Sharp County record., 1888-04-12

auG thew tell us that by their own eApelD-
ment it is three days journey around NdC-
cording to the old estimate or day
iournev). and that it was literally de-
stroved bv fire and water-tWO antagOlls-
tic elements-a part OF the clty HayIHs
been inundated by the River IlgrlS the
brick material in those times being DRIED
CLAW instead of burned; while IN otner
nar+s thew find the remains OF the are III
beaDs of charcoal that have been eXcaVat-
ed. and in the calcined slabs OF gypsum
Who was right. the Bible or inidellty?
Moses intimated that they mad vlne-
Yards in Egypt. absurd cried nun
dreds of voices, ''yOu can't raise grapes IN
EgvDt: or. if you can, it is very greaI
exception that YOU can raise them" buI
the traveller goes down, and IN the unuer-
ground vaults of Ellithya he finds painted
on the wall all the process Of tending the
vines and treading out the grapes IL Is
all there familiarly sketched by people
who evidently knew all about 1t, and saw
if all about them every day; and IN those
underground vaults there are vases Stln
incrusted with the settings OF the Wlne'
You see the vine did grow IN EgypU,
whether it grows there now or not.
Thus YOU see. while GOdwrote the BlDle'
at the same time he wrote this COM
mentarv, that The statutes OF the Loru
ara right on leaves Of rock and shell,
bound in clasps Of metal, and lying on
mountain tables, and in the JeWeled vase
of the sea. In authenticity and IN genu-
ineness the statutes Of the Lord are right.
Again: The Bible is right in style. l
know there are a great many people VINO
think it is merely collection OF genea-
logical tables and dry facts. That Is De-
cause they do not know how to read the
book. You take up the most interesting
novel that was ever written, and If you
commence at the four hundreth page to-
dav. and tomorrow at the three hundreth,
and the next day at the first page, how
much sense or interest would you gather
from it? Yet that is the very process TO
which the Bible is subjected every day.
An angel from Heaven, reading the BlDle
that wav. could not understand 1t. Inc
Bible, like all other palaces, has a door by
which to enter and door by which to go
out. Genesis is the door to go in and Reve-
IatiOn the door to 90 out. These eplstIes
of Paul the apostle are merely letters Writ
ten. folded I'D and sent by pOstmen to the
different churches. Do you read other
letters the way you read Pauls letters:
Suppose you get q business letter, and you
know that in it there are important Hnan-
ciaI propositions, do you read the last
page first. and then one line OF
the third page, and another OF the
second and another Of the first; No. You be-
gin with Dear sir, and end with yours
truIv.U Now here is q letter written from
the throne Of God to our lost world; it is
full Of magnificent hopes and PROPOSE
tions, and we dip in here and there and
We know nothing about it. Besides that,
people read the Bible when they can not
do any thing else. 1t is dark day, and
thev do not feel well. and they do not GO
to business, and after lOun~ing about
awhile they pick up the Bible-thelr mind
refuses to enjoy the truth. Or they come
home weary from the store or shop, and
they feel. if they do not say, it is dull
book. While the Bible is to be read or
stormy days, and while your head aches
it is also to be read in the sunshine, anC
when your nerves, like harp strings
thr1lm the song Of health. While yOm
vision is clear walk in this paradise Of
truth; and while your mental appetite is
rood pluck these clusters Of grace.
I am fascinated with the cOuCiseness OF
this book Every word is packed full q
truth. Every sentence is double -barreled
Every paragraph is like an old banyaI
tree. with u hundred roots and hundred
branches. It is a great arch; pull out one
stone and it all comes down. There has
never been a pearI-diver who could gather
I'D One-half Of the treasures in any verse
John HaIseback, Of Vienna, for twenty.
one years, every Sabbath eXpounded tC
his congregation the first chapter Of the
book Of Isaiah, and yet did not get through
with it. Nine-tenths Of all the good liter
ature Of this age is merely the Bible di.
| luted.
This book is the hive Of all sweetness
1t is the armOry Of all well-tempereC
weapons; it is the tower containing The
| crown Jewels Of the universe; it is the
| lamp that kindles all other lights it is the
home Of all maiesties and spIendors; it is
| the marriage that unites the celestia
! and the terrestrial, while all the clustering
I white-rObed denizens Of the sky hOverinG
around rejoice at the nuptials. Thi,
book-it is the wreath into which are
twisted all garLands; it is the song into
which are struck all harmOuies; it is the
river into which are poured all the grea
| tides Of halleluiah; it is the armament
in which suns, and moons, and stars, and
| consultations, and galazies, and immensi
| ties, and universes, and eXternitles
wheel, and blaze, and triumph. Where Is
| the young mans soul, with any music il
| it, that is not stirred with Jacob. lament
| or Nahum's dirge, or Habakkuk's dithy
| rambic, or PauPs march Of the resur
/ rectiOn. or Johns anthem? where The
| elders, with dOxOlOgy on their faces, re-
| spOnd to the trumpet blast Of the arch
angel, as he stands with one foot on tht
sea and the other foot on the land, swear
/ ing by him that liveth forever and ever tha
| time shall be no longer. l will under
| take to say that every great bOOl
that has been published since the frs
printing press was lifted, has directly o
indirectly derived much Of its power from
the sacred Oracles. Goethe, the admired
Of all sceptics, had the wall Of his hous,
at Weimar covered with religious map
and pictures. Milton's Paradise Lost" il
a part Of the Bible in blank verse. TassO'
| Jerusalem Delivered is borrowed from
] the ElL-a snannar,. -u-.lti- rrs a.a irnltu