PART III.

PROPHETIC.

THE ARGUMENT RECAPITULATED—THE RELIGIOUS ANTICIPATION OF THE FUTURE ILLUSTRATED AND JUSTIFIED BY THE HOPES OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PHILANTHROPY.

We began this book by referring to the circumstance, that the same illustrious individual who originated the idea of “the Great Exhibition,” and who has done so much to extend and realize it, suggested as an inscription for the Royal Exchange, a single sentence from our English Bible—“_The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof._” It is the first verse of the 24th Psalm. The suggestion was adopted;—and hence, on the front of the building referred to,—in very plain letters,—rather rude if any thing,—without adornment,—or figure or flourish of any sort—but conspicuous and legible, in our own homely, honest, Saxon tongue, stands, open to all the world, the public proclamation of our faith as a people—“The earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof.” It stands there, on the front of the edifice, which is the commercial centre of this great city,—the place of meeting for the men of different lands and of many languages, who, as the representatives of every clime and country upon earth, constitute, daily, a sort of typical gathering of all nations,—men connected with the “_industry_,” by being connected with the trade and traffic, of the world.

We proposed to put the two things together,—the inscription on the Exchange, with the anticipated gathering in the Palace of Industry,—and to consider the first as announcing to the second certain great truths, and these again as involving universal duties; and we further proposed to consider, in conclusion, what would be the result, to Europe and the world, if, by ourselves and our many visitors, with the aggregate of nationalities whom they will represent, these truths were all to be acknowledged, and the duties resulting from them were all to be done.

We then proceeded—taking in connexion with the first verse of the psalm, which constitutes the inscription on the Exchange, the entire sacred composition of which it is a part,—and viewing _that_, too, in connexion with the whole volume of Divine Revelation to which it belongs—we proceeded, on this principle, to develope and illustrate the truths and the duties to which we referred. Thus expounded, we found the confession, that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,” to include the following things. It involved, in the first place, _the existence of God_;—the acknowledgment of this,—and the acknowledgment of it in connexion with the idea of _personality_. In the second place, it involved God’s proprietorship of the world and man, and the recognition of this as carrying with it the acknowledgment of his being _the Creator_, since, immediately after the statement that “the earth is the Lord’s and the fulness thereof,” the Psalm goes on to say, “the world, and _they that dwell therein;—for he hath founded it upon the seas and established it upon the floods_.” In the third place, we educed from the confession that the “_fulness_” of the earth is God’s, the doctrine of _Providence_, including in that, the original disposition of materials for the service of man in the construction of the globe,—the whole arrangement of things, animate and inanimate, on its surface,—the establishment of all the laws of production,—the continual _administration_ of these laws, by God’s personal supremacy and presidency over nature,—the gifts which he confers, on nations and individuals, of contrivance and skill, taste and genius,—with whatever else belongs to the constant communication of good, and the progressive advance and improvement of society. All these ideas were largely illustrated by various striking passages of Scripture; and the acknowledgment of the truths of _Creation_ and _Providence_, were both shown to involve in them further evidence of the previous truth of the Divine personality.

We next advanced to some additional ideas of both truth and duty, which the acknowledgment of all this involved,—especially as this acknowledgment was illustrated by the whole psalm that was supposed to be before us, and as _that_ was illustrated by the whole scheme of Divine discovery developed in the Bible, and the connexion between the Jewish and Christian revelations. We found the following things to be thus brought out. In the first place, the duty of _worship_:—this was suggested by the question, which immediately follows the acknowledgment of God, of creation, providence, and the Divine proprietorship of the earth and the world,—“Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord, who shall stand in his holy place?” Next, there was the answer to this question, which involved the obligation of _universal virtue_ in God’s worshippers—that is, upon all men, since _all_ men are alike bound to worship him: “He that hath clean hands and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully.” This was expounded as a demand for inward and outward purity—purity of soul, lip, and life—in all who habitually approached God in the solemnities of worship. But this demand for universal virtue in _each_ worshipper,—associated with the obligation of _all_ men to worship,—viewed in connexion with the general consciousness of defect and sin, and the proof and prevalence of ungodliness in the world,—led, in the third place, to the discussion of the great question—_how humanity was to come to the attainment of that character, which was essential to the fulfilment of its religious obligations_? To be in a proper moral and spiritual state for the discharge of habitual, acceptable worship, considered as a duty, we found, by a process of scriptural reasoning, to involve _another_ and _a previous_ duty; that, namely, _of accepting the gospel as a system of mercy, and of submitting to Christ as the Redeemer of the world_. We argued this, from looking at the lessons taught by the principle that pervaded the appointments of the Jewish ritual, and the prophetic bearing on the promised Messiah, of some of the hymns used by the people in the Hebrew worship. We showed how the whole of the ancient Institute taught the necessity of atonement and sacrifice,—pardon through a propitiation, and purity and holiness as divine effects; we saw how it intimated that it did not _itself_ provide these, but, by typical rites, significant ceremonies, and prophetic songs, anticipated their coming in “the fulness of time,” when they should be procured and dispensed by one who was regarded as the hope and “the desire of all nations.” Without positively saying that the latter part of the twenty-fourth psalm was a distinct and _intended_ prophecy of Christ, we showed, from the language of those psalms that are so, as quoted and expounded in the New Testament, that it might consistently be regarded as _illustrative_ of Christ—of his return in triumph to the heavenly world, when, after having “overcome the sharpness of death,” “he ascended up on high, to receive gifts for men, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among them,” and that _they_ might become the holy and spiritual “priesthood” of God. In this way, we endeavoured to show how an intelligent Christian might associate with the first verse of the twenty-fourth psalm, all the scriptural revelations respecting HIM, who, in the _Te Deum_,—one of the noblest of ancient Christian hymns,—is invoked in language borrowed from the close of it: “_Thou art_ THE KING OF GLORY, _O Christ!_” and that thus, the simple words on our Exchange, which at first sight appear to announce only the general principles of Theism, would come to utter in the ear of instructed reason and enlarged faith, the specific truths of an Evangelical Christianity. It thus comes to pass, that we are taught ourselves, by the inscription referred to, and shall teach the nations to whom we exhibit it, that, for men “to ascend into the hill of the Lord, and habitually to worship in his holy place;” appearing there in “the beauty of holiness,” and everywhere exemplifying universal virtue; they must _first_ come to him as sinners, through Christ, and that, then, being cleansed from their sins, by being “washed, justified, and sanctified, in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of our God,” they can constitute a holy, _worshipping_ Church; and with “clean hands,” and “pure hearts,” offer up “spiritual sacrifices,” fragrant and acceptable to Him whom they approach,—such approach, again, ever re-acting on their further attainment of personal righteousness.

It now only remains for us to conclude and complete our originally projected course of observation, by setting forth what would be the future condition of the nations, _supposing that all the world learned and practised the truths and duties which have thus been enumerated_.

It is not unnatural to look at the subject in this way. Philosophers, and politicians, and social economists, are all regarding the great event which is just at hand,[1] as constituting the beginning of a new era and of better times; and as embodying in itself something like a prophecy of a brightened and improved future for the nations. For the first time in the history of the world, there is to be a flowing of the peoples of all lands to one spot. They are not summoned together by blast of trumpet; they come not inflamed by mutual animosities, nor with souls bent on conquest and carnage. Nor do they come for the purpose of witnessing games and tourneys,—feats of strength or speed,—the rude contests of muscular athletæ,—the skill of charioteers,—the sanguinary spectacle of gladiatorial shows,—or the combat of plumed knights, with their glittering armour and gallant bearing, their caparisoned steeds and gay attendants, making war look like a holiday entertainment. The gathering of the nations about to be held is to be altogether of another sort. The crowds that move to it, are not to move as a thunderbolt or a whirlwind, carrying in their course havock and desolation; they are to bring with them, in their tranquil march, the useful products of their respective countries, and the bloodless trophies of their industry and their skill. These are to be all collected and arranged in one great and extraordinary edifice, where they are to enter into a sort of peaceful contest and amicable rivalry, while the people themselves of every region are to mingle together, and to look on, and to observe, and compare, and wonder, and rejoice:—and it is expected to come to pass, that however unable the most of them may be to understand the spoken languages of the rest, all will be able to read and to interpret what will be written everywhere on the whole scene, and to comprehend the import of the common voice that shall seem to be issuing from the objects around them. The products of the different regions of the earth will recognise each other as belonging to one and the same world; the multitudes of things that will illustrate the achievements of skill and industry, though constructed or fabricated by the hands of men of many languages, will have among themselves a common dialect—a language of their own—but which all the different national workers shall alike understand. Everything will speak of oneness, brotherhood,—the same nature, the same faculties, the same Father,—the folly and wickedness of men _not_ “living together in unity,”—of their degrading powers that are so wonderful, and so prolific of wonders, and desolating a world which they have such vast ability to beautify and adorn! From such a lesson it is hoped and expected that the crowds will disperse wiser and better,—more loving and more fraternal; and that a basis will be laid for such future peaceful and profitable intercourse, as shall render war an utter impossibility. It may be supposed, also, that the approaching event will only prove the first of a long series of similar exhibitions, which shall successively occur in all coming time, and which shall take place in different cities of Europe and America, till at length they may be fixed in some distant region of those lands that witnessed the birth or were honoured by being the cradle of the race, or in those which are at present the nurseries of nations as yet without a name. The whole thing, to some minds, is thus shaping itself into a prophetic type of a new aspect of the civilized world. But it is easy to see, that this prophecy is one which includes many others; for it could not be fulfilled, to the extent of its grand and comprehensive meaning, without a variety and number of important social and political changes being supposed as the necessary conditions of such a spectacle in _other_ lands, as that which is possible and prepared for in our own.

