty of separate denominations to make strenuous efforts for the spread of christianity in the form in which they severally embrace it. That this is their duty, we readily admit; and most cordially can we rejoice in the success which attends their laudable exertions for that object. We can look on and see the various missionary societies which are the happiness and glory of the age,-all actuated by the spirit of christianity-all labouring, with a common zeal, for the same general object, though with some diversity of views-and with affectionate sincerity,bid them "God speed." "There is yet much land to be possessed;" and whatever be the particular church, which presses onward to take possession for the Redeemer, if she carries with her that truth which avails to save the soul, let success follow her; "therein we do rejoice and will rejoice." While the church on earth is in her present imperfect state, her ministers and members will entertain some difference of views respecting her doctrines and ordinances, though they hold to the same bible; and while this difference prevails, there must be different institutions among christians in which each will aim by all laudable efforts to spread christianity in the form in which they embrace it. In Bible Societies, catholic as they are, we do not ask christians to act together in a manner in which they do not think together. It is because they all do think together as to the paramount authority of the scriptures; because all own the Holy Bible to be their Bible, that we ask them to unite in a society which has no other object than to give that Bible a more extensive circulation. The object is simple and well defined, and can lead neither to the sacrifice nor compromise of principle. But in those measures for the spread of christianity which go to call up the distinctive features of different denominations, let those unite whose views respecting those measures agree. All denominations" who hold the head ;" though the device written on their separate banners be somewhat different, should view each other only as different detachments of the same great army moving under the command of the same great captain. But the question is, whether in addition to what has been done, or can be done by these separate institutions, the cause of divine truth is, or is not most effectually promoted by a general and united effort of all christians for the circulation of that sacred volume, without note or comment, to which all appeal, and all bow as the word of God. We think the question capable of a brief and decisive answer. Our Lord himself has furnished a rule by which we can judge in such cases as this without fear of mistake, "by their fruits ye shall know them: do men gather grapes of thorns or figs of thistles? even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit, but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." What then are the fruits of Bible Societies? In what have their labors resulted? In less than twenty years they have put into circulation in various parts of the world nearly 7,000,000 copies of the Holy Scriptures. Among whom have they spread this record of life and consolation? Not among the rich and more respected of men merely, but they have sent it far and near; to those who had formerly been almost, or altogether ignorant whether there were such a book. They have given it to mariners whose home is on the deep-they have sent it into prisons and alms houses; into the cottages of the poor and destitute in christian lands; and desiring to extend their active benevolence "far as the curse is found," they have spread the invaluable treasure into distant and pagan lands. Through their happy instrumentality the Bible has been distributed entire or in part in a multitude of languages and dialects; in many of which it had never been circulated before the institution of Bible Societies, and thus have they enabled millions of the human family, to read "the wonderful works of God, every man in his own tongue wherein he was born." Are these evil fruits? And what has been the effect of these societies on the hearts and lives of those who belong to them and take part in their benevolent achieve ments? It has been a new proof that "it is more blessed to give than to receive." "We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen," when we aver that Bible Societies have most extensively removed those asperities of sect, which for a long time, too much like the chain of caste among the Hindoos, kept christian brethren divided from christian brethren; they have softened and melted the hearts of those who follow the same master, though under different VOL. VI.-No. 3. 19 names, by uniting their efforts for the same object, and bringing them into closer contact and better acquaintance with each other; and they have shown both christians and the world, how irresistible is the cause of truth when all its friends combine their strength in a concentrated effort for its promotion. Are these evil fruits? In view of these things, or in view simply of what they have done for the circulation of the Holy Scriptures; should we not be safe in committing the question to our opponents; and asking them,-Is it your wish, notwithstanding all that Bible Societies have done for the advancement of religious light, that they should be aunihilated? Can you find it corresponding with the best desires of your hearts, to ask the Head of the Church to blot them out of existence? Alas, what a chasm would their extinction create in that holy and harmonious system of means which is now doing so much or the kingdom of the Redeemer. We are told indeed, that "to infer the special favour and protection of heaven on any particular private or public religious measure on account of the success attending it, would be presumptuous, and would lead to the sanctioning of error and crime;"(ƒ) that it would be the very essence of fanaticism."