The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1896-06-01

This destitution has been supplied in
| part by the gift of 400 copies of the
Scriptures at cost to US of $440a, and
| by The sale of 1900 copies at a net cost
OF $500. Inasmuch as q great part of
the territory visited has been i'll sparsely
settled districts the cost of service has
boen increased and the receipts of the
leld w orkers perCeptibly diminished.
| Under the wise management OK the su-
perlntendent we now have q very good
list OF systematic givers. Our annual
mem bershlp is about 100. This increase
has enabled US to progress in our work
ana Keep our expenditures within our re-
| celpGs. Our treasurer's report March lst,
SHOW the ordinary receipts to have Deon
$4, 559.5 81, and the expenditures 81, 541 40,
leaving q balance OF $1S. 03 in the society's
favor. No account is made in this re-
| port or the purchase and sale of Bibles
which amounts in the year to nearly
$1,000, because the books being sold as
nearly as possible at cost, the expendl-
lures and receipts from this source are
supposed to balance each other. When
we consider all of the circumstances, the
annual distribution and efforts to sup
ply it, the difficulties Of the field and the
multiplied and pressing calls fo- mission
ary and benevolent funds, we are con-
strained to thank God that no debt has
been incurred, and we are encouraged to
engage with renewed vigor in the work
that still demands our most earnest and
hearty endeav0r.
Rev. DR.. Jenkins then gave out the
l53d hymn which was sung by the choir
and congregation, and then INTRODUCED
as the speaker of the evening Rev. DIR.
Calkins of Boston.
DR.. Calkins delivered very erudite
address upon. the Bible and the Hebrew
language. He commenced by saying
that the Maine Sooiety's honored orga-
nization has been engaged for so yesrs
distributing a book through the commu-
nifty Your past year has been full of
special blessings. 1t is we'll that pow
erful syndicate has been formed to dis
tribute this book. 1t seems that there
are 500 families in this state without
page of it. This won't do What is this
book. You call it the Bible. This Bible
of yours has teen challenged lately. A
controversy has sprung up as to whether
this book of yours is the real Bible;
controversy not started by the Roman
Catholics, but by men known for their
extreme conservatism. These learned
men say your Bible is not an inerrant
Bible; that it has never been whole
Bible with the inerrant autographers
attached. 1 say, said the speaker, thera
never has been, is, or will be, whole
Bible comprised of these inerrant auto
graphs Scientists might as well argne
about the other side of the moon as for
Bible scholars to argue over an inerrant
Bible and the Bible familiar to us.I believe
such controversy about Bible that
never did and never will exist if carried
out would end in the interr uption and
perhaps breaking up of all our Bible So
oieties. This Bible that was used is
the one we send to the lumber camps
and the people in those camps get COM
fort out of it. l don't believe these origi-
nal autographs they tell about were
ever intended to be preserved.
I believe the Bible we use is and al
ways has been the true Bible for three
reasons: First from Bible translation;
second, from Bible language; and third,
from q new statement Of Bible inspira-
tion. The preacher then gave a very
elaborate history of the various versions
of the Bible. The Bible IS translated
into more than 300 tongues, the mission
ary Bible is distributed among some 600,-
0O0, 600 of people. This must satisfy US
that the blessing of God has been on the
translated Bible. Each version has ap-
peared at some critical period of each
nations history. The translators kept
the Bible free from accretions and thus
made it the Bible of God. A very inter-
esting story was told of the origin of St.
Gerome's Bible, the mother Bible Of the
world, the vulgate..Bible. The difficult
ties of translation of the Bible would
have been insurmountable if they had
not been written in the Hebrew, lam
guage that surpasses all others in its pre-
csion and simplicity. The plurality of
the Hebrew was dwelt upon. The very
first verse of Genesis says God created
the heavens and the earth, not meaning
persons did it; only one, The peoples
Bible is the gospel of inspiration. In
spiration of Bible reading is what is
wanted to be impressed upon the people.
Pray for the presence Of Gods spirit,
and I believe the Bibles distributed
among the lumber camps will accom-
plish this work.
At the conclusion of DR.. Calkins's ad-
dress collection was taken and then
the 16Sth hymn was given out by Dr..
Jenkins and sung by choir and congrega-
tion, after which the benediction was
pronounced by DR.. Calkins.
A Descendant of ''Molly" Stark.