9G THE REV. JOHN SHARP^ M.A.^ ON THE LAST 



is The Spirit that quickeneth, The Spirit of Life in Christ Jesus 

 our Lord. 



Dr. Thirtle has furnished notes of remarks which he desired to 

 make, but time did not permit. I suggest (he writes) that generali- 

 ties against certain views of Holy Scripture are no contribution to 

 the subject which has actually been brought before the meeting ; 

 while statements involving censure of the Church at large— either 

 on points of doctrine or in respect of diligence or negligence in the 

 discharge of her stewardship — -are equally beside the mark. As to 

 the insinuation that the Bible contains passages that are morally 

 injurious, it may be classed among statements that are more easily 

 made than sustained by proof. If the Book were really corrupting 

 in any of its tendencies, how can the fact be explained that, 

 throughout the generations, it has been eschewed by the impure, 

 and its circulation has been advanced, as a prayerful duty, 

 exclusively by consecrated followers of Christ '? 



Surely the literary activity of the last century has some bearing 

 on the subject before us. If anyone tells me that there is a great 

 demand for some book, I immediately conclude that the said demand 

 expresses a judgment in favour of the book. If, again, it appears 

 that many other works have been written in order to explain a 

 book and enforce its teachings, then to me it is beyond dispute that 

 the thought-provoking book is one of special significance and 

 influence. Now the Bible is a book for which there has been a 

 phenomenal demand, and moreover one that has occasioned the 

 writing of a multitude of other works. These statements are 

 beyond question, and they have a distinct bearing upon the subject 

 in hand : — in other words, they bear witness to the Bible, and their 

 testimony is such as cannot be disputed or set aside. I suggest, in 

 sentence-form, some arguments that are easy of substantiation : — 



(1) Every copy of the Scriptures in any language, as translated, 

 printed, and published, presupposes a demand on the part of men 

 and women who are ready to purchase and distribute the same. In 

 thus accepting and passing on the Book, these men and women 

 bear witness to their esteem for it, their love for it. Their witness 

 finds expression in money and labour — sometimes the former, some- 

 times the latter, and again sometimes in both. 



(2) Every act of the Church of Christ, which — doubtless in 



