The Brookhaven leader., 1891-04-16

y
blessing? Why is it that a woman when
she is troubled will go to her worst enc.
my, the Bible? Why do you not go for
comfort to some great infidel books,
Spinoza's Ethics" or Hume's Natural
History of Religion" or Paine's age
of Reason" or Dedro's' Dramas" or
any of the two hundred and sixty vol
umes of Voltaire2 No, the silly, deluded
woman persists in hanging about the
Bible verses: LET not you heart be
troubled" "All things work together
for good" weeping may endure for
a night" 81 am the resurrection, "
peace, be still"
There stands Christianity. There
stands infidelity. Compare what they
have done. Compare their resources.
There is Christianity, prayer on her
lip; benediction on her brow; both
hands full of help for all who want
help; the mother of thousands of col
leges; the mo ther of thousands of asy
lums for the oppressed, the blind, the
sick, the lame, the imbecile; the mother
of missions for the bringing back of the
outcast; the mother of thousands. of re-
formatory institutions for the saving OF
the lost; the mother of innumerable
Sabbath-schools, bringing millions OF
children under drill to prepare them
for respectability and usefulness, to say
nothing of the great future. That is
Christianity.
Here is Infidelity; no prayer on her
lips, no benediction on her brow, both
hands clenched-wbat for? To fight
Christianity. That rs the entire bust
ness. The complete mission of Infidelity
is to fight Christianity. Where are he,
schools, her colleges, her asylums Of
mercy? Let me throw you down q
whole ream of foolscap paper that you
may fill all of it with the names of hel
beneficent institutions of mercy and O1
learning, founded by Infidelity, an6
supported alone by Infidelity pro-
nounced against God and the
Christian religion and yet in favor
of making the world better. ''Oh, u
you say, "a ream of paper is too much
for the names of those institutions. "
Well, then, 1 throw you quire ot
paper. Fill it all up now. will wait
until you get all the names down.
"Oh," you say, "that is too much. u
Well, then, / will just hand you sheet
of letter paper. Just fill up the four
sides while we are talking of this mat
ter with the names of the merciful in
stitutions and the educational institu.
tions founded by infidelity and sup
ported all along by infdelity, pro-
nounced against God and the Christian
religion, yet in favor of humanity.
oh" you say, that is too much
room; we don't want a whole sheet OF
paper to write down the names"
Perhaps / had better tear out
one leaf from my memorandum
book, and ask you to fill up
both sides of it with the names of such
institutions. "Oh," you say, that
would be too much room; / wouldn't
want so much room as that" Well,
then, count them on your ten fingers.
"Oh," you say, mot quite SO much as
that" Well, then, count them ON the
fingers of one hand. "Oh," you say,
1--WE don't want quite so much room as
that" Suppose, then, you halt and
count on one finger the name of any
institution founded by Infidelity, pro-
nounced against God and the Christian
religion, yet toiling to make the world
better. Not one! Not one!
Infidelity scrapes no lint for the
wounded, bakes no bread for the
hungry, shakes up no pillow for the
sick, rouses no comfort for the bereft
gilds no grave for the dead. While
Christ, our Christ, our wounded Christ
our risen Christ, the Christ of this old.
fashioned Bible-blessed be His glorious
name forever-our Christ stands this
hour pointing to the hospital, or to the
asylum, saying: 81 was sick and ye
gave me a couch; was lame and We
gave me a crutch; was blind and ye
physicianed my eyesight; I was or
phaned and we mothered my soul; was
lost on the mountains and we brought
me home: inasmuch as We did it to one
of the least of these, We did it to me-"
But thank God that this plague OF
infidelity will be stayed. Many of those
who hear me now by the Holy Ghost
upon their hearts will cease to be scoff-
ers and will become disciples, and the
day will arrive when all nations will
accept the Scriptures. The book Is
going to keep right on until the fires OF
the last day are kindled. Some of them
will begin on one side and some on the
other side of the old book. They will
not find a bundle of loose manu-!
scripts easily consumed like tinder
thrown into the fire. When the fires OF
the last day are kindled, some will burn
on this side, from Genesis toward Rev
elation, and others will burn on this
side, from Revelation toward Genesis,
and in al their way they will not find a
single chapter or a single verse out OF
place. This will be the first time we can
afford to do without the Bible. What
will be the use of the book of Genesis,
descriptive of how the world was made,
when the world is destroyed? What will
be the use of the prophecies when they
are all fulfilled? What will be the use
of the evangelistic or Pauline descrip-
ton of Jesus Christ when we see Him
face to face? What will be the use OF
His photograph when we have met Him
In glory? What will be the use OF
the book Of Revelation; standing
as you will with your foot on
the CLASSY sea, and your hand on the
ringing harp, and your forehead chap
leted with eternal coronation, amid the
ameth ystine and twelve-gated glories
of Heaven? The emerald dashing its
green against the beryl, and the beryl
dashing its blue against the sapphire,
and the sapphire throwing its light on