Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1893-09-29
REV. DR.. TlLMAGs.
THE BROOKLYN DININE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
SUBJECT: RI ENFORCEMENT.


army, when he was told that the reason 70
my not being present on n celebrated day il
Brooklyn was that on that day | lNd sailc,
for the Holy Land. "Why do you say that
inquired some one. Ny military friend re
piled. ooh, he will be disilusioncd when Ia
gets amidst the squalor and commonplace
scenes OF Palestine, and his faith will b.
shaken in Christianity, for that is often tn,
result" The great general misjudgel tn,
case.
Invent to the Holy Land for the one pur
pose OF having my faith strengthened. ant
that was the result which came of it, In al
our journeying, in all our reading, in all ou
associations. in all our plans. augmentation
rather than the depletion Of our faith should
he our chief desire. II is easy enough tC
have our faith DESTROYED. | can give YOU n
recipe for its obiteration. Read innde
books, have long and frequent conversations
with skeptics. attend tho Lectures OF thos,
antagonistic to religion, give full swing tc
some bad habit, and your faith will be Sc
completely gone that you will laugh ut the
idea that you ever had any.
II you want to ruin your faith, you can dc
1t more easily than you can do anything else.
After believing the Bible all my life can see
plain way by which, in SIX weeks, l could
enlist my voice and pen and heart and head
and entire nature in the bombardment OF the
Scriptures and tho church and all now hold
sacred. That 1t Is easy to Danish soon and
forever all respect for tho Bible | prove by
the tact that so many have done it. They
were not particularly brainy nor had special
force of will, but they so thoroughly accom-
plished 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 Oft the "Arabian Nights
IVNN.a IatN N.tff II.
Quixotes "windmills.' They have DESTROYED
have q return of it.
Fifty revivas OF religion may sweep over
the city, the town, the neighborhood where
they live, and they will feel nothing but a
silent or expressed disgust. There are per-
sons in this house to-day who 20 years ago
gave up their faith, and they will never re-
sumo 1t. The black and deep toned bell OF
doom hangs over their head and take tho
hammer OF that bell, and strike It three
times with all my might, and 1t sounds,
woe woe woel But my wish, and the wish
OF most ofyou, is the prayer expressed by
the disciples OF Jesus Christ in the words OF
my text, Lord, increase our faith"
The first mode OF accomplishing this is to
study the Bible itself I do not believe there
Is an infldel now alive who has read the
Bible through. But rs so important docu-
ment needs to be read at least twice through
In order that it may be thoroughly under
stood, and read in course l now offer 300
reward to any intidel who has read the Bible
through twice and read 1t In course. But !
cannot take such mans own word for It.
for there is no foundation for integrity ex-
cept the Bible, and the man who rejects the
source OF truth how can l accept his truth
fulness?
So must have another witness in the case
before l give the reward. | must have the
testimony OF some one who has seen him
read 1t all through twice. Infldcls fish in
this Bible for incoherencies and contradic-
tons and absurdities, and II you find their
Bible you will see interineations 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 finger marks, but the
pages which contain the Ten Command
ments, and the Psalms OF David, and the SER
mon ON the mount, and the book OF John the
Evangelist, will not have single lead pencil
stroke in the margin, nor any finger marks
showing frequent perusal.
The father OF one of the Presidents OF the
United States was n pronounced inildel.
knew 1t when many years ago accepted his
invitation to spend the night In his home.
Just before retiring ut night he said In a
Jocose way, 81 suppose you are accustomed
to read the Bible before going to bed, and
here is my Bible from which to read" He
then told me what portions no would like to
have me read, and be only asked for thosa
portions on which bs spuld easily be face
tious.
You know you can make fun about any,
thing. suppose you couldtakethe last lot
ter your father or mother ever wrote and find
something in the grammar or the spelling
or the tremor OF the penmanship about
which to be derlsively critical. The internal
evidence OF the truthfuness OF the Bible is SO
mighty that no one man out OF the l. 600 900. :
600 OF the worlds present population or the
vaster millions of the past ever read the
Bible in course, and read 1t prayerfully and
carefully but was led to believe It,
John Murray, tho famous book publisher
OF Edinburgh, and the intimate friend of
Southey, Coleridge Walter Scott, Canning
and Washington Irving, bought OF Moore,
the poet, tho "Memoirs Of Lord Byron" and
they were TO be published after Byron's
death. But they were not fit to be- pub
lishcd, although Murray had paid for them
$40 600. That WINS q solemn conclave when
eight Of the prominent literary people OF
those times assembled in Albemarle street
after Byron's death to decide what should be
done with the Memoirs wnIcn were
charged and surcharged with defamations
and indelicacies. The "Memoirs" were read
and pondered, and the decision came that
they must be burned, and not until the last
word OF those "Memoirs" went to ashes did
the literary company separate.
But suppose, now, all the best spirits OF
all ages were assembled to decide the fate OF
the Bible, which is the last will and tesla
ment OF our Heavenly Father, and these
memoirs OF our Lord Jesus, what would be
the verdict? Shall they burn, or shall they
live2 The unanimous verdict Of all Is, "Let
them live, though all else burn" Then put
together on the other hand all the debauchees
and proaigates and assasslns OF the ages,
and their unanimous verdict concerning the
Bible would be. "Let 1t burn"
Mind you, l do not say that all infidels are
immortal, but do say that all the scrape-
graces and scoundrels OF the universe agree
with them about the Bible. Let me vote with
those who believe In the Holy Scripture. Men
believe other things with half the evidence
required to believe the Bible. The dis
tinRuished Abner Kneeland rejected the
Scripture and then put all his money into an
enterprise for the recovery OF that hocus
pocus Captain Kidd's treasures, Kneeland's
faith for doing so being founded on a mans
statement that he could tell where those
treasures were buried from the looks OF
glass OF water dipped from the Hudson
River.
The internal evidence OF the authenticity
Of the Scriptures Is so exact and so vivid that
no man, honest and sane, can thoroughly
and continuously and prayerfully read them
without entering their dlscipleship. So
put that internal evidence paramount. How
re you ed TO believe in letter you re-
'eived from husband or wife or child OF
riend2 You know tho handwriting. You
NOW the style. You recognize the sent.
nent. When the letter comes, you do not
ummon the postmaster who stamped 1t, and
he postmaster who received it, and the let
er carrier who brought 1t to your door to
'rovo that 1t is n genuine letter. The internal
evidence settles it, and by the same process
'ou can forever settle the fact that the Bible
3 the handwriting and communication OF
he infinite God.
Furthermore, rs have already intmated,
ye may increase our faith by the testimony
II others. Perhaps we OF lesser brain may
AVE been overcome by superstition or
aJoled into an acceptance OF n hollow pre-
ension. 80 will this morning turn this
ouse into n courtroom and summon Wit