, 1859-01-07

VINO mas Impressed upon u those laws by which
its various bodies revolve around their centre Of
g arty in curvilinear orbits, has also made m IN,
and placed him on ths beautiful earth OF our,
which he has balanced in the heavens. He 5
endowed him with necessary faculties, by which
he is enabled 70 investigate the laws which gov
ern the material universe. Had man kept his
first estate, those faculties wonlI, without doubt,
have been sufficient to have enabled him to ION.
| prehcnd the true relation which he bears TO his
maker; but perverted as they have been by the
fall, nothing can be more false than the idea
that mans reason alone is sufficient to lead him
to the knowledge Of the truth with regard to
himself and his relation to God.
Where can we find, in the whole race, more
acute and powerful intellects than those possess
ed by the ancient Egyptians and Grccians and
what did their boasted reason tn them were the
objects for worship? Leeks, onions, crocodiles, or
heavenly bodies, to whom they ascribe in many
instances extremely vicious qualities.
The best system Of morals cnjoincd by the
best men Of whom the pagan world could boast
would not be tolerated, at the present time, in
any community where the gospel has been pro-
mulgated even in its lowest type.
In His loving kindness towards man, God has
not been unmindful Of his moral nature, but has
revealed His will with regard to him in the book
we call the bible. The proofs for the authen-
ITCHY Of this book, il can with confidence be
affirmed, are greater by far than for any profane
history written to pourtray those times when
the will Of God to man was indited by inspired
penmen
In the investigation of those truths, there is
fine field for the exercise Of our reasoning facul
ties; and, did we require no better proof to es-
| tablish them than We require in the ordinary
affairs Of life, | venture TO affirm that no sane
man, with that reason which has been vouch-
safed to almost every one, cou gansay them.
All the cavils Of modern infdelty with regard
to the truth of the bible had been triumphantly
answered, when that prince Of sceptics, David
Hume, brought forward his celebrated aphorism,
which was considered by his followers at the
time as unanswerable. 1t was this: "Miracles
being violation Of the laws Of nature, no tcsti-
mony is sufficient to establish them, unless it be
Of such kind that its falsehood would be more
miraculous than the facts which it endeavored
to establish" The Christian revelation ,as was
justly remarked by Doctor Johnson) is not
proved by miracles alone, but as connected with
prophecies, and with the doctrines in confirm
alton Of which miraclts were wrought. Mathe.
matical science here steps in and beautifully
solves Hume's diHcu'ty. By making use Of the
science Of probabilities, so well explained by the
celebrated La Pace, the conditions Of Hume can
b. satisfied, and his objections fall to the ground
| Inc laSt prop u1S Dteu knockcu away trOtn Illc
intidclity which denies that God has revealed
Himself to man, leaving without excuse those
who still refuse to admit this great and momen-
tous truth.
Let us now compare those countries where
the bible has been freely distributed with those
where obstacles have been thrown in the way Of
its circulation. Compare England with Spain,
and the United States with Mexico. In the
time Of Charles v, Spain was one Of the most
powerful nations Of Europe. She rejected the
free use VI the blb!e, and drove from her borders
the blessed reformation Of 1900, by the terrors
Of an inquisiIiop, which was an excrcscence on
humanity, and gross dishonor to God. Ma.
tons are punished in this world, and, in the
providence Of God, Spain has fallen 50 low in the
assembly Of nations that mono are so weak as to
do her reverence. Her vast possessions in the
new. world have passed away from her, and her
last colony, the beautiful Queen Of the Antilles,
Is now trembling in her grasp. Mexico, the
child Of Spain in the new world, is fast approach
ing that terrible state in which anarchy will have
constant reign. France, 90, by the revoca-
ton Of the edit Of Nantes, terribly pcrsecutcd
those glorious old Huguenots whose rule Of faith
was taken from the bible; and tod in his prov
idence punished her by the tcrrors Of the rev.
olution Of '9S, and the unstable governments
which have since followed.
| luc ulole Is Iue great TegulabOT VI all luo Well
ordered governments Of modern times and re-
publican governments cannot exist without the
gelerai acknowledgement Of the principles which
il ilculcatcs say, without fear Of contradic-
ton that it is the bible, and not TIE con ,ttution
Of the Unitcd States, which is the great charter
Of our liberties. Take away that just fear Of
( God which the bible inculcates, and man must
be governed by the fear Of man.
Our lot has been cast in this far of portian Of
our Republic. We are, as it were, a Protestant
colony, surrounded by the darkness Of heathen-
ism. God, through our instrumentality, (if we
accept iO intends working out here some great
event Of his providence.
"Japhcth shall dwell in the tents Of Shcm,"
was the prophecy Of an inspired man Of old
The signs Of the times are now propitious for
the fulillmsnt Of that prophecy By the treaty
lately made with the Emperor Of China, an em-
pire 4l6,0O0,00O OF souls is now opened to
the teachings Of Christianity. This coast, above
every portion Of our ocean.bound Republic, is
interested In this matter. In the course OF time
not far removed, there will be an immense trade
with oil those ,astcrn countries. Before we
come IN intimate relations with these teeming
millions and commence exercising that glorious
instrumcntality which providence is so plainly
indicating, let us take care that we meet them
with pure Christianity drawn from Gods holy
book.
In view Of these great and momentous events,
which are now dawnins upon US, it is plainly
the duty Of this society to take care that every
family within its bounds has a copy of the bible,
or an opportunity Of refusing one. As a society
for the distribution of Gods word, we occupy
no unimportant position in that army whose
duty it is to fight against sn and We shall final.
ly prevail; for the all-animating voice Of the
Son Of God is with US, and he will lead US to
victory.
SILAs CASEY,
500 1t Col 9th Infty,,