Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1893-01-02
iANEW.YEAR'S SERMON
Dr.. yTAEMAGE'5 DISCOURSE AT THE
BROOKLYN TABERNACLE

ssConsfder the Years OF many 1enerdr
tfons''eWas the Text, and the Sermon
Was Regarding THE Chronology of the
Bibles or God Among the Centuries"
BRooKIxN, Jan. Rev. DR.. Talmage
this morning appropriately took for the
subject of his New Years day sermon
1.-The, Chronology of the Bible. or God
Among the Centuries Before the dis
course the great audience which fully
crowded the Tabernacle sang the hymn:
Oar. Cad. our help in ages past.
Our hope for years to come
The text chosen was Deuteronomy
xxi. 7 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 stranger
entered. The old friend making valedic-
tory, was, 1892: the stranger arriving is
1898 The old friend was garrulous with
the occurrences of many days. but the
stranger put his finger over his lip and
said nothing land seemed charged with
many. secrets and mysteries. | did MOI
see either the departure or the arrival
but, was sound asleep. thinking that was
for me the best way to be wide awake
now. Goodby. 1892! Welcome, 1898!
AS an army is divided into brigades
and regiments 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 Centu ries.
ARRANGING EVENTS.
We make a distinction between time
and eternity, .bpt'time is only a piece Of
eternity, and chronology has been en-
gagedsin the sublime work Of dividing
up this portion of eternity that we cali
time into compartments and putting
eventssin their right compartment. II
is as mach an injustice against the past
to wrongly arrange its events as it would
be 4tn injustice If, through neglect Of
chronological accuEs cy, it should in the
far distant future be said that America
was discovered jim 1776, and the Declare
ton of independence was signed IN 1892,
and Washington barn on the 22d Of
March. and the civil war of the United
States WAS fought iH1S40.
As GEodspu all the events Of time in
the right. place. let Us be careful that we
do not .put them in the wrong place. The
chronGlogysof the Bible takes six steps,
but they are steps SO long it makes US
hold Or breath as wesrTatch the move
ment. From Adam to Abraham. From
Abraham to the exodus out of Egypt.
From the exodus. tCs TIE foundation of
SolomOH;s, temple. Z Frsan the foundation
of SolOmOn;s temple; to the destruction
of that temple. From the destruction
of the temple 10 the return from Baby
lonish captivity. From Babylcnish cap
tvity to the hirth of CHRIST.
Chronoiogy1ta pen and pencil. and
calling astronomy and history to help
says: Let us lfE one event from which
to Calculate everything. Let it be a star,
the Bethlehemstar. the Christmas star.
And from that uaEe. go hack and see the
world was ,,iraaEsd 4.0Q Gears before
Christ; the daIuge came {. 3$s years before
Christ: the el5odassout of Egg pit occurred
1.49l years haforegChrist. and Sololnon's
: temple was destroyed, $50, gears before
Christ.
Chronology enters the frst chapter Of
Genesis and Gays the day mentioned
there is not Il day, o. .twenty-four hours
but of ages. the word there trans lated as
day in other places meaning ages
ho of he
and the geologisks' account. of sthe crea-
ton are completely kar1nopious. Chro
nolegy enters the book 81 Daniel and says
that the words ''tiane. and "a half mean
year and Il half.
Chronology enters at another point
and shows US that the zseasonsscf the
year were then only !twe-sumnaer and
winter We find that the bible year was
$50 days instead of 365; that the day was
calculated from 6 o'clack,in the morning
to O'Clock at night; that fthe nightswas
divided into four watches-namely.f the
late watch. the midnight, the cock crew
ing, the early watch. The clock. and
watch were invented so dong after th-s
world began their mission that the day
was not very sharply divided in Bible
times. Ahaz had q sundial, or flight
of stairs with column at the top, and
the shadow (Which that column threw on
the steps beneath Indicated the hour, the
shadow frightening or withdrawing
from step to step.
But the events of life and the tegents
of the world moved SO slowly for the
most part in Bible times that they had
no need of such timepieces as we stand
on our mantels ser carry in our pockets
In an age when a man may have a half
dozen or dozen engagements for one
day and needs to know the exact minute
for each one of them. The earth itself
in Bible times was the chief timepiace.
and it turned once on it's axis and that