,transcribed from the #ahfb8 ,john      
,stabb 7,tract #bgb7 edition by ,david  
,price1 email ccx#jgdpglaf4org          
,picture3 ,tract cover                  
,,the ,,gathering ,,of ,,the ,,nations4 
,,there is something especially imposing
 in the sight of great multitudes2      
hence1 apart from the bliss1 the glory1 
and the joy which the happy hosts  are  
represented as possessing in the        
,apocalyptic vision1 there is a         
peculiar sublimity in the description   
given in ,revelation vii4 #i1 #aj3      
8,after this ,i beheld1 and1 lo1 a great
 multitude1 which no man could  number1 
of all nations1 and kindreds1 and       
people1 and tongues1 stood  before the  
throne and before the ,lamb1 clothed    
with white robes1 and  palms in their   
hands2 and cried with a loud voice1     
saying1 ,salvation to  our ,god which   
sitteth upon the throne1 and unto the   
,lamb40    ,the solitary traveller      
excites no attention2 the ordinary      
concourse of  even crowded cities soon  

becomes familiar2 but when large masses 
of  humanity are congregated together   
for any common object1 it is impossible 
to be an unconcerned spectator of the   
scene4  ,we may have little personal    
interest in the purpose that has led    
them to assemble2 we may be perfect     
strangers to the mighty host2 but by    
some mysterious law we identify         
ourselves with them1 and that not only  
when they are actually present1  but    
even when they have but an imaginary    
existence on the graphic page of        
descriptive narrative4    ,these        
emotions were powerfully excited on the 
occasion of the ,exhibition  in #ahea1  
when such vast numbers visited our      
metropolis to inspect the  contents of  
the palace of glass4  ,the accumulated  
treasures of art and  skill excited the 
astonishment of the observer2 but it was
 the countless  millions of our         
fellow-men1 who were continually moving 
in our midst1  that commanded the       
wondering observation of the most       

unreflecting mind4  ,and now we are     
called to witness a similar influx from 
all parts of our  country and the world1
 to examine another display of the      
varieties of  international skill4      
,europe1 forgetful for a time of the    
agitations of  political strife1 is     
pouring forth her thousands who are     
intent on the  encouragement of those   
arts which tend to the promotion of     
peace4  ,asia  is sending her           
representatives to inspect those        
accumulations of treasure  before which 
the boasted magnificence of ,oriental   
splendour grows pale4  ,america spares  
some from her fratricidal struggle to   
admire the far more  harmless and       
honourable competitions of industry4    
,even ,africa and the  inhabitants of   
the beauteous islands of the vast       
,pacific have an  interested share in   
the general gathering2 while our        
colonies afford1 by  their              
contributions1 and the number of        
visitors1 pleasing indications of  the  

rapidity with which they are following  
us in the race of  civilization4  ,from 
the sunny dales1 the fertile fields1 and
 the rural  villages1 as well as from   
the busy towns and cities of our own    
land1 our  countrymen are also flocking 
to share in the peaceful rivalry of the 
assembled nations4  ,who can look with  
indifference on this continually        
increasing aggregate of active1 living  
men8  ,imagination cannot but  speculate
 concerning the various emotions which  
are throbbing in these  countless       
bosoms2 on the different objects each is
 pursuing2 on the  diversified          
impressions individuals will receive as 
they survey our busy  streets1 our ever 
flowing tide of population1 our temples 
of religion1  our government1 our       
virtues1 and our sins4  ,piety1 too1    
will anxiously  inquire1 as she surveys 
the mighty throng1 8,who among them     
feareth the  ,lord8  ,whither are all   
these immortal spirits tending8  ,what  
are the  stores they are laying up for  

