The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1889-03-25

which the ark alighted. Noah measured
the depth Of the water above the hill, and
1t is fifteen cubts, or twcn,y-seven feet.
Ali my friends, this story OF the ark is
no moro incredible than II you should say
10 me: last summer / was among the |
hills OF New England, anG there came on
the most terrific storm ! ever saw, and |
the whole country was Hooded. The |
waters came up over the hills, and to save |
our lives we got in boat on the river, |
and oven tho dumb creatures werc so af- |
frighted they came moaning and blcating |
until We let thom in the same boat"
We are not dependent upon the Bible |
for the story OF the flood, entirely. All |
ages and al litcratures have traditions, |
broken traditions, indistinot traditions, but |
still traditions. The old books OF the Per- !
slams tell about the flood Mt the time of
Ahrlman, who so polluted the earth that
IL had TO be washed by great storm. The
traditions Of the Chaldcans say that in the
time when Nisuthrus was king thcro was
great flood, and &c put his family and
his friends In large vessel and all outside
OF them were destroyed, and after while
the birds went forth aud they came back
and their claws were tingcd with mud
Lucian and Ovid, celebrated writers, who
had never seen the Bible, described food
in the tune of Deucalion. lie took his
friends into u boat, and the animals came
running 10 him In pairs. SO all lands, and
all ages, and all litoraturcs, seem TO have a
broken and lndislinct tradition Of calam-
ity which Moses, here incorporating
Noah's account, 80 grandly. 10 beautifully,
no accurately, 30 solemnly records.
Ny prayer Il that the God who created
the world may create us anew in Christ
Jesus; and that the God who made light
three days before the sun shono may kin
die in onr hearts light that will burn ON
long after the sun has expired and that
the God who ordered the ark built aud
kept open more than 100 years that the
antediluvians might enter it for shelter
may graclously incline us 20 accept tho
invitation which this morning rose In
music from the throne, saying Come
thou and all thy house into the ark
Another hard thing TO be understood:
The story that the sun and moon stood
still % allow Joshua 10 complete his yic-
tory. lniidcl scientists declare thu an
impossibility But u man have brain
and strength enough 10 make n clock, can
| he not start II and stop II, and start Il
again and stop IL again2 II God havo
strength aud wisdom 10 mako the clock of
the universe, the great machinery OF the
worlds, has lie not strength enough
and wisdom enough 90 start Il aud
stop II, and start Il agin aud stop itagaln2
Or stop one wheel. or stop twenty wheels,
or stop all the whools2 IL the clockslrongcr
than the cockmakcr2 Docs the corn
thrcshor know moro than the machinisl2
ls the universe mighticr than It's Gol2
Hut people ask how could tho moon
Ihayo boon scnn to stop la the daytimci
| Wcn, II you have never seen the moon In
the daylsmo u " because YOU have
not been very dnigcnt observer Of the
heavens. Beside that, II was not ncecssat,
for the rorld literally to stop. by unusua
roimcti0s Oi the suns rays tho daylight
might have been prolonged. so that
while tho earth continued on iis path ia
the heavens, IL iiguntiycly stopped. You
must remember that these Bible authors
used the vonaoular Of their own day, just
as you and say the sun went down. The
sun never goes down. We simply describe
what appears 10 the human eye. Beside
that, the world, our world, could have liior-
ally stopped without throwing the universe
out 81 balance. our world has two motions
tho ono around the sun aud the other
| ON ~ own uAlHs ~ hllNllA nav hlNllfNNA
on It's own axis, while at the same time Il
kept ON In iis path through the hcaycns'
SO there was no need Of stellar confusion
because our world slackoncd Ia speed OF
entirely stopped In It's revolution on 10
own axis That IL none oi the business ol
Jupiter, or Mars, or Mercury, or Saturn,
or the Dipp1r Besides that, within the
memory oi mnn there have been worlds
| tt.uN .s4.... l..Ft. uuI that It.l A t.sx V.uFa
ago astronomers tulcgraphcd, through thc
Associated Press, 20 all the N0rld-ih,
astronomers from the City oil Washing
ton-that another world had been dis
covered. Within n comparatively Hhorl
space Of time, astronomers tell us, thirteen
worlds have burned down. From this
observatory they notice first that the
worlds look like other worlds, then they
became dccp rod showing they were
on fire; then they became ashcn, showing
they were burned down; then thcyentircly
disappeared, showing that oven the
ashes were scattered. Now. | Say, II
God can start a world, and swing q
world, and destroy n world. lie could stop
ono OF two Of them without great deal oI
excrtion, or lie could by unusual rcipclion
OF the suns rays continue the illumination.
Hut mldcl scientists aay ID would have
been belittling for other worlds 10 stop on
, account Oi such battle. Why, Hirs, what
Yorktown WIS for revolutionary times, and
what Gettysburg WIS In our civil contest
I and what Sedan was In the frpnco-Gcrnar
J war, aud what Waterloo was la the Napo
lconic dcstiny-that was this baltic o
Joshua against the five allied armies u
Gibcon. II was that baltic that change
the entire coun,e oi history. IL WIS a bat
tie 10 Joshua as important ~ though q bat
J tie now should occur In which England AN,
tho United States aud France aud Germany
aud Italy and Turkey and Russia ahoul,
, fight for victory or humiliation. How
, ever much any other world, solar. lunar oI
stellar might bo haglonod In Us crrand o
! light Il would bo oxcusablc II II lngorc,
! IN the heavens for a little while aud pa
! down IL sheai Of beams and gazcd on sucl
{ an Armagcddon.
In the carly part Of this century Their
! was what was called the Dark Day. Som
a Of these agcd men perhaps may Tomembo
r ID. Ii II known In history ~ the "Darl
' Day" Workmcn at noon went ~ thel
= homes, and courts and Legislatures ad
Iouncd. No astronomers have ever beet
4 able 10 explain that dark day. Now,
Q God can advance tho night earlier tha
n lis time, can Ilo not adjourn the nigh
Is NV father describe d night think h
said il was In lSJ3-whon his noighboI
IL aroused him In great alarm. All th
i heavenly bodies seemed Ia bo in motion
o Peoplo thought our earth was coming I
< is destruction. Tons Of thousands OF star
,. shooting. No astronomers have over bee
4 II. "A la