11 June | Teens
«Praise ye the Lord. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power….Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness….Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord.» Psalm 150: 1,2,6
Today, virtually everyone has a Bible at home, even if they don't read it. But has it always been this way? Has the Bible always been accessible to everyone? In the late eighteenth century, a Welsh girl named Mary Jones dreamed of having her own Bible. At that time, Bibles were expensive and hard to find, especially for a poor family like Mary's.
Mary learned to read at the age of ten and began saving money to buy a Bible. She sold eggs, collected firewood and looked after children to save money. After six years, she finally saved enough and made the long, 40-kilometre-long journey to the town of Bala to buy a Thomas Charles Bible. When she arrived at Charles's home, she found that he had only three Bibles, and all of them were already booked. Heartbroken, Mary burst into tears and told her story. Thomas was moved and ended up selling her a Bible. When she got home, Mary read Psalm 150 in her first family service. Today's chosen text and music!
Inspired by Mary's testimony, Pastor Thomas Charles decided to distribute Bibles, and on March 7, 1804, he helped found the British and Foreign Bible Society. Thanks to the testimony of a ten-year-old girl, Bibles are now distributed all over the world! If Mary Jones hadn't wanted so much to have her own Bible, maybe neither you nor I would have ours. What value have we placed on our beloved Bible?
Take Action
To celebrate Mary's story and the importance of the Bible, sing Psalm 150 in the morning and before bed. Let the music fill your heart with gratitude and joy for the gift of God's Word. Hallelujah!