Influence of the Bible

The great design of the Bible is to qualify men for the life to come; yet in producing this effect, it is pleasing to know and observe the direct and powerful tendency which it possesses and exerts in qualifying them for respectability and usefulness in this life. When it is understood and received in the love of it, the character, both intellectual and moral, will be improved ; and under its influence and its guidance, those habits will be formed on which the happiness and prosperity of civil society very much depend." - John Matthews