(g) But though it would indeed be the very essence of fanaticism to say that success is always evidence of the favour of heaven; yet it is equally the very essence of unbelief to say that success is at no time evidence of heaven's favour-whether it is or is not to be so considered, depends simply on what the success itself is, in its tendency and effects. No christian will deny that the success of the Apostles in turning the nations to God, was evidence of the favour of heaven. Nor will it be denied, that the success of the gospel now, in illuminating the darkened minds of men, and sanctifying their hearts to God's service is (f) Corrector page 74. vidence of the divine favour. Such uccess, the more widely it spreads, and the more conspicuous it becomes, fills the world the more abundantly with God's glory and with human happiness; and when such success is found uniformly to attend an institution, we account it evidence both of heaven's favour and heaven's presence Precisely such is the success which, as we have shown, attends Bible Societies; it is the spread of that light and love which all confess to come from God. If this is not their success, then have they none. Their object is defeated and lost. This however will not be said; their success is admitted. But in answer to the argument we would draw from it, we are told "admitting then the magnificent and stupendous good which has resulted from Bible Societies; before your argument on this ground would avail in their favour, you ought to prove that the same good could not have been produced in other modes entirely unobjectionable."(h) The modes which to Bishop Hobart appear entirely unobjectionable, we are at no loss to understand. He in another place tells us "the Society in England for propagating the gospel in foreign parts, has existed for more than a century and the Society for promoting christian knowledge, for nearly that period and by both these institutions Bibles were distributed to a great amount, and in our own country from its first settlement;"(i) and then alluding to the necessity which all admit for enlarging the extent of distribution, he asks," and could not this have been done by increasing the resources of those societies, or by the establishment of new ones by churchmen and dissenters separately, to which the objections would not apply that exist in the principle and to the tendency of Bible Societies?(j) In all this it must be seen that the Bishop would throw on us, the proof of a negative. He would have us (h) Corrector page 78. do. 76. 76. show that the good produced by Bible Societies would not have been produced in other modes to him entirely unobjectionable. He must permit us to remind him that by all rules of fair argumentation the burthen of proof in this case rests on him, not on us. But even with the disadvantage of attempting the proof of a negative, we do not fear the result. We can give all the proof which the nature of our side of the question admits. The point when fairly stated is not, what could have been done, but what would have been done, for extending the distribution of the scriptures by societies composed of the several denominations acting separately? and still wishing to take the maxims of scripture for our guide, we answer in the words of Solomon "the thing that hath been is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done." What then we inquire, had the denominations acting separately done for extending the circulation of the scriptures, before the institution of Bible Societies consisting of all denominations united? Take for instance the very society which the Bishop and his friends so delight to honour-the society for promoting christian knowledge. This society consists of members of the Established Church of England, whose zeal and attachment to the Bible, Bishop Hobart of course will not question. During the year immediately preceding that in which the British and Foreign Bible Society was instituted, they issued 7,958 Bibles 10,520 New Testaments and Psalters. How very small does this amount appear when compared with the issues of Bibles even by some of the auxiliaries to the parent Bible institutions of the present day? It cannot be argued that the Christian Knowledge Society was yet in its in fancy when its issues were so limited, On the contrary it had attained to the age of more than a century. It was organized in 1699. And here we would ask, how long would Bishop Hobart have wished all Christendom to wait, in order to see what would be done by societies consisting of different denominations acting separately, for extending the circulation of the Bible, before he would judge it fit time to try the efficacy of Bible Societies as now constituted? It seems christians did wait, for more than a century, during which the experiment was fairly tried, if it ever can be fairly tried. It was tried too in a church which during that period had more resources for rendering the experiment successful than any other church in Christendom. The result was such as the reader sees ;---and now when through the instrumentality of the present Bible Societies, the sacred volume is multiplied and spread a hundred fold, we are told, "before your ar gument on this ground will avail in their favour, you ought to prove that the same good could not have been produced in other modes." But we have still another source from which to judge what would have been done by these societies acting separately. We take as much reproof to ourselves as we extend to any other denomination of christians, when we say we think it the fault of all denominations, that they are too much inclined to prefer their peculiar views of Christianity to Christianity itself. Useful as creeds, and articles of faith, and liturgies, may be in their place, they have been abused by being raised above their proper place. They have, in fact, gone far with many to throw the Bible into neglect, if not into complete desuetude. Accordingly, when you look at those