the difficulty of enlivening which, the Lord said to him, "Son of man, can these bones live?" And when the Lord God had further said: "Behold I will cause breath to enter into them, and they shall live," Ezekiel, it is true, saw that "the sinews and the flesh came upon them, and the skin covered them above, but-there was no breath in them," so that it was still necessary to prophesy to the wind, and to say, "Come from the four winds, O breath! and breathe upon these slain, that they may live!" Our comfort is, that what appears to the reason of man to be impossible, is easily carried into effect by the wisdom, grace, and omnipotence of God! It becomes now our pleasant duty, not so much for the purpose of gratifying curiosity, as for satisfying the anxious inquiries of the lovers of the word of God, to state the application of what has been quoted from the prophet; and to communicate what we consider as proofs of divine life, in those whom we have compared with the dry bones of Ezekiel; and of the efficacy and vital power of the word of God. The Rev. John Korschunow, a priest in the parish of Ssonikow, in the district of Tschebokssar, has reported to the Archbishop Ambrosius, that a Tschuwaschian, of the name of Nikiforow, belonging to the village of Togaschew, together with his whole family, consisting of eight persons, and further that Matwejeco, belonging to the parish of Wembukas, who with his wife and sister had left their Mahometan parent, and lived in a separate cottage, regularly attend the church on Sunday, in order to hear the Gospel in their native tongue, and that they duly observe the Lord's Day, by abstaining from any kind of work. The priest Iljiun, of the parish of Tscheruyschewo, also writes, that several Tscheremissians who attend the service in their own language frequently express an ardent desire to join the Christian congregation, and to be received into the bosom of the church; and as a pleasing confirmation, he has added a list of thirty-eight Tscheremissians who have been converted to the Christian faith. In addition to the above, the Rev. Messieurs Pernajagoschewsky, Pomeranzew, and Pawlinsky, resident in the parish of Klein-Ssundyr, in the district of Kosmodemjanski, report that many Tscheremissians in their parishes, penetrated by the invigorating light of the Gospel of truth, have renounced their heathenish vows, and with true sincerity of heart joined the Christian church, solemnly engaging to attend divine service, and to abstain from such vices as are inevitably connected with the superstitious rites of their pagan worship. The number of such Tscheremissians as have been converted from darkness to the glorious light of the Gospel amounts to above 100 individuals, including men, women, and children. Lastly, the Rev. Mr. Rawwinow, of Koschwasch, states, that by means of reading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, thirty-seven persons in that place, and fifteen in the village of Torajew, have espoused the Christian faith, and that not only they, but many others, acknowledge their former religious system to be grounded on gross superstition. Together with about 2,000 Bible Associations; of which, more than 500 are Ladies' Associations. * Including thirteen which contribute only a portion of their funds to this object. +BIBLE SOCIETIES in Foreign Parts, and the Number of Bibles and Testaments printed or distributed by them respectively, with the aid of the British andForeign Bible Society. 1. Basle Bible Society, instituted 1804 German, French, and Italian Bibles and Testaments, and Romanese Testa-1 2. Zurich Bible Society, instituted 1812, with an Auxiliary at Win ments terthur ; 8. Lausanne Bible Society, instituted 1814.. 9. Geneva Bible Society, instituted 1814.. 10. Neufchâtel Bible Society, instituted 1816. 11. Waldenses Bible Society, at La Tour, instituted 1816. 12. Glarus Bible Society, instituted 1819 13. Hungarian Bible Institution at Presburgh, formed in 1812 14. Würtemberg Bible Society, instituted at Stuttgardt, 1812, with 46 Bibles and Tests. 146,670 21,540 7,000 4,522 25,000 7,208 12,000 16,000 1,050 5,000 Slavonian and Wendish Testaments Branches at 15. Grand Duchy of Baden Bible Society, instituted 1820, with 16. Strasburgh Bible Society, instituted 1815 17. Hesse-Darmstadt Bible Society, instituted 1817; comprehending, among other Auxiliaries, those previously formed at Michelstadt, in the Odenwald, and at Worms, and a Sister-Institution at Giessen, instituted 1817. 119,890 18. Hanau Bible Society, instituted 1818. 