The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1879-10-14 00:00:00

PRIMITIVE METHODIST ANNIVERSARY.

Two anniversary sermon., were preached on Sunday week
by the Rev. J. Aah worth in the St. Leonard'eroad ChapaL
litth merriest were. Tell. attended

In connection the above, a lecture was delivered
In the Bank-buildings Baptist Chapel, by there,, gentleman
mac, subject—" The Bible, the Peerless Lamp of sacred
Truth" There was an exceedingly good attendance, the
chair being taken by Kr. A. Dennis, who said doubtless
many of them had had the good fortune or misfortune to
listen to a celebrated lecturer, either American or English.
In this town or elsewhere; and in some instances they
might have been fortunate enough to have obtained •
t treat which had supplied them with motive
plilolgurer the greater part of their lifetime, Perhans,
they might have been unfortunate enough to bear • lecture
even on "The Bright Side of Things—(laughter)—
heralded in with a flourish of trumpets and • good deal of
printout ink, but which turned out to be one of the
dullest pieces of oratory ever inflicted on • cultured
audience (Haar, hear.) Or, it might be, they had fought
shy of lectures on account of the prosy introduc•
tory speeches which were invariably made by
the gentlemen who occupied the chair. He should
content himself *with offering in the name of
that Christian church • cordial welcome to Mr. Ashworth,
who was to lecture to them upon • subject of the deepest
, Importance. Before calling upon him, however, he would
ask them to allow him to raid • paragraph from • well.
conducted periciiital bearing on the subject In the course
of that leading article the writer said "Once the Bible
was looked upon as the pure infallible Word of God, and
people read it accordingly. They stil hold to this theory
about its
i character but they have almost ceased to read
It, and the Bible s beco.nin an unopened Book." If
than this description held good of any present he trusted
the lecturer would succeed in arousing within them the
!spirit of the Psalmist when he said "Lord, how love I Thy
law." (Applause)
The lecture was an excellent one, but cannot he done
justice thin • summary, it should be heard_ Speaking of the
Psalms, said it wasthe productions of Neston.Shakspeare,
Cowper, Watts, and Wesley, had held their own for
between two and three centuries past, but the Psalms were
looked upon as one of Use grandest collections of poetry
1 extant in any language There was no wife or mother,
' husband or father, son or daughter, moldier or sailor, man
lof businees, or man of labour, but who might find
something in She Psalms adapted to his circumstances
The Acts of the Apostles were not he considered lightly
named. It should have been named "The introduction
of the Gospel among the Jews and Gentiles.' It did not
contain • thousandth part of the travel., trials, and
triumphs of the Apostles, but it contained a most
wondrous account of their grand revivalistic work.
However they might think of Moody And Sankey, and
whatever they rid of the grand revival of the 18th
century In which We ley, Whitfield, and others took pert,
there were none so majestic, so magnificent as three which
were detailed in the Acts of the Apostle. There was no
nation which had been deprived of the Bible but which had
had confused ideas of God, and whatever nation had
embraced the knowledge of the one holy, true, living God,
that nation had been dependent for its knowledge upon
the sacred Word of God. He loved the Bible for its poetry,
its antiquity, its literature, its pathos . imagery, Its
beauty, grandeur, and sub'imity. Thereit was no book
surpassing the Bible in all thew attributes. Whilst
science and art might progress, there was that in the
Bible which surpassed them all. (Applause.)
The CHAIRMAN said they had heard a very excellent
lecture; but he thought the best part of the evening was
still before them, via that they had to make • collection
on behalf of their friends in St Leonard's-road. He
believed many ot them considered the Bible te he one of
the grandest books on science that the wor d had ever
seen. Hear such statements es these from the lips of our
Lord Himself: "If Chine enemy hunger feed him, if he
thirst give him drink:" Whatsoever ye woo d that men
should do unto you do ye even so unto them." Then the
, sayings of the mat Apostle to the Gentiles sects as "For
moth live is Christ. to die is gain." "Henceforth there is
lad up for me a crown of righteousness which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, shall give me at that day, and not to
me only, but to all them that love His appearing." Was
not that the highest kind of science I (Hew. hear.)
The Rev. J. Eters then proposed votes of thanks to Mr.
Ashworth, Mr. Dennis the pastor, and the deacons and
members of the church for their kindness in allowing them
the use of their chapel. (Applause)
The proposition was carried by aulatnation, and
acknowledged.