eternity80  ,no1 we cannot be           
indifferent to  the scene4  ,we may look
 unmoved upon the majestic river1       
hastening  onwards to the sea--upon the 
lofty mountain1 towering to the         
skies--upon  the solid fabric1 which the
 skill of the architect has so reared   
that it  may defy the attacks of ages2  
but it is impossible to behold with     
apathy  the thousands whose minds are   
liable1 like our own1 to the ever       
shifting  anxieties of life's struggles1
 whose hearts are subject to the same   
conflicting passions with which our own 
are familiar1 and whose souls are       
destined to survive the wreck of all    
material things in the joys or  sorrows 
of an endless life4  ,hence1 amid the   
varied specimens of artistic  skill1 of 
splendid luxury1 of earth's products1   
and of the discoveries of  science1     
which appear on every side1 it is1 we   
contend1 the crowding  hosts of the many
 families and races of mankind which    
troop along the  aisles of the          

,international ,exhibition1 which will1 
to a thoughtful mind1  still present the
 most serious matter for interested     
meditation4  ,oh1  that the scene may   
awaken those who profess the religion of
 the ,bible so  to display its          
influence1 that these occasional        
visitors may carry back  with them deep1
 lasting1 and salutary impressions of   
8the truth as it is  in ,jesus10 and    
learn that 8it is righteousness alone   
which exalteth a  nation60  ,the        
opportunity is as favourable for        
exhibiting the moral  influence of      
genuine ,christianity as it is unusual4 
,may a powerful  conviction of our      
national responsibility lead our        
countrymen to be  faithful and effectual
 8witnesses for ,god10 and not impede   
the progress  of the world's            
evangelization by haughty pride1 sordid 
covetousness1  disgraceful profligacy1  
or atheistic indifference4  ,our common 
faith is  on its trial1 and thousands of
 our fellow-men will be spectators of   

the  issue4    ,how varied the scenes   
from which these teeming multitudes have
 come6  ,what diversities1 arising from 
birth1 residence1 and occupation1 mark  
their separate histories6 and1 when     
viewed in the light of the sacred       
,scriptures1 what solemn thoughts arise 
in reference to them all6  ,some  have  
come from regions where the false       
prophet deludes the minds of  millions  
with fatalism and sensual hopes2 others 
from the wide-spread  countries where   
,popery corrupts the truth of           
revelation1 burdens the  simplicity of  
the ,gospel with ,pharisaic rites1 and  
hides the doctrines of  the ,cross      
behind the crucifix4  ,some from the    
dark plains of heathenism1  with its    
8lords many and gods many10 worshipped  
under hideous forms1  where the glory of
 the incorruptible ,god has been changed
 into 8an image  made like to           
corruptible man1 and to birds1 and      
four-footed beasts1 and  creeping       
things20 others from various parts of   

our own favoured land1  where the ,bible
 is known1 and its truths professedly   
honoured4  ,but how  few1 it may be     
feared1 of this vast multitude1 have    
yielded their hearts  to the influence  
of the ,gospel6 how few have realized   
their real  condition as sinners1 their 
solemn responsibility as accountable    
beings1  and their need of the atoning  
blood of ,christ6  ,immersed in the     
world1  and striving to make the most of
 their brief sojourn here1 must it not  
be  suspected that they are living for  
temporal purposes alone1 and that very  
many are 8without hope1 and without ,god
 in the world08    ,how painful is such 
a thought1 when viewed in connection    
with the  rapidity with which the       
generations of men are passing away from
 the face  of the earth6    ,eleven     
years since1 and a similar gathering1   
buoyant with hope and  energy1 assembled
 in the ,palace of ,glass1 and wandered 
amid the treasures  then collected2 but 
what numbers of the busy throng have now

 passed into  the more impressive       
realities of eternity6 some to inhabit  
the 8house of  many mansions20 others   
into scenes where unavailing remorse is 
the bitter  fruit of opportunities      
neglected and privileges slighted6  ,the
 shadow of  death seems indeed to mingle
 with the bright colours of splendour   
which  adorn the present ,exhibition4   
,we miss the familiar countenances of   
some  who took prominent parts in the   
gorgeous ceremonial of #ahea4  ,our     
beloved  ,queen1 whose presence shed a  
light and a lustre over the joyous      
throng1  is absent1 for death has       
entered her palace1 and bereaved her of 
her  ,consort1 so justly dear4  ,she1 in
 widowed solitude1 mourns his decease2  
and none who visit this stately building
 can fail to miss the lamented  ,prince1
 whose comprehensive intellect first    
adopted the idea1 and defined  the      
principles which regulated the          
arrangement of the former and the       
present ,exhibition--whose cultivated   

