The intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1887-1891, 1889-06-29
THE s WEAPON.
Eor. TalmaGe on Worldly Philos-
ophy and Bible Truths.
Ehe Weapons of Worldly Philosophy
tEurned TO C~hrist,anIty's Service Every
Thing Useful to ChrIstInns-The Lords
Army of business Men.

Army of business Men.
Rev. T. De Witt Talmage in a recent
sermon at Brooklyn took for his subject:
THE Mightiest Weapon Is the Gospel"
HIS text was from l Samuel xxi. o:
There Is hone like that; give it me-"
The preacher said:
David fed from his pursuers. The world
very fast when 1t is chasing q good
man. The country Is trying to catch
David and to slay him. David goes into
the house OF a priest N asks him for a
sword or spear with which to defend HIM
sell. Tit priest, not being accustomed to
use deadly weapons, tells David that he
not supply him; but suddenly the
priest thinks of an old sword that had
been carefully wrapped up and laid away
the very sword that Goliath formerly
ussd-and he takes Down the sword, and
while be Is wrapping the sharp, glitter
ing, memorable blade, 1t flashes upon
David's mind that this was the very
sword that was used against himself when
ne was in the fight with Goliath, and
David can hardly keep his hand Off it un-
VI the priest has unwound It. David
HtEHtches out his hand toward that
sd sword and says: There Is
acme iike that; give it me-" In
9tpef words: ~ want in my own
1aA4 tho sword that has been used against
me and against the cause of God" So II
was given him. Well, my friends. that Is
not'the first or last sword once used by
giant and Philistine iniquity which is to
come Into tho possession of Jesus Christ,
and Of his glorious Chu rch. l want, as
.AIl - nAA 49, AAI- aAA fA 0hANHy yynI
that many a weapon which has been used
against the armies of God Is yet to be
captured and used on our side; and / only
invite David when l stretch cut my hand
toward the blade of the Philistine, and
oryi "There Is none like that; give 1t
mel"
] remark, first, that this is true In re-
gard to all scientific exploration. You
know that the first discoveries in ~astrono-
my. and geology and chronology were
used to battle Christianitv. Worldly
philosophy came out of its laboratory and
ont Of Its observatory, and aid Nov,
we will prove, by the very structure OF
the earth, and by the movement OF the
heavenly bodies, that the Bible is a lie
and that Christianity, as we have II
among men, Is a positive imposition. "
Good men trembled The telescope, the Ley
den Jars, the electric ! arteries, all In the
hands of Phiiistines. But one day, Christ
tanity, looking about for some weapon with
which TO defend itself, happened to see
the very old swords that these atheistic
Philistines had been using against the
truth and cried out: "There Is none like
that; give It me 70 And Copsrnicus. and
Calico, and Kepler and Isaac Newton
came forth and told the world that, in
their ransacklng OF earth and Heaven,
they had found overwhelming presence of
the God whom we worship; and this old
Bible began to shake itself from the Koran
aud Hhaster and Zendavesta with which II
had bsen covered up, and lay on the desk
of the scholar, and in the laboratory of
ths chemist, and in the lap of the Chris
tian, unframed and unanswered, while
the tower of the midnight heavens struck
. silvery chime in its praise.
Worldly philosophy said: '.Matter is
stsrnal The world always was. God did
not make it" Christian philosophy
plungea its crowbar into rocks, and finds
bat the world was gradually made, and IL
zfadnally made there must a been
ec7ne point at which the process started;
men, Who started iti Aud so that objec-
tton was overcome and in the first three
words Of the Bible we find that Moses
Stated q magnificent truth when he said:
I'm the beginning"
Worldly philosophy said: "Your Bible
n q most Inaccurate book; all that story
in the Old Testament, again and again
told, about the army of the locusts-it Is
preposterous. There Is nothing in the
coming of the locusts like an army. An
army walks, locusts fly. An army goes In
order and procession, locusts without or
dsr.0 "waiti" said Christian philosophy
and In 1868 in the southwestern part OF
this country Christian men went out to
examine the march of the locust. There
are men right before me who must have
noticed In that very part Of the country
the coming up of the locust like an army
and it WINS found that all the newspapers
unwittinRly spoke of them as an army.
Whyf They seem to have a commander.
They march like a host. They halt like a
host. No arrow ever went with straighteI
fight than the locusts come-not even
turning aside for the wind. II the wind
yises the locusts drop, and then rise again
after It has gone down, taking the same
line Of march, not varying a foot. The
Bible Ia right every time when it speaks
Of locusts coming like an army; worldly
philosophy wrong.
Worldly philosophy said: "All that
story about the light turned as clay to the
ssap Il simply an-absurdity." Old time
worldly philosophy said: 'The light
comes straight" Christian philosophy
said, swat a little while" and IL goes
on and makes discoveries and finds that
the atmosphere curves and bends the ray
Of light around the earth, literally
f,as the clay to the seal" The Bible RICH.
again; worldly philosophy wrong again.
"Ah,0 says worldly philosophy. ''all that
Illusion In Job about the foundation of the
earth IL simply an sbsurdity. What vast
thou says God, when / set the founda-
lions Of the earthp The earth has no
foundations.1 Christian philosophy comes
and finds that the word as translated
Foundation" may be better translated
a~.socksts." 30 now see how 1t will read
n IL n translated right: "Where vast
thou when I sat the sockets Of the earthf"
Where 10 the sccketf 1t is the hollow OF
Gods hand--a socket large enough for any
world to turn In.
Worldly philosophy said: "What an alb
surd story aboutJoshua making the sun and
moon stand still. II the world lac stopped
an instant. the whole universe would lave
been out Of gear" stop" said Christian
philosophy, mot quite SO quick" The
world has two motions-one on its AK {
and the other around the sun. IL was not
necessary In making them stand still that
both motions should be stopped-only the
one turning the world on its own axis.
There was no reason why the hating oil
the earth should have Jared and dIsar.
ranged the whole universe. Joshua right
and God right; inidelity wrong every
time. / knew IL would be wrong. tbani
God tina the time has come when Chris.
tians need not be scared at any scientific
exploration. The fac is that religion ant
science have struck hand In eternal friend
ship, snd The deeper down geology car
dig and the higher up astronomy can soa
all the better for us. Tho armies OF tn
Lord Jesus Christ have stormed the obser
vatories of the wor DIS science, and froI
the highest towers have flung out the ban
ner Of the cross. and Christianity to-nigh
from the obseryatories OF Albany an
Washington, stretches out Is hand towar
the opposing scientific weapon. crying
There Is none like that; give 1t TO me
was reading this afternoon of Hersche
who was looking at a meteor through
telescope, and when 1t came over the faC
Of the telescope 1t was so powerful he ha
TO avert his eyes. And 1t has been just
that many an astronomer has gone into a
observatory and looked up into the mid
night heavens, and the Lord God ha
through some swinging world, famed NJ
on his vision, and the learned man erie
cut: "who am ]? Undone; Unclear
Have mercy, Lord Godl"
Again, / remark, that the travelling di
position Of the world, which was ayers
TO morals and religion is to be brought c
our side. The man that went down
Jericho and fell amidst thieves wal a tyI
of Q great many travellers. There is man
. man who is very honest at home VIII