THE Word of God is the fount of knowledge; and the era of increase of knowledge has been the time of increasing circulation of the Bible.
Writing in the early years of the nineteenth century, an English student of prophecy said:—
The stupendous endeavors of one gigantic community to convey the Scriptures in every language to every part of the globe may well deserve to be considered as an eminent sign even of these eventful times. Unless I be much mistaken, such endeavors are preparatory to the final grand diffusion of Christianity; which is the theme of so many inspired prophets, and which can not be very far distant in the present day.—G. S. Faber, D. D., "Dissertation on the Prophecies," Vol. II, page 406 (1814).
The reference was to the British and Foreign Bible Society, the pioneer of all the Bible societies.
It was in those pivotal years of the closing eighteenth century, as the time of the end came, that the direct agencies were being moved upon for the founding of the Bible society work. How continually the Lord uses the weak things of this world for the accomplishment of mighty results! Surely it was as the sowing of the grain of mustard-seed, this planting of Bible-distributing organizations that have grown into all the world, and given the Word of God to the millions.
The story begins with a little Welsh girl's question,—
"Why haven't we a Bible of our own, mother?"
"Because Bibles are scarce, child, and we're too poor to pay the price of one."
Two miles from Mary Jones's home lived a farmer who owned a Bible. She secured permission to call, and read its pages now and then. The story of the first visit we must repeat:—
The good farmer's wife went away, leaving Mary alone with a Bible for the first time in her life.
Presently the child raised the napkin, and, folding it neatly, laid it on one side.
Then, with trembling hands, she opened the Book, opened it at the fifth chapter of John, and her eyes caught these words, "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
"I will! I will!" she cried, feeling as if the words were spoken directly to her by some divine voice. "I will search and learn all I can. O, if I had but a Bible of my own!" And this wish, this sigh for the rare and coveted treasure, was the key-note to a grand chorus of glorious harmony which, years after, spread in volume, until it rolled in waves of sound over the whole earth. Yes, that yearning in a poor child's heart was destined to be a means of light and knowledge to millions of souls in the future.—"Mary Jones and Her Bible," pages 58, 59.
Now the girl began to work untiringly to gather money to buy a Welsh Bible of her own. It was in the year 1800, after six years of saving, that she made the barefoot journey of over twenty-five miles to the town of Bala, with the price of the book in her pocket. With glowing heart, she told her story and made her request of the minister, Mr. Thomas Charles, who had secured the last copies of the only Welsh edition then to be had. "Really," Mr. Charles explained to the local elder, a friend of Mary's pastor, "I am very sorry that she should have come from such a distance; for I fear, indeed, that I can not spare her a copy." The only copies left had been spoken for.
Poor Mary! When she heard his answer, her disappointment was so great that she burst into tears, and sobbed as if her heart would break. Mr. Charles was deeply moved, and tears filled his eyes, partly in sorrow for his country, where the Word of God was so scarce, and partly in pity for Mary. He could not bear that she should return home in9grief and disappointment. "You shall have a Bible," he said, and he gave her one of the reserved copies. Mary's tears were now tears of joy as she paid for her treasure. "Well, David Edward," said Mr. Charles, turning to the elder, who had been weeping, too, "is not this very sad—that there should be such a scarcity of Bibles in the country, and that this poor child should have walked some twenty-eight or thirty miles to get a copy? If something can be done to alter this state of things, I will not rest till it is accomplished."—W. Canton, in "Little Hands and God's Book," page 22.
Two years later Mr. Charles was in London pleading for a society to supply Welsh Bibles. The secretary of the Religious Tract Society, Joseph Hughes, said: "Surely a society might be formed for the purpose. But if for Wales, why not for the kingdom? Why not for the world?" Thus the idea was out; and in 1804 the first Bible society was formed. A small committee met for the purpose in the counting-room of the Riverside commercial warehouse of Old Swan Stairs, by London Bridge. The secretary of the London Missionary Society, Mr. George Burder, who was present, entered in his diary for that day the prophetic words:—
March 7, 1804.—Memorable day! The British and Foreign Bible Society founded. I and others, belonging to the tract society, had long had it in view; and after much preparation, in which we did not publicly appear, a meeting was called in the London Tavern, and the society began with a very few. . . . Nations unborn will have cause to bless God for the meeting of this day.—"After a Hundred Years," page 2.
"During the first fifty years of its existence," says the society's centenary report, "it issued each year, on an average, 559,000 copies of the Scriptures, complete or in parts; during the next fifteen years, the annual average rose to 1,951,000 copies." And now what is the volume of circulation?—About 7,000,000 copies a year by this parent society alone. And the American Bible Society, organized in 1817, is sending out at the rate of over 3,000,000 copies a year. Other societies are also at work, besides the vast circulation by ordinary sale through the various Bible publishing houses. Truly this is the era of Bible circulation.
It is a wonderful manifestation of God's providence that just as the time of the prophecy came, when knowledge was to be increased, there should spring up this movement that has spread the living Word through all lands. And think of the inventions and improvements and added facilities for multiplying production and hastening distribution that have come with the call of the hour.
On the day of Pentecost, at Jerusalem, the gathered multitude heard "the wonderful works of God," each in his own tongue. Sixteen or twenty languages, more or less, were represented there. Now the Word of God, in whole or in part, speaks in about five hundred tongues, and each year a half-dozen or more new tongues utter the wonderful works of God for the first time. The British and Foreign Bible Society report for 1911 says:—
The society's list of versions now includes the names of 432 distinct forms of speech. This means the complete Bible in 107 different languages, the New Testament in 102 more languages, and at least one book of Scripture in 223 other languages. Forty-two new versions have been added to the list during the last six years. W. A. S.
(To be continued)