Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1893-01-02

aad shs cylinders Of Assyria. and the
I bricks Of Babylon. and tbs pottery OF
Aileveh, and the nsdals struck az Az
tioch for the battle Of Actlam. and 81
the hisroglyphies THAT could b de-
ciphezed, AID had 70 20 into the ez-
/ tESLnely delicate BUSINESS or asking tbs
I ages u Adam and seth and Enoeh and
/ Asthaselah, who after shslr Sooth year
wanted 70 be thought young.
tank II must have been In recogni-
ton OF tho stupsndous work Of making
al almanac that all the days Of the week
are named after the gods. Sunday. after
/ the sun. watch was OF old worshiped as
a god. Monday, after the moon. which
was also worshiped as god. Tuesday.
after Tuesco, the god Of war. Wednes-
day. after Wooden. the ehiekgod Of the
Scandinavians Thursday, after Thor.
the god Of thunder. Friday, after Frea.
the goddess Of marriage. And Saturday.
AFTER Saturn The old Bible year began
with the 18th Of March. Not until 1852
did the first OF the month of January get
the honor In legal documents in England
/ OF being called the first day of the year
improvements all along have been
made In chronology until the calendar
and the almanac. and the clock, and the
watch seem 10 have reached perfection.
I and all the nations OF Christendom have
/ similarity OF time calculations and have
adopted what Is called new style" ex-
cept Russia. which keeps what is called
Z the .'old style, and Is twelve days diff
I ferent. 50 that, writing from there. II
you wish 10 DO accurate. You date your
| letter Jan. and Jan. IL. or Dec. 10 and
Dee. p. Ii is something 10 thank God
for that the modes are so complete for
/ calculating the cycles. the centuries. the
decades. the years. the months, the days
the hours, the seconds.
Think OF making appointments as in
the Bible days for the time of the new
moon. Think of making one OF the
watches of the night in Bible times a
rooster Growing. The Bible says, BE
fore the cock crow thou shalt deny ine
, thrice" If the Master cometh at the
cockcrowing." and that was the way the
midnight watch was indicated. The
Growing OF that barnyard bird has al
ways been most uncertain. The crow
ing Is at the lowest temperature Of the
night. and the amount Of dew and the di-
rection Of the wind may bring the low
est temperature at IL o'clock ut night or
o'clock in the morning. and at any on-
of six hours. Just before rain the
Growing of chanticleer in the night is al
most perpetual.
BIZ THANKFUL
Compare these modes of marking time
with our modes of marking time. when
IL o'clock Is IL o'clock. and O'Clock is 6
o'clock. and 10 o'clock is 10 o'clock. and
Independent Of all weathers. and then
thank God that you live now. But not
withstanding all the imperfect modes OF
marking hours or years or centuries
Bible chronology never trips up. never
falters. never contradicts itself, and
here is one of the best arguments for the
authenticity Of the Scriptures.
II you can prove an abb in the courts,
and you can prove beyond doubt that
you were in some particular place at the
time You were charged with doing or
saying something in quite another place,
you gain the victory, and infidelity has
tried 10 prove an alibi by contending
that events and circumstances in the
Bible Gscribed TO certain times must have
taken place at some other time, if they
took place nc ALL But this books chro-
nology has never been caught at fault.
II has been proved that when the He
brews went into Egypt there were only
seventy Of them. and that when they
came out there were 3,0O0,0 900 of them.
Now" says infdelity. with guffaw
that it cannot suppress, what an alb
surdity. They went down into Egypt
seventy and came out 1900. CO., That is
a falsehooi on the face of it. Nations
DO not increase in that ratio" But, my
skeptical friend. hold a moment. The
Bible says the Jews were 430 years in
Egypt. and that explains the increase
from seventy persons to 5000. 900. for it
Is no more. but rather less. than the or
binary increase of nations. The Pilgrim
Fathers came to America in the May
flower. one small shipload of passengers.
less than eco years ago, and now we
have nation of CO. eco, 600. Where, then
ia 50 called impossibility that the seventy
Jews who went into Egypt in 430 years
became 3.o0O 600: Infidehty wrong and
Bioie chronology right.
SPLENDID REVIEW.
Now stop and reflect. Why ia il that
this sublime subject OF Bible chronology
b.. s.---, -, .-s..~t.1&oI .,,I fL.t ,Lo -.
Of you have never given ten minutes to
tho consideration OK it. and that this is
.ha fTst sermon ever preached on this
s,upeudous and overwhelming theme?
We have stood BY the half day OF the
whole day at grand reviews and seen
armies pass.
again and again and again on the
Champs Elysess Frsnchmen by the hun.
dreds Of thousands have stood and
watched the hammered armies 40 by. and
the huzza has been three miles long ard
uBiil She populacs were 80 hoarse they
could huzza I'D longer. Again and agar
and agaia the Germans by hundreds Of
thousands have stood on the palaced and
stained Inter den Linden. Berlin. and
strevvu garlta9s under The feet Of uni
formed hosts lei on ~ Won Moltke or
Bluchsr or FrsdeTick the Great.
Wheu Wellington and Ponsonhy and
the Scots Grays came back from Water
loo. en- Wellesley FROM Egypt. or Mari
b17ough from Blenheim. what military
proq essious through Regent street and
aiong by the palaces Of London aud over
the bridges &C he Thamesl What al
most inierminsbis lines II military m
the streets II our American capitals.
while mayors and governors aud pres