grace , mercy and peace . grace , mercy and peace , from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord . 1 Timothy 1.2 . greetings expressed in words which the holy ghost teacheth come to the reverent reader today with the same warmth and unction as when Timothy held in his hands the precious parchment upon which the message was first written . under the gracious tuition of the eternal spirit , the writer framed his prayerful desire for the reader &apos;s spiritual good . wisdom far greater than that of the most devoted apostle ordained that the encouragement first enjoyed by Timothy should subsequently be shared by the people of God of every race and in every age . grace is the fountain from which every blessing springs . it is the free , unmerited favour of God bestowed upon the guilty sinner . it is manifested in the perfect provision made for the expiation of the sinner &apos;s guilt by the atoning blood of the redeemer , the Lord &apos;s anointed . mercy is extended to relieve the guilty of the miserable consequences of their guilt before God . according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the holy ghost , which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our saviour . by nature afar off , alienated and separated from God , spiritually destitute and dead in trespasses and sins , the redeemed soul is a debtor to mercy alone , born of the spirit , called from nature &apos;s darkness into God &apos;s marvellous light , translated into the kingdom of his dear son , and in everything enriched by him . peace with God could be secured for the guilty only by God , who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ . no man ever made his own peace with God . the divinely appointed mediator himself declares that , no man cometh unto the Father but by me . he is the prince of peace . he speaks peace to his people . he is our peace . grace is the source , mercy is the stream , and peace is the experience of the blessing of the Lord , which maketh rich . while we borrow the apostolic greeting , we also express the earnest desire and prayer of members and friends of the trinitarian Bible society that the scriptures distributed during the year may be the means of revealing to those who read them - grace , mercy and peace , from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord . the authorised version still supreme . the cover of this quarterly record is designed as a small tribute to the authorised version , which has now reached its 350th anniversary and remains peerless among the English translations of the Bible . the design draws attention to several important aspects of this enduring and excellent work , including Hampton Court Palace , its birthplace , and Dr Reynolds , the puritan minister , who first suggested that a new translation should be undertaken . with God &apos;s gracious blessing , the translator in his study , the printer with his press and the preacher in the pulpit have all helped to make the word of God available to English speaking people throughout the world . incomparable in its faithfulness , majestic in its language , and inexhaustible in its spiritual fruitfulness , this time honoured version continues to reveal to millions the matchless grace of him whose name is the word of God , and who is crowned with glory and honour . commemoration editions . the society is publishing two commemoration editions of the authorised version and these should be available in January . an appropriate device representing the open book surmounted by a crown and the dates 1611-1961 will be blocked in gold on the front cover . the editions will be supplied in excellently designed paper jackets , including the following brief tribute : - in presenting this commemoration edition the society pays tribute to the excellence of this version which is an inestimable part of our protestant heritage , has been the means of spiritual enrichment to millions of readers for 350 years and remains peerless among the English translations of the Bible . the commemoration editions will be in royal brevier type ( 6 3/4 &amp;prime;&amp;prime; x 4 3/4 &amp;prime;&amp;prime; ) at 8 s 6 d and royal Ruby type ( 5 1/2 &amp;prime;&amp;prime; x 3 3/4 &amp;prime;&amp;prime; ) at 6 s each . copies may be ordered by post and particulars of reduced prices for Sunday School and congregational orders will be sent on request . make the paper speak . this caption , which appears on the letter-head of one of our correspondents in south India , simply and clearly defines the chief object of the T.B.S in sending out the scriptures . the following paragraphs from recent letters of application and thanks will indicate that the paper speaks in places where the ministry of the spoken word is not always possible . in hospital in south India . I am indeed very grateful to you for the lovely copies of the holy Bible , new testaments and gospels posted to me in October , 1960 . I wanted to go to some far off places as Jamshedpur , Calcutta and Rewa and preach the gospel in September , but on the way I had a sudden illness and had to get admitted to the government Hospital in Cuttack . though my stay was long and painful , the treatment was successful . three Christian surgeons were working in the ward where I stayed , and a big medical college is attached to this hospital . many Hindu surgeons and medical students and some of the officers who were in the hospital as patients each received a copy of the holy Bible or new testament . an engineer who received a copy of the holy Bible , said with a happy smile , just this morning I requested a Christian friend of mine to give me a copy of the holy Bible to read . he did not have a copy . God gave it through you . another medical student came and said , Sir , I want a copy of the