taste was pervaded by genuine piety1    
and whose loss will not soon be         
forgotten by a grateful and a mourning  
nation4  ,he has been called to a       
nobler1 a happier1 a mightier assembly  
than that of which he was the guiding   
spirit here4    ,the venerable parent of
 our afflicted monarch1 who gained the  
gratitude  of the people of these realms
 by the appropriate training of the     
present  illustrious occupant of the    
throne1 has1 too1 become an inhabitant  
of the  silent grave4  ,the aged        
,wellington1 the hero of a hundred      
battles1  formerly so interested in the 
trophies of a peaceful world1 has       
yielded  to the mighty conqueror1       
,death1 and closed his chequered career4
  ,these1  with many others known only  
to the omniscient ,god1 have gone1      
leaving  mourning hearts and bereaved   
homes to recall those hours of happy and
  enlightened interest they spent eleven
 years since1 amid the gathering of  the
 nations4  ,they have gone to their     

account1 and without vainly  attempting 
to scan the varied1 the solemn lot which
 is now their eternal  destiny1 let us  
listen to the warning voice1 which says1
 8,it is appointed  unto men once to    
die1 and after that the judgment20 and  
cry1 8,o ,lord1 so  teach us to number  
our days1 that we may apply our hearts  
unto wisdom40  ,they have gone1 and we  
are yet left2 but how earnest should be 
the  inquiry1 8,what progress are we    
making in the great purposes of our     
existence8  ,what have we done to       
benefit our race and promote the glory  
of our ,god8  ,have the powers with     
which we have been entrusted been       
employed for good1 or prostituted to    
evil8  ,have we advanced in fitness  for
 that state to which we are hastening1  
or have we yielded ourselves  more      
willing slaves to those sins which      
degrade1 debase1 and destroy the  soul80
    ,the purpose of the present         
,exhibition is to ascertain what        
improvements  the various countries have

 made in the industrial1 useful1 and    
ornamental  arts since the first        
comparison of national skill4  ,and     
truly great has  been the               
progress--humanity has studied with     
intense eagerness to multiply  the      
conveniences and diminish the evils of  
social life4  ,luxury has  devised new  
methods of gratifying the almost sated  
desires of  self-indulgence4            
,philanthropy has suggested additional  
means of  employment for the increasing 
numbers of the sons of toil4  ,science1 
ever  striving to extend the bounds of  
human knowledge1 has shed its           
illumination upon many subjects         
seemingly wrapped in hopeless mystery4  
,the religion of ,jesus1 too1 we rejoice
 to believe1 has been making  progress  
during the past eleven years4  ,though  
the obstacles which  worldliness1       
infidelity1 carelessness1 and           
superstition usually throw  into the way
 have been as great as ever--though the 
powers of evil have  not abated in the  

least degree their accustomed activity1 
the ,gospel of  our salvation has been  
8mighty through ,god0--various parts of 
our own  country have been visited with 
8times of refreshing10 and other lands  
have received the light of life--the    
realms of heathenism have been  pierced1
 the gloomy regions of idolatry have    
been invaded1 and in  countries where a 
corrupted form of ,christianity has long
 prevailed1 the  ,word of ,god has been 
set free3 progression has been the      
character of the  times4    ,these facts
 afford cause for gratitude1 but they   
also give intensity to  the questions we
 have proposed4  ,how1 then1 reader1 has
 it been with you  amid this busy       
energy1 this universal stir8  ,have you 
realized the proper  object of your     
sojourn here8  ,have you found your way 
to the ,cross8  ,have  you advanced in  
the road which leads to eternal         
blessedness8  ,have you  practically    
felt the solemn truth contained in our  
,lord's words1 8,ye must  be born       