We are merely adding then, to the calculations of philosophy, the higher thoughts suggested by the principles of our national faith, when we take the truths included in that faith, and, supposing them to be received by the nations of the earth, as we have drawn them out from the words that are enthroned in the midst of our city and in the sight of all men, proceed to inquire what would be the result of their being universally learned and embraced, and the duties they impose being universally obeyed. The inscription on the Exchange, if appropriate for _it_, is appropriate for the Palace of Industry too.[2] It is a glorious thing to think that we are living at such a time as this, and are about to witness such a festival as that projected by the Consort of our Sovereign;—not the banquet of a vain and idolatrous voluptuary, making “a feast for a thousand of his lords,” ready to desecrate what is sacred to religion, and to pour out libations of wine and strong drink, that “he and his princes, his wives, and his concubines, may lift up themselves against the God of heaven,” blaspheming his name and abusing his gifts, and “praising the gods of gold and of silver, of brass and of iron, of wood and of stone;”—it is not this, or we might expect the appearance of a mysterious hand, once more, with its “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN,” to pronounce the doom of a voluptuous court and a devoted country;—it is not this, but a vast banquet for the eye and the intellect, the heart and the reason;—and one, too, projected on such a principle of recognising in all things the dominion of Him “who liveth for ever and ever,”—and “who ruleth alike over the hosts of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth,”—“in whose hand our breath is, and whose are all our ways,”—and “_from whom cometh_ the gold and the silver, the brass, the iron, the wood and the stone;” the fruits of the earth and the abundance of the seas;—with every power and faculty of man—ability to accomplish and capacity to enjoy;—the whole thing so proceeds, we trust, on the acknowledgment of Him,—that, instead of a vision to strike terror and to scatter in confusion, we should rather imagine that we see written,—in radiant letters, by the hand of love and not of vengeance, to kindle devotion and strengthen faith,—on the crystal walls of the Palace of Industry, giving a glory to all its contents—“THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND THE FULNESS THEREOF;—THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN.”

Supposing this, then, to become the creed of the world, enlarged and illustrated by Christian associations, and for all its personal and practical lessons to be fully carried out, let us see what would be the condition of human society.

[1] These pages were written previous to the opening of the “Exhibition,” and refer to it as approaching. They do not appear quite so soon as it was once hoped they would have done, but it has been thought best to retain their original form of expression.

[2] Since this was written, the Author has been gratified by learning that Prince Albert has selected the words, with the addition of the second clause of the verse, for the English motto on the cover of the _Catalogue_ of the Exhibition. It is taken, however, from the Prayer-book translation of the Psalms, instead of from that of the authorized version. The sense is the same, although the phraseology is slightly varied. The words are, “_The earth is the Lord’s, and all that therein is: the compass of the world, and they that dwell therein._”

I.

_Universal Theism._

In the first place, there would be, everywhere,—in all lands and in all hearts,—the belief and acknowledgment of the one living and true God. All doubt, denial, and error, respecting this cardinal and central truth, would have passed away. There would be no Atheism,—the rejection and repudiation of a personal God; no Pantheism,—which is only Atheism under another name; no Scepticism,—professed uncertainty as to whether there is really a God or not; and no Polytheism—the belief of a mere rabble of divinities. All these forms of thought would cease and determine, and give place to the universal admission of the great fact of the Divine existence. No human being would be to be found, who could look over the earth with all its wonders, and survey the heaven with its sun and stars,—and see no proof or probability in either, of the existence anywhere of a being or a personality _greater_ than himself! This is the amount of the Atheistic creed,—if creed it can be called, that consists only in denials and negations. The universe is _a thing_,—wonderful indeed, but nothing more,—having no consciousness, no capacity for voluntary action, nothing about it of personal properties; and, if there be no independent personal God, then, the greatest being that is known to exist in the whole universe,—the only one that can be spoken of as a person, is man himself!—a somewhat lame and impotent conclusion!—a poor summit to the infinitude of things! There are those who say that they believe this;—there will be none to say it, when it comes to be a universally admitted truth, that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” In the same way, there will be no thinkers, or professed thinkers, whose minds, repelled by the gross darkness of positive denial, but not drawn into the light of positive belief, wander in the fogs and mists of uncertainty, and “reason downwards till they _doubt_ of God.” And in the same way, the myriads of gods, which the Asiatic nations conceive to be filling the heavens and the earth,—large and small,—great and little, but most of them debased,—will all disappear, like the more elegant system of the Greeks, that once divided the domain of nature, and parcelled it out among its subordinate divinities. Cleared and cleansed from all these various forms of error, the large heart of universal humanity will be open to the air and the sunlight of true thought, and will reflect, as from a mirror, the image of Him, who has “set his glory above the heavens,” and of whom it is said, that “the knowledge of him” is abroad “in all the earth,” since, “from the creation of the world,” he hath made manifest, “by the works of his hands,” “even his eternal power and Godhead.”

II.

_Universality of Christian Worship._

In the second place, there will be added to this universal acknowledgment of God, as the object of belief, a further recognition of him as the object of worship. All men would be worshippers of God, if, throughout the world, there should be not only the prevalence of the belief of that God is, but the working out of the results of that belief,—that _because_ he is, he is “the hearer of prayer,” and that “to him,” therefore, “all flesh should come.” Taking this subject, however, in connexion with all the explanatory illustrations which we have already advanced, it is easy to see that it is of wide compass, and will include far more than might at first be apparent.

The God, whom we suppose to be acknowledged, is the God of the Bible, and the worship by which we suppose him to be approached, would be worship conducted on the principle which pervades it, and regulated by all that its spirit and precepts concur to prescribe. The Being referred to in the Scriptural expression,—“The earth is the _Lord’s_,”—is not one whose existence and character are demonstrated by philosophy, and who may thus be considered as a sort of hypothesis;—it is, as we have said, _the God of the Bible_,—the God who has made himself known by supernatural facts and verbal revelation, and whose discovery of himself in the works of his power, and in the constant displays of his wisdom and beneficence, is to be supplemented and enlarged by the whole of the utterances of his grace and mercy. On this principle it was, that we took the expression, “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof;” not as an independent and isolated sentence,—not as a thing to be looked at by itself,—but in connexion with the contents of the entire volume of which it is a part: and we saw, when we did so, that it brought out, into great prominence, such a view of the teaching of Scripture in respect to the relations of God and man, as necessarily affected, very materially, the whole theory and practice of worship. But it is this _view_ of the meaning of the passage, that we are supposing to be learned and acknowledged by the nations, and therefore the worship, in which we are further supposing them to unite, would of course be _that_ which the whole of our exposition would inculcate or explain.

It is remarkable, too, that philosophical Deism never leads to worship in its disciples,—at least not to anything in the form of regular social or public acts. It is possible for a simple Theist consistently to pray, or to extol and adore the Deity he acknowledges; and it _may_ be, that some Theists privately do so,—though all probabilities,—it may by no means _uncandidly_, be said,—are rather against it. What would be possible and consistent, however, in a Deist by himself, would be equally so in a company of such. On the principle of their believing in a personal God, they might meet together for public worship. _But they never do._ The mere admission of the one principle that God is, would seem not to be sufficient to lead men to worship;—it needs to be connected with another principle—that which affirms that “God _has spoken_,” or that, by some means, he has supernaturally made himself known, revealed his interest in human nature, and drawn near,—or _draws_ near,—to the human race. All religions, always and everywhere, have pre-supposed something of supernatural intercourse between God and man;—they have had, or have, their traditionary belief of divine appearances,—their notions of a priesthood peculiarly favoured or filled by the divinity, through which, and through whose acts, the people could acceptably approach and pray. The believers in the Bible believe, of course, in supernatural manifestations of the Divine Being, made to them in the records, and embodied in many of the facts, of the book; and it is this belief that makes them worshippers. For the habit of worship, then, facts everywhere and abundantly demonstrate, you must have a religion; and for the existence of religion, you must have the belief of supernatural discoveries of God to man, in addition to the display of himself in his works. Deism is not a religion, but a philosophy; it has a God, but it does not worship; and it does not worship, because God, according to its conception of him, has never broken the silence of nature, or narrowed the distance between him and his creatures by passing over the limits of fixed law. All men who worship, whether their worship be pure or corrupt, do so, we repeat, because they have a religion, and they have a religion, because they believe in something supernatural as to their knowledge of God; something which makes their belief of him _faith_ in what is demonstrated by miraculous fact or divine statement; and not merely _opinion_, as the logical conclusion of a speculative philosophy.

