258 Address from the London Sunday School Union

racter of our poor; and that there is abundant scope, and the greatest necessity for augmented exertion, and the more extended diffusion of education. Even in many situations where common instruction may be easily attained, the necessity of Sunday Schools for the RELIGIOUS instruction of the young is not superseded, but rather increased; for knowledge without moral and religious culture is a power, which may be applied either beneficially or injuriously. It is the infusion of pious principles, which is the great object of a Sunday School Teacher's solicitude; and wherever he looks around him, he beholds many children very suitable objects for Sunday Schools, who are at present in great danger of perishing for lack of religious knowledge. In most neighbourhoods there is a great deficiency of the means of both common and religious instruction, and we are persuaded that a minute and vigilant inspection of most parts of England would fully substantiate the absolute necessity of more extended exertions. In those places where SUNDAY SCHOOL UNIONS have been formed, the condition of the poor has been scrutinized, and a most lamentable and surprising deficiency of the means of education has been discovered. Even if a particular neighbourhood be blessed with sufficient means of education, it has been found that many adjacent towns and villages are in a very destitute state, of whose rising race it may be emphatically said "no man careth for their souls!" The poor, in many situations, are growing up ignorant of their duties to God and to man; in a state of almost heathenish darkness, and exposed as a prey to all the baser passions of human nature without any counteracting principles. Surely every christian will feel desirous of rescuing his neighbours and countrymen from such an ignorant and deplorable state, and will anxiously inquire, by what means he may be made useful in dispelling this mental darkness, and introducing" the light of the knowledge of the glory of God, in the face of Jesus Christ"

To attain this desirable object, no plan appears so simple and so effectual as the establishment of Sunday Schools; but alas! who is there that will devise the means and promote the establishment of such institutions? A Sunday School Union affords the only medium. The disunited efforts of pious individuals may produce several local benefits; but it is by the union of many, that great and extensive plans must be carried into effect, and a gener al attack be made on the strong holds of folly and wickedness. ⚫ Hence arises the necessity for the establishment of Sunday School Unions in every District of Britain, as the most effectual plan for removing the ignorance and depravity which every where prevail. Let the friends of Christ and of the young unite their efforts universally, and soon in every village and every hamlet, where ignor ance has long maintained an undisputed dominion, the voice of instruction will be heard, the Sabbath will be kept holy to the Lord, the youthful poor will rise up to call the Redeemer blessed, and the hills and the valleys will resecho the Saviour's praise, from the mouths of babes and sucklings.

on the establishment and regulation of S. S. Unions. 259

The advantages, which flow from the establishment of Sunday School Unions, are too numerous to be all minutely detailed; we shall state a few of them for the encouragement of those who may be desirous of forming such institutions.

At the formation of a Sunday School Union, the public attention is directed to investigate the state of education throughout the district; and the leading object of the Society is to endeavour to supply this deficiency. When the Union is established, the natural inquiry at the several meetings of the Committee is-What places are destitute of Schools? And how can we supply them? Union furnishes both the plan and the means:-Individuals may form projects and suggest plans of extensive utility, but it is only by union that they can be carried into full effect, and become generally adopted. The tendency of Unions to promote the extension of Sunday Schools, is not merely theoretical: Happily in those Districts where these Societies have been established, prac. tical experience has proved their beneficial influence; so that many thousands, and tens of thousands of children, who would otherwise have been immersed in ignorance, now rise up as evidences to prove the extensive utility of Sunday School Unions. The advantages of Unions have also been felt in Schools already established. They have led to an increase in the numbers of Teachers and Scholars, to improvements in the methods of impart ing instruction, to augmented zeal and activity in the Teachers; and thus they have advanced the general welfare of these establishments.