again80  ,many who at the last          
,exhibition were living only for  this  
world1 are now ripening for that far    
nobler gathering of which they  shall   
hereafter form a part1 8the general     
assembly and church of the  first-born  
which are written in heaven40  ,are you 
yet a stranger to the  blissful         
anticipation8  ,oh1 press home the      
question1 ,am ,i born from  above8      
,soon will the crowds which now fill the
 aisles of this vast  edifice be        
dispersed1 to meet again only amid the  
realities of eternity2  in what         
circumstances and in what condition will
 you rejoin them8  ,in a  short time1   
the splendours of the ,international    
,exhibition will pass  away1 its bright 
colours fade1 its unparalleled          
collection be removed1  the deserted    
building remain as an illustration of   
the transitory  character of worldly    
glory1 and the labour of years be only a
 thing of  memory4  ,but when all these 
accumulated treasures are scattered1 the

  desire for further progress will still
 be active4  ,still the plotting  brain 
and the industrious hand will be engaged
 in devising new  combinations of skill2
 the restless heart will never cry      
8,enough60    ,indeed1 this panting     
after some undefinable perfection is the
 prominent  feature of the age in which 
we live4  ,since the last ,exhibition1  
the vast  empire of ,china has been     
opened to the schemes of commercial     
enterprise1  and the efforts of         
religious zeal2 ,turkey has been rescued
 from the  ambitious designs of ,russia2
 ,india has been subdued1 and restored  
to  prosperity and peace after the      
horrors of mutinous anarchy2 ,italy has 
made large advances towards its         
much-desired unity2 but still the       
unsatisfied soul of the world is        
aspiring after a perfection which is    
never to be attained by man4  ,the      
struggle still continues1 and the omens 
of coming change multiply1 while they   
assume a more portentous aspect  than   

ever4    ,america reels with the        
internecine conflict which rages between
 her sons4  ,rome trembles in the       
balance of futurity4  ,popery grasps    
with senile  obstinacy the last remnant 
of her temporal power4  ,france1 indeed1
  maintains unwonted calmness1 but the  
most sagacious observer is unable to    
determine whether it is a prelude to a  
coming storm1 or the happy  subsidence  
of its oft-excited elements into        
prospective peace2 and  ,austria1 with  
her prestige of past splendour1 weak yet
 despotic1  stubborn yet irresolute1    
strives with anxious solicitude to      
preserve her  position among the        
nations4    ,at home1 all classes and   
all conditions are forsaking the ancient
  landmarks1 and seeking further        
advancement4  ,science strives by its   
theories to surpass the discoveries     
which awakened the astonishment of  past
 generations4  ,in politics1 what would 
have been once regarded as the  dreams  
of deluded imagination1 are now esteemed

 as unquestionable  principles of       
equity4  ,even religion has its         
innovators1 who affect  originality1 and
 pretend to be friends of progress by   
attempting to  revive the discarded     
ceremonies of effete superstition1 or by
  disentombing those rash speculations  
whose utter want of intellectual or     
spiritual life had long consigned them  
to oblivion4  ,in social life1          
contentment with the allotments of      
,providence is an uncommon sight1 and   
8onwards and upwards0 is the universal  
cry4  ,oh1 that this feeling arose  from
 enlightened principles1 and that it    
were always directed to  appropriate    
ends6    ,let it not be supposed that   
with cynic apathy we denounce the desire
 of  progress as evil in itself4  ,so   
far from this1 we believe that it was   
implanted in the heart of man to        
stimulate his efforts1 and ultimately   
secure his welfare4  ,but let us not    
forget that gracious ,providence by     
whose blessing only progress can become 