These principles and reasonings being apprehended, will clear the way to the intelligent perception of the variety of things that must be understood as included in the idea of all the world becoming worshippers of God, _as the result of their perception of what we, as a nation, are supposed to teach_. For men to be worshippers, their knowledge of God must be religious, not philosophic; for it to be religious, it must be founded on belief in a supernatural revelation; it will _be_ this, when they acknowledge that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof,” in words taken from the Jewish Scriptures, and regarded as an utterance of, the Divine voice. By such an acknowledgment they will recognise the _whole_ of those Scriptures, as “given by inspiration of God,” or, as written by men who wrote “as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” But the admission of _this_, will draw with it the admission of the _second_ series of writings, and the acknowledgment of their intimate connexion with the first, as the perfect development of what the first foreshadowed, and the record of the fulfilment of what they foretold. The faith of the men, therefore, who begin with the confession that “the earth is the Lord’s,” and who profess it in the words of a Divine saying, and _as such_, must go on till it takes in what the Hebrew institute taught in type, and the Hebrew prophets uttered in words, when they “spake beforehand of the sufferings of Christ, and of the glory that should follow;” and it must still go on, and can only be rationally and consistently complete, when it receives the whole of the evangelical discoveries of the New Testament respecting the redemption of the Christ of God. _This_, then, would be the faith of future society, the world over; and by _this faith_ its worship would be regulated, if, as we are supposing, the nations should learn from us our religious belief in all its extent, and should follow it out in all its obligations.

The worship of the world, then, would be Christian worship. Men would be worshippers, because they would be religious; they would be religious, because they would have a religion, not a philosophy; and that religion, would be the one taught in the Christian Scriptures, and founded on the facts of the Christian revelation. All that we shall say of the consequence of this, at present, is, that, just as the admission of a personal God puts aside all forms of denial or error upon that point, so, the admission of a particular form of Divine discovery, and the establishment of worship according to the principles of a specific revelation, will put aside all other systems of worship, and overturn the pretensions of all other supernatural beliefs. Mohammedanism and idolatry would alike die under the predominance of the Christian sentiment;—the one as including too little, in not adding to the knowledge of God the knowledge of the redemptive act of the Christ; and the other as including too much, in having “gods many and lords many,” and worshipping these through visible objects, or regarding the visible objects as Divine; thus “falling down to the work of their hands,” and “turning the truth of God into a lie.” When Christian worship shall be universal in the earth, the gods, and priests, and altars and temples of all other religions will have departed; everything gross, cruel, and obscene will have passed away, and have given place to the practical knowledge of the one living and true God,—to Him, “who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity,” and who requires to be worshipped by men of “clean hands” and of “pure hearts.” Then will be brought to pass many of the sayings that are written in THE BOOK which often portrays, in prophetic song, visions of the triumph of religion and righteousness, and of that FUTURE, which it sees, and celebrates, and it is _to make_ for humanity. “The Lord will famish all the gods of the earth.” “The idols he will utterly abolish.” “It shall come to pass, that the gods which have not made the heavens and the earth, even they shall perish from the earth, and from underneath these heavens.” “So men shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun.” “For, from the rising of the sun even to the going down of the same, his name shall be great among the Gentiles; and, in every place incense shall be offered unto him, and a pure offering.” “Behold the days come, saith the Lord, when they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least even unto the greatest.” “In that day, shall there be one Lord and his name one.” For “the kingdoms of the world shall become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

III.

_The Scriptures will purify and restore the Church._

But in the third place, as we are supposing the nations of the world to be intelligently led from the simple sentence,—“the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof,” to the admission of the contents of the entire book, and the full understanding of the whole system of mercy and mediation, as developed in shadow, in the Hebrew ritual, and given, in substance, in the work of Christ; and as we are supposing, that, because of the fact of their knowledge, their worship will be Christian;—we wish it further to be observed, that, because of the _mode_ of their acquiring that knowledge, and on account of _the accuracy_ and _extent_ of it, their worship will not only be Christian as to its _general_ character, but it will come to be of a kind distinguished by certain _specific_ peculiarities.

That is to say, learning their faith from a certain book, and from being taught to comprehend the entire contents of it,—and finding in that book, that though there are “some things in it hard to be understood,” it is yet in its entireness _the property of the people_; it will come to pass, that all the people will claim to possess it,—will stand to their claim,—and will enforce and carry it, until there shall be none that shall dare to deny or to resist. Then, again, a whole world of intelligent and earnest men, with the Bible in their hands, as Divine thought,—studying the book “till the word of Christ dwells in them richly, in all wisdom and spiritual understanding,”—“having the form of knowledge and of truth” there;—marking and comprehending “the things that differ,” and spiritually taught to distinguish between that, which, however glorious when in its proper place, came, at last, to have “no glory, because of the glory that excelleth;”—“waxed old and vanished away as a thing that was done with,” in consequence of that coming in its stead, which was never to be moved—never to be surpassed, and never supplanted by any further or superior dispensation;—men, understanding all this, and understanding, too, that, in consequence of it all, they have the knowledge of a sacrifice which could never be repeated,—and “a great High Priest of their profession, who has entered into heaven, and appears in the presence of God for them,”—and that themselves are “a holy priesthood,” and that spiritual acts, affections, and duties, _are the incense and sacrifices of the Christian church_, “with which ‘_alone_’ God is well pleased;”—such men—and we are supposing the whole world to be such—would cleanse Christendom of the corruptions of the faith, just as Christianity, generally considered, would, by its active and universal diffusion, subvert and extinguish the idolatries of Heathenism.—Human priesthood, visible altars, the sacrifice of the mass, literal incense, the “lifting-up of the soul unto vanity,” in the sense of the adoration of saints and martyrs, the worship of a woman, of pictures, images, and relics of the dead,—ecclesiastical tyrannies, popular superstitions, and popular serfdom,—with everything else that is incompatible with a vital and diffused Christian intelligence,—all these would pass away;—the one offering of the one Priest—and the exclusive intercession of the “one Mediator between God and men,”—would be the only things before the mind of the churches;—while they would meet habitually, and meet everywhere, to worship in simplicity,—“in spirit and in truth,”—undeceived by empty ritualisms,—regaled and refreshed by “a rational service,” and edified and established by a ministry of instruction. Christ will be understood to be “a priest upon a throne;” to be the Head of the church, and the superior and “Prince of the kings of the earth,” and to hold in his hands “the keys of death and of the invisible world,”—“to open so that no man can shut, and to shut that no man can open;”—and when all this is apprehended by the nations, _it will not be endured_ that there shall be a sort of blasphemous mimicry of it all in the pretensions and claims of the Man of Sin. “The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein;”—when this is understood, in its Christian acceptation, and all men are aware that for all equally “Christ died,”—that they are his property, and that none are to interfere between him and his,—that _He_ alone is “Lord” alike, “of the dead and of the living,” and that by “setting his love” on all, he makes each individual spiritually “great,” and stamps a dignity on the nature he redeemed,—when these things are known and felt, there will be none who will “lord it over God’s heritage,” or none to submit to the attempted usurpation.

IV.

_Universal Virtue._

In the next place,—in consistency with the principles previously expounded, of the character that God demands in his worshippers,—the necessity to their acceptance, in divine service, of their possession and culture of universal virtue,—and the manner by which, in Christian worshippers, virtue expands and developes into holiness;—in consistency with this, we have next to remark, that when men have become what we have sketched _as to religion_, there will be the prevalence among them of _an elevated morality_. It is not denied that there may be virtue and morals without faith;—and that the honourable, and the true, and the lovely, and the beautiful, in habit and behaviour, may exist in the man who is destitute of religion. It is quite possible that an individual who denies that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof,” by denying that there is any Lord to whom it can belong;—who, therefore, has no sense of religious reverence,—no idea of Divine authority,—no thought of a future account,—who never worships, never acts from spiritual motives, or as “seeing Him who is invisible,”—it is quite possible for such a man to find reasons in the present, visible constitution of things, for making the best of the life that now is, by living purely, uprightly, and honestly in the world. We admit this. But we are now supposing that all men have risen into a higher sphere, through the reception and power of religious faith,—and that their virtue, instead of being a thing that has its roots in the earth, and is nourished by mere mundane influences, is a thing which flows down upon them from heaven, and is quickened and invigorated by intercourse with God. The _religious_ man, if he be true to his privileges and profession, will have all the virtues of the man of the world, besides some others which the latter has not;—and still further, as those that they have in common, are, in _him_, fed and sustained from a far higher and diviner source than what nourishes those of the man of the world, they ought to be seen to be both more pure and more elevated than his, in simple correspondence with that circumstance. Future society, then, being supposed to have come under the influence of religious truth,—to be reconciled to God through the death of his son, and to be regenerated and renewed by the sanctifying Spirit, and, as such, habitually “to ascend into the hill of the Lord,” and to worship acceptably “in his holy place,” it is to be expected, as the result of this, that it will “increase and abound in all holy conversation and godliness.” Now, there is no personal or social virtue that the New Testament does not inculcate, or that the spirit of the gospel is not adapted to nourish and expand. If the nations of the world were each to possess a national religion in the sense of _the whole nation being religious_, then, every individual would be chaste and temperate, upright and truthful, fortified by the strength and softened and adorned by the beauties of holiness. Every family would be loving and harmonious; parents wise and worthy of respect; children obedient; brethren living “together in unity.” All business would be conducted justly; commercial transactions would be all clean, and capable of being touched with “clean hands;” trade and handicrafts would be noble and dignified, by being pervaded by the great idea of “duty,” and attended to on principles which would be the very same as those that control the doings of an angel, or direct and inspire a seraph in his songs! Nowhere would be seen drunkenness, or seduction;—robbery and murder would be things of the past. There would be no oppression on the part of the rich; no pride or tyranny in the powerful; no injustice between class and class; no envy in the less favoured of God’s children, prompting them to harsh or petulant judgments of their more distinguished or opulent brothers. There never can be literal and absolute equality of station or circumstance;—there never can be a uniformity of rank or possessions. In the most perfect condition of the world and man, there must still of necessity be master and servant, the employer and the employed;—the head of one, the hand of another, the capital of a third, the back for a burden, and the feet for toil; all these will always be required, and must be furnished, and must act, in any improved state of society. But they may act harmoniously. There need be no fraud, oppression, or injustice. There may be everywhere given “the fair day’s wages for the fair day’s work;”—and there may be everywhere rendered “the fair day’s work for the fair day’s wages.” Society, like the church, is a body with its members. It has its head and feet, its ear and eye, its mouth and hands;—the health of the body, or its physical perfection, does not consist in every member having the same office; but in all fulfilling their respective functions, without disturbance,—each being thus in unity with the rest. The perfect and healthful development of society consists in a condition analogous to this. Christian communism, and Christian socialism, if anything of the sort shall hereafter be, will be found to consist, not in society’s ceasing to be a body by becoming entirely but one member—a huge head, or a gigantic foot, or a great, swinging, muscular arm,—but in all the members acting healthily in their own place; and, while doing so, each having the same care of the other. In this way, and in this way alone, can society be preserved from opposite dangers;—from becoming a monster without parts, that must of necessity perish from the want of organic or functional vitality—or being torn by intestine schisms and dissensions that must tear it to pieces or make it explode!

