Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-09-18
iRC]jEASE OF FAITH.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE ON REINFORCE
MENT AT THE TABERNACLE.


How to Accomplish This Desirable Result.
Science as "A Convincing Witness-How
to Give Gospel Life to Freezing Souls.
BROOKLYN, Sept. 17.-In his sermon at
the Brooklyn Tabernacle this forenoon
Rev. DIR. De Witt Talmage preached to
hast audience on the subject of Green
SoTcement," the text being Luke xvii, 3,
Lord, increase our faith
'sWhat pity he is going theref' said
nv friend, most distinguished general
bf the army, when he was told that the
reason for my not being present on
celebrated day in Brooklyn was that on
that day had sailed for the Holy Land.
<tWhy do you say that?" inquired some
one. Ny military friend replied, cob,
he will be disillusioned when he gets
amid thesqualor and commonplace scenes
of Palestine, and his faith will be shaken
i'm Christianity, for that is often the re-
suit" The great general misjudged the
case.
went to the Holy Land for the one
purpose of having my faith strength
ened, and that was the result which
came of it. In all our journeying, in all
our reading, in all our associations. IN
all our plans, augmentation rather than
the depletion of our faith should be our
chief desire. 1t is easy enough to have
our faith destroyed. I can give you
recipe for its obliteration. Read infide1
books, have long and frequent converse
itions with skeptics, attend the lectures
of those antagonistic to religion, give
full swing to some bad habit, and your
faith will be so completely gone that
YOU will laugh at the idea that you ever
had any.
If you want to ruin your faith, you can
do it more easily than you can do any
thing else. After believing the Bible all
my life / can see plain way by which, IN
six weeks, could enlist my voice and pen
and heart and head and entire nature in
the COMMANDMENT of the Scriptures and
the church and all I now hold sacred.
That it is easy to Danish soon and forever
allrespect for the Bible I prove by the
fact that so many have done it, They were
not particularly brainy nor had especial
force of will, but they SO thoroughly &C
-complished the overthrow of their faith
that they have no more idea that the
bible is true, or that Christianity
amounts to anything, than they have in
the truth of the arabian Nights Enter
,tainments" or the existence of Don Qulx-
ote's ''windmills." They have destroyed
their faith so thoroughly that they never
will have return Of it.
Fifty revivals of religion may sweep
over the city, the town, the nelghbor-
hood where they live, and they will feel
nothing but a silent or expressed dis
gust. There are persons in this house
today who 20 years ago gave up their
faith, and they will never resume it. The
black and deep toned bell of doom hangs
over their head and l take the hammer
of that bell, and 1 strike it three times
with all my might, and it sounds, wool
Moei woe! But my wish, and the wish
of most of you, is the prayer expressed
lby the disciples to Jesus Christ in the
words of my text, "Lord, increase our
faith"
STRENGTH OF THE BIBLE.
The first mode of accomplishing this
is to study the Bible itself. I do not be
ilieve there is an infdel now alive who
has read the Bible through. But as sc
important q document needs to be reao
at least twice through in order that Il
may be thoroughly understood, and reao
i'm course, I now offer 500 reward tt
any infidel who has read the Bible
through twice and read it in course. Bu
/ cannot take such mans own word fol
it, for there is no foundation for integri
ty except the Bible, and the oman who re
.iects the source of truth how can / &C
cept his truthfulness?
7 So must have another witness in thu
case before 1 give the reward. I mus
have the testimony of some one who hal
seen him read it all through twice. In
sidels fish in this Bible for incoherencie
and contradictions and absurdities, an(
If you find their Bible you will see inter
lineations in the book of Jonah and some
of the chapters of that unfortunate
prophet nearly worn out by much use
and some parts of Ii Samuel or
Kings you will find dim with fnge
marks, but the pages which contain thu
Ten Commandments, and the Psalms O.
David, and the sermon on the mount, an(
the book of John the Evangelist, viii
not have single lead pencil stroke in thu
margin nor any finger marks showing
frequent perusal.
The father of one of the presidents O.
the United States was a pronounced in
6del. knew it when many years ago
accepted his invitation to spend thu
night in his home. Just before retiring
at night he said in a jocose way, 6
suppose you are accustomed to read thu
Bible before going to bed, and here i
my Bible from which to read" He the1
told me what portions he would like t,
have me read, and he only asked fo
those portions on which he could easil,
be facetious.
You know you can make fun abou
anything. suppose you could take tn
last letter your father or mother eve