The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1886-04-29

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmsge, In . recent
Sunday morning sermon at the Brooklyn
Tabernacle, took for his subject "The
Laughter Of the Bible" taking for his
texts the following:
Then was our mouth hlled with laughter.
Psalms XVI, ..
He that stitch In the heavens shall laugh.
Psalms. l. l.
DIR. Talmage said:
Thirty eight times does the Bible make
reference to this confguration Of the fea-
lures and quick expulsion Of the breath
which we call laughter. Sometimes it is
born Of the sunshine and sometimes Of the
midnight. Sometimes it stirs the sYmpa-
thies OF angels and sometimes the cachin-
nation of devils. All healthy people laugh.
Whether it pleases the Lord or displesses
Him, that depends upon when we laugh
and at what we laugh. My theme this
morning is the laughter of the Bible, name
iy-Sarah's laugh, or that of skepticism;
David's laugh, or that of spiritual exulta-
ton; the FOOLS laugh, or that of sinful
merriment; Gods laugh, or that of in-
that OF eternal triumph.
Scene: An oriental tent; the occupants,
old Abraham and Sarah, perhaps wrinkled
and decrepit, Their three guests are three
sngels-the Lord Almighty one Of them.
In return for the hospitality shown by the
old people God promises Sarah thot she
shall become the ancestress of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Sarah laughs in the face of
God; she does not believe it. She is
affrighted at what she has done. She de-
mics it. She says: 81 didn't laugh"
Then God retorted with an empha sis that
sileneed all disputation: "But thou didst
laugh" Ny friends, the laugh Of skepti-
cism in all ages is only the echo Of Sarah's
laughter. God says he win accomplish a
thing, and men say it can not be done. A
great multitude laugh at the miracles.
They say they are contrary to the laws of
nature. What is a law of nsturei 1t is
Gods way of doing thing. You ordi-
narily cross the river by the bridge.
Tomorrow you change for one day and
you go across Wall street ferry. You
made the rule. Have you not the right to
change it? l ordinarily come in at that
door (pointing to a side entrance of the
church). Suppose next Sabbath l should
come in at the other door? 1t is a habit l
have. Have | not right to change my
habit: A law of nature is Gods habit
his way of doing things. If he makes the
law has he not right to change it at any
time he wants to change it? Alas for the
folly of those who laugh at God when he
says: 81 will do a thing" they respond
ing, "You can't do it,"
God says that the Bible is true-it is all
true. Bishop Colenso laughs, Herbert
Spencer laughs, John Stuart Mill laughs,
great German universities laugh, Harvard
laughs-softly; great many of the
learned institutions of this country, with
long rows of professors seated on the fence
between Christianity and nfidelity, laugh
softly They say: "We didn't laugh"
That was Sarsh's trick. God thunders
from the heavens: "But thou did st
laugh"
The Garden Of Eden was only . fable.
There never was any ark built-it was too
small to have two of every kind. The pill
lar of fire by night was only the Northern
lights. The ten plaques of Egypt only q
brilliant specimen of jugglery. The sea
lently great while from one
direction. The sun and moon did not put
themselves out of the way for Joshua.
Jacobs ladder was only horizontal and
picturesque clouds. The destroying angel
shifting the first born in Egypt was only
cholera infantum become epidemic. The
gullet of the whale by positive measure
ment is too small to swallow prophet. The
lame, the dumb, the blind, the halt, cured
by mere human surgery. The resurrection
of Christ's friend only beautiful tableau,
Christ and Lazarus and Mary and Martha
acting their parts well. My friends, there
is not a doctrine or statement in Gods
Holy Word that has not been derided by
the skepticism Of the day.
l take up this book of King James,
translation. consider it perfect Bible,
but here are skeptics who want it torn to
pieces. And now, with this Bible in my
hand, let me tear out all those portions
which the skepticism of the day demands
shall be torn out. What shall go first?
"Wen," says some in the audience, take
out all that about the creation and about
the first settlement of the world" Away
goes Genesis. "Eow," says some one,
"take out all that about the miraculous
guidance of the children of Israel in
the Wilderness" Away goes Exc.
dus. "Now," says some one else in
the audience, "there are things in
Deuteronomy and Kings that are not
fit to be read" Away goes Deuter-
onomy and the Kings. Now," says some
one, 'the book of Job is a fable that
ought 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
out to come out" Away 60 the Evan
gelists. "Now," says some one, "ths
Book of Revelation-prepostero it rep
resents a man with q moon under his
feet and sharp sword in his hand"
Away goes the Book of Revelation. Now
there are few places left. What shall
we do with them? "Oh," says some man
in the audience, 81 don't believe a word
in the Bible from one end to the other"
Well, it is all gone. Now you have put
out the last light for the nations. Now
it is the pitch darkness of eternal mi dnight.
How do you like itf But think, my
friends, we had better keep the Bible C.
little longer intact. 1t has done pretty
well for a good many years. Then there
are old people who find it a comfort to
have it on their laps, and children like
the stories in it. Let US keep it for a oari-
osity anyhow. If the Bible is to be throw n
out of the school and out of the court
room, so that men no more swear by
it, and it is to be put in q dark
corner of the city library, the Koran
ON one side and the writin gs of Con-
fucius On the other, then let US each
one keep a copy for himself, for we might