It is not possible to enlarge on these and kindred matters, that might be introduced under the present illustration. Enough has been said to make manifest the general principle, that, on the supposition of the diffusion in the world of an intelligent, vital, and uncorrupted Christianity, there would result from it the fruits of a universal righteousness. Every family would be “a church in the house;” children would be trained in the way they should go; and conversion from outward, practical wickedness, would be seldom needed in adult age. Education would be universal. Learning and knowledge would be “the stability of these times”—with the fear of God, and the hope of salvation. Science would be devout, and literature pure. The universe would be explored with reverence and humility; discoveries announced without boasting; and improvements and inventions received with gratitude. No books would be written to demoralize and corrupt,—nor the arts be allowed to minister to licentiousness. Industry would be cheerful, and labour honoured; the fruits of the earth would be taken and used as a Divine gift; and the productions of skill would be connected with thoughts of the Maker of the mind. In that day, there would be on every object “holiness to the Lord,” for all men would act in consistency with the belief, that “the earth is His, and the fulness thereof.”

V.

_Nationalities._

In the last place: it only remains to be remarked, that this universality of religion and righteousness, in each nation of the earth respectively, would come to have an effect on the relations and intercourse of each with the rest, and on its own internal constitution and action. If all nations were really to believe that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof,” and especially to connect with this the next clause,—“the world, _and they that dwell therein_;”—and if they were honestly to carry such a creed fairly out, into all its great practical results,—it would be found to be the charter of peace and freedom, order and liberty, in all lands. Let men get the idea that the earth is God’s, not theirs,—and that all the race are alike his,—his, at once, as created by his goodness and redeemed by his mercy;—and especially let it be imagined, that all habitually mingled in his worship, and that all felt inspired by a desire to live in constant, practical harmony with his will;—why, there could be neither war, nor slavery, nor anarchy, nor despotisms;—men _could_ not be brought, on the supposition suggested, to be trained and taught to _slaughter_ one another!—or to _steal_ one another!—or to buy, and sell, and fetter, and lash those who were the exclusive property of God, and who, whatever their colour, were each of them as much _a man_ as themselves! No monarch could be seduced into the belief that a whole people was made for _him_;—or that power was not _a trust_;—or that it could be used for any purpose but the good of the nation, and according to the eternal principles of right on which God himself governs his own. Nor would a people imagine that any new institutions would benefit them, or any change or revolution be an improvement, if they were not each of them a king over himself.—We do not mean to say that one form of political government may not be intrinsically better than another;—but we do mean to say that the Future of the world will no more be distinguished by the same form of political government being universal, than by the universal prevalence of one mode of ecclesiastical polity;—and we further mean to say, that the diffusion of an intelligent and instructed Christianity would carry into the bosoms of all men the Scriptural principles, that government is the institution of God;—that God, in this respect, is the God of order;—and that reverence for authority and submission to law are as much Christian duties as anything else.—Authority may be abused, and law may be unjust; but he who acts in the fear of God, will suffer much, and think more, before he will be persuaded that political rebellion and disobedience are virtues. We do not say that there are not occasions when the one may be patriotic and the other right;—but there is a time coming when none in the places of trust and power will so act as for this to be the case,—and when none in those of submission and obedience will feel that a dignified and manly loyalty has become either an impossibility or a burden. Governors, nowhere, will fear discussion; or fetter the press; or refuse reforms; or cripple independence;—and people, nowhere, will abuse their rights; or desire, or demand, the unreasonable or unjust. The aggregate of families, which make up a nation, living in unity, like each of the families that constitute or compose it, the aggregate of nations will dwell together in the same spirit, and with the same results. Commerce will bring, more and more, the whole earth into friendly intercourse;—the sea that would seem to divide the nations, shall be as a chain to bind people to people, and land to land. Instead of meeting for hostile purposes, there will be the interchange of visits to promote science, to perfect literature, to spread art, to cultivate religion—or to honour God in the results of industry, by the circulation round the world of an Exhibition like that which is just at hand. If, in all these ways to which we have adverted, the lessons of our Royal Exchange were to be learned, and we ourselves, and our expected visitors, to carry them out, in the full development of individual, social, and national life,—many of the pictures of the prophets would be realized; the kingdom of heaven would be established on the earth; and the tabernacle of God would be universally with man. Evils might remain, but everything would tend to mitigate or diminish them. The world would be a temple,—the nations a church;—all work would be a daily worship, while daily worship, strictly so called, would hallow and sanctify all work. The day of rest would be welcomed as it came,—but welcomed for its devotion, as well as its repose. From all hearts, from all hands, from palace and cottage—from the mine and the market-place—from the field and the factory—the forge and the loom—the city and the sea, from all nations and from all men,—there would be going up constantly to heaven, that which is required when Christians are exhorted in language like this—“Dearly beloved, I beseech you, by the mercies of God, _that ye present your bodies as living sacrifices_, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” Were this ever to be universally realized, the final cause of the creation of the world, might, without a figure, be said to be attained. God’s great idea would be seen to be complete; and He himself, if we might so speak, after being grieved by the wickedness of the race, would return again to the unruffled, deep, and ineffable satisfaction with which he was filled before the world was, when, anticipating the results of his creative energy, “_he rejoiced in the habitable parts of the earth_, AND HIS DELIGHTS WERE WITH THE SONS OF MEN.”

PRACTICAL SUGGESTIONS.

Having thus filled up our originally projected outline of thought, we shall rapidly conclude and consummate the argument by two or three practical suggestions.

1. In the first place, a few hints may not be inappropriate as to the spirit with which Christians should contemplate the Exhibition. There are some prophets, of these our times, whose “scrolls” in relation to the great event, are filled with “lamentation, mourning, and woe.” They can see nothing, in the thing itself, but a gigantic display of pride and vain glory,—and they apprehend nothing, from the meeting of the nations, but mutual corruption, prolonged riot, and perhaps blood. Their favourite analogies are the Tower of Babel, Nebuchadnezzar’s golden image, or the Devil tempting Christ by revealing on the mount “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them,” or some such human or diabolical atrocities! Now it is a pity to give way to these dark imaginings;—to see nothing in our fellow-man but what is bad, and to expect nothing from the hand of God but the thunderbolt of vengeance, or the “vials of wrath!” It is far better, far more becoming, especially in those that believe that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein,” to take healthy, cheerful, and hopeful views, of the great event,—whose origin, it is at least possible, _may_ have been good, and whose influence and results _may_ be useful. It ought by no means to be thought a self-evident thing, that there is nothing in the multitude of minds and hearts, which have all been engaged in perfecting the Exhibition, but selfish vanity and godless pride. In many there may have been frequent and great thoughts of God, devout humility, and earnest prayer for that blessing without which nothing can be successful. Supplications may have gone up, in various languages and from many lands, that God would direct and crown the work, and cause it to promote his kingdom and glory; and, though the numbers may have been small, who have thus sought to hallow and sanctify the project by prayer, in comparison with those who are interested in it without devotion and without reference to the Divine blessing, _Christians_ should remember, that, in a world like ours, living under mercy, the very principle of the Divine government is, to bless one man through the medium of another, and even to bless the many for the sake of the few;—just as ten men of righteousness and of faith might have saved the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and as those that were saved, were saved on account of one such man,—for “when the Lord destroyed the cities of the plain, he REMEMBERED ABRAHAM, and—_sent Lot out from the midst of the overthrow_.” Let Christians, therefore, have faith in one another. Let them believe that many as good as themselves are engaged in the Exhibition, and have devoutly sought for it the blessing of the Most High. Let others learn to do likewise. Instead of indulging in forebodings and prophecies which, being uttered, might fulfil themselves, they should rather exercise trust in Providence, indulge hope for the church and the world, and earnestly endeavour to serve both, by hearty, honest, and sincere _intercession_ for all nations, and for all men,—that that God, who can make even “the _wrath_ of man to praise him,” would educe praise and glory to Himself, and much that shall be productive of happiness to men, from what brings them together _in peaceful intercourse_, and reminds them of their common relation to himself. The “crisis” of the world occurred when there was a gathering of strangers and foreigners in one place;—they were brought together at the time of the crucifixion,—they were assembled again at the wonders of Pentecost,—and there can be no doubt that there was a designed coincidence on both occasions. God has sanctified the meeting of numbers, of “men of every nation under heaven,”—“Parthians and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judæa, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya, about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes, and Arabians,”—God has sanctified a gathering like this to his own purposes,—to the establishment of his kingdom and the spread of his truth; and what he has done before he may do again; and he _will_ do it, if Christians devoutly and earnestly seek it, by such a spirit of prayer, as, “loving all things, and believing all things, and hoping all things,” will crave at his hand a blessing for their brothers, and crave it so that it cannot be denied.

