Righteousness Exalteth a Nation

by Sarah
(Muscatine)

In 1851 Great Britain staged the first world's fair, sponsored by Prince Albert. The exhibition hall, designed like a huge green house, was itself a tribute to British achievement. Erected in just four months, the great iron and glass structure covered nineteen acres and was high enough to roof over the tall elms in Hyde Park, where it stood. The British magazine Punch dubbed it the "Crystal Palace."

On opening day, May 1, 1851, twenty-six thousand invited guests crowed into the building (There would be over 6 million visitors to the exhibit before it finally closed.) The short opening program included the sing of the national anthem and a prayer by the archbishop of Canterbury. A huge choir accompanied by pipe organ and a two-hundred-piece orchestra closed the ceremony by preforming the "Hallelujah" chorus from Handel's Messiah.

The fair housed exhibits from all over the world, but Britain's industrial machinery drew the most attention. British visitors, however, could not help but to admire the exquisite workmanship displayed at the other exhibits: Belgian lace, French furniture, and German porcelain.

Industrial mass production could not match the beauty of handcrafted items. One observer remarked that, "What England as a nation lacks is taste!" Notwithstanding her "lack of taste" however, it was obvious that Great Britain was the leading industrial nation in the mid-nineteenth century.

As the opening ceremony for the exhibition indicated, Victorian England was a place where God was honored and thanked for the great blessings that the nation enjoyed. The Queen set a fine example: she forbade the sale of alcohol at the exhibit's refreshments stands and prohibited the exhibition to be open on Sundays. Most people in Victorian society believed the Bible to be the inspired word of God. They advocated self-improvement, thrift, and hard work. They supported missions as well a evangelistic efforts in their own country. They emphasized family life and viewed divorce as a social disgrace. Of course, Victorian England had her faults too; but in spite of them the country was an example of the truth that "righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people" (Proverbs 14:34).

The Great Exhibition of All Nations in Hyde Park, Grand Entrance to the Crystal Palace
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From Bob Jones University Press. World History for Christian Schools.