Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1893-09-18
AT THE TABERNACLE.
Or. TALMAeE TELLS HOW TO sE-
ENFORCE OUR FAITH.

TO stadr the nisie--restimony Of Emi.
nent Bsiisvsp-T Tho Evidence OF Science.
Emeaey OF Prayer
BRooKlys. Sent lT.--fn his sermon Al
the Brooklyn Tabernacle this forenoon
Rey. DR. De Witt Telmage preached to
vast audience on the subject. OF 'Reeu-
forceneht, the text being Luke xvii, 3,
Lord, increase our faith"
what pity he Is going there" said my
friend, moot distinguished general Of the
army, when he was told that the reason
for my not being present on a...celebrated
day IN Brooklyn was that on tS|aslay had
sailed for the Holy Land. "Nhy do you
say thAtp' inquired some ono. Ny mill
tary friend replied, "Oh, he will be iisiilu.
stoned when he gets amid the squalor and
commonplace scenes Of Palestine, and his
faith will be shaken in Christianity, for
that Is often the result" The great gen
eral misjudged the case.
went TO the Holy Land for the one purc
pose OF having my faith strengthened, and
that was the result which came Of 1t. In
all our journeying, In all our reading, in
all our associations, in all our plans, aug.
mentation. rather than the depletion Of our
faith, should be our chief desire It is easy
enough to have our faith destroyed. can
give you recipe for its obliteration. Read
infdel books have long and frequent con.
versations with Nkeptics, attend the lee
lures Of those antngonistic to religion, give
null swing to come bad habit, and your
faith will be 50 completely gone that you
will laugh at the idea that you ever bad
any II you want 10 ruin your faith, YOU
can do IL more easily than you can do any
thing else.
After believing the Bible all my life
can see Il plain way by which In six weeks
could enlist my voice and pen and heart
and head and entire nature In the bonn
bardment OF the Scriptures, and the church,
and all / now hold sacred. That II Is easy
to Danish soon aud forever all respect for
the Bible prove by the fact that 80 many
have done Il, They were not particularly
brainy nor had especial force Of win, but
they 70 thoroughly accomplished tho over
throw OF their faith that they have no more
idea that the Bible is true or that Chris
tianity amounts TO anything than they
have in the truth Of the Arabian Nights
Entertainments or the existence Of Don
Quixotc's "windmills" They have de-
stroyed their faith so thoroughly that they
never will have a return Of it,
Fifty reviyals Of religion may sweep over
the city, the town, the neighhorhood, where
they live, and they will feel nothing but a
silent or expressed disgust. There are per
sons in this house today who 20 years ago
gave up their faith, and they will never re-
sumo it, The black and deep toned bell OF
doom hangs over their head, and take the
hammer OF that bell, and strike IL three
times with all my might, and It sounds,
"Woei wool woer But my wish, and the
wish OF most Of you, Is the prayer expressed
by the disciples to Jesus Christ, in the
words OF my text, Lord, increase our
faith"
STUDY THE BIBLE.
The first mode OF accomplishing this Is
TO study tho Bible itself do not believe
there Is an inhdel now alive who has rend
the Bible through. But as so important a
document needs to be read at least twice
through IN order that 1t may be thoroughly
understood and read in course, now offer
500 reward - any infidel who has read the
Bible through twice and read II In course
But cannot take such mans own word
for IL, for there l. no foundation for integ
rity except the Bible, aud the man who re
jects the source of truth, how can accept
his truthfulnessl
So must have another witness In the
case before give the reward. musthave
the testimony Of some one who has seen
him read IL all through twice. Inildels fish
in this Bible for incoherencies and contra
dictions and ahsurllties, and II you find
their Bible you will see interlineations in
the book Of Jonah and some Of the chap
tiers of that unfortunate prophet nearly
worn out by much use, and some parts oi
IL Samuel or / Kings you will find dim
with finger marks, but the pages which
contain the Ten Commandments, and thu
psalms OF David, and the sermon on thu
mount, and the book OF John the Evan
gelist will not have q single lead pencil
stroke on the margin nor any finger mark
showing frequent perusal.
The father of one OF the presidents Of thu
United States was n pronounced infldel
knew IL when many years ago accepted
his invitation TO spend the night In his
home. Just before retiring at night he said
in jocose way, II suppose you are accus
toned to read the Bible before going 70
bed, md here Is my bible from which to
read.n He then told me what portions he
would like to have me read, and he only
asked for those portions on which he could
easily be facetious.
You know you can make fun about any
thing. suppose you could take the last
letter your father or mother ever wrote and
find somsthing in the grammar. or the spell
ing, or the tremor of the penmanHhip about
which to be deriavely critical. The inter
nal evidence OF the truthfulness OF the Bi-
BILE IS so mighty that no one man out of the
leo .Ooo, 600 Of the worlds present popula,
ton. or the yaster millions OF the past ever
read the Bible In course and rend u prayer
fully and carefully, but was led to believe it.
John Murray, the famou, book publisher
of Edinburgh and the Intimate friend Of
Southey, Coleridge, Walter Scott, Canning
and Washington Irving, bought OF Moore,
the poet, the Memoirs OF Lord Byron,
and they were TO be published after Byron's
death. Bat they were not ht 70 be pub
l.shcd, although Murray had paid for them
10000. That was solemn oonelAye when
eight OF the prominent literary people Of
those times assembled 10 Albemarle street
after Byroaiis death 10 decide what should
be done with tho memoirs, = which wers
charged aud snrthRrged with defAmation'
and indeiicacies The Memoirs" wert
read and POWDERED, and the decision CAME
that they must be burned, and not until
the last word Of those "Memoirs" went 70
ashes did the literary company separate
But suppose now all the best spirits Of
all ages were assembled to decide the iate
Of he Bible, which is the last will and
testament Of our heavenly Father, aud
tbese memoirs Of our Lord Jesus, whai
,go,,ld i. the verdict Snail they burn