2nd. In _visiting_ the Exhibition, there are many sentiments which Christians might indulge as means of impression or improvement to themselves. It is hardly necessary, after having gone through the foregoing argument, to press upon the reader the duty of seeing and remembering God in all that will be displayed of the riches of nature and the products of art. It is true, indeed, that it is to be the Exhibition of the Industry _of the Nations_,—that is, it is, in a manner, to reveal and magnify MAN by accumulating and displaying his wonderful works. But there is a way of doing this, that may be humble and religious, and there is a way of regarding and of looking upon it, which may minister much to the health and nourishment of the divine life. To think highly of what man _is_, and to strengthen such thoughts by becoming familiar with what he has _done_, may only make us think more wisely and wonderfully of God, and more justly of _the worth of the soul_, and of the importance of salvation to that nature whose capacities would seem to be so mysterious and so vast! To think of man lying like a wreck on the outside of Eden, naked and ignorant, without a teacher and without tools,—his mind darkened, his spirit depressed,—with understanding, indeed, and impulses and instincts to help him in his first efforts at labour,—a whole world of raw material under his foot, the compass of the earth for the sphere of his achievements, his head and hand the instruments of action, but the one as yet without knowledge, and the other equally without skill! And then to think of what he has done! How that poor, solitary, naked man, beginning with some rude attempt at the cultivation of the earth and the collection of flocks,—seeking for himself and his dependent companion, the mere supply of their animal wants, clothing of the coarsest, unwoven and undressed,—with food unprepared and unpalatable,—and shelter that might be furnished by a few trees or a hole in a rock! To think what he has become _since then_! How one generation has improved upon another, and how discovery and invention, and labour and skill, and industry and genius, have covered the earth with a succession of wonders; and _then_ to think, how a sort of representative epitome of these is to stand before us in the marvellous contents of the last and greatest wonder of the world! That wonder will include specimen and proof of what man has done for himself and his dwelling-place, since he lay helpless on the margin of the earth, like a ship-wrecked mariner that had got to shore, but with the loss of all things. Guided and helped by the Divine power, but in a manner consistent with his intelligent nature, his free thought and personal agency, the mind of man was developed and enlarged, society formed, and arts and handicrafts, science and letters, rose and realized what history records, and what modern civilization so wonderfully represents. Rock and forest, earth and ocean, animated nature in all its forms, everything placed around and beneath him, supplied materials which he learned to employ for his convenience and use. He covered the earth with towns and cities, erected temples, palaces, and pyramids,—subdued the most stubborn of the beasts of the field, tamed the most ferocious, outstripped the swiftest, and reduced the strongest to obedience and servitude. He clothed himself in skins, in fur, in flax, in silk and wool,—gradually improving as he went on, till fineness of fabric and elegance of design have become the property of the people at large. He decorated and adorned his private abode, and filled public buildings and public places with the creations of beauty and the triumphs of art. He has crossed the ocean and sounded its depths; he has penetrated the earth and drawn thence her concealed treasure; he has interrogated nature, and obtained, or forced from her, the most astonishing replies; he has soared into the heavens, has counted, weighed, and measured the stars; he can foretell events with certainty and precision—the appearance of a comet, or the occurrence of an eclipse; he has made fire and water, lightning and steam, to do his bidding,—to transmit his messages, transport his property, carry himself, lighten his labour, and perform his work. He has given to sound sentiment and eloquence, and has made instruments of music that can subdue multitudes. Of all these achievements, and of a vast variety of other forms of skilfulness and power, the Great Exhibition will present the proofs, and exhibit them in their latest and most perfect development. And yet it is to be remarked, that with all it will do, _it will leave the greatest and the most wonderful of the works of man uncollected and unseen_. Mechanical industry has its many marvels,—art and science their miraculous results; but the highest form of the greatness of humanity is to be met with in books,—in the art that has given visibility to speech, and permanent endurance to thought and emotion,—and in the thoughts and emotions of gifted minds, which, in every age, and in all lands, have adorned the race by the researches of the intellect, the conflagrations of eloquence, and the sublimities of song. These things cannot be represented in the Palace of Industry; and yet these are the things that belong to the highest regions of the mind;—to powers and faculties that more than anything else illustrate the inherent greatness of man;—that lead him to the contemplation of the right, the divine, the beautiful and the good in action and character;—that render him capable of religious faith;—and that might make him a happy and virtuous intelligence if he were called to exist separate from the body,—without the feeling of physical necessities, without a surrounding material world, and without members to mould and fabricate, and work up anything whatever in the way of mere mechanical dexterity.

Now these thoughts, and a thousand others of a kindred sort, may all be indulged by a reflective man in visiting the Exhibition,—indulged devoutly, and turned to eminent spiritual advantage. Every thing that man is seen to have achieved,—every proof of his sagacity and power, his skill and performance—will only enhance, in a thoughtful soul, the impression of the wonderfulness of that nature which God originally made for himself, which sin has degraded, and which Christ has redeemed. The number of such proofs increasing the conception of the wonderfulness of the nature they so marvellously manifest, will render the fact of redemption credible,—increasing the probability that God should interpose to recover and restore it. And the great fact, that, after all that the grand pageant can do, and in spite of the splendour and magnificence of its contents, it will actually leave the most wonderful portion of the human mind unillustrated, and incapable of illustration,—why, this may well lead to the solemn remembrance of some of the most impressive of Scriptural truths. “What is a man profited, if he shall _gain the whole world_ and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” “All flesh is as grass, and _all the glory of man_ as the flower of grass; the grass withereth, the flower fadeth, _but the word of the Lord endureth for ever_; and this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.” “_All these things shall be dissolved_;” “_the earth and all things that are therein shall be burned up_,—but we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which dwelleth righteousness.” And still further, the fact of the exhibition of the _half_, merely, of the greatness of man by the works of his hands, (and _that_ the lesser and lower portion,) may suggest the analogy that there is in this, with the manner of God’s discovery of himself. He, in his works, has revealed and illustrated his wisdom and power, goodness and beneficence, and, to the eye of reason, these are largely reflected there;—but the manifestation of his _moral_ attributes, his justice and love, compassion and mercy, is made to faith in the gospel of his Son; and however most men may be alive to the first, and blind or insensible to the second of these discoveries, there are beings in the universe who are intent on the higher exhibitions of God,—just as there are devout and meditative men who will gaze on the wonders of the Palace of Industry only to be reminded of the spiritual and immortal of human nature, which the edifice with its marvels will do little to illustrate! Heaven has its “fulness” as well as earth. That fulness is “the fulness of Christ;”—his sufferings on earth and the glory that is to follow. This is called “the unsearchable riches.” In the mystery of redemption are “hid,” or lie embodied, “_all the treasures_ of wisdom and knowledge,”—_the higher forms_ of God’s manifestation of himself to his creatures. “Into THESE THINGS _the angels desire to look_.” And they do this in exact conformity with the Divine purpose in the revelation of himself in this the greatest of his works, for it was set forth, “TO THE INTENT _that unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places_, might be made known _by the church_ the manifold wisdom of God.”

3rd. But British Christians have a great and solemn lesson to learn from the view that we have taken, in this discussion, of their language to the world. If it be so, that we profess as a nation, and utter openly in the hearing of all men, _the truths_ that have been illustrated, then, also, ought it to be felt, that we lie under the most binding and imperative obligations to exemplify _the duties_ which have been explained and enforced. It becomes us to cultivate the devout and practical recognition of God; to keep his Sabbaths; to wait upon him in worship; to approach him through Christ, that we may do so acceptably; to “live in the spirit,” that “we may not fulfil the lusts of the flesh;” “to walk in the spirit,” that our daily virtue may be divine holiness. It is well “to hold forth the word of truth,” and to witness for God, for the gospel, and for righteousness, in the sight of the nations; but it must be done _practically_ as well as by profession,—by conduct in harmony with the articles of our creed,—or our testimony will expose us to ridicule and rebuke, and may provoke by its mockery the vengeance of the Most High. Let England beware, that it do not itself, amidst the blaze and glory of the Great Exhibition, forget the truth and the lessons taught by it, that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof.” Let it beware, “lest, being lifted up with pride, it fall into the condemnation of the devil.” It is a terrible thing not to give God the glory of our achievements;—“to sacrifice to our own net, and to burn incense to our own drag.” It was when the king’s heart was lifted up with pride, and when he said to himself, “Is not this Great Babylon that I have built,”—it was then that God smote him from on high, seared his intellect, and sent him to herd with unintelligent natures! England is first in the commerce of the world; her “merchant princes” are the nobles of civilization; her markets and manufactures have decked her with beauty and made her great;—but it would be well for her to remember, that it was just such a country that, in ancient times, had her magnificence described with the greatest minuteness by God’s prophets, but described to illustrate the extent of her ingratitude, the aggravations of her sin, and the certainty and completeness of her predicted destruction. It was fearfully realized. The glory of Tyre was swept away, and her place became bare as the top of a rock, on which the fisherman might spread out his net to the sun! It might be well, too, to remember, that the prophetic description in the book of the Apocalypse, of the Babylon that is to fall in some yet future judgment of God, is the description of a commercial and maritime city, over which the merchants of the earth mourn and lament “because her judgment hath come, and no man buyeth her merchandise any more.” That these instances should neither be type nor prophecy of Britain, she must take care to walk by the light of her own creed—that “the earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof,”—and according to all the devotion and humility and practical righteousness that this would inculcate. It is well with a people when their garners are full and their flocks prolific;—when their sons are as plants grown up in their youth, and their daughters as polished marble columns; when there is no political convulsion in the land, and no complaining of poverty in their streets. “Happy is the people that is in _such_ a case;” but _happier_ they “WHOSE GOD IS THE LORD.”