societies for the circulation of the Bible, which are composed of members belonging only to one denomination, you will find the distribution of this sacred volume coming vastly short of the distribution of other books, which bring more prominently into view the distinctive features of their particular creed. But we have ever considered it as one of the primary advantages attending Bible Societies, that, by the combination of different denominations for the sole object of circulating the Bible without note or comment, they serve to check a tou sectarian zeal, and thus secure to the Holy Scriptures their deserved pre-eminence over every other book. For ourselves, we confess this check was needed; let us look at the proceedings of those societies which enjoy the approbation of our opponents because acting separately, and we shall see whether they do not need it also. The Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, in the year to which we have alluded, circulated, as we have shown,7,958 Bibles, and 10,520 New Testaments and Psalters. During the same year, they circulated 14,230 Common Prayer Books19,243 other bound books, and 103,658 small tracts; and this at the time when the demand for Bibles was so urgent throughout the British dominions, as to call into existence the British and Foreign Bible Society. And so far as we have been able to look over the Reports of this Society for years, either earlier or later than the one we have specified, we do not find the proportion of issues becoming more favorable for the Bible. But how has it been in our own country, with societies composed of meinbers from but one denomination ? As Mr. Jay tells us, "On turning to the last Report of the New-York Auxiliary Bible and Prayer Book Society, we find that the total amount of their issues for the preceding year, was one thousand, nine hundred and seventeen Prayer Books, and ninety-two Bibles."(m) "Six years after the organization of the Albany Bible and Prayer Book Society, they had not purchased one Bible for distribution, and the few they gave away, were a present from the British and Foreign Bible Society; their funds being appropriated to the purchase of Prayer Books only! The Johnstown Bible (m) Jay's Pamphlet, p. 57. and Prayer Book Society had distributed, as appears by the Report for 1820, twenty Bibles, and one hundred and fifty Prayer Books." These facts speak for themselves; they show unless Episcopalians are more sectarian in their zeal than others, which we are unwilling to be live-they show how far societies composed as Bishop Hobart advises, are calculated to give the Holy Scriptures that foremost and unequal led circulation which their importance justly claims. The good, then, resulting from Bible Societies, as it respects the Scriptures themselves, is not only the enlarged circulation into which it brings them, but the precedence to which it raises them in the minds and efforts of christians. In view of these "good fruits," we would ask those who still oppose them,-Why, what evil have they done? The charge of separating the Church of God from the Word of God we have endeavored to answer; and as this is an objection to the principle on which they are founded, we have considered it with the more care. But it seems there are some other difficulties arising out of "their tendency:" and in drawing this article to a close, we will briefly notice them. "They inculcate that general liberality which considers the differences among christians as non-essential, and thus they tend to weaken the zeal of Episcopalians in favor of those distinguishing principles of their church which eminently entitle her to the appellation of Apostolic and Primitive."(n) We had indeed once thought, with Mr. Jay, that the Bishop, in these words, intended to express his opinion, that indifference to at least some of the essentials of christianity, was produced by the "general liberality," and general co-operation which takes place among christians in Bible Societies; but we have now the Bishop's own word for it, that he meant (n) Journal of Convention, 1822, p. 31, no such thing.(0) It seems that the amount of his apprehension from the tendency of Bible Societies, is, that the union of Episcopalians with them tends to weaken their zeal in favor of Episcopalianism. Now we confess that we are not disposed to think very favorably of those distinguishing principles in a man's religion, which there is reason to believe he will lose by a frequent intercourse with others who are confessedly christians; especially when this intercourse takes place on occasions where the circulation of the Holy Scriptures is the sole aim and business. If there is so much danger of their being lost in this way, there must be, we should think, something in them, which cannot well endure under the light and influence of God's word; and especially should we think them far from entitling a man's church or religion "to the appellation of apostolical and primitive." In apostolical and primitive days, all who were disciples loved to meet "with one accord in one place." But what are the facts in this matter? Do they really show as much against Episcopalians as the Bishop's apprehension would lead us to suppose? How has it been in England? Mr. Jay has told us—“ If we turn to England we find those great institutions, the Church Missionary Society, the Church of England Tract Society, the Society for the Conversion of the Jews, and the Prayer Book and Homily Society, all of them identified with the interests of the Established Church, supported almost exclusively by the Episcopal members of the Bible Society. Let us inquire particularly into the operations of the Church Missionary Society, and the Prayer Book and Homily Society, since it is admitted that those institutions are supported by the Episcopal friends of the British and Foreign Bible Society, and are on that account subjected to the frowns and abuse of its op (a) Corrector, p. 50. |