BIBLE REVISION. TERCENTENARY SERVICES. AT ST. JOHN'S.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXI, Issue 101, 1 May 1911, Page 3

BIBLE REVISION. TERCENTENARY SERVICES. AT ST. JOHN'S.

References were made in most of the churches in Wellington yesterday to the tercentenary of the authorised version of the Bible, the rendering having beendone in 1611. Dr. Gibb, preaching at St. John's, Willis-street, gave an interesting outline of the history of the circumstances under which the authorised version was ren- : dered, and incidentally touched upon the great literary beauty of the work. The Bible was, he said, infinitely more than literatui-e ; it was the Word of God, and the assurance of its divine authority was i the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness by and with the Word in human hearts. The Bible was a library of sixty-six books by forty or more authors, who wrote during a period of 1500 or 1600 years. It contained history, song, poetry in all forms, fiction, or story, letters, prophecies, philoGophy (or wisdom, as the Hebrews called it). And yet the Bible was one book united by a common spirit, a common message— the message of redemption. In fact, it might be called > the Romance of the Love of God. Dr. Gibb dealt critically with the. Old Testament and the New, showing the revelation of the purpose -of God toward man in Genesis, and its -completion as foreshadowed in the Revelations. There was a large congregation, and special music was given by the choir. ST. PAUL'S. At St. Paul's Pro-Cathedral, Rev. T. H. Sprott made references to the Tercentenary. He held that if th© occasion furnished a reason for joy and thanksgiving it was also one for humiliation. The present age was in a better position than any other in the matter of the popularisation of the best thoughts in the form of cheap literature. Books to understand the Scriptures were being written by the ablest scholars, and their work was put before the people of today in the cheapest, clearest, and simplest form. It had become possible at last for the ordinary man to read hia Bible with intelligence. It was absolutely true to-day in this respect that prophets and kings have desired to see those things which we see, and have not seen them, and to hear those things which we hear and have not heard them. Speaking as the vicar for the last Sunday, Mr. Sprott said his ideal for the past nineteen years had been to make the Bible a little better known, and if he had been able to help some to understand it better, to love it more, to read it with, greater diligence, it would make him glad. ST. JAMES. Rev. W. Shirer, preaching at St. James, Newtown, dealt with The Word, spoken, recorded, and incarnate. Special reference was made at the evening service to the authorised version of the Scriptures, its place in history, it* relation to preceding translation, and to manuscripts. Ihe value of the revised version was readily acknowledged, but the authorised version still held its place of honour in the home and tha Church throughout the British Empire. The preacher made an earnest appeal for the recognition of the Scripture in every department of lifo. • WELLINGTON BROTHERHOOD. Mr. R. A. Wright, M.P., spoke on " The Influence of the Bible " before the Wellington Brotherhood yesterday afternoon. Most of the reforms for the benefit of humanity had been tho outcome of Bible study. The Bible was responsible for the weekly day of rest, its teachings hod influenced the opponents of slavery, and it was due to the realisation of the Brotherhood of man. So long as The Biblo vvas included in the constitution of the British Empire and the crocs emblazoned on its flag, it would never go back. On the conclusion of Mr. Wright's address a motion was carried approving the peace proposals of Sir Edward Grey, which were supported by Sir Joseph Ward.