Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1893-11-20
.7HE IT'S On THE BIBLE
REV. DR. TALAAGgs TABERNAME SERMON
YESTERDAY.
0ae Of the Nos. Unique and Useful Sermons
Delivered By Tie Eloquent Brooklyn d.
VIVA


Tabernacle this morning Rev. Or, Tai
mage delivered one Of his most unique
and useful sermons from e text never
before preached from. Subject: The
"Ifs" OF the b ole. The text chosen
was: Exodus 81; 80, "If thou wilt for
give their sin; and II not, blot me,
pray thee, out OF thy book"
There is ia our English language a
small conjunction, which I propose, by
Gods help, to haul out Of its present
insignifcaney aud set upon the throne
where % belongs, and that is the con-
junction "If." Though made Of only
two letters IL is the pivot on which
everything turns. an time and all
eternity are at It's disposal. We slur il
In our utterance, we ignore II ia our
appreciation. and none OF US recognize
it as the most tremendous word In all
the vocabulary outside OF those words
which describe Deity. If! Why that
W0rd We take as a tramp among words
now appearing here, now appearing
there, but having. no value OF its own,
when it really has miliOnairedOm Of
worlds, and in its train walk al plane
tary, stellar, lunar, solar destinieS. II
the boat OF leaves, made water tight, 10
which the infant Moses sailed the Nile,
had sunk, who would have led Israel
out Of Egypt? III the Red Sea had not
parted for the escape OF one host, and
then come together for the submergence
of another host, would the Book Of Ex-
odus ever