BIBLE SOCIETY CENTENARY.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXXI, Issue 9991, 5 March 1904, Page 4

BIBLE SOCIETY CENTENARY.

— . « THANKSGIVING MEETING. There •was a, good attendance at St. Andrew's Church last evening, when a thanksgiving meeting was held m connection with the British , and Foreign Bible Society's Convention, the Rev. Mr 1 aterspn again presiding. Iv his opening remarks, the Chairman said he thought they should have a praise meeting when they thought of the great amount of good that had been done during the 100 years of the Society's existence. During the 100 years i the Society had produced over 180,000,000 copies, made up of the Qld and New Testaments, and portions of the Bible, and tjie Bible had been printed m S7O different languages. He did not think that anyone could estimate the great amount of good that the Bible Society had done. He likened the Society to the little stream which ran down the Alleglmny Mountains into the Ohio river, and flowing on for 1000 miles more reached the mighty Mississippi. So the British and Foreign Bible Society had originated m a very small way, and had become a very great and valuable thiug4 m the present day. On the Bible rested the real prosperity of the British nation, and every other nation. It was the character of the people that went to make up a great nation, and there was nothing to develop people's characters better than

the Bible. The speaker then remarked upon the incident when the aboriginal chief sent to the late Queen Victoria and asked her what was the secret of England's greatness, and received the answer that it was the Bible. In his native land, m Scotland, every home had a Bible, and there were very few homes m which Bible-roacling was- not conducted. Mr Smith, m an enthusiastic address, paid that if people wanted a subject for enthusiasm, they had only to turn their attention to the Word of God. The Biblo Society had done a great deal towards making renl Christians. When he looked back and saw what God had done for England by His Word, his heart went out m praise to Him for His goodness. In His Holy Word God had given them something to raise their intellect. The Bible truly was the secret of England's greatness, and they should think wliat God had done for them by His Word. When people turned their backs on the Bible then, to his mind they were on tlie downward path. In the struggle for religious liberty m the seventeenth century it was the Bible that served England. He was a supporter of the Bible Society, for he realised m the Word of God a weapon with- n-hich to overcome the wiles of darkness. He was glad to find that m this town so much interest was being taken m the Society. He believed that they must have the Word of God absorbed m their hearts before they could be of any use m His service. Mr Tylee. was m deepest sympathy with the Society, and m reading an extract from the report was surprised to see the great amount of work it had accomplished. Besides doing what the other speakers had stated, the Society had employed 850 colporteurs for the distribution of the Bible and portions of the Bible at an enormous cost, and he said that as the result of all the labor spent m the distribution of the Word of God only one soul had been saved, the Society and those connected would be well rewarded. He was glad that he had been brought up m a Christian home, where family worship was always carried on. Mr Peckover deemed it a great privilege to be the secretary of the Gisborne branch of so great a .Society, and hoped that, as till©- result- of the centenary meetings the people would take more interest m the welfare of the British and Foreign Bible Society. He was only J-orry that the president (Mr C. A. DeLautour) was unable to lake part m the proceedings owing to ill-health. Mr Stafford thanked God for His goodness m giving them His Word. He Avas sorry he had been misunderstood .when lie made mention of Christians not reading their Bibles. What he meant to wiy was that it seemed to him that some Christians very seldom read their Bibles which he thought was quite bad enough. After a collection, hud been taken up m aid of tho Society the 100 th Psalm Mas •sung, and a very enthusiastic and enjoyable meeting was brought to a close. '