A Sunday School Union produces many advantages which can be attained in no other way. Great are the benefits which flow from mutual advice and assistance, in promoting the objects of Sunday Schools. Information is extended-useful plans and pleasing facts are reported the general experience is rendered available to individuals-mutual encouragements excite each others zeal-mutual prayers ascending to the throne of grace, bring mutual blessings from the God of love. Every labourer in this cause must feel that he sometimes requires stimulating, that he is tempted to grow languid, and decline from his toils, and to fear that all his exertions have been futile, and may as well be discontinued ; but by the mutual intercourse which a Sunday School Union establishes, his zeal is invigorated, his heart is warmed, and he is excited to go on, through every difficulty, labouring more zealously for the promotion of the religious interests of the rising genera

tion.

In the Union Sunday School Teachers, there is no sacrifice of principle, no compromise of duty, no interference with the internal management of the several Schools. All discordant elements are banished, and union with Christ and with each other form the basis of the Association. Union, to be effective, must consist in

* The Hampshire Sunday School Union reported in 1811, 178 Teachers and 1743 Children, and in 1816, it had increased to 525 Teachers, and 5307 Children, and most of the other Unions have greatly increased their number;

260

Address from the London S. S. Union,

1

something more than the name: the feelings must be deeply excited, the whole soul interested, and we must sincerely sympathize with each other in our joys and sorrows. We must gladly

bear each other's burdens, and thus fulfil the law of Christ. We must blend the harmlessness of the dove, with the wisdom of the serpent, and evince our love to Jesus, to his cause, and to his people, by the ardour of our feelings, the energy of our conduct, and the amplitude of our benevolence.

Some Teachers may reason thus-" We are doing very well, why should we unite with others; we will leave them to themselves, while we restrict our attention to our own particular Schools." Alas! that a Christian should think of confining his affections and his labours within the narrow circle in which he moves; and that he should feel no fervid desire for the extension of the Sunday School system. We cannot help pitying and admonishing that individual Teacher who feels no anxiety to advance the general cause of Sunday Schools, and who refuses to unite with his fellow Christians in promoting, to as wide an extent as possible, the general diffusion of religious education. Is not such conduct unworthy the character of a Sunday School Teacher? If all who have engaged in this work had been of a similar mind, we venture to state our conviction that Sunday Schools could not have been extended so widely as they are at present. Let the contracted feelings of party spirit be now banished from our minds; let us meet together as Christians, and as fellow labourers, and "let brotherly love continue." Why should not those unite in exertion here, who expect to unite in praise hereafter? May the spirit of heaven, of unity, and of love, be more influential in the hearts and lives of all true Christians, and especially among those who are employed in educating the rising generation.

Sunday Schools have in a particular manner prepared the way for the operations of the Bible Society, and as all denominations unite in diffusing the Scriptures, they should surely join in bestowing the ability to read them, for the gift of a Bible to those persons who are incapable of reading it, would be like presenting the Warrior's sword to the feeble babe, who could not possibly grasp it the untutored poor are unable to wield that mighty weapon, "The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God." Let the friends of the Bible and of the youthful poor concur in their labours of love. Let a Sunday School Union be established in every neighbourhood, and we have no doubt that it will be found most delightful and beneficial. Sunday School Unions strengthen the bonds of brotherly love; they prevent languishing schools from declining, and lead to the establishment of new schools in situations which require them: They are eminently calculated to advance one of the best causes-the religious instruction of the young, by one of the best means--the pious and disinterested exertions of Christians; who, by union of strength, and division of labour, act with greater energy, and produce amazing effects. We are persuaded that if Sunday School Unions were universally established,

Correspondence of Br. and For. Bible Society. 261

the beneficial consequences would be incalculably great to the present rising generation, and their advantages become perpetuated throughout future ages: but it is eternity alone that can fully develope the blessed results of Sunday Schools and Sunday School Unions. Influenced by these sentiments, we should wish to impress every Christian mind with the great importance and urgent Recessity of forming a Sunday School Union, and in order to promote this object, we shall endeavour to explain the means by which such a Union may be formed, and the rules suitable for its government. In this, and all our endeavours to promote the glory of God, and the best interests of the rising generation, may we esteem it our duty and our privilege to seek the divine assistance and benediction; exclaiming with the Psalmist,--"Let the work appear unto thy servants, and thy glory unto their children; and let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us and establish thou the work of our hands upon us: yea the work of our hands establish thou it."

