Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-11-06

estine and SYRIA. is the New Testament
true?' ''TrueV' respond the ruins all the
way from Joppa to the Dead Sea and from
Jerusalem to Damascus.
What mercy that this testimony of the
dead cities should come at a time when the
Bible is especially assailed. And this work
will go on until the veraclty OF the Scrip
lures will be as certain to all sensible men
and women as that two and two makes four.
as that an lsosceles triangle Is one which has
two of its sides equal that the diameter
of a circle is line drawn through the centre
and terminated by the circumference, as
certain as any mathematical demonstration.
Those ancient cities lacked nothing but
good morals Dissipation and sin slew them
and unless dissipation and sin are halted,
they will some day STAY our modern cities,
and leave our palaces OF merchandise and
our galleries of art and our city hall as fiat
in the dust as we found Mem phis on the after
noon of that Thanksgiving day. And if the
cities so down, the nation will go down.
oh" you say "that is impossible; we have
stood so long-yea, over hundred years as
a nation Why, what OF that' Thebes
stood five hundred years. Memphis stood
thousand years. God does not forget. One
day with the LORD is as thousand years and
a thousand years as one day.
Rum and debauchery and bad politics are
more rapidly working the destruction of our
American cities that sin OF any kind and all
kinds worked for the destruction Of the cities
of Africa, once so mighty and now so pros
trate. But their gods were idols, and could
do nothing except for debasement. Our
God made the heavens and sent HIS Son TO
redeem the nations And our cities will not
90 down, and our nations will not perish be-
cause the gospel is going to triumph. For
wardi all schools and colleges and churches!
Forward! all reformatory and missionary
organizations. Forward! all the influences
marshaled to bless the world. Let our mod
ern European and American cities listen to
the voice Of those ancient cities resurrected,
and by hammer and chisel and crowbar be
compelled to speak.
l notice the voice OF those ancient cities is
hoarse from the exposure of forty centuries
and thew accentuate slowly with lips that
were palsied for ages, but all together those
cities along the Nile tntone these words:
Hear us, FOR we are very old, and it is hard
for us to speak. We were wise long before
Athens learned hec first lesson. We sailed
our ships while yet navigation was unborn
These obelisks, these pyramids, these fallen
pillars these wrecked temples, these cOloSSl
of black granite, these wrecked sarcophagl
under the brow of the hills, tell you of what
l was in grandeur and of what am coming
down to De. We sinned and we fell. Our
learning could not save Us. See those
half obIiterated hieroglyphics on yonder
wall. Our architecture could not save
us. See the painted columns OF
Philae, and the shattered temple OF Esneh.
Our heroes could not save US. Witness
Menes. Diodorus Rameses and Ptoiemy.
Our Gods Ammon and Osiris could not save
U.s. See their fallen temples all along the
four Thousand miles of Nile. Oh, ye modern
cities get some other God; a God who can
help God who can pardon, God who can
save. Called up as we arc for little while
to give testimony, again the sands of the
desert will bury US. Ashes to ashes, dust to
dustT And as these voices OF porphyry and
granite ceased, all the sarcophagi under the
hills responded, "Ashes to ashes!' and the
capital of lofty column fell grinding itself
to powder among the rocks, and responding,
"Dust to dustg