not only to give the Imperial Word faithfully translated to other nations, but especially to those speaking the English language that it will go on until every family on earth shall have presented to them a copy of the Scriptures, made according to the inspired pattern from the Almighty. They begin to see that from the thirty or forty revisers in its employ, chosen as they are from seven or eight different religious denominations, pledged to give every word a faithful rendering, the guiding hand of the Author of the Bible manded that all who were fearful and faint should go back. Two and twenty thousand departed, and there remained only ten thousand. But even then Jehovah said to Gideon, "The people are yet too many: bring them down to the water, and I will try them there. Every one that lappeth of the water as a dog lappeth, him set thou by himself. And the number of them that lapped was three hundred. And the Lord said unto Gideon, By the three hundred I will save you, and let all the other people go every man unto his place." Trusting in God, these lowly-minded men, hav--they begin to see, in all this, that the ing each a trumpet, a pitcher, and a lamp in his pitcher, came at midnight to the camp of the foe. They blew their trumpets and broke their pitchers, and held forth their shining lamps. shouting The sword of the Lord and Gideon! And the Lord set the sword of every man against his fellow throughout all the host; and they ran, and cried, and fled, and fell." 6 And in like manner, when the God of the Bible would establish the true principle of Bible translation, He declared in his providence that the united host of English Christendom were too many for him. He allowed all that were fearful and faint-hearted to go back. The British and Foreign and the American Bible Societies, two and twenty thousand, receded. The remaining ten thousand, the Baptists in our American and Foreign Bible Society, were still too many; and God would not allow us to move on " as a denomination" in the work, lest we should say, "Our own hands have done it." And so He sifted us down, and separated from the body a mere handful, His three hundred, who could lap the waters of bitter trial, and reproach, and persecution men who would rather die than surrender the principle, "The Bible faithfully translated for all nations." The triumphant joy in all the tribes of Israel at the victory of Gideon was universal. Not only the ten thousand, but the two and twenty thousand, were glad and gave glory to God. So now, we find thousands of our modern Israel rejoicing in what the American Bible Union has already achieved, and they are beginning to rejoice with us. They begin to see that this work is of the Lord, and that it will prosper. They begin to understand that the Union means to prosecute its holy mission, work will be done as well as man by prayer and study can do it. They see this and rejoice, nor would they have the work cease. They would not blot from the page of history the brilliant career of the Bible Union, though they may not have sympathized with its humble and persecuted founders in the beginning. Were its work to cease for lack of aid, theirs would be a grief as bitter as our own. We are Then let all who love the Bible, and who see in the progress of this glorious Bible Union the power of God, rejoice together. Let the ten thousand and the two and twenty thousand vie with each other, as they shout from the valleys and hill-tops, saying, "We have gained the victory." We will not upbraid them, because they did not come up earlier to the battle. We will not claim the honor before them, as though our own hand had saved us. not the light, but we are to hold it forth. Obscured it may have been for agesobscured let it be no longer. Let it break forth in undimmed splendor upon the midnight slumbers of a dark and sin-ruined world-let it dispel the errors of corrupt systems of religion - let it chase from the church of the living God all her traditions, her sectarianism, and her bigotry-let it bind together, as the truth only can bind, all the redeemed of the Lord into one fold; and let there be but one Shepherd, while we all unite devotedly in giving to Him all the glory. Christians, the American Bible Union needs your aid. Let it not languish for the support which you can give. What your conscience approves, what your heart loves, and what your hands find to do, those things do with all your might. TO THE ELDERS OF CHRISTIAN CHURCHES. NO. II. IN my first number I presented a, plan a system of raising means for God's work-to your consideration. If there be one solid objection to it, I cannot find it. It will be some trouble, it is true, but I have yet to find anything valuable, earthly or heavenly, without trouble. But, admitting that it will require some thought and attention on your part, will it not be very insignificant indeed compared with the good that is likely to result? 1. Like the weekly commemoration of Christ's death, it will be the means of frequently reminding each Christian that he has a work to perform—that he must become part and parcel of the great renovating movement in God's religion and that he must prepare himself for so doing. 