Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-04-19

Or. TaImags Pleads for Good Ma
ture and Sunshine.
DIFFERENT KINDS Of LAUGHTER.
The Merriment That Should Be Cultivated
and That Which Should Be
Stunned.
SpeciGl 10 the Re0igter.

ment to build for him church twice
large, and thereby to make something hi
adequate accommodation for the peop
who crowd to hear him. The Rev. u
Witt Talmage's sermon this uoring was
the subject Laughter Of the Biole." Th
opening hymn was:
Come, ye that love tie Lord,
And let your joys be known;
join in the song with sweet accord,
Aud thus surround the throne"
Two texts were chosen by the presche
Psalm cxxvi, 2: "Tnen was our mout
filed with laughter" and Psalm ii, /
He that stitch in the heavens shel
laugh" De. TalmEge said
LAUGHTER.
Tairty-eight times does the Bible max
reference TO this con6gura'ion of the tea
lures and quick expulsion of breath whicl
We cali laug hter. Sometimes it is born o
the sunshine aud sometimes OF the mid
night. Sometimes il stirs the sympathej
OF any es and sometimes the cachinnasiol
OF devils All healthy psople laugh
Whether it plsaseS the Lord or displeasel
Him that depends lpon when we laugh
aud at what We laugh. My theme thii
morning is the laughter Of the Bible, name
!y--Sarah's laugh, or that of skepticism
DAvidS laugh, or that OF spiritual exuita
tion; the fools laugh, or that of sinfu
merriment; Gods laugh, or that Of infinite
condemnation; Heavens laugh, or that Of
eternal triumph.
Scene: An ORIENTAL tent; the occu
pants, old Abrahsm and Sarah, perhaps
wrinklei and decrepit. Their three guests
are three sngels-the Lord Almighty one
of them. Ia retdrn for the hospitality
shown By the old people God promises
Sarah that she shall become the sucsstress
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Sarah laughs in
in the face of God; sbe does not believe it
She is afrighted at what she has done
She denies it. She says: 81 didn't
laugh" Then God retor;ed with an en-
phasis that silenced all diSputa'ion: "Bat
thou didst laugh" Ny friends, the laugh
of skeplicism In all sges is only the echo
of Sarah's laughter. God says ne will
accomplish q thing, and men say it cannot
be done. 4 great multitude laugh at the
miracles. They Say taay ere contrary 10
the laws of nature.
WHAT IS LAW OF NATURE2
1t is Gods way OF doing thing. You
ordinarily cross the river by the bridge
Tomorrow you change for one day and
sou 90 across Wall street ferry. You
made the rule. Have you not the right TO
change it2 | ordinarily coLe in at tina,
door pointing to a side entrance of ths
churcn}. Suppose next Sabbath | should
come 10 at the other door, II is habit !
have Have | not the right to change my
hsbit2 A law of nature is Gods habit
His way OF doing things. If He makes
the law has be not q right to change it at
any time hs wants 10 change ii2 Alas
for the tolly OF thosa who laugh o. Goa
when he says Il viii dc thing" they,
responding, You cant do it.
God says that the Bible is true-it is al
true. Bishop Colenso lsughs; H-roert
Spencer laughs; John Stuart Mil laugh;
sieLt German universities laugh; Harvard
laughs-sottly great many OF tie learn
ed institutions Of this country, with loGg
rows Of professors seated on the fence be-
tween Christianity and infd4ity, laugh
softly. They say: 1--WE didn't laugh"
That was Ssrahs trick. God thunders
from the heavens: But thou didst laugh
The garden OF Eden was only q table
There never Was any Srk buiit--it was too
small to have two OF every kiad The pill
lar of FIRE By night was only the Northern
lights. The ten plaques Of Egypt oaIy .
brilliant specimen OF jlgglery. The sea
parted because the wind blew violently a
gress while from one direction The sun
and moon did not pnt themselves out OF
the Way for Joshua. jacobs ladder was
only horiz ontal and picturesqa clouds
The destroying angel emitting the frat bora
in Esgrt vas GL!g cholera iDtautun o.
come epidemic. The ga!iet ol thu whale
by positive measurement to- small 10 swal
10 a prophet The lame, the dumb. the
blind, the halt, cured by mera hamAr sur
gerry. The resurrection of Chri4t's friend
Only b5sg,tul ts5ieau; Christ and LsZq.
rus aud Mary aud M4rihs ac;ipg their
parts we'll. Ny friends, there il Bnt a
doctrine or statement OF Gods Holy
Word that tss not been derided by
THE sEEPTICISN OF TIE DAY.
/ take up this book Of King James's
translation. consider it perfect B5ls,
but here are skeptics who want it torn 10
pieces. Aud row, with this fii1le in my
hand, let me teSF out ell those portions
which the skepticism sf the day demauds
shall be torn out. Whist shall 20 frs.
We'll" says some in the audience take
out all that aho1t the creation and about
the arst settlement Of the wor d Away
goes Genesis. Now, says some sne. take
ont all that about the miraculous guidance
of the children OF Israel in the wilderness
Away goes Exodus. Nov" saya some
one else in the audience, there are things
iu Deuteronomy aud Kings that are not fit
to be read" Away goes Deuteronomy and
the Kings. "NoW, says some one, the
book OF Job is fable that eughs to come
out." Away goes the book OF JOB Now,
says some one, those PASSAGES in the New
Testament which imply the divinity OF
Jesus Christ ought to come out" Away
20 the evsngelsts. Now" says SONS
one, the Book OF Revelation-preposter
ousl it represents . man with the moon
rpder his feet and q sharp sword il
bis hand. Alvey goes tie Book of Rsve
lstion. Now there ere a Jew pieces left
What shall We do With thsm9 HOb," say;
some man in the audience, Il don't bs
lieve q word in the Bibla from one end tc
the other" We'll, it is all gone. Nov
sou have put out the last light for the na
tiops Now il is the pitch darkness o
eternal midnigtE. How DO sou hRe il
But l think, my friends, Re had
BErTER KEEP THE BIBLE
Q little longer intact 1t has dore prett,
well for q good many yesrS. Thon ther'
are old people who find it comfort to hsv,
it on their laps, and children Ike the sto
ries in it. Let Us keep it for q curiosity
any how. If tie Bible is to be throw
out Of the school, and out OF tn
court room so that men Eo NOR
swear BY il, and it is to be pu
Il IL