Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1831-06-15

At the 10Th anniversary Of the Ameri-
can Bible Society, held in New y ork,
May 18th, Col. Varick, President Of the
Society, in the Chair, the following mo-
ton was made by the Rev. j. o. Choules,
of this town, and seconded by the Rev.
DIR. Nc Auley of Philadelphia.
Q. R.soired, That while a delay OF
funds, and the severity oithe past winter,
have prevented the full redemption ofthe
pledge to supply the United States with
! Bibles in two years, there Is still occasion
| for untcigned gratitude to God, that SO
much has been done toward the accom-
/ plishment of this enterprise, and also ell
couragement to expect, that with the con-
tinued excltions Of Auxiiaries < friends,
the entire supply contemplated may soon
be effected.
n Mr. Choules observed, ] have often
found myself engaged, MIR. President, III
meditation, upon the gigantic operations
of Nature in our Land-thc lofty hills,
the mighty rivers, the ioaming torrents
and the far-sprcad plains-and | have
been struck with the fact that there Is u
most beautiful harmony subslstlng be-
| tween the works of nature and the eXhi-
bition of Grace in the new creation upon
this Continent. Here, more than in any
other part of the Universe, does Jehovah
seem to challenge our attention, whilst he
displays the wonders Of his creative hand
and the omnipotent energy Of his grace,
in overcoming the almost alnnghtlness OF
sin in the soul. Now, as the subjugation
of this world to Gods government is to
be effected by human agency, and as
Gods blessing is always connected with
the faithful discharge of duty, it would
appear that there should be in this land il
mighty moral machinery, in some meas
urc commensurate with those grand re-
.. suits which Christian faith anticipates.--
: was present two years ago when this So
. ciety resolved to supply every family in
:. these United States with a copy oi the
Bible, and / shall never forget my feel
% ings-I thought ! saw means Ill some
:. degree proportionatc TO our object; our
> Society, leaning on the sure word OF
>, prophecy, not only expected but attempted
i great things.
y The venerable English Prelate occur
- red to my mind, who when he heard OF
the establishment of Sabbath Schools,
', raised himself on his dying bed and ex-
=. claimed, ''then have lived to see glo-
. rious days for England"
, Sir-when that sacred resolution was
" passed, you must have felt that you were
on the verge of another Revolution, one
I, more glorious than that of '16--you must
Il have anticipated the period when this
, vast republic shall be composed entirely
> of Freemen, "ior they are ireemen whom
= the truth makes free, and all are slaves
J, beside"
= Yes, sir, your emotions must have been
l. pious and patriotic; truly could you say
> , with the Bishop, 81 have lived to see glo-
- rious days for my country" and almost
you might cXclaim, in the language Of
y him who waited for the consolation of Is
- racl, "Lord, now lettest thou thy servant
, depart in peace" &c.
! There is something sublime in the
name of our Society, ".4merican Bible
~ Society;" our title tells our duty; 1t de-
~ clares that one quarter of the globe is In
~ our charge, and that in the administration
~ of our me,cy we may range from pole To-
- pole. The spirit which prevailed in tins
~ society on the memorable day to which
% my motion refers, was in exact keeping
u with the admonilion of the wise man.
: "Whaisoerer thy hand fndeth 10 do, do II
P, mih My might" If ever we do any ac-
- tual service for God in the world, we
:! must labor and be in earnest-all history
. proves the fact. If Israel is to be led
y forth from captivity, God will select as
~ her Liberator one who is ready to turn
his back on Crown, Court, s. a King
dom. And if Israel shall take possession
of the promised land she must be intro
duced by man who had '.tollo'ced The
10 " Lord fulH." In after ages, when the
=" temple is rebuilt, it is accomplished by
" o' the energies Of Il people who had a mind
~ 10 work' The early spread oithc Gospel
u ~ was accomplished by men who preached
~ everywhere, who were instant in season
- and out of season, and who were regard
u less of.life itself when its sacrifice was
II demanded in the furtherance oithc truth.
III And sir, the moral wilderness will new cr
=, become the garden of the Lold until
10 there is iaborious cultivation bestowed
y upon it,
On occasions like the present we are
'o compelled to turn our minds to cardinal
truths with which we have long been ac-
III quainted. Novelty is out of the question;
:" and | am not sure that this is Just matter
&c for regret. TO dwell upon grand princi-
pies with which we have been success