The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1893-01-13
GOD IN THE CENTURIES.
%consider the Years Of Many oener-
atoms"
Time 10 Only n Piece of Eternity-Chron-
ology Engaged I'm Dividing Up Portion
of Eternlty-Rev. T. Dewitt Tall
IMAGES New Years Sermon

Rev. DIR. Talmage Sunday morning
appropriately took for the subject of his
New Years day sermon THE Chronol-
ogy of the Bible, or God Among the
Centuries"
The text chosen was Deuteronomy
xxi, Z, Consider the years of many
generations"
At IL o'clock last night, while so
many good people were watching, an
old friend passed out of our homes and
a stranger entered The old friend
making valedictory 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 lip and said moth
ing and seemed charged with many
secrets and mysteries Il did not sec
either the departure or the arrival, but
was sound asleep, thinking that was.
for me the best way 10 be wide awake
now. Good-by, 1892! Welcome, 1898! q.
As an army is divided into brigades
andregiments and companies, and they
observe this order. in their march and
their tread is majestic, so the time Of
the worlds existence is divided into an
army divinely commanded; the eras are
the brigades, the centuries are the regi-
ments, and the years are the companies
Forward into the eternity 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 many generations, propose
to speak of the Chronology of the
Bible, or God Among the Centuries"
We make distinction between time
and eternity, but time is only piece of
eternity, and chronology has been en-
gagged in the divine work of dividing
up this portion of eternity that we call
time into compartments and putting
events in their right compartment 1t
is as much an injustice against the past
to wrongly arrange its events as it would
be an injustice if, through neglect of
chronological accuracy, it should in the
far distant future be said that America
was discovered in ITO, and the 'declara-
ton of independence was signed in 1892.
and Washington born ton the 22d of
March, and the civil war of the United
States was fought in 1910.
AsGod 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 chronology 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 the foundation Solomon's temple.
From the foundation of Solomon's
temple to the destruction of that
temple. From the destruction of the
temple to the return from Babylonish
captivity. From Babylonish captivity
to the birth of Christ.
Chronology takes pen and pencil, and
calling astronomy and history to help
says: Let us fix one event from which
to calculate everything. Let it be a
star, the Bethlehem star, the Christmas
star" And from that we go back and
see the world was created 1904 years
before Christ; the deluge came 2,34s
years before Christ; the exodus out of
Egypt occurred /, EP1 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 of ages, the word there translated
as day" in other places meaning ages,
and SO the Bible account of the crea-
alton and the biologists account of the |
creation are completely harmonious
Chronology enters the book of Daniel |
and says that the words ''time and |
half mean a year and a half.
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 S65; that the |
day was calculated-from 6 o'clock in the |
to o'clock at night; that the |
night was divided into four watches
the late watch, the midnight,
the cock growing the early watch. The |
clock and watch were invented so long /
after the world began their mission |
that the day was not very sharply di-
vided in Bible times Ahaz had sum
dial, or fight of stairs with column
at the top, and the shadow which that |
threw, on the steps beneath in
dicated the hour, the shadow lengthen-
ing or withdrawing from step to step.
But the events of life and the events
Of the world moved so slowly for the
most part in Bible times that they had
no need of such time pieces as we stand
On our mantels or carry in our pockets
in an age when a man may have a half
dozen or dozen engagements for one
lay and needs to know the exact minute
for each one OF, them. The earth itself
n Bible times was the chief time piece,
and it turned once on its axis and that
was day, and once around the sun and
hat was year.
1t was not until the Fourteenth CEN
Jury that the almanac was born, the
almanac that we toss carelessly about,
lot realizing that it took the accumu-
ated ingenuity of more than 5, 200 years
% make one. Chronology had to bring
nto its service the monuments of
Egypt, and the cylinders of Assyria,
Ind the bricks of Babylon, and the pot
cry of Nineveh, and the medals struck
It Antioch for the battle of Actium,
md all the hieroglyphics that could be
and had to go into the ex-
remedy delicate business of asking thei
ages of Adam and Seth and Enoch and
Methuselah, who after their 300th year
wanted to be thought young.
/ think it must have been in recogni-
ion of the stupendous work of making
IN almanac that all the days of the
week are named after the gods Sunday,
after the sun, which was of old wor-
hiped as a god Monday, after the
noon, which was also worshiped as
rod Tuesday, after Tuesco, the god
If war. Wednesday,, after Wooden, the
chief god of the Scandinavians Thurs