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Auckland Star, Volume LXIX, Issue 142, 18 June 1938, Page 12 (Supplement)

By The Rev. C. W. Chandler

Specially Written for the WEEK-END PICTORIAL

? laws upon her Statute Book reflect the e influence of the Word of God. The ' blackest page in her history would have - been a great deal blacker had not the j noble phrases of the "Great Bible'' begun to re-echo from pulpit and lectern. And so it was that on September 30 (to l>e precise), Thomas Cromwell issued » injunctions to the effect that the Bible t should be installed in churches. Incumbents were given until the following I Kaster to obtain the necessary Bil>lo. , Because the cost of installation, which must have been considerable, had to be borne by parson and parishioners, there was most likely some delay before the command was fully obeyed. The copv [ set up was to be "one book and the whole Bible of the largest volume in English." This undoubtedly referred to the "Great Bible," which was actually not out of the printer's hands until , 1539. The work of printing had been begun in Paris, but owing to the Inquisition the partly-printed sheets and 1 the presses had to be smuggled into England, where the work was then com- ■ pleted with the utmost expedition. This edition was not by any means , the first edition of the Bible that had been published. William Tyndale had brought out his version of the New Testament in 1525. This was followed a little later by the Pentateuch, or first five books of the Old Testament. One Miles Coverdale, using the translation of Tyndale, soon completed the Old Testament. Then followed Thomas Matthew, who, using both Tyndale's and Coverdale's translations, produced his version of the scriptures in 1537. Cromwell, however, not being satisfied with any other versions, ordered Coverdale to make s further revision. The result of this further revision was the "Great Bible" of 1539. For the Authorised Version of 1611 we are indebted to Tyndale more than to anybody else. It is this version which has so deeply coloured English literature and at the same time provided us with the literary vehicle of our religion. It is interesting to note that the Psalms in the English Book of Common Prayer are taken directly from the "Great Bible," nor has a better translation of the Psalms yet been devised. Locke and Paley At the beginning of the 18th century it looked as though the thoughts of our educated people were being moulded more along the line of Locke's "Essay Concerning Human Understanding" and Paley's "Evidences" than upon the truths of Sacred Writ. A passion for facts and realities (so called) had gripped the minds of men. It was for a while being thought that by reason and reason alone men could find their way to God. Towards the end of this century, however, through the work of John Wesley and George Whitefield, the Bible once again came into its own and found literary expression in the beautiful hymns of Charles Wesley.

The 19th century dawned with Keats, Shelley and Byron in the foreground.

"Don Juan" was running through the newspapers and creating as much interest in those days as Test football or cricket does in these days. Their popularity suggested a swing towards pantheism and atheism through such poems as "Queen Mab" and "The Vision of Judgment," but, with Charles Lamb

3 faUjc ttijm tljt ILambe opctieb one of tlje rcaics, ano 3 Dearo as it tbcre tljenoifc of tlwn&cr, one of tlje fonre beattes, fapmg, ComeanDfee. z 3lnb 3 favu, anb beljolb, atbbite borfe, ano Ijcc ttjat Cate on Ijim ftab a boiDc, ano a crotbne tbas giuen bnto bun, anb bee liient footfb conquering, ano to conquere. 3 3inb lbbenbeefyab open tothe fe* conb rcaic,3i Ijearb t&efcconb beaftfap, Come anb fee. 4- 3tab tflerc ibent out another Ijojfc ttwt r&as reb: anb poiber ibas gtuento Dim tljat fate thereon to take peace from tlje eart!), ano tjjat tljev fijouiD bill one another: anb there ttas giuen bnto Dim a great fttwb. THE AUTHORISED VERSION, issued in 1611 by King James 1., shows the result of care in preparation. and Coleridge also in the field, and Scott with his "Waverley Novels" all complete, the three young rebels, and particularly Shelley and Byron, did not have things all their own way. By this time "Wordsworth had done most of his greatest work. The Bible atid its message is not absent from the pages of any of these poets whom wa have mentioned, and with Charles Dickens and Robert Browning in their teens, and Richard Cobden, Esvart Gladstone and John Henry Newman hard on their heels, there followed an illustrious succession of those whose characters were built upon the solid foundation of the Word of God. Wellington, we believe, was purported to have said that he would rather have written "Abide With Me" than have won the Battle of Waterloo. History will continue to prove that H. F. Lyte, the author of this well-known, hymn, has more profoundly affected the wills and affections of men the world over than the '"Iron Duke" could ever have done had he lived to the age of Methuselah.