new testament . I asked , Brother , how do you know I have the copies ? he said he had seen his friends reading in the medical hostel and he was also tempted to get a copy from me and read it . I gave him a holy Bible . he used to come every day and talk to me for a few minutes . a Hindu patient awaiting an operation received a small booklet and his remark was , this will keep me . I could not give every medical student a copy of the holy Bible for there are many students . I had to contact them , explain a little and then present the scriptures . my bane was a boon and I learnt to carry my cross cheerfully . may the master of the vineyard bless the seed sown for his glory , and may souls be saved and added to the fold . may the Lord bless you abundantly as you supply the seeds to farmers in India working in his vineyard and supply all your need for his glory . please pray for me , as I am anxious to work in unreached areas . my health is weak and resources poor but the Lord used me in 8 provinces of India and about 200 towns and villages during the past 16 years , in my life of faith . I can do all things through him who strengthens me . the Lord bless thee and keep thee . the Corinth of India . we thank you for helping us with Bibles and portions . all the packets reached us in good condition . really this supply was a very great help in our work here in India . from November 1st to 16th we distributed literature in an important Hindu city where many thousands of people gather for pilgrimage . the name of that city is Madura and it is known as the Corinth of India . every street in that city is filled with idols . the Lord blessed us richly . we could distribute several thousands of scripture leaflets and gospels and quite a few Bibles . we are praying that there may be fruit unto eternal life . also last month the Lord enabled us to go into some of the villages where the gospel has not been preached so far . many attended and heard the word of God , and received the scriptures . prayer is requested for all these efforts so that in due time souls may be brought to the Lord Jesus Christ . often we remembered the work of the trinitarian Bible society in prayer , and certainly we shall continue to do so . your earnest prayers are solicited for the humble work we do for the Lord in India . people are hungry . the idea of distributing the scriptures to a considerable extent occurred to me early in January . we started the distribution and we found that there were people who were interested , and in a short time we had a band of thirty young men . after their work in the various factories and government offices at Bangalore they help me with the distribution work . our numbers have since doubled . Christ has wrought a finished , full and perfect salvation for me by his death and resurrection , but most of the people are ignorant of it . one of the best ways to get the gospel message into the minds and hearts of sinners is through religious literature . this is a work every Christian can do . its importance can not be over-estimated . one need not be an evangelist or a minister or a missionary in order to be able to engage in this work . one can do it right where he is . only a small percentage of Christians can be full-time pastors , evangelists or teachers , but every believer can be a faithful distributor of the gospel . India &apos;s door may soon be closed to foreign missionaries . the desperate need is to sow millions of gospel tracts on India &apos;s soil , now , so that they will in months and years ahead bear a spiritual harvest . our hearts must burn for the need of an abundant supply of the scriptures . God &apos;s seal is on the world-wide distribution of his printed word . hundreds and thousands have found God through the silent ministry of the printed gospel . everywhere people are hungry for the living and true bread . the printed page can go anywhere . it knows no fear . it never tires , and never dies . it can travel at little expense . it can run up and down like an angel of God , blessing all , giving to all , asking no gift in return . it can talk to one as to the multitude ; and to the multitude as well as one . it requires no public room to tell its story in , but can speak in the kitchen or the shop , the parlour or the study , in the railway carriage or in the bus , on the broad highway or on the footpath through the fields . it is not hindered by scoffs , jeers , or taunts . though it will not always answer questions , it will tell its story twice , or thrice or four times over , if one wishes . it is in short the teacher of all classes and the benefactor of all lands . I chanced to come across a few of your scripture portions . may I kindly request you to send me quite a number and to keep my name in your mailing list and send me packets whenever you can ? we also request you to remember us and our work in your prayers . news from Nepal . a recent report gives the encouraging news that all copies of the first and second editions of the Nepali gospel have been sold and that the third edition recently printed by the T.B.S is being rapidly distributed . more than 7,750 copies had been sold up to September and most of these had been taken into Nepal . the Rev R T Cunningham warmly acknowledges the help given by the society and trusts that many of the Lord &apos;s people will join in prayer for God &apos;s blessing upon these copies of his word , that they may be fruitfully used to his glory . regular consignments of these gospels have been sent from London and have safely reached their destination . the following article in our series entitled the force of truth is based on a letter from Mrs R T Cunningham , printed in the October issue of the magazine of the independent board for Presbyterian missions . 