"Doubting and darkness flee away
Before thy truth's light-giving sun,
Thy powerful word, if heeded, may
Give guidance to each erring one.
"Lord, spare thy servant, through whose toil
Thou giv'st us this, of books the best;
Bless all who shared the arduous task,
From Eastern land, or distant West.
"Amen! Amen! lift up the voice;
Praise God whose mercy 's e'er the same;
His goodness all our song employs,
Thanksgivings then to His Great Name."
Ten different editions of parts of the Scriptures were printed as the version was gradually prepared for publication, and over thirty thousand copies had been put into circulation, nearly all by sale. The demand for the volume, in one form or another, after the version was completed, was greater than the mission presses could meet, though worked by steam. The American Bible Society wisely undertook to electrotype several editions of different sizes, and Dr. Van Dyck came to New York to superintend the work. But after the royal octavo edition had been stereotyped, it was thought best for him to return to Syria, with the understanding that the Bible Society would enable him to electrotype the version in other forms, at Beirût.
The press was now unable to meet the demand which had arisen for the books, as well as for the Bible. The issues were called for on the southern and eastern coasts of Arabia, and in India, and a box of them was sent to the interior of Africa.
The administration of Daoud Pasha, the Christian Governor of Mount Lebanon, continued to be marked by commendable justice, vigor, and liberality, and there was a sense of security to which the land had long been a stranger. Industry and thrift began to appear, and all the interests of society received an impulse. Much, however, depended on the foreign Protestant Powers exerting a proper influence on the councils of the Turkish government in favor of religious liberty.
The only ordination of a native preacher by the mission, up to this time, was that of the Rev. John Wortabet, in 1853, afterwards pastor of the Hasbeiya church. On the 10th of May, 1864, Mr. Suleeba Jerwan received ordination at Abeih. He had gone successfully through a four years' course of study in the Seminary, and had for some time proved himself faithful and efficient as a teacher and preacher.
The Druzes had a prosperous high school at Abeih, under the special patronage of His Excellency Daoud Pasha, supported by the income from their religious establishments. Both of the instructors were Protestants and graduates of the Abeih Seminary. Though not a religious institution, such a school must have had an important bearing on the future of that singular people. In 1866, the Principal left, and was succeeded by another Protestant, also a graduate of the mission Seminary. Referring to the Druzes, the brethren of the Abeih station close their report for the year 1864 with the following remarkable declaration:—
"While it is true that the government of the mountain was never better, and we are free to open schools wherever parents dare send their children, it is no less true that the Protestants are a small and hated minority. Providence has made the Druzes a wall of defense, for the present. To them, under God, it is due that we pursue our labors on this mountain."
Tannûs El Haddad, the oldest and most esteemed native helper in the mission, died in 1864, after more than thirty years of efficient labor. "A guileless, spiritual man, whose lovely spirit disarmed the enmity even of those who hated his religion. The church of Christ in Syria owes much to the holy life and faithful teaching of this man of God. The missionaries owe much. He long upheld their hands by the strength of his affection and sympathy."