4th. Trusting that, as a people, we are not altogether inattentive to what has been described, let us learn, in conclusion, the value we should attach _to the blessing of our characteristic and national Christianity_. We do not mean, the forms or peculiarities of any church;—the secondary distinctions, that may have their importance, as the separate testimonies to a particular truth prominently held by different members of the Protestant family. We refer to our EVANGELICAL PROTESTANTISM _itself_, which is substantially the same throughout our many sects, and which is held and taught, with more or less clearness, by all the influential Denominations in the land. To this, under God, we owe our free political constitution, our civil rights, and our religious liberty; to this we are indebted for the power we are at present exercising and using in the face of the world,—the power of throwing our metropolis open to the nations,—receiving them all, without passports, and with hardly a precaution, to our streets and squares, our court and senate, our families and our homes. We have no fear that our soldiers will be corrupted, or our population seduced;—we apprehend nothing of injury to our faith, or of temptation to our loyalty. Our press will be as free, our minds as unfettered, our comments on men and measures as outspoken, as if none were our daily audience but ourselves. To impress the moral of all this on the mind of the reader, and on our own, we might do it, perhaps, most effectively, by putting it in the form of a friendly address to a reflective foreigner, who might be looking with wonder on the phenomena around him. “Stranger,” we might say, “you have looked with surprise on our industry and commerce, our trade and manufactures; you have seen in our equipages the signs of our wealth; and, in other ways, how opulence and comfort are diffused among our people; you have been impressed with the many proofs of our intelligence, and have wondered, perhaps, most of all, at the liberty we enjoy and the loyalty we cherish. You have seen A QUEEN _honoured and beloved_;—and her Royal Consort taking the lead, not in reviews of military pomp, or only in the parade of magnificent hospitalities; but in presiding over the displays of peaceful industry, and welcoming the representatives of science and art. You have seen the multitudes that crowd to our churches, and wondered at the comparative quiet of our sabbaths. _Know_, therefore, that for all this, and for far more that is unseen, we are indebted _to the glorious inheritance of our faith_;—our OPEN BIBLE, our conscientious inquiry, our habits of worship, and our religious instructors. We have much amongst us of which it becomes us to think with shame;—much of which it is impossible to speak but in moderated phrase, and even with tears;—but if there is anything that has raised thy admiration, or inflamed thy curiosity,—anything in our general reverence for law, in our political moderation, our civil order,—our respect for rank, combined with our individual consciousness of personal manhood; if there is anything that shows that our morals are not debased, or our manners frivolous, or our habits sordid, or our minds enslaved by the gross and the voluptuous,—carry away with thee the certainty and conviction, that everything that may be good about us as a people, we owe to our possession of _that_ ONE BOOK,—to our mode of interpreting, and our constancy in teaching it,—_which tells us to acknowledge_,—and, by God’s blessing, helps us to act, however imperfectly, on the practical belief,—_that despotism and priestcraft, anarchy and disorder, pride and oppression, vanity and selfishness, lawlessness and wrong, are all alike disobedience to God and injurious to his creatures_, FOR ‘THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND THE FULNESS THEREOF; THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN.’”

POSTSCRIPT.

Postscript.

THE EXHIBITION OPENED.

The first of May, eighteen hundred and fifty-one, was a day to be remembered to all time! On it the nations of the earth combined together to “make history,” in a manner they had never done before;—in one also, which, in its prominent peculiarity, can never be repeated. There may be similar Exhibitions in future periods of the world’s progress, but _the first_ can never be again. Even respecting those which may be imagined to occur, although they may be distinguished by new features and characteristics of their own, and though these may, in some respects, surpass those of the one now opened, they cannot be anticipated with that depth of interest, nor excite by their inauguration those profound emotions, which preceded and distinguished the sublime event which has just taken place. The preceding pages were written in the prospect of that event, and were intended to appear before its occurrence. The author cannot regret, however, that circumstances interfered with the fulfilment of his purpose, since to this he is indebted for the opportunity of adding a supplementary section to his little work, commemorative of the grand and magnificent ceremonial of which he was privileged to be a spectator.

It is not the writer’s intention to attempt to describe the opening of the Exhibition, with all that minuteness of detail in respect to what occurred in the interior of the structure,—or with those stirring delineations of the bustle and excitement, the lines of carriages and congregated crowds, that imparted animation to the scene without,—which have already been furnished by the public prints. He merely wishes to note a few things which were interesting or suggestive to his own mind, and especially such as were felt to be in harmony with the spirit and object of the present volume.

It was his good fortune to obtain admittance into the Palace of Industry, on the memorable morning of the first of May, before the gates were opened to the public. He had traversed it frequently during the previous weeks, and had seen it in various stages of its progress. One morning, in March, he was there so early, that while walking along its galleries he observed that he was the _only visitor_ upon them at that moment. Few of the counters were then erected, hardly any of the articles unpacked;—the wide spaces and vast dimensions of the wonderful structure spread before him in clear and unobstructed perspective;—there was something, too, of solitariness in his position, though multitudes of workmen were occupied below, above, and around him;—the whole scene, from its simple magnitude, was inexpressibly sublime; it stirred within him thoughts and feelings which were not, indeed, “too deep for tears,” but which could only find utterance and relief in their indulgence; while, as he passed on, and for the first time saw the compartments of the different countries, and read the names of the various nations that were preparing to stand, side by side, in peaceful rivalry,—his emotions deepened to an intensity which it was difficult to bear, and which cannot be described! He was in the building, also, for some time, three days before the opening, and could then form some idea of what would be the number and variety of its contents; though so much, even at that late period, remained to be done, that he wondered how it would be possible for the preparations to be finished by the time appointed. As, however, he walked into the transept, when that time had come,—approached the centre,—and looked along the naves stretching to such an extent on either side,—it was not without a feeling of admiration and surprise, mingled with something of solemnity and awe, that he looked on the splendid and gorgeous spectacle that stood revealed in all its completeness!

The mere material scene was sublime when beheld by itself,—empty, and comparatively still; but much more impressive and affecting was it, when filled with its immense multitude of spectators. There was much that was stirring in the sight of the rush and inundation of the crowd, as it kept flowing in, in vast waves, at every opening; and much that was impressive when the noise and murmur of its movements had subsided,—when all had found or had been forced into their places,—and when floor and gallery, and every part that the eye could reach, was seen to be occupied by human beings,—by an assembly larger than any that had ever, in England, been congregated before under one roof,—and by one that had met for an object, and under circumstances, unparalleled in the annals of the world!

Men see in all external events and objects, what the light that is in them reveals. Things are, to us, what we are to them. He that visits foreign countries, brings back according to what he takes. The same sight may be a very different thing to two different persons, in proportion as they may differ in knowledge, in opinion, in taste, in sympathies. The eye of a clown may look on a prospect that in some souls would produce rapture or occasion tears, with hardly more intelligence than that of the ox that he drives before him. The outside of things is open to all; their inner significance is revealed only to those who have an inner eye to read it; and even such significance may be differently interpreted according as the eye is influenced and affected by the degree of intelligence, the tendencies, and the tastes of the inward man to whom it belongs. It is quite possible that some may see nothing in the great Exhibition but an ordinary, though enormous, fancy bazaar; and that others saw nothing in the ceremonial of the opening but a state pageant, court dresses, and an immense crowd of men and women! It is quite possible, too, that some of the incidents of the day, which appeared to us touching in themselves, or pregnant with meaning, were indebted for this to the capricious activity of our own fancy, as well as to their inherent beauty or significance. But, however this may have been, there certainly were some things that we felt to be deeply interesting as they occurred, and remarkably suggestive as illustrating the character and tendencies of the event. We shall not attempt to recall all that struck us at the time; but a few words may not be amiss on what immediately bore, or appeared to us to bear, on some of the topics of this book.

On getting a sight of the catalogue of the Exhibition,—which we did before entering the interior of the building,—we were gratified to find on the cover and the title-page:

“THE EARTH IS THE LORD’S, AND ALL THAT THEREIN IS; THE COMPASS OF THE WORLD, AND THEY THAT DWELL THEREIN.”

