The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-01-18
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIviNEs SUN.
DAY SERMON
Sabjeos: "God Among the Centu.
ries.'

Sabjeot: "God Among the Centu.
TEXT: "Consider the years of many gen.
rrutions. s."-Deuteronomy xxxii., Z.
At 10 o'clock last night, while 20 many
COOL people were watching, an old friend
passed out Of our homes aud a stranger en-
tered. The old friend making valsdictory
was 1892: the stranger arriving is 1898. The
old friend was garrulous with the occur.
rences OF many DAYS, but the stranger put
his finger over his lin and said nothing aud
seemed charged with many secrets and mys-
teries. did not see either the departure or
the arrival. but was sound asleep, thinking
that was for me the best wav to be wide
awake now. Goodhv. 1892! Welcome, 1898 \!
As an army is divided into brigades and
regiments and companies anil they observe
this order in their march and their tread is
majestic. so the time Of the worlds exist
ence is divided into all army divinely com
manded; the eras are the briga1es the CEN
turies are the regiments, and the years are
the companies. Forward into the nternitv
past, out Of the eternity to come! Forward
Is the command, and nothing can halt them,
even though the world should die. While
obeying my text, "Consider the years OF
manv generations" I propose to speak of
the Chronology of the Bible, or God Among
the Centuries"
We make g tinctiou between time and
eternity, but time is only piece Of eternity,
and chroroiogy has been engaged in thu
sublime work Of dividing up this portion of
eternity that we call time into compart.
puents and putting events in their right
compartment. It is as much an Injustice
against the past to wrongly arrange its
events as it would be an injustice il. through
neglect Of chronological accuracy, it should
in the far distant future be said that Ameri.
ca was discovered in 1776, and the Declara.
tion OF Independence was signed in 1892,
and washington born on the 22d Of March,
and the Civil War Of the United States was
fought in 1S40. '
As God puts all the events Of time in the
right place. let US be careful that we do not
put them in the wrong place. The chron-
oiogy OF the Bible takes six steps, but they
are steps so long it makes US hold our breath
as we watch the movement. From Adam
to abraham. From Abraham to the exodus
out OF Egypt. From the exodus to ths
foundation of Solomon's temple. From the
foundation Of Solomon's temple to the de-
struction Of that temple. From the destruc-
ton of the temple to the return from Baby
lonish captivity. From Babylonish cap
tivity to the birth Of Christ.
Chronology takes pen aud pencil. and call
ing astronomy and history to help SAYS:
~'Ler us FIX one event from which tn calcu-
late everything. Lst it be star, the Beth
lehem star, the Christmas star" And from
that we go back and see the world was
created 1901 years before Christ: the deluge
came 24S years before Christ; the exodus
out OF Egypt occurred 1491 years before
Christ, and Solomon's temple was destroyed
$50 years before Christ.
Chronology enters the first chapter Of
Genesis and says the day mentioned there is
not day OF twenty-four hours. but or ages
the word there translated as 'day' in other
places meaning ages, and so the Bible ac-
count OF the creation and the geologists &C.
count OF the creation are completely har::
monious. Chronology enters the book of
Daniel and says that the words ''time and
q half" mean year and half. 20. ....
Chronology enters at another point and
shows US that the seasons Of the year were
then only two-summer and winter. We
find that the Bible year was $50 days instead
OF 365; that the day was calculated from
8 o'clock in the morning to o'clock at night;
that the night was divided into four watches
namely, the late watch, the midnight, the
cock Growing, ths early watch. The clock
and watch were invented so long after the
world began their mission that the day was
not very sharply divided in Bible times
Ahaz had sundial, or flight of stairs with
a column at the top, and the shadow which
that column threw on the steps beneath In.
dicated the hour, the shadow lengthening
or withdrawing from step to step.
' But the events Of life and the events OF
the world moved 50 slowly for the most
part in Bible times that they had no
need OF such timepieces as we stand on our
1nantels or carry in our pockets in an age
when man may have a half dozen or q
dozen engagements for one day and needs
70 khow tbs exact minute for each one Of
them. The earth itself in Bible times was
the chief timepiece, and it turned once on
its axis and that was day, and once around
the sun and that was year
1t was not until the Fourteenth Century
that the almanac was born, the almanac
that we toss carelessy about not realizing
that 1t took the accumulated ingenuity OF
more than 5000 years to make one. Chron-
-ology had to bring into its service the monu-
ments OF Egypt and the cylinders OF Assyria,
and the bricks Of Babylon and the pottery
OF Nineveh. and the metals struck at An
tloch for the battle of Actium, and all the
hieroglyphics that could be deciphered, and
had to 60 into the extremely delicate busi-
ness OF asking the ages Of Adam and Seth
aud Enoch and Methuselab, who after their
3OQth year wanted to be thought young.
think it must have been in recognition
OF the stupendous work of making an alma
mac that all the days of the week are named
after the gods. Sunday, after the sun,
which was Of old worshiped as god. Mon.
day, after the moon, which was also wor-
SHIPPED as god. Tuesday, after Tuesco, the
god OF war. Wednesday, after Wooden, the
chief god Of the Scandinavians. Thursday,
after Thor, the god Of thunder. Friday,
after Frea. the goddess Of marriage. And
Saturday after Saturn. The old Bible year
began with the 25th Of March. Not until
1752 did the first OF the month Of January
get the honor in legal documents in England
OF being called the first day Of the year.
improvements all along have been made
in chronology until the calendar and the
almanac, and the clock, and the watch seem
to have reached perfection, aud all the Ma
tions OF Christendom have similarity Of time
calculations and have adopted what is
called new STYLE" except Russa, which
keeps what is called the ''old style" and is
twelve days different, so that writing from
there. il you wish to be accurate, you date
your letter January and January 13, or
December 10 and December %. Il. some
thing to thank God for that the modes
are so complete for calculating the cycles,
the centuries, the decades, the years, the
months, the days, the hours, the seconds.
Think Of making appointments as in the
Bible days for the time of the new moon.
Think Of making one Of the watc hes of the
night in Bible times rooster Growing. The
Bible says: "Before the cock crow thou
shalt deny me thrice" IF the Master COM
eth at the cockcrowing," and that was the
way the midnight watch was indicated.
The Growing of that barnYard bird has al
ways been most uncertain. The rowing is
at the lowest temperature Of the night, and
the amount Of dew and the direction Of the
wind may bring the lowest temperature at
IL o'clock at night or Q o'clock in the morn
ing, and at any one OF six hours. just be-
fore q rain the Growing Of chanticleer in the