The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1893-10-04
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Ee-enforcement."

TEXT: "Lord, increase our faith. Luke
xvii, IS.
''What pity he is going therep said my
friend, most distinguished general of the
army, when he was told that the reason for
my not being present on q celebrated day in
Brooklyn was that on that day had sailed
for the Holy Land. "Why do you say that?"
inquired some one. My military friend re-
gets amidst the squalor and commonplace
scenes Of Palestine, and his faith will be
shaken in Christianity, for that is often the
result" The great general misjudged the
case
Invent to the Holy Land for the one pur-
pose of having my faith strengthened. 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. It is easy enough to
have our faith destroyed. can give you
recipe for its obliteration. Read infdel
books, have'long and frequent conversations
with skeptics, attend the lectures of those
antagonistio to religion, give full swing to
some bad habit, and your faith will be 30
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 anything else.
After believing the Bible ell my life can see
plain way by which, In six weeks, I could
enlist my voice and pen and heart and head
and entire nature In the bombardment OF the
Scriptures and the church and all I now hold
sacred. That it 1s easy to Danish soon and
forever all respect for the Bible prove by
the fact that so many have done 1t. They
were not particularly brainy nor had special
force Of wilh 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 ofthe Arabian Nights
Entertainments" or the existence OF Don
Quixotes Hwindmills." They have destroyed
their faith 80 thoroughly that they never will
have return Of 1t.
Fifty revivals 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 it. The black and deep toned bell OF
doom hangs over their head, and I take the
hammer OF that bell, and strike 1t three
woe woe woe But my wish, and the wish
of most ofyou, Is the prayer expressed by
tho 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. do not believe there
is an infdel now alive who has read the
Bible through. But as 80 important docu-
ment needs to be read at least twice through
in order that it may be thoroughly under
stood, and read in course, now offer 800
reward to any inf1del who has read the Bible
through twice and read 1t in course. But
cannot take such mans own word for 1t,
for there is no foundation for integrity e1-
cept the Bible, and the man who rejects the
source of truth how can accept his truth
fulness2
So must have another witness in the case
before give the reward. I must have the
testimony OF some one who has seen him
road it all through twice. Infdels fish in
this Bible for incoherencies and oontradic-
tions and absurdities, and II you find their
Bible you will see interlineations In the book
OF Jonah and some OF the chapters OF that
unfortunate prophet nearly worn out by much
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 O pronounced tnfidel. l
knew It when many years ago accepted his
invitation to spend the night IN hts home.
Just before retiring at night he said In q
jocose way, ~ suppose you are accustomed
to read the Bible before going 10 bed, and
here is my Bible from which to read" 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 face
tious. =,
You know you can make fun about any
thing. suppose you couldtakethe last let
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 derisively critical. The internal
evidence of the truthfulness OF the Bible 1s so
mighty that no one man out OF the ], 600 ,OOO,-
600 of the worlds present population or the
vaster millions of the past ever read the
Bible in course, and read it prayertully and
carefully but was led to believe it.
John Murray, the famous book publisher
of Edinburgh, and the intimate friend OF
Southey, Coleridge, Walter Scott, Canning
and Washington Irving, bought OF Moore,
the poet, the 'fMemoirs OF Lord Byron, and
they were to be published after Byrons
death. But they were not fit to be pub
lished, although Murray had paid for them
10000. That was solemn conclave when
eight OF tho prominent literary people OF
those times assembled in Albemarle street
after Byron's doath to decide what should be
done with the s'Memoirs," which we're
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 tate OF
the Bible, which is the last will and testa-
ment of our Heavenly Father, and these
memoirs of our Lord Jesus, what would be
the verdict2 Shall they burn, or snail tney
live? The unanimous verdict OF ail IS, LET
them live, though oil else burn" Then put
together on the other hand all the debauchees
and profligates and assassins OF the ages,
and their unanimous verdict concerning the
Bible would be- "Let it burn"
Mind YOU, do not say thar all infdels are
immortal, but do say that oil the scrape-
graces and scoundrels ofthe universe agree
with them about the Bible. Let me vote with
those who believe in the Holy Scripture. Men
believe other things with halt the evidence
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, Kneelanda
faith for doing 80 being founded on mans
statement that he could tell where those
treasures were buried from the looks Oh
glass OF water dipped from the Hudson
River.
The internal evidence of the authenticity
OF the Scriptures Is so exact and 80 vivid that
no man, honest and sane, can thoroughly
and continuously and prayerfully read them
without entering their discipleship. SO ]
put that internal evidence paramount. Ho"
,ra 1,ou Ied N believa in 2 letter YOU re-