20. Ratisbon Bible Society, instituted 1805 German Testaments" 21. Hesse-Homburg Bible Society, instituted 1816. 22. Nassau, Duchy, Bible Society, instituted 1816. 23. Frankfort Bible Society, instituted 1816... 24. Waldeck and Pyrmont Bible Society, instituted 1817. 25. Lippe-Detmold Bible Society, instituted 1816 † All Foreign Societies have purchased and distributed Bibles, some to the amount of many thousand copies, but the exact number cannot in every instance be ascertained. In addition to those printed by Societies, three Catholic Clergymen have published above 600,000 copies of the German New Testament. Brought forward... 26 Hanover Bible Society, instituted 1814; with 23 Auxiliary Societies 27. Bremen Bible Society, instituted 1815; with an Auxiliary at Vegesack. Copies of Scriptures Bibles and Tests. 557,261 35,000 5,534 28. Hamburgh-Altona Bible Society, instituted 1814; with Branches at Mohrenfleth, Bergedorf, Ritzebuettel 63,206 29. Luebeck (City of) Bible Society, instituted 1814. 30. Eutin Bible Society, for the Principality of Luebeck, instituted 1817. 31. Lauenburgh-Ratzeburgh Bible Society, instituted 1816. 1,175 32. Mecklenburgh-Schwerin Bible Society, instituted 1816. 33. Rostock Bible Society, instituted 1816. 5,617 34. Brunswick Bible Society, instituted 1815. 35. Prussian Bible Society, instituted at Berlin, 1805, enlarged 1814. 88,247 Barth, Bergen, Breslau, Buchwald, Bunzlau, Cologne, Cöslin, Crossen, Dahme, Danzig, Elberfeldt, Erfurth, Finsterwalde, Francfort on the Oder, Freistadt, Görlitz, Greifswald, Guben, Gumbinnen, Halberstadt, Halle, Heiligenstadt, Iserlohn, Königsberg, Kreuznach, Liegnitz, Magdeburg, Marienwerder, Memel, Minden, Neuwied, Posen, Potsdam, Salzwedel, Sorau, Stendal, Stettin, Stralsund, Wesel, Wetzlar, Wernigerode, Wittenberg, and Züllichau, which at a moderate estimate have circulated.... 36. Eichsfeld Bible Society, instituted 1815; with an Auxiliary So ciety at Nordhausen. 37. Eisenach Bible Society, established 1818. 38. Weimar Bible Society, instituted 1821. 39. Anhalt-Koethen Bible Society, instituted 1818. 40. Saxon Bible Society, instituted at Dresden, 1814; Auxiliaries in Leipsig, Herrnhut, Budissen, &c. German and Wendish Bibles 41. Bavarian Protestant Bible Institution, instituted 1821 42. Icelandic Bible Society, instituted 1815.* 43. Finnish Bible Society, at Abo, instituted 1812; with Auxiliaries at Kuopio, Uleaborg, Bjornaborg, Wasa, Tavastehus, Borgo, and Wiborg. 44. Russian Bible Society at St. Petersburgh, instituted 1813; with 289 100,000 58,333 3,030 19,500 These have undertaken the printing of the Scriptures in the following languages Riga, Moghileff, Odessa, Kiachta, and other places. Previous to the establishment of this Institution, 5,000 Bibles and 8,000 Testaments were printed, for the use of the Icelanders, by the British and Foreign Bible Society, and 2,000 of the latter by the Society at Fuehnen. 45. Swedish Bible Society, instituted 1809; enlarged 1814; with its Gothenburgh, Westeras, Wisby, Lund, Upsala, Askersund, Hernosand, 46. Norwegian Bible Society, instituted 1816 47. Danish Bible Society, instituted 1814, with Auxiliaries at Danish Bibles and Testaments, and Danish and Faroese St. Matthew 48. Sleswig-Holstein Bible Society, instituted 1815; with Auxiliaries Copies of Bibles and 936,903 704,831 215,300 16,000 100,500 in all, 121 Auxiliaries or Associations. 46,500 50. Netherlands Bible Society, comprehending fifty-seven Constituent 13,000 ............ 10,000 19,100 51. Paris Protestant Bible Society, instituted 1818; with 96 Auxiliaries, Branches, and Associations at Montauban, Lyons, Nismes, Montpellier, Rochelle, Bordeaux, Toulouse, 53,500 aries at 4,042 52. Ionian Bible Society, instituted at Corfu, 1819; with Auxili Including 1000 Copies of the Gospel of St. Matthew in Modern Greek ASIA. 1. Calcutta Auxiliary Society, instituted 1811; with Branches at Malacca, Prince of Wales Island, Benares, and Cawnpore. 3. Madras Auxiliary Society, instituted 1820; with Branches at Bel 1,000 4. Colombo Auxiliary Society, (in the Island of Ceylon) instituted 1812; with Branch Societies at Galle, Trincomalie, and Jaffna. Ditto Gospels of St. Matthew and St. Mark ......... .......: Carried forward............. + 1. American NATIONAL Bible Society, instituted at New York, FOUR HUNDRED and FIFTY-TWO Auxiliary Societies. The number of Bibles and Testaments printed in various languages, by the Total .... EDITIONS OF THE SCRIPTURES Printed for the British and Foreign Bible Society. Copies of Scriptures Bibles and Tests. 2,211,776 |