Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1878-10-23
The Vermont Bible Society.

the House Of Representatives Wednesday even
ing, in the presence OF good house. the Presi |
dent NJ the Society, Colonel franklin Fairbanks,
OF St Johnsbufy, in the chair The President !
read and the congregation sang &" All hail the |
power of Jesus name" Rev Mr. Sherburn read |
parts OF the One Hundred and Nineteenth |
Palm, aud Rev L. Tenney of Barre, offered
prayer The Treasurer of the Society, John A. |
Page, Esq, OF Montpelier and the Secretary
Rev. MIR. Bemis read their reports These re-
ports show an increase Of contributions to the
Society over last ear Of sill
The President then introduced Rev. j. G.
Johnson, Of Rutland who discoursed from Psalms
xix T. "The law Of the Lord is perfect, con-
verting the soul; the testimony Of the Lord is
sure, making wise the simple" BY these inn
pressve words, said the speaker, the Hebrew
poet declares the results Of receiving the Word
of God The soul is converted. The simple is
made wise Is a more perfect statement possible
Of the need and remedy ? Sin and ignorance are
everywhere the allied forces which oppose the
progress Of mankind To deal successfully with
these has been the problem Of the ages. Phoso-
pliers have risen and taught and passed away
and their approach to the truth has been meas
ured by their sense of their own failure, until
Plato, the mightiest among the mighty, like the
venturesome boys on the painless crag, recorded
his name highest of them all, when he declared
that the mystery Of life would be unsolved and
its battle unknown until some messenger from
heaven should reveal what human wisdom I'M
aided could neverobtain. The Bible unhesitatingly
makes the claim that it is the Word Of God, and
as the Word of God it claims perfection rs to its
moral teachings and to be the instigator of intel
lcctua life To make clear these claims and the
duties that grow ont Of them, the object of
the discourse.
That God can make revelation to man is dis
pnted, ~ every supernatural fact is disputed.
Dut tho donal Of such possibility forces the de
nier back step by step, logically into atheism II
matter is eternal and uncreated, then God il but
another name for the law by which matter and
| force are controlled But II matter is created,
then the words Of Genesis are the truth " In the
beginning God created the hcavenand the earth. "
| Md in the creation Of the world the supernatural
is proved and established. and every subsequent
manifestation of the supernatural is involved
What has the Bible done for man to answer to
its claim that it is perfect converting the soul and
that it is sure making wise the simple 1t has re-
| lieyed him from the destructive burdens which
| his false conception Of himself and Of God have
laid upon him The truth Of God corresponds
| with mans sense of sin and frees him from it,.
Second. it teaches the dignity Of the individual
soul The instant the thought Of revelation is
caught the first response is, Lord what is man,
that thou art mindful of him. Third, as revela-
ton exats the SOU because Of its relationship to
God, 50 it exalts spiritual forces above material.
| Fourth A. the Bible has taught men their respon-
| sbity for their character and conduct, it has
constantly advanced the standard of both charac-
ter and conduct Look at modern society and
name the instances of its superiority over ancient
and in every instance you name only the work Of
the Bible
The books that have already been written to
interpret the Bible amount to more than sixty
thousand The chiefest benefit of the Bible lies
in the fact that it the instrument of the spiritual
regeneration OF the soul 1t bears the message OF
hope to man in his struggles with sin 1t tells OF
a possible salvation and says, Come unto me and
will give you lie.
The preacher, in closing the discourse of which
this is but me, gre outline, urged to a renewed
effort to apprehend the worth Of the Bible and tc
give it to all
The report of the Secretary of the Vermont Bible
Society upon visitation and Bible distribution fol
the year ending October l, 1878, shows that vista
ton WAS in portions of the counties of Chitten
den, Washington and Windham, including it
Chittenden the city of Burlington. Number o
families visited 10,076 number Of persons in sale
families, 40 1853; number found destitute, / ,445
or these 1850 were Catholic, 1876 Protestant. Nun
her of families supplied 407, of which 1W wer
Proie-tants 213 Catholic; number attending pub
lie worship 2s 432 at ending Sabbath-school, 10,
j0l; number attending Sunday-school between
five and eighteen years of age, 1867; numbe
having the Donay Bible GA. number of book
sold 0d4 value Of books sold, Sol 80; humble
Of books donated, Ssl value of books donated
$3.50 %; number of days spent, 1876; expenses in
CURED, SiS7 0j; collected, Sll3S2; whole cost o
work, Sl19iB
The Treasurer If the Society, j. A. Page, Esq.
reports A. follows: Balance in Treasury, Octobe
l2'h, 1871 50 800 50; amount received from or
binary contributions From Addison county
SlS3sO; bennington. Sls2 10; Caledonia, slS3 90
Chittenden, S2lS 80; Essex, S27 SO; Franklin
S2l3 Of; Grand Isle, IS 90; l.amOille, $50 IS
Orange, S2l2, 90 Orleans Sl3j 81 Rutland, S@ 80
Washington. S2S7 30; Windham, sl42 -; Wind
sor $500 AZ; Erastus Fairbanks estate, 500; I
, and f. Fairbanks 4 Co $500 Mrs. S q Bliss
D estate F. Rogers note and interest, S5l9 ~
books sold at repositories and by colporteurs
S7l.G3, bookcase sold by agent, 81 30, total
S7i27 % The Treasurer RENTED as follows
American Bible Society, 5000; expensesof an
nua meeting, 1871 $50 printing annual report
$50; stationery and postage, 50 colporteur ser
, vices and expenses, sl2l5 S. agents salary
81 600 agents expense account, Sll7 IS, leaving
cash balance on hand, Sl9i9 %
Tho snpiptV ghn.e AZ tho husinass ueatinu III
old Board Of Directors, continuing Colonel Fail
banks as President and Rev. J. W. Bemis rs Sec
rotary and Agent