The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-08-08
REV. DIR. TALMAGE'SSERMONS
The Pastor Of Brooklyn Tabernacle on
the Bible, 'The Castle of Truth"
Right In It's Authorization, Style, Doctrine
and Effects-Nine-T enths ofthe Good Lit
erature of the Age the Bible Diluted.

Aakesloe, W, MS subject Oelngs line Ming VI
Books" and the text from Psalm xix. 8, 'The
statutes of the Lord are right" He said: Old
books go out of date. When they were written
they discussed questions which were being dis
cussed, they struck at wrongs which had
long ago ceased, or advocated institu-
tons which excite not our interest.
We're they books of history the facts have
been gathered from the imperfect mass, better
classified and more lucidly presented. Were
they books of poetry. they were interlocked with
wild mythologies which have gone up from the
face Of the earth like mists at sunrise. Were
they books Of morals, civilization will not sit at
the feet of barbarism neither do we want Sap
pho, Pythagoras and Tully to teach US morals.
What do the masses of the people care now for
the pathos of Smonides or the sarcasmt en-
ander, or the eracefulness of Philemon, !, o
wit Of Aristophanes9 Even the old book se
have left. with a few exceptions, have but very
| little effect upon our times
In carrying out the idea Of my text-sThe
statutes of the Lord are right shall show you
that the Bible is right in authorization, that it
is right In style. that it is right in doctrine that
| it Is right in its effects.
scriptures? There is not so much evidence that
| Walter Scott wrote 'The Lady of the Lake"
not so much evidence that Shakespeare wrote
| Hamlet" not so much evidence that John
Milton wrote Paradise Lost" as there is evil
| dence that the Lord God Almighty, by
the hands of prophets, evangelists and
apostles. wrote this book Suppose
a book now to be written which
came in conflict with great many things, and
huh
would such book stand9 It would be secuted
by everybody And say IL that Bible had been
an imposition, or il it had not been written by
the mon who said they wrote it, if it had been
more collection of falsehoods, do you not sup
pose that it would have been Immediately re-
jected by the peoples If job and Isaiah, and
Jeremiah, and Paul, and Peter, and John were
impostors they would have been secuted by
generations and nations. If that book has come
down through fires OF centuries without scar,
it is because there is nothing in 1t destructible
How have they come to destroying the
Biblel When they began their opposition there
were two or three thousand copies of IL. Now
there are two hundred Millions as far as / can
calculate. These Bible truths notwithstand-
ing all the opposition, have gone into all Ian
guages-into the philosophic Greek, the flowing
Italian, the graceful German. the passionate
French, the picturesque Indian, and the eS
haustless Anglo Saxon Under the painters
pencil the birth, and the crucifxion and
the resurrection glow on the walls of palaces;
or under the engravers knife speak from the
mantel of the mountain cabin; while stones,
touched by the sculptor's ehise start up into
preaching apostles and ascending martyrs
Now, do you not suppose, If that book had been
an imposition and falsehood, it would have
gone down under these ceaseless fires of oppo-
sition9
The Bible intimates that there was city
called Petra, built out of solid rock. Infidelity
scoffed at it. i'Where is your city of Petra9'
Buckhardt and Leborde went forth in their ex-
p.orations and they came upon that very city.
The mountains stand around like giants guard
ing the tomb where the city Is buried They
find street in that city six miles long where
once flashed imperial pomp and which echoed
with the laughter of light-hearted mirth on its
way to the theater. On temples fashioned out of
colored stones--some of which have blushed into
the crimson of the rose and some of which have
paled into the wilderness of the lily-aye, on col
umn, and pediment, and entablature and statu-
airy God writes the truth of that Bible
The Bible says that Sodom and Gomorrah
were destroyed by fire and birthstone ''Ab-
surd, infidels year after year said; sit is posi-
lively absurd that they could have been des-
troyed by birthstone. There is nothing in the
elements to cause such shower of death as
that" Lieutenant Lynch think he was the
first man who went out on the discovery, but he
has been followed by many others-Lieutenant
Lynch went out In exploration. and came to the
Dead Sea, which, by CONFUSION of nature has
overlooked the place where the cities once stood
He sank his fathoming line and brought up from
the bottom of the Dead sea great masses Of sui
phur remnants of that very tempest that swept
Sodom and Gomorrah to ruin. Who was right
the Bible that announced the destruction of
those cities or the skeptics who for ages scoffed
at it,
The Bible says there was city called Nine
veh, and that 1t was three days journey around
it, and that il should be destroyed by fire and
water. '.Absurd!p cried out hundreds of voices
for many years; mo such city was ever built
that it would take three days journey to go
around. Beside, it could not be destroyed by
FIRE and water they are antagonstic elements.
But Layard, Botta and Keith go out, and by
their explorations they fnd that city IF Nineveh,
and they tell US that by their own experiment it
is three days journey around, according TO the
old estimate of days Journey, and that II was
literally destroyed by fire and water-two antag-
onistic elements-a part of the city having been
inundated by the river Tigris the brick material
in those times being dried clay instead of burned
while in other parts they find the remains of the
fire in heaps of charcoal that have been exca-
waited. and in the calcined slabs Of gypsum
Who was right, the Bible or infidelity2
Moses intimated that they had vineyards in
Egypt Absurd" cried hundreds of voices;
you can't raise grapes in Egypt, or, If you can.
it is very great exception that you can raise
them" But the traveller goes down, and in the
underground vaults of Eilithya he finds painted
on the wall all the process of tending the vines
and treading out the grapes 1t s all there ia
miliarly sketched by people who evidently knew
all about it, and saw It all about them every day;
and in these underground vaults there are vases
still ipcrusted with the settings of the wine
You See the vine did grow IA Egypt, whether it
grows there now or not.
Thus you see that, while God wrote the Bible,
at the same time he wrote this commentary,
that 'ths statutes of the Lord are right" on
leaves of rock and SHE'LL bound in clasps of metal,
and lying on mountain tables and in the Jew
eled vase of the sea- In authenticity aud In gen.
niness the statutes of the Lord are right
Second--Again: The Bible is right in STYLE
I know there are great many people who think
it Is merely collection of genealogical tables and
dry facts. That is because they do not know
how to read the book. You take up the most in
teresting novel that was ever written, and if you
commence at the four hundredth page to-day.
and tomorrow at the three hundredth, and the
next day at the first page, how much sense or
interest would you get from it, Yet that is the