The Abbeville banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1847-1869, 1857-11-12
,'rNN,'N" Nrir.
TO THE MINISTER'S OF THE GOSPEL IN ABIDE.
WILLIE DISTRICT.
Cmn,.rIN\ Hnllmni\.

Board ur Directors l." ,l,lirss YOU II circular
letter n~kin.. You 10 la.n,h in your several pull
pits til" great >ulj"c, that "ngn="s our ",rn-
,.on: and II, in your Judgment, ii shall be- proper
t" take up collection, in your various churches
III aid Of this cause.
In compliance will, this Injunction, allow us
t. call your at cnt nn to this important matter.
We 10 not deem it necessary 1" siy anvihin.
10 you with respect 10 the value Of th" Bible;
for y",i, wei! az VIZ. are persuaded that it is
the very word of God, nnl the only rule of faith
aud practice Ia man; that it, alone, Of all the
buolis in the world, reveals Il religion adapted to
man rs sinner; ,!mta, only, meets his religious
want, rNl"scs the necessities of his spiritual
tmrc, and in the person of Divine Saviour, and
in the work of Il Divine Spirit, provides powers
adequate to redeem and rrycm,ratc him.
These great and precious truths will readily
suggest Themselves 10 Your minds. and are, IN
fact. the !;r"ua,!s of the long and lcrvrn. in,crcs,
that You have Eel, in This whole sul,irc,
Eut we would earnestly hey you To uu..r
that this Revelation OF the Gospel of the grace of
G"d is hid from many; and that effort should
be lacking on our part to make it perfectly
accessible to every ind,vilu; in our borders.
Ten years have elapsed since Il thorough
ri'rt made 20 furnish all the households
amongst us with copies of the Bible and by III.
formation of new families, by Immigration from
abroad, and by the agents of destruction ever at
work. the state OF the is altered since the.
completion Of that undertaking, ll,, II vigorous
crt i'll disseminating The Scriptures is us npvr-
ativc now aS IT ever WIS
,,:- that E,n,;l;n, -, ,.......
destitute Of copies ofany portion Of The Scriptures:
II is certain that many others InSscSs but one of
the Ic>acni>; it is certain that MANY others
have only >i:.lc Bible for the whole family,
and tl,r' one :" large, old um.l 50 badly print
cl rs I" be nc"mvcnrnt for any, AMI uruttrnc-
tive III appearance 10 the young; it is certain
that i'll many instances the la,nilv Bible is mutt
lated and dc!;.c"d; that in others, brc:,,,S. i,
contains the family records, i, is not desired hy
the head of th" Ian'Iy that it should he freely
used by children Now all these things prevent
that daily and familiar cnntact with the lively
oraclrS, n:i which the life of God in the soul t,
rcnds.
We would remind you that whatever is to be
done under The circumstances, is To be- done by
MS, by yn", an' l'y the chri$E" J,""y,lc who wal,
on your ministry.
The Society that we represent has assumed
the task of distributing the Bible throughout this
large aud popuons District. even us the Grca;
Parent S""irty, together with lis numerous aux.
i'Iati:S, has assumed the task Of dist Stu.irr tho
bible thrnn!Ioul the whole extent Of Ibis broad
! land Ii, then, our Society 40 not supply our
own District. it must remain destitute.
The various churches, iilstc;,l Of acting sc,,a-
| r'de!y, have, with one exception, united in ll:S
organization for this specific purprSc; nearly all
the Christian energy devoted t" this wurk with
in our limits, is subsidized By "ur Society; it.,
therefore, the people perish for lack of knowledge
, ours will be the guilt.
! Mnliiiu"s az" $,arvin. for W ant of ,l. bread
OF life, willie We have gurncrcL up an ample
store.
! I.r It's giv. freely Of our abundance! let Us
furnish them. no! as Joseph supplied the Eyvp-
t.anS. by compelling each man TO COM. To The
grannry, but rather let feed them us God fed
the ISrarlitrS hy scat term" the heavenly 1uauna
all abroad iii the CAMP and at the door If every
tent
Pressed with these obligations, the Society
would discharge them in the fear Of God But
| IL cannot d" :" without your aid. Its funds do
not warrant the employment Of c0.pnr.cur, spc
! cinlly devoted to this work. II must throw IT,
self on the zeal ofG.,drs ministers and upon the
charity Of Gods people And il does with the
most assured confidence that this support will not
fail.
! II is our desire to furnish every family now
destitute, with copy Of the scriptures. 1t is
"'.r desire To do more than this We wish to SIM
l'lciiicnt the old and Icfaccd with new and Icpi-
bic copies; we wish TO Place alongside Of the
great family Bible, smaller and more convenient
editions; we wish that, instead Of there being a
solitary Bible in house, each CI,ild should have
! ITS own peculiar treasure, to bs read not simply
10 the common room, and in the presence of 9TH
era, but in the privacy of the chamber, and in the
/ silence OF the forest. We deem it important not
! only that each family, but that each person able
to read shou!'!,vc the Bible placed in his hands,
that every eye may fall upon the sacred page,
that every mind should be I,ckcncd By the glo-
! nous truths, and that every heart should be
! touched by its gracious influence. We deem il y
high privilege that we are permitted to labor il.
this blessed work
shall We whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from OH high,
Shall TO mcn lcnghrd
| The lamp Of life Lcny?"
We would, therefore, in accordance with the
instructions Of the Society whose officers we are
respectfully request you to preach OH this sub
Ject at your earliest convenience, nnd if not in
consistent with your arrangements to take up col.
| lcc,ons in its behalf.
Monies contributed may he forwarded to II. II.
Wardaw, Esq, the Treasurer Of the Society.
at meeting of the Board the following Rcso
| luton was passed:
R"sotr'A, That the Ministers ofthe Gospel be re.
4nested TO ascertain ns far may be in their power
those, in the bounds Of their respective congrega-
lions, who may bedestutc OF the Scrpturcs and re-
the nuc totl Dist ric RIl,