__ ClbM*<£baptfr. is I>rfcr,« rrtrauetb tbc ffffnf of bit IKiW» ®c tffMucff> rettatßrt of l&raoft«rb,« it rcpubrnteft of JUw brraufff be Cbrtbcobrnt «ljc Dpft© «»D ITatuacb bl« wnne npjnrtb in fct» OcaDc. 36 tbat tpmt teas fcrjc* fpchc'tontotbe Dcetb. 2Dnt> raSy yVE3i:tbc 3faptbe fonni of ffJS'iWl vS|l^ mo ? t< ' mc tobim.anD fapfif W Ml Xv Y)ntO ' si:/ s:t) ,lofa T , tt)PLOlDf: > T » put ebpncbouffbolDcin an ojfcjc, foTtoou (halt Dir. anD not Ipuc. 3n6 lorjchiafurnrDtnofacrto jsumll,«i Vntotbc LojDr, fapena; 3bcfcebetbeno\D. <D Lojd, rcmcmOjr bow 3 l)aue utalbrD bc» foictbcmtruftbanD \»itha prrfcetc feaue Done tijatxofjich is gooD m t&pfpa&t, anD iKjflna torptr fo;e. 3inD it fonuncDthat» afo/e 3faptDas gone out intopmvDDlcof of p LO2O tame to b« fapcng:tutntagapnr, anD tell l)r je ftia tbc captapne of mp peopfc: 'Cljusrapffjtbr Lo2D(soDof©autDtt))>fa» 25 tbcr.3bauct)ert>tbypiapci ,«ftnt tbpfca* bebolDr ,J roillbrale t*)e,fo tbat on tbc tbtrD o.Tpc T* fhaltgo top into tbc ftoufe ofptojo T»ct fpftent yrarc.anD toill Dclpucrtbca thitf iptu out of tbc banc of tbebyngeof 3ffp» ria,» t»pll Defence tCttscttie fot mpne avune fabc,» foitjauiDmpfcruauntcgfabc- 21 no THE GREAT BIBLE, so called because of its size, its pages being 9 inches by 15 inches. It was Miles Coverdale's revision of the T\)ndale-Matthew Bible, undertaken at the expense of Oliver Cromwell. Far more extravagant comparison* eould be made between William Tyndale, this great Biblical translator, and the greatest actors who have strutted across the stage of history. Why, then, is this wonderful book not more widely read? Dare we suggest that it is because it is so accessible? When it was chained to the lecterns in the churches of England men would eagerly listen to the Good News being read from its sacred pages, whereas to-day, with copies of the Bible in almost every home, it is left to gather dust upon the shelf. It may also be because many people are puzzled as to how they should read it. To all such we would say learn the 23rd Psalm by heart. Everybody over 12 years of age should know this Psalm as well as they know the Lord's Prayer. There are many other passages too numerous to mention that, if learned by heart, will go to build up a treasury of comfort and strength against advancing years. When troubles fall thick and fast as the sparks from a smithy's forge, what could be more profitably read than the first and second chapters of the Book of Job? Scan it Anew The most fitting commemoration that, as individuals, we could make on the occasion of this 400 th anniversary would be to reach down that dusty volume and scan its pages anew. The stability of the British character, together with England's imperturbability within earshot of Europe's roaring camp, is attributable to the influence of the Bible more than to any other single factor, and when (as we shall more fully discuss on a later occasion) there is a leader of thought in England today who, amidst all the disturbing factors of modern life, can say that it is •'the spirit which triumphs over the world," then we have less to fear than we thought we had for the future of our Empire.