By Order of the Committee,

W. F. LLOYD, Masons' Hall, Basinghall-street,

R. JONES, 14, Long-Acre,

H. ALTHANS, 34, Nottingham-place, near Whitechapel-road,

BIBLE SOCIETIES.

Secretaries.

Third Number of Monthly Extracts from the Correspondence of the British and Foreign Bible Society.

(Concluded from Page 248.)

From the Second Report of the Swedish Bible Society. A Bible Society is formed, and in operation, at Skara, for the diocese of that name. The Bishop has greatly contributed to its prosperity, by a most energetic, impressive, and pious Address to the inhabitants of every rank. Besides the general good accomplished by that Address, an eminent instance of success deserves to be recorded. The pious Rector of the Parish of Bellefors has been joined by all his Parishioners in establishing a Bible Association; and this Association is conducted with a zeal and vigour which have rendered it a blessing to surrounding places.

The Bible Institution at Askersand, a small town in the poor province of Nerike, has sprung up in a manner too remarkable to be passed over in silence. It was set on foot by one of the Lords of the Bed Chamber to the King; he is the very soul of it; and began by establishing a fund for it out of his own means, (500 rix dollars, banco, together with 100 Bibles, and 500 Testaments ;) for he was aware that the inhabitants of that province were in general too poor, to hope for much by subscriptions. There is a sort of energy and influence in this Bible Society, which gives it a peculiar character. Your Committee have helped it to the utmost of their power; and may the God of all grace bless them,. and every one, that, with a single eye to his glory, communicates the treasures of salvation to his fellow-mortals!

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3d monthly number of extracts of

From the Rev. Robert Pinkerton.

ST. PETERSBURG, July 26, 1817. On the 27th of April the Moscow Bible Society solemnized its Fourth Anniversary. The Archbishop Augustine pronounced an appropriate speech on the occasion, of which the following are extracts. After pointing out the invaluable privileges of those who enjoy the knowledge of the revealed will of God, and of the way of salvation through his Son, the Archbishop thus proceeds :"But, alas, how many countries are there still into which the saving light of the Gospel has not yet been shed! How many nations still, who live in ignorance, and without Christ; aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenant of promise; having no hope, and without God in the world!-But, what do I say?-How many are there, even among those who confess the Lord Jesus, who are still ignorant of his doctrines! How many are still perishing with hunger for the word of God! How many are fainting with thirst, and cannot obtain those waters of life, of which, if any one drink, he shall never thirst! To satisfy these, is the sole object for which Bible Societies have been established. This is the only aim which men, animated by truly Christian love, have in view, in striving to disseminate and augment the number of copies of the word of God; not seeking thereby to promote any kind of self-interest, but solely, the glory of God, in the salvation of their neighbours. How sacred, how salutary, how pleasing to God must this Institution be!-And God himself hath borne witness to this; for he blesseth it in a remarkable manner.

"With what joy and gratitude do foreign tribes, as well as those of our own nation, sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death, and still unenlightened by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, receive the Book of glad tidings, when presented to them in their own tongues, by the most benevolent Bible Society !-Did I say, receive?-No;-they plead for it—they intreat and pray that the word of the Lord may be more and more promulgated among them; that the well-springs of Israel may flow into their deserts and solitary places. And what shall I say of the members of our own communion? Their holy and heavenly thirst, and ardent desire, to refresh themselves at the streams of celestial wisdom, the Bible Society, notwithstanding all its exertions, is still unable to quench. O Lord! Thou art desirous that all men may be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth; we supplicate thee, that thou wouldest, of thine infinite grace, bestow upon us strength and means. so to acquit ourselves in thy service, that all who hunger for the bread of heaven may be satisfied; that those who thirst for the waters of life may thirst no more!

Perhaps, there may be persons who have taken offence at our Society Let them alone. The Jews took offence at the Lord Jesus Christ himself. If they be offended, it is because they desire to be so; but with us the harvest is great, and we, who have gone out to labour in the field of God, will continue till the even