We were aware that this was to be the English motto, and that two Latin ones had also been selected. We were glad to find the Divine sentence placed where it was, and placed by itself; that it stood, as it were, in _front_ of the Nations as they joined one another, and moved towards the great point of attraction; that it _faced_ them, and spoke as with the voice of an oracle; that while the words of men occupied their proper subordinate position _behind_ those of the book of God—out of sight—needing, as it were, to be sought for, and found, and _solicited_ to announce themselves,—these stood in their solitary majesty, revealing themselves by their own light, claiming to speak as having a right to be heard, and authoritatively announcing to the diversified tribes and peoples of the earth, and to every visitant of the palace of wonders, _Whose_ they themselves were, and to whom belonged _all they saw._

This volume was written and in the press before we were aware that _the inscription on the Exchange_ was to be _the motto of the Exhibition_; otherwise, the natural course would have been, to have taken the words in their _latter_ use rather than the former, and thus to have expounded and illustrated what England _actually does say_ to herself and the nations through the medium of the event which is bringing them together. When we first heard of what was to be the English motto of the catalogue, we were exceedingly disposed to wish it could be given in the words of the authorized version (those on the Exchange) “The earth is the Lord’s, _and the fulness thereof_,” instead of those of the translation in the Prayer-book, “The earth is the Lord’s, and _all that therein is_.” On further reflection, however, we are willing to think, that while the two expressions are substantially the same, there is just that shade of difference between them that fits each for its respective position; “the _fulness_ of the earth” being most appropriate to a commercial edifice,—“_all that therein is_” to an industrial exhibition. However this may be, it was to us, as may be supposed, a gratifying circumstance that the first sight that met our eye, on the very threshold, or in the porch of the Palace of Industry, while making our way to the opening ceremonial, was that which assured us, that the words whose import we had been endeavouring to illustrate in “a book for the Exhibition,” were to lie beneath the eye, and to address themselves to the reason and the religious consciousness, of every individual by whom it would be visited.

The recognition of God, in connexion with the Exhibition, has always marked the references to it of its most distinguished promoter. The religious services on the day of the opening were solemn and appropriate, and seemed at once to crown and sanctify the work. “I confidently hope,”—said his Royal Highness, Prince Albert, at the banquet at the Mansion-house, in honour of the undertaking,—“I confidently hope, that the first impression which the view of this vast collection will produce upon the spectator, will be that of deep thankfulness to the Almighty for the blessings which he has bestowed upon us here below.” It was a most impressive sight, on the opening of the splendid spectacle thus anticipated, to see some twenty-five or thirty thousand people, all under the influence of a sentiment of reverence, deeply calm, serious, and still, uniting in an act of solemn devotion, while the highest ecclesiastical dignitary in the land, standing by the side of our august sovereign, who seemed to bow in humility before the footstool of Him who is “the King of kings,” expressed in a manner the most appropriate, the “deep thankfulness” of the vast assembly “for the blessings which the Almighty has bestowed upon us,” and acknowledged _Him_ in the riches of nature and the wonders of art with which the edifice was filled! Every reader will probably have seen the prayer to which we thus refer. It seems, however, not inappropriate to give it a place in these pages; the more so as its sentiments are so in harmony with many of those we have been attempting to express. It was as follows:

“Almighty and everlasting God, who dost govern all things both in heaven and in earth, without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy, accept, we beseech Thee, the sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving, and receive these our prayers which we offer up unto Thee this day on behalf of the kingdom and people of this land. We acknowledge, O Lord, that Thou hast multiplied on us blessings which Thou mightest most justly have withheld. We acknowledge that it is not because of works of righteousness which we have done, but of Thy great mercy, that we are permitted to come before Thee with the voice of thanksgiving, and that instead of humbling us for our offences, Thou hast given us cause to thank Thee for Thine abundant goodness. And now, O Lord, we beseech Thee to bless the work which Thou hast enabled us to begin, and to regard with Thy favour our purpose of knitting together in the bonds of peace and concord the different nations of the earth; for with Thee, O Lord, is the preparation of the heart in man. Of Thee it cometh that violence is not heard in our land, wasting nor destruction within its borders. It is of Thee, O Lord, that nations do not lift up the sword against each other nor learn war any more; it is of Thee that peace is within our walls and plenteousness within our palaces; it is of Thee that knowledge is increased throughout the world, for the spirit of man is from Thee, and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding. Therefore, O Lord, not unto us, not unto us, but unto Thy name be all the praise. While we survey the works of art and industry which surround us, let not our hearts be lifted up that we forget the Lord our God, as if our own power and the might of our hands had gotten in this wealth. Teach us ever to remember that all this store which we have prepared cometh of Thine hand and is all Thine own. Both riches and honour come of Thee, and thou reignest over all. In Thine hand it is to make great and to give strength unto all. Now, therefore, O God, we thank Thee; we praise Thee and intreat Thee so to overrule _this assembly of many nations_, that it may tend _to the advancement of Thy glory, to the diffusion of Thy Holy Word_, to the increase of general prosperity, by promoting peace and goodwill among the different races of mankind. Let the many mercies which we receive from Thee dispose our hearts to serve Thee more faithfully, who art the Author and Giver of them all. And finally, O Lord, teach us so to use those earthly blessings which Thou givest us richly to enjoy, that they may not withdraw our affections from those heavenly things which Thou hast prepared for those that love and serve Thee, through the merits and mediation of Thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, with Thee and the Holy Ghost, be all honour and glory.”

Prince Albert, after having, in the words above quoted, expressed his hope respecting the religious impression to be produced by the Exhibition, proceeded to say that he trusted its _second_ lesson would be, “the conviction” that the full enjoyment of the blessings of Providence “could be realized only in proportion to the help we are prepared to render to each other; therefore only by _peace, love, and ready assistance, not only between individuals, but between the Nations of the earth_.” The opening ceremonial of the first of May, was an impressive commentary on this sentiment. Within the same building were congregated the representatives of many nations, and people from every quarter of the globe. All met and mingled together in perfect harmony, and seemed at once disposed to regard each other with fraternal cordiality, and to be pervaded and possessed by those sentiments which are nourished and developed by the sunlight of love. Everybody seemed bright; good-humoured; happy; willing to please and to be pleased! It was as if all the world had met to celebrate the arrival or reign of universal concord. The Palace of Industry was the Temple of Peace. There were some military uniforms, and a few soldiers here and there, but no one thought of _fighting_! It was not a battle,—it was not even a review. It was not War when merely making a holiday; showing himself off in his fine clothes to a gaping multitude, and startling or amusing them by his gigantic sport. A little boy—a child of some five or six years old—while we were all waiting for the coming of the Queen, got away from his mother, or sister, ran into the midst of the central crowd of dignitaries and diplomatists, walked up the steps of the platform on which was the chair of state, turned round and stood looking about happy and delighted, and then went back again to the cover of the wing from which he had escaped! The whole thing showed such a sense of _security_,—such a feeling in the boy that there was nothing to frighten him or to hurt him _there_,—that he appeared like an impersonation of the spirit of the place. He could not have done or felt as he did in any assembly of thirty thousand people that ever met in the world before within the same walls. Such assemblages there _have_ been, and larger,—but they met for purposes of cruelty and blood,—to see men fight with beasts or with each other. In the Crystal Palace is mirrored, we trust, the dawn at least of the predicted day, when “the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; AND A LITTLE CHILD SHALL LEAD THEM.”

Then there was to be seen for some time in apparently friendly conversation, the Iron Duke and the Lancashire cotton-spinner;—Wellington and Cobden;—the man of war and the apostle of peace! It was a suggestive sight. The old soldier did a great and necessary work in his day. By his decisive stroke at the battle of Waterloo, he terminated the protracted contentions of Europe, and gave to us, as a nation, a peace that has continued for thirty-five years. _To that prolonged peace, we are in a great measure indebted for the Exhibition of Industry_. It would not have been improper, therefore, if, while looking on the scene he had lived to witness,—a scene that glorified his own eighty-second birthday, and which was so different from all that he had been familiar with in his youth,—it would not have been improper if the military veteran had felt that there was a connexion between what he saw and what he had _done_. Than he, we believe, there is no one more aware of the horrors of war, or who would more bitterly lament its necessity;—and though he can hardly be expected to think Peace Societies the sole or best defence of a nation, it is not to be doubted that he would welcome “permanent and universal peace,” and that he rejoices in an enterprise that may help to secure it. _There they were, then_,—two representative and typical men;—side by side;—talking like brothers! There they were;—the one the monument of a past age,—the other the personal prophecy of a coming one. The one the chronicle of bygone times, when nations thought themselves “natural enemies,” and men knew of no arbiter but the sword;—the other the advocate of _another_ arbitration, and the apostle of the industrial intercourse of the world. The one was old,—the other young. Let us hope that this, too, was a type of _the principles_ they respectively represented;—that that of appealing and trusting to the sword, is past its vigour and is falling into decay,—while that of uniting by mutual benefits, and of superseding the arguments of brute force by those of reason and love, is in its prime and manhood, and has before it a long period of service. There are a few specimens of cannon in the Exhibition, but there are far more of agricultural instruments. The time will come when none of the former will find their place in any collection of the works of “Industry,”—except, it may be, some that shall be preserved as curious, though sad and humiliating, relics of a former age. “Weapons of war” are destined to disappear, and to give place to the engine and the compass,—the press and the tool-chest,—the plough and the pruning-hook!