2. It will save the employment of agents, at considerable cost. It is a great misfortune that Christians require so much expenditure of time and money to keep them alive, while the good Word of God is so easy of access while prayer, the vital air of the Christian, can so easily be breathed by all. But so it is. Without pastors the churches will starve-without discipline they will go to destruction. Just so it is in regard to benevolent operations. While elders and evangelists should do the work, and see that contribution is made and means for spreading the Gospel should be abundant-it has become necessary, among all parties, to send out agents at much expense, to remind those who have the care of the churches of their duty, or to do their work in this respect for them. Brethren, this ought not so to be. And it need not be so, if you will only do your duty. I do not expect, by any means, to get all of you even to consider these suggestions, much less to put them in practice among the congrega To most persons, years seem to grow shorter as they advance in life. We used to dally with life, but now that life has become a real business, play days are gone for ever. tions; but if I can be the means of getting only a few congregations to commence the plan in earnest, I shall do much, very much good. It will show beyond any controversy, that such congregations both give more, and take greater interest in the spread of the Gospel. 3. It will not interfere with distriet co-operations, for these works are the very same for which District Associations were formed. The funds given in contribution can be sent to the District Board, if there be one, with instructions to expend it within the district, or be by them forwarded to the Missionary or Bible Society. 4. I would again entreat you to consider well the importance of system. Systematic doing good is just as beneficial as systematic evil doing is injurious. Active religious employment is as vital to Christianity, as active physical exercise is to bodily health. If we are not doing good, we are certainly doing evil. If this work is not going forward, the great blame lies at your door. 5. Let us try and stir up the special interest of our preachers and writers to this work. They are the great movers and power in religious matters; and unless they take an active interest in any reform and progress, much is not often accomplished. You are the only persons who can supply the deficiency at all. If they will not work, let us try and set them an example worthy of their imitation. But, more than thislet us call on them, earnestly and repeatedly, to help us. Our importunity may obtain their aid, when other motives fail. But they are generally men who are deeply interested and alive to such matters, and only want to be often reminded, to come to the work. In the name of our Master and his noble cause, I beseech you, brethren, to take a hasty interest in this matter. U. B. Out of our earthly sorrow and bereavement, arises the true hope and joy. The very instincts of afflicted humanity appropriate by necessity the promises of religion. ON BAZAARS AMONGST RELIGIOUS DENOMINATIONS. BY W. M. HUTCHINGS. [We have received the Essay which follows from Brother T. Coop, of Wigan. In communicating it, he writes:-" I send you an Essay on Bazaars which, I think, would be suitable for the pages of the Harbinger. It was read a few evenings ago, at a Young Men's Christian Society, of which I am a member, in connection with the Independents. Our brethren have full liberty to speak in these meetings. Several very important questions have been discussed at them, and it gives us an opportunity of bringing out Christian truth we never had before. If you can so arrange, I shall be glad to see it in the next Harbinger."] THE great truth enunciated thou- | degree of precision, the number of ages sands of years ago, by a divinely in- (countless though they be) which have spired prophet, that "the heart is de- elapsed since the original creation of ceitful above all things, and desperately this world of ours. Unaided reason wicked," receives daily confirmation. has taught man to span the ocean with We find melancholy illustrations of it, his fleets--to encircle the earth with his not only amongst those who are openly railways-to subjugate the elements to vicious and profane -- not only amongst his will, and bind the lightnings to his deluded idolaters, and reckless trans- purpose; but unaided reason never gressors of human and divine laws; but yet gave to man one bright idea of his if we look carefully into the character God never taught him one single and conduct of multitudes of profess- lesson in divine things never once ing Christians—if we investigate their brought him, with child-like simplicity, creed, and scrutinize their practices, we to cry, "Lord what wilt thou have me shall find there still more convincing to do?" evidence still more irresistible proof that the heart of man is thoroughly and universally depraved. And it would seem that sin, while it has hardened the heart and seared the conscience, has, at the same time, blinded the understanding and perverted the judgment of the human race, so that they are no longer able to distinguish, with certainty, between right and wrong. It would seem that the natural perception of good and evil, which existed in the sinless heart of Adam ere he fell—that instinctive aversion to wrong and attraction to right-has been entirely destroyed; and now, although his descendants have the light of reason to guide them, that reason is but a dim, uncertain, and flickering