a real good1 and let us  practically    
recognize the supreme importance of     
individual progress in  the paths of    
religion and virtue4  ,formed 8for the  
glory of ,god1 and that  we should show 
forth ,his praise10 we are not at       
liberty to devote our  hearts           
exclusively or mainly to mere temporal  
pursuits4  8,the fashion of  this world 
passeth away1 and the lusts thereof10   
but the soul must endure  for ever2--of 
priceless worth1 no ,koh-i-noor can     
compare with it in  value2--capable of  
indefinite progression1 though polluted 
with iniquity1  nothing can purify and  
save it but the grace and merit of      
,christ2--destined to survive when the  
earth itself shall be a wreck1 it  must 
shine eternally like a gem in the       
,redeemer's crown1 or sink into         
never-ending wretchedness and ruin4     
,oh1 then1 reader6 neglect not your     
deathless soul2 be not so dazzled with  
this passing splendour as to  forget the
 8glory1 honour1 and immortality0 which 

may yet be yours2 while  displaying a   
graceful courtesy to the foreigners who 
have honoured us  with their presence1  
do not impiously slight that blessed    
,jesus who came  from heaven and gave   
,his heart's blood for your salvation2  
while  honouring the skilful1 the       
scientific1 the industrious minds1 the  
fruits  of whose labours are piled      
around you1 do not dishonour that ,god  
in whom  you live1 and move1 and have   
your being4  ,be not so engrossed with  
the  present as to overlook the future3 
another ,exhibition is                  
preparing--another gathering of the     
nations will occur--when1 around the    
glorious white throne1 8the dead1 small 
and great1 shall stand before  ,god2    
when the sea shall give up the dead     
which are in it1 and death and  hell    
shall deliver up the dead which are in  
them1 and they shall be  judged every   
man according to his work40  ,here on   
earth you are but a  unit lost in a     
crowded world2 but in that assembly1 in 

the sight of the  omniscient ,god1 your 
individuality shall stand out clearly   
and  distinctly1 with its weight of     
irremovable responsibility1 its noble   
faculties1 and its liability to eternal 
ruin or immortal joy3 then1  deeply     
interested in the proceedings of that   
solemn day1 amid the fierce  confusion1 
the flashing lightning1 the rolling     
thunder1 the falling  stars1 the awful  
sounds of angelic trumpets1 the songs of
 the blessed1  the shrieks of the lost1 
you shall receive that award from which 
there  can be no appeal2 and even now   
,time is rapidly hastening on to bring  
the  final end of all things1 and       
develop the dread catastrophe4    ,your 
earthly journey1 however1 may be closed 
long ere this event arrives1  and death 
introduce you to that world where your  
state will be  irrevocably fixed4       
,give1 then1 your heart to ,jesus2 do it
 now1 and1  faithful to ,his promise1   
,he will receive you--,his blood shall  
atone for  your sin--,his intercession  

secure your acceptance--,his ,spirit    
sanctify your  nature1 and1 clothing you
 with the garments of salvation1 more   
beauteous  than were ever fashioned by  
artistic skill1 ,he will 8present you   
faultless before the presence of ,his   
,father with exceeding joy40  ,then1  in
 the heavenly city1 which needs neither 
sun nor moon1 but where the  glory of   
,god sheds its unclouded beams1 and the 
,lamb is the light  thereof--where      
nothing enters that defileth1 or worketh
 abomination1 or  maketh a lie--there1  
in the world's great assembly1 in the   
8building not  made with hands1 eternal 
in the heavens10 with the great         
multitude which  no man can number1 who 
8have washed their robes1 and made them 
white in  the blood of the ,lamb10 shall
 you join the triumphant shout1 8,great 
and  marvellous are thy works1 ,lord    
,god ,almighty6 just and true are thy   
ways1  thou ,king of saints60           
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                  ,,john  

,,stabb1 #bg1 ,,red ,,lion ,,square1    
,,london1 ,w4,c4                        
99 99 99 99 99           ,j4  ,w4       
,,rider1 ,printers1 #ad1 ,bartholomew   
,close1 ,london1 ,e4,c4                 
#bgb