The incidents thus referred to, were felt to be suggestive of many thoughts in harmony with the sentiment last quoted from the speech of Prince Albert. That sentiment, however, received ampler illustration by what was seen on the reading of the address of the Commissioners to her Majesty,—by the closing language of that address itself,—and by her Majesty’s reply. The procession that approached the throne for the presentation of the address, consisted not only of Englishmen headed by the Consort of the Sovereign, but of the foreign representatives of twenty-six different nations, states, or kingdoms. These, for the time, were all ONE;—one body,—filled with one sentiment, pervaded, as it were, by one soul;—and they all united in uttering through their common head, in the name of their several countries, and in the presence of a multitude almost as mixed and multifarious as themselves, the following words:—

“It is our heartfelt prayer that this undertaking, _which has for its end_ the promotion of all branches of human industry, and _the strengthening of the bonds of peace and friendship_ AMONG ALL NATIONS OF THE EARTH, may, by the blessing of Divine Providence, conduce to the welfare of your Majesty’s people, and be long remembered among the brightest circumstances of your Majesty’s _peaceful_ and _happy reign_.”

It was a great thing to see the representatives of Austria and Denmark, France and Belgium, Prussia and Germany, Russia and Rome, Spain and Portugal, Turkey and Tuscany, the United States, Tunis, Sardinia, Greece, and of many other lands, joining together in the expression of a common hope, and the utterance of a united prayer, that what they were doing might “strengthen the bonds of peace and friendship among all the nations of the earth;” and to think, too, that they did this, not only in their own names, and in those of their respective countries, but in the name of _all_ lands and peoples in the world that might have any contribution in the Exhibition, whether they had personal representatives among the Commissioners or not. The closing paragraph of her Majesty’s reply echoed the closing sentiment of the address,—a sentiment that came to her like an utterance from the heart of universal humanity! It was an over-powering sight, by the way,—that of one so young, elevated in the midst of so vast a multitude, and virtually receiving the homage of so many nations:

“A wondrous sceptre ’tis to bear; Strange mystery of God which set Upon her brow yon coronet,— The foremost crown Of all the earth on one so fair! That chose her to it from her birth, And bade _the sons of all the earth_ _To her bow down_.”

Although the closing passage in her Majesty’s speech is that to which we confine our attention, as the speech itself is very brief, we give it entire:

“I receive with the greatest satisfaction the address which you have presented to me on the opening of this Exhibition.

“I have observed with a warm and increasing interest the progress of your proceedings in the execution of the duties intrusted to you by the Royal Commission; and it affords me sincere gratification to witness the successful result of your judicious and unremitting exertions in THE SPLENDID SPECTACLE _by which I am this day surrounded_.

“_I cordially concur with you in the prayer, that by God’s blessing this undertaking may conduce_ to the welfare of my people, and _to the common interests of the human race_, by encouraging the arts of peace and industry, _strengthening the bonds of union among the nations of the earth_, and promoting a friendly and honourable rivalry in the useful exercise of those faculties which have been conferred by a beneficent Providence for the good and the happiness of mankind.”

But we must draw to a close. There were many other incidents on which we could willingly linger, as illustrative of the views we had always indulged of the character and tendencies of the great experiment. The union in one edifice of such an unprecedented number of human beings, was itself a most imposing and magnificent spectacle. The Queen appeared to feel this. As she stood in a position to command a view of the vast spaces of the building, all of which were densely filled, she seemed impressed with a sense of awe at the sublime spectacle, and could not help, even during the reading of the address of the Commissioners, partially withdrawing her attention from them, to steal a glance at “the splendid spectacle by which she was surrounded.” That spectacle, however, partook of the tender, the beautiful, and the domestic even, as well as the sublime. Into it, the Queen and her illustrious Consort came, each leading by the hand one of their children! Up and down, through and amongst that mass of people, they moved together in the same manner. Pomp and state were in some degree laid aside, and the sovereign, for the time, seemed to have become one with the people. She was received with affection, as well as loyalty; and appeared to enjoy and to acknowledge her reception, not so much as a crowned Queen, as a happy _woman_, an elated wife, and a loving mother! It must have been the most wonderful hour in the whole life of Prince Albert,—that hour of the opening of the Exhibition!—intense must have been the feelings with which he looked on the realization of his great idea; the end of so much anxiety; the commencement of the harvest of so much hope! Everything was propitious. The sun in the heavens shone down upon the scene with unwonted brightness, as if He who “sits in the centre” thereof, approved the undertaking and blessed it from on high. There was not an accident of any sort,—nothing for one moment to excite alarm, to produce panic, or occasion apprehension in the mind of the assembly. In spite of the tens of thousands that filled it, in no part of the edifice was there crack or strain, the indication of weakness, or any sign of insecurity. The outdoor crowds, instead of being disposed to rudeness or riot, or capable of being excited to tumult and rebellion (!), would seem to have been more than usually pacific; a sort of restraint appears to have been upon the worst even of those who congregate on such occasions; for, on the following day, there were no cases of either quarrels or robberies such as ordinarily attend state pageants and civic processions. The royal Patrons of peace and industry retired from the scene in which they had developed a new phase of royalty, and read a new lesson to kings, amid the benedictions and prayers of the multitude with whom they had met and mingled. They could not but retire happy and glad; grateful to God for what they had witnessed, and what they had done; and, in the fulness of their emotions of devout thankfulness, like David, perhaps, “returned home to bless their household.” As it is not likely that anything will occasion a _greater_ gathering of the populace in the parks, in connexion with the Exhibition, and as the ceremony of the opening has given such a glow of cheerfulness and confidence to the public mind, it is to be hoped that the many prophecies and prognostications of evil, which some have indulged in, will now cease, and that all will unite, by cordial sympathy with the great object, and fervent prayer to Almighty God, to seek the realization of those peaceful, patriotic, and world-wide results, which many of the wise and good hope that “the Great Exhibition” may be an instrument in the hand of Providence to secure, and which as Englishmen, Christians, and lovers of our kind, we ought all constantly and earnestly to pursue. In this way, every devout man may help to hasten that anticipated FUTURE, some of the general characteristics of which we have endeavoured to deduce from the Scriptural motto on the books of the Exhibition. Of that period a pregnant and impressive type was presented in the opening ceremonial, when, in the bearing of all the nations of the earth, _representatively present in the spacious edifice_, there rose up,—to the praise and glory of that God, “_whose is the earth and the fulness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein_,” and to whom we are indebted not only for “all the blessings of this life,” but for “the means of grace, and the hope of glory,”—the grand, solemn, _prophetic_ song,—

“Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and He shall reign for ever and ever. King of kings, and Lord of lords. Hallelujah!”

With the following stanzas, descriptive of the different parts of the scene thus reviewed, we here close our pleasant labour:

THE GATHERING OF THE NATIONS.

“A peaceful place it was but now, And lo! within its shining streets A multitude of nations meets: A countless throng

I see beneath the crystal bow, And Gaul and German, Russ and Turk, Each with his native handiwork And busy tongue.

I felt a thrill of love and awe To mark the different garb of each, The changing tongue, the various speech Together blent. A thrill, methinks, like His who saw “All people dwelling upon earth Praising our God with solemn mirth And one consent.”

THE PRAYER.

“High Sovereign in your Royal state! Captains and Chiefs and Councillors, Before the lofty palace doors Are open set, Hush! ere you pass the shining gate; Hush! ere the heaving curtain draws, And let the Royal pageant pause A moment yet.

People and Prince a silence keep! Bow coronet and kingly crown, Helmet and plume bow lowly down; The while the priest

Before the splendid portal step, While still the wondrous banquet stays, From Heaven supreme a blessing prays Upon the feast!”

…

“Behold her in her Royal place: A gentle lady—and the hand That sways the sceptre of this land How frail and weak! Soft is the voice, and fair the face; She breathes Amen to prayer and hymn, No wonder that her eyes are dim, And pale her cheek.”

PEACE AND CONCORD.

“The representatives of man Here from the far Antipodes, And from the subject Indian seas, In congress meet; From Afric and from Hindostan, From western continent and isle, The envoys of her empire pile Gifts at her feet.

Our brethren cross the Atlantic tides, Loading the gallant decks which once Roar’d a defiance to our guns, With peaceful store;

Symbol of peace, their vessel rides! O’er English waves float Star and Stripe, And firm their friendly anchors gripe The father shore!”

…

“Look yonder, where the engines toil; These England’s arms of conquest are— The trophies of her bloodless war: Brave weapons these! Victorious over wave and soil, With these she sails, she weaves, she tills, Pierces the everlasting hills, And spans the seas!

The engine roars upon its race, The shuttle whirrs along the woof, The people hum from floor to roof, With Babel tongue. The fountain in the basin plays, The chanting organ echoes clear, An awful chorus ’tis to hear,— A wondrous song!

Swell, organ,—swell your trumpet blast! March, Queen and Royal pageant, march By splendid aisle and springing arch Of this fair Hall. And see! above the fabric vast, God’s boundless Heaven is bending blue, God’s peaceful Sun is beaming through, And shining over all!”

London: Printed by William Tyler, Bolt-Court.

* * * * *

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