The Weekly Perrysburg journal. [volume] (Perrysburg, O. [Ohio]) 1861-1???, 1863-06-17
The Bible.

Now the Bible il a chart. 1t teaches
men how to steer whore that sand bank OF
temptation is where that rock of danger
is where that whiring vortex Of passion
is. The Bible is "a chart of salvation and
if a man only knows his course by this, he
will 20 through life with all its storms, and
come safely into the port of Heaven.
The way to test the Bible liz not to criti-
ciac it, and compare its rude marking with
the more modern ways of making charts !;
the way to test the Bible is to put your
sounding lines into tho channel and try it,
and see if it IL not true. But that is the
test men do not employ.
Except a man bo converted, and become
rs "A little child, he shall in no case come in
to the kingdom OF heaven. The natural
man undcrstuudeth not the things of the
Spirit, because they are to he experiment.
ally learned. ALI it is experience that is
wanted You do not believe the Bible.
Why? Because you do not practice it. It is
very hard for Il inun TO say, IL have done
wrong mans whole nature rcvolts at
| it. The Bible says to him, 81 will provo to
YOU that am divine book, if you will ac-
knowledge to Him that you have done wrong
and earnestly say that you are willing to
repair it, and to the utmost of your ability
1
proofs olthe Bible for the moment you
have done that there will hc such an evi.
deuCc in You of the wisdom and power Of
the Book, that you will say, 1T must he of
/ Cod"
The Bible makes Il declaration ia respect t
/ to happiness, as founded on the law Of love
II says that il is more blessed to give than to
receive. All the world dshelievcs it, and
insist on trying the other thing. Men every
where are trying To be happy one hy pride :;
another by sciislmess another by lust ;
another by ambition another by power ;
and all by things addressed to tho senses. {.
While thc word Of God is standing and cry
| ing, ~ 10y the volCo of one i'll tho wilder
ness, " 1t is more blessed to give than to
receive, we are all insisting upon it that
/ II Is more blessed 10 receive than to give ;
aud SO tho hoart over greedy, whirls like
vortex, and draws what il can, and is still
drawing, unsatislod and unhappy Hero
and there a man has put the Bible to test,
and found happiness, and peace, and joy /;
and men looking at him say, at is strange
that men should be happy in such circum-
stances oflitc as his" But wAat are circum-
stances i'll liIc to man whose heart is right
with Cod
The Bible is book that was meant to
ronovatc human nature, and prepare men
to live here aud in tho world to come; aud
a few experiments III respect to it's moral
instructions will so further toward estab-
fishing its validity than all tho criticisms
and PHILOSOPHERS in the world.
/ Lastly, lot mono he alarmed lest the Bible
shall lose ground. 1t would not make any
difference If You took away half of it, Do
You suppose that when the cluster is crushed
II is gone and lost? Its Juice goes to wine
and Is saved. You are not going to crush
the |iblo to do anything more than to turn
It into wine, lis external form may be
changed, tho nero historical method by
which it's teachings are communicated to
mon may he modified hut in SO far rs it is
u vehicle of real truths, it will endure, and
You cannot prevent il.
/ There is this about the Word of God it
comedies with the fundamental nature of
man. Ii intcrpretS that nature. 1t has hit
upon way in which it may he recognized
and carried above tho animal TO the spirit
nal and made partaler of the divine nature.
That has been found out aud nothing de-
StroyS the nature of it. You cannot turn it
back, You cannot ovcrlay the truth. Aud
the Book that contains this ucstimahle treas
ure is not going to be dispossessed or laid
aside H. ". Beecher.