Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1855-01-17
ADDRESS.

AFTER Tue SPEAKER Hdu ieietieu " sho pio-
ceedings for canvassing the County for the
past year, the financial condition of the So
ciety, and some other matters of business
character, he proceeded.
now ask your consideration to some tcp
les which are naturally suggested by the very
work which we propose to do.
What is our work To spread every
where, into every house, to deposit in the
hands of every fellow creature, this Book
called The Bible Ii is not one book, but
many books in one II contains IL books Of
Ancient History, books of Sacred Poetry,
Il books of Ancient Prophecy 5 of the His
tory of the Establishment Of the Christian
Church, 81 Epistles, and one sublime closing
book of prophecy. Yet in another and a
higher sense it is one book, for it all points
to one great sacrifice, to one great central
event, to one mighty parsonage, to Him who
was promised to Eve as the seed Of the wo-
man, that was to overcome the Evil One.
Him whom the Patriarchs trusted in, and
looked for, by faith seeing him afar off,
Adam heo-d him in the garden, Abel saw the
blood Of the Lamb of God in the lamb that
he slew, Enoch walked with Jesus, Noah be-
held him in the same rainbow that eneircled
his head, in the vision of the holy seer at
Patmos. Moses knew that rock was Christ
Isaiah predicted bis sorrows. David sung bis
praise, Zechariah saw him in his m iods eye,
as the palm branches were strewn in bis path
way to the city, where he was to be offered
up Jeremiah recognizes him as the Lord our
Righteousness Ezekiel sees him as Shep-
herd seeking out his flock to feed them, Mi
cab names the very obscure village OF bis
birth, while Malachi closes tho solemn record
by foretelling his forerunner and announcing
his rising. Christianity is tho same now that
it has been from the beginning, -to the pa
triarchs and to us, our hope is the hope of
Job,-'I know that my redeemer liveth. and
in this fcsh after death. shall see him, and
She Bible is in its entire scope, and purpose,
types, prophecies, and symbols, Jesus Christ
and none but him,
The first FIVE books were written some 300
years before the beginning Of our era, more
than 1000 years before Heroditus the father
of profane history was born. About the time
that the last prophet closed his Vaccinations
the eldest history extant was written; and
thus profaue history begins when these books
of the Old Testament were completed, Alei-
achi, the last of the prophets. was about 400
years before Christ,--Ileroditus was hofn
$50 years before Christ, at HalicarbaSsaa
These venerable and sacred records, laid sp
in the temple, kept sacred, copied SO careful
" that If one dot or line too many was made
by scribe, the whole sheet was burned ;
Tacitus calls "aL ancient prophecy, contained
iu books, kept by the priests, by which it was
foretold that at this very juncture the power
of the East would prevail over the nations,
anu u IdCc Va mNu NpNtA AvAhu fAtNt ~
dea to extend their dominion over the rest
the world" He goes on to say "Tha r5e
dietiou, however, oouched 10 ambiguous terms
related to Vespassian and bis son Titus, bot
the Jewish mind was not to be enlightened. .
True enough, and strange to say, is not en-.
ligbteued to this day, 1900 years after, too
the book of the prophet Daniel was there
with it its sacred arithmetic, showing to the
very year how long it should be from the 60
ing forth Of the edct TO build their city after
the BabyloDish captivity, to the time when
their Prince Messiah should come. "fbey
had eyes but they saw not; ears had they
but they heard not and could not under
stand. and the blindnes is yet upon their eyes,
soon, we trust in God, to be removed, and
by toe very means, in part, Of that system Of
effort which we are this night assembled to