Marble Hill press., 1890-08-28
POWER OF TESTIMONY,
Rev. D: Talmags Talks of the Influ.nc,
of Witnesses
The Celebrated Brooklyn Divine Preache, 4
-sermcn to an Imm,nss Outdoor Congre-
cation in Eebraska-Rm Elegantly
Clothsd Argument

an immense outdoor assemblage at
Beatrice, Neb., last Sunday. His text
was: 1--WE are Witnesses.n (Acts 3:I5l
Following is his sermon:
In the days of George Stephenson, the
perfector OF the locomotive engine. the
scientists proved conclusively that a rail-
way train could never be driven by steam
power successfully and without peril; but
the rushing express trains from Liverpool
to Ediubur!h, and from Edinburgh 10
London, have made all ths nations wit
nesses of the splendid achieyem mt Ma.
chinists and navigators proved conclus-
iveiy that steamer could never cross the
Atlantic Ocean; but no sooner had they
successfully proved the impossibi!ity of
such an undertaking than the work was
done, and the passengers on the Cunard,
and the Inman, and the National, and the
Whitc Star lines are witnesses. There
went up guffaw OF wise laughter at Prof.
Norse's proposition to make the lightning
of heaven his errand-boy, and it was
proved conclusively that the thing could
never be done; but now all the news of the
VIDE world, by Associated Press put iu
your hands every morning and night has
made all nations witnesses. So in the
time OF Christ it was proved conclusively
that it was ilnpossbl, for Him to rise
from the dead. 1t was shown logically
that when man was dead, he wa> dead,
and the heart and the liver and the lungs
having ceased to perform their offices, the
limbs would be rigid beyond all power of
friction or arousil. They showed it to lie
an absolute absurdity that the dea Christ
sho Id ever get up alive; but no sooner
had they proved this than the dead Christ
arose, and the disciples beheld Him, heard
His voice, and talked with Him, and they
took tue witness stand to prove that TO be
true which the wiseacres Of the day had
proved to be impossible; the record of the
experience and of the testimony is in the
text: "liim hath God raised from the
dead, whereof we are witnesses"
Now letme play the sceptic for a moment.
"There is no God" says the sceptic, "for
have never seen him with my physical eye.
sight. Your Bible is a pack of tonlradic.
lions. There never was a miracle. Laza-
rus was not raised from the dead, and the
water was never turned into wine. Your
religion is an imposition on the creluality
Of thu ages." There is an aged man NOV
ing over yonder as though he would like to
respond Here are hundreds of people with
faces IA little flushed at these announce.
ments, and all through this assembly there
is suppressed feeling which would like to
speak out in behalf of the truth of our
glorious Christianity, as in the days Of tho
text, crying out "We are wltnessesm
The fact is. that if this world is ever
brought to God it will not be through
prunlnnpt n hut th,.pnrh
might cover the whole earth with
apologies for Christianity and learned
treatises in defense of religion-you would
not convert Il soul, and never will
save a soul. Lectures on the har-
mony between science and religion are
beautiful mental discipline, but have never
saved soul Put man Of tho world and
man of the church against each other,
and the man of the world will in all
probability get the triumph. There are a
thousand things in our religion that seem
Illogical to tho world, and always
will seem illogical. Our weapon in
this conflict is .tuith, not logic; taih, not
metaphysics; JaiM, not profundity; faith,
not scholastic exploration. But then, in
order to have faith, we must have test-
mony, and if five hundred men, Or one
thousand men, or five hundred thousand
men, or five million men get up and toll me
that they have felt the religion of Jesus
Christ a joy, comfort, help, an aspira.
tion, am bound as u fair. minded man to
accept their testimony. l want just now
to put before you three propositions, the
truth of which | think this audience will
attest with overwhelming unanimity.
Tho five f, JVr ,,,.t
nesses that the religion of Christ is able to
convert a soul. The gospel may have had
hard time to conquer us, we may have
fought it back, but we were vanquished
You say conversion is only an imaginary
thing. We know better. ne are wit
nes3ks." There never was so great a
change in our heart and lifo on any other
subject as on this. People laugh at the
missionaries in Madagascar because they
preached ten years withol one con-
vert; but there are $1,000 converts In
N adagascar today. People laughed
at DR.. Adonirum Judson. the Baptist mis-
sionary, because he kept on preaching in
Burmah five years without single con-
vert; but there are 1000 Baptists in Bur-
nah today People laughed at Doctor
Morrison in China for preaching there
seven years without single conversion !;
but there are 25, 900 Christians in China to-
day. People laughed at the missionaries
for preaching at Tahiti fifteen years with.
out single conversion, and ut the mission
aries for preaching in Ben!al seventeen
years without single conversion; yet in
all those lands there are multitudes OF
Christians today.
put ,yhv co fnr n find nvi1oncn 0f tho
Gospels power to save s0uls "We are
witnesses" We were so proud that no
man could have BUNDLED us; we were so
hard that no earthly power could have
melted US; angels of God were all around
about us, they could not overcome us; but
one day, perhaps at q Methodist anxious
seat, or at Il Pres byterian catechetical
lecture, or at n burial, or on horseback,
q power seized u.s. and made us get down,
and made us tremble, and made us kneel,
and made us cry for mercy, and we
tried to wrench ourselves away from the
grasp, but we could not. 1t flung
IS fiat, and when we arose we were as
much changed as Gourgis, the heather,
who went into n prayer.meeting with a
dagger and gun, TO distu the meeting
and destroy it, but tho next day was found
crying, ooh, my great sins! Oh, my great
Savor!" and for eleven years preached the
Gospel Of Christ to his fellow. mountain
GERS, the last words on his dying lips being
"Free grace" Oh, it was free gracel
There is man who was for ten years a
hard drinker The dreadful appetite had
sent down its roots around the palate and
tongue, and on down until they were inter
linked with the vitals Of body, mimi, and
soul; but he has not taken any stimulants
for ten years What did thati Not tenn
perlnce societies Not prohibition laws
Not moral suasion. Conversion did 1t.
"Why," said one upon whom the great
change had come ''sir, feel just a. though
were somebody else!' There u sea
CAPTAIN who swore all the way from New
York to Havana, and from Havana tt
San Francisco, and when he was In port he
was worse than when he was on the sea
What power was 1t that washed. his
tongue clean Of profanities, and made him
n psalm .singerl Conversion by the Holy
Shirt. There are thousands OF people In
this assemblage to-day who are no more
what they ones wers than water-lily is
nightsh de, or amorntug lark is u vulture'
or day Ia night
Now, II / should demand that oil those
people hore present who have felt the con