LET the reader here call to mind the reigns of the three great monarchs which were most conspicuously marked by a national and official recognition of the Word of God, and this remarkable fact will be seen: that those were the three most progressive, most prosperous, and most glorious periods in the whole history of England. For example:
In the reign of Alfred the Great (who himself translated part of the Bible), this country rose from a state of barbarism, ignorance, and division, into a united, civilized monarchy.
In the reign of Queen Elizabeth (who from the first officially encouraged the circulation of the Bible), England for the first time took her position as a great world-power.
And, during the reign of our late good Queen Victoria, who in her natural and characteristic manner told, and told truly, the inquiring prince from the far-off land that the Bible was “the secret of England’s greatness,” the unparalleled prosperity of the country, the enormous growth of its population, and the increase of its power, must at once appeal to the minds of all.
Can it be mere chance that these periods of national greatness synchronized so perfectly with those periods when the Bible was most freely circulated, most publicly acknowledged, and most diligently read?
Sir George Smith, addressing a great meeting in the Albert Hall, London, on March 7th, 1904, drew attention to this remarkable fact in the following words: “History showed that the periods of reform and revival synchronized with the increase of attention to the Word of God.”
Moreover, the state of the world today furnishes a similar testimony. In every country where the Bible is freely circulated and read there is knowledge, intelligence, prosperity, and power; while in those countries from which the Bible is largely excluded (whether due to heathen or Roman influences) the exact reverse is the case. The present condition of South America and Spain speak eloquently on this point. In Spain, that priest-ridden land, out of a population of about seventeen million, twelve million can neither read nor write; while in South America there are, generally speaking, no settled governments, no inventions, no men of letters—indeed, there is scarcely anything indicating progress or enlightenment which ever originates there.
God’s word to Joshua has its application in principle throughout all time as truly to nations as to individuals: “This Book of the Law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success” (Josh. 1:8).