PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

South Canterbury Times, Issue 2591, 11 July 1881, Page 2

PRIMITIVE METHODIST CHURCH.

The brethren of the Orange Institution and a few members of the Protestant Alliance Friendly Society officially, attended the above place of worship on Sunday morning last. A procession was formed in the. rear of the building, which, on filing into the church, completely filled the aisle,which had been kindly reserved for the accommodation of the visitors by the congregation. The Rev. Mr Dumboll briefly welcomed the brethren to his church and took for his text 2 Samuel, xxii. 31. In a powerful discourse the rev. gentl® man pointed to the undeniable and indisputable proofs that existed which all pointed to the Bible as the inspired voice of Omnipotence. Hundreds of years before the events foretold culminated in their fulfilment, the voice of G-od through his holy prophets spoke of the overthrow of kingdoms and dynasties, the scattering of the people, the. absolute destruction of mighty cities, and the advent of Him who was to be the atonement. The speaker referred also to the flood as one other proof of the inspiration of the Bible. That there was such a destruction of the then inhabitants of the earth as is related by Moses was confirmed by the concurrent testimonies of some of the most ancient writers and nations in the history of the world. The miraculous testimony also fully proved its Divine origin. Science, in the persons of Darwin, Tyndall, Hume and various eminent sceptics, is supposed to be antagonistic to the Bible, but he (the speaker) contended it was the reverse and that the self-same science drew some of its finest fruits from this one souree. There were some who contended that geology was also directly at variance with the grand Book, but it was not so. The Divine history handed down to us starts from the time the earth was made habitable for the existence of man. There is abundant evidence of the antiquity of the earth’s formation. ‘‘ln the beginning ” refers to this remote period. The evidence of the existence of man in the strata of the past ages was entirely wanting, a fact in itself which proved that man was a comparatively recent introduction.

The rev. gentleman was intently listened to, and fully succeeded in attracting the attention of ins congregation.

At the conclusion of the service the brethren of the Order again assembled at the rear of the Church, and were dismissed in the usual Orange manner, many leaving the precincts of this homely little church under the impression that one of the finest discourses delivered in Tiuiaru for some time past

had been heard that morning. In the evening the Rev. Mr Dumbell concluded a service of discourses on the life of the Prophet Elijah, a numerous congregation attending.