Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1886-02-22
SECOND OF THE SERIES
Of Sermons Being Preached by Or.
Cunningham.
Internal Evidence, Facts and Incidents
Illustrating the Truth Of
the Bible.

rom Psalm cxix., 80: "Stablish thy word
unto thy servant who is devoted to thy
fear"
The great source Of power and intu-
ence in the Bible ssid the reverend gen.
tlemau, lis God Himself-God, ny His
providence, ever protecting aud opening
the way for His word, and God, in the
person OF Ills Spirit, ever accompanying
that word, and opening the heart of mau
10 receive it. There is no intrinsic power
in the Bible itself, standing alone and be-
reft of Divine influence, to do all the great
things which it has done, and shall yet do,
in the world. Its efficiency Is all OF God.
But "a God works By means, and has eve
rywhere wrought nightly through His
written word, We accordingly open the
Book to see what are
THE GREAT ELEMENTS
OF its power. -,
First, we are struck by its wonderful
doctrinsl system as an element of it's pow
er over the human mind, and consequent
IL over human character. 1t is remsrka-
bic with what facility and beauty all it's
facts and principles range themselves into
one grand system of doctrine, having the
com psctness and harmony Of the most ex-
act science Of positive truth. There
are certain great facts and doctrines,
which may be regarded az constituting the
very nucleus of the Bible system, the life
and essence OF its whole scheme OF saliva
ton; and which belong to it as they belong
to no other book, anci 9nt or modern. For
they belong to it by right which stands
good against all the world-the ri ght OF prl-
or discovery. They are revelations tromGod
alone. They were not struck out by Gre
clan or Roman, Egyptian or Chaldesn
sages They are doctrines which the world
did not possess before the Bible came;
could never have discovery without its aid,
and can now never more let die.
In this sublime system we have frat,
the great and untsthonsble doctrine OF the
existence character and projections Of
God
or GOD As SPIRIT,
infinite, eternal aud unchsngesble in His
being, power, wisdom, Justice, goodness,
holiness and truth-one God in three per-
sons over all blessed forever. We have
the doctrine OF Divine ProvideDce-Gods
universal and eternal government, general
and special, moral and physical, over all
worlds and creatures, the greatest and the
most minute We have the doctrine OF
the supreme Divinity, mediation, incarna
ton, humiliation, death, resurrection, ex-
sltation and interceSsion Of Jesus Christ
God manifest in the flesh-God q Savior,
delivered for our offences, and raised again
fox our justification; and along with this
the doctrine Of immaculate perfection, as
exemplifed in His life and character. We
have he doctrine of the personality, Of
fee, agency and worg of the Holy Spirit
OF God-the author of all special Divine
influences in the hearts of men, ehlighten-
ing their minds 10 understand the truth,
inclining them to turn from sin unto God,
enabling them TO repent and believe the
gospel, and thus regenersting and sancti.
tying the soul We nave the docttine of
the apostasy, deprsvity, ruin and death of
our race through sin, and OF the redemp-
ton recovery, restoration and
ETERNAL SALVATION
OF large part of it through The interVen-
ton and stoning sacrifice of the Son of
God, and the quickening, saving influence
OF the Spirit Of God We have the doc.
trine Of the forgiveness OF sins
through the blood OF Christ-ot peace,
pardon, reconciliation, and justification
before God, for every soul that comes to God
in the exercise ola true repentance for Gin,
and O lrpe faith Ia OAR Lord Jesus Christ
We have the doctrine Of the church or
kingdom OF God, militant on earth, tri.
umphant in heaven, consisting OF all those
who In every age and land are called to be
saints of God, or who believe and obey the
gospel And in addition to these, we have
summarily, the doctrine of the second
coming of Christ, the conversion of the
whole world, he resurrection from the dead,
the JUDGMENT Of the last day, the endless
puulshment OF the wicked, and the life
everlasting in heaven for all the righteous
Such are the main features OF system
which might be amphhed into the whole
body Of our theology and is, in feet spread
through al the 9crlptures--s system
whose grand final cause is Gods glory,
whose immediate end is mans salvation,
and whose great central truth is Jesus
Chlist cruoiGed, TIE power OF God, and
the wisdom OF God unto salvation.
Bible truths relate TO God; to
His nature, His attributes and
His perfectioDs; to His government. Els
works, and His will; to His care of the
creatures He has made, and unto which He
has given life. in earth, and sea and sky;
to His special regard for man, as is illus'
tra'ed in
THE PLAN OF REDEMPTION,
and proclaimed in the fact of the atone
ment They relate 10 man; to his
primal innocency, his subsequent guilt BY
trsnsgressions, and his terrible and uuiver-
sal depravi;y; TO the destiny of his body, !
and to the seltdetermining destiny Of his
soul. They relate to both time aud eternity, |
20 hell and 10 heaven. They are also
living truths, Tossing from the inexhausti |
ole fountain of life On no page of anthem !
tic history is the record made, the truths of !
God are dead They are ohaugeless truths, |
and no inhdel alchemy will ever convert
one of them into lie. They are pure
truths, and breathe smiling chodemna-
ton against impurity. They ore noble,
honorable truths, and pronounce terrible
curse upon all bsseneos and meaaness"
1T is time" he said, that people in
general should form sope proper estimate
ct the value OF the Bible to nations and 10
the world There are about 30O,OUO, 600
human beings distinguished from all 9th.
ars by tho one msrk-they have the Bible.
There are 500 100000 who have not the
Bible. The Bible readers, then, are but
small minority Of the whole race, and yet
his small traction is
THE ANNAxr ELEMENT
q the affairs OF the world fits not cor.
'ect to say Christianity has invented the !
steamboat and the railway, il is true that
outside OF bible lands there is not, and
here never was country on the globe
hat possessed railroad, a telegraph, a
,ostofice a banking system, free gov
rnment, or wise public charities. Where
he Bible has not been given to the people,