flame, and resembles rather the ignis fatuus which lures the traveller to destruction, than the bright shining sun which will guide him safe on his way. It is singular, too, that this perversion of judgment exists only in matters of religion. In other things man's reason will guide him aright-in this it is continually wrong. Unaided reason can compute the distances, measure the circumference, and estimate the specific gravity of yonder distant worlds. It can dive into the bowels of the earth, and from the fossil and organic remains it there finds it can calculate, with some But there is one thing even more surprising still a thing which would appear utterly incredible, but that we have constant and unequivocal evidence of its truth-and that is, that men who have the Word of God in their hands, and profess to be guided by its precepts, notwithstanding the clearness of the truth it teaches, are so often found believing doctrines and following practices in diametrical opposition alike to its spirit and letter. That men who reject the Bible as a cunningly devised fable-that men who deny its inspiration and question its authority-that they should fall into error is a matter of no great wonder; but that those who profess to believe, love, and obey it that they should wander so far astray, is utterly unaccountable, upon any other principle than that to which we have already alluded - the utter, hopeless, helpless depravity of the human heart. And yet so it is. There are many practices not only tolerated, but recognized and sanctioned by Christian churches, from which the apostles would have recoiled in horror, and against which Christ would have launched his severest anathemas. The fact is - and it cannot be too plainly spoken-the fact is, that in these days of outward religious prosperity, when Christianity is -- no longer that persecuted despised thing it once was, its professors have become too refined, too respectable, to follow implicitly the plain, homely, and honest directions of poor tent-makers and illiterate fishermen. The unadorned, earnest, enthusiastic religion which did very well for them, would shock some of their modern followers; and hence there must be more regard paid to appearances, more deference shown to the world's opinion, and so they array religion in splendid garments, and decorate her with costly jewels; but, alas! the life- the vital energy the soul converting power, is gone. There is all that can dazzle the eye, please the fancy, and excite the imagination; but, after all, there is rottenness at the core-after all, it is but a corpse arrayed in bridal garments, and rendered only the more ghastly and revolting by the pomp and ornament that surround it. Amongst many others, there is one practice recognized by the religious world, and not unfrequently adopted, which we regard as utterly unchristian, and that is the raising of money for religious objects by means of bazaars. Now let us, first of all, look at the bazaar as it is. Money is wanted for a religious object. All that can be obtained by voluntary offering has been gathered in, and still a large amount is wanting. Where shall we get it? How shall this money be raised? We look down our list of donors to ascertain if any one can, with decency, be called upon a second time to subscribe — but there are none. Then we tax our memory to find some rich gentleman or kind hearted lady who has been overlooked in our begging visits - but our begging brethren have only done their pleasant work too well, and none such can be found. We are just going to despair, when a bright idea strikes us. Ah! Yes! That'll do! Its just the thing! What a wonder we never thought of it before! Why we'll have a bazaar, and surely by this means the money may be raised. So we seek out a lot of our most active young people, and set them to work at once. All preliminaries being arranged in a satisfactory manner, and all of us being most sanguine as to the result, we announce that in the course of a few weeks there will be a bazaar held for such a purpose, and that contributions thereto are solicited from any kind friend disposed to send them. And now busy fingers are at work, and young ladies begin to manufacture all manner of ingeniously constructed articles-as beautiful as themselves. Fly catchers (ultimately intended, perhaps, to catch something else), book marks, watch guards, table mats, and a host of articles too numerous to mention, are speedily produced and transmitted to the proper parties. And those whose skill and industry are insufficient to induce them to send articles of home production, make purchases of various matters and forward them to the same authorities. At last enough has been contributed (and it takes a great deal to make that same enough), and now the printer must be called into requisition. An enormously large placard (like a harlequin's coat), printed in red, blue, and black letters, is prepared and posted on the walls. A large quantity of circulars are sent out, and advertisements are inserted in all the local papers, to inform the public that at such a time, in such a place, for such an object, a bazaar will be held. Meanwhile, great exertions are being made, to judiciously lay out and tastefully decorate the rooms. The joiner erects stalls, and the upholsterer hangs festoons, and all is hurry and bustle. Carts and porters innumerable are employed to convey the various articles to their destination, and arrange them in their respective places; and all this continues up to the latest moment, and even sometimes beyond the time appointed for the opening. At last the work is done-all is ready for the reception of the visitors. The band strikes up a lively tune-the doors are flung open and in there rushes a crowd of eager gazers. All is life and activity now- the merry laugh the constant tramp of feet the unremitting hum of voices, mingled with the deafening sound of the musical performance, have an overpowering effect. The business done is immensely great and incredibly profitable. The dazzling beauty of the lady sellers, combined with the bewildering effect of the noise, renders the young gentleman purchaser quite oblivious to the real value of the article he buys, utterly reckless of the price he pays for it. Articles whose real marketable value may perhaps be 2ąd. are easily disposed for half a crown or half a guinea, according to the seller's skill or the buyer's ignorance. Having sold, at these prices, either till all the saleable articles are gone, or till the purchasers grow weary of spending, another means is resorted to in order to dispose of the remainder. So raffles are got up. Twenty menbers at sixpence each for this article. Fifteen members at one shilling each for that. And now commences a scene more suited to a gambling house than to a religious assembly. by questionable means; any, all of these, rather than hold a bazaar for the erection of an house of prayer. These bazaars are insulting to God. Every offering made to him which he has not sanctioned is an insult to his majesty. In all matters of religion-in the means adopted for its spread, as well as in the doctrines believed and ordinances administered in all, the command of Christ is the Christian law. And to refuse obedience to his commands is no more offensive or insulting to him than to set up fresh commands, and go beyond the directions he has given for his service. Doing too much, and doing too little, are alike and equally criminal; and the man who offers strange fire on the divine altar, is as surely under the divine displeasure as he who scornfully refuses to bring thither his oblation. And so far from bazaars being sanctioned by divine command or apostolic practice, we challenge any man to show that the apostles ever received a fraction of pecuniary aid in support of religion from any but professing Christians; or that the early church ever allowed the unconverted to cast one mite into the Christian treasury. The directions given by the apostles on this point are Each plain, simple, and beautiful. Christian is commanded on the Lord's day to dedicate a portion of his substance to his Master, as God has pros Yes, gambling for the glory of God -gambling to erect a house of prayer -gambling to build a Sunday schoolgambling to extend Christ's kingdom -gambling to save immortal souls gambling in the sacred name of religion! Oh! ye saintly patrons of bazaars, tell us, if you can, why the dice box in a gaming house is morally wrong, and the raffle at a bazaar is morally right. Tell us in what consists the difference, and explain the method by which, with a quiet conscience, ye swallow the camel in one case, and stand choking at the gnat in another. Is not the bazaar raffle worse, infinitely worse, than the gambler's dice worse, because the sacred name of Christianity is profaned-worse, because God's truth is blasphemed worse, because it is hid under the meagre threadbare cloak of a professed religion. Mighty God! Is thy cause so weak-pered him during the preceding week. are thy resources so limited-thy friends so lukewarm, that such means as these are needed to erect thy sanctuaries or spread thy cause? Dost thou require wilt thou accept such offerings as these? Are not the cattle upon a thousand hills thine? Are not the gems of the mountain-the cedars of the forest -the pearls of the ocean-thine? Are not the gold and the silver thine? Is not the earth and its fulness thine? And shall the disciples of the Great Teacher of truth and morals, in order to spread the truths he taught, resort to means against which morality revolts and from which common honesty hides itself? God forbid! Let the church be poor as it once was-let its preachers be illiterate as they once were-let its only temples be the mountain top-the hill side-or the rude barn where our fathers met their God; any, all of these, rather than build stately and commodious edifices with money raised This is the Christian method of giving this is the true voluntary principle. Alas! that it should ever have been departed from. Bazaars are equally degrading to man. The highest position which a man can aspire to is, that of being a "fellow-worker" with God. The noblest emotion he can feel, and the most dignified action he can perform, is spontaneous and disinterested benevolence-and the highest form of pecuniary benevolence is the dedication of substance to God's cause. But the bazaar implies that this spontaneous benevolence is inadequate; and that man is so thoroughly selfish that he must needs be cajoled, and cheated, and deceived ere he can be induced to part with gold for a good object. The noble work of aiding in a good cause because it is good, is set aside, and the bazaar is substituted for the free-will offering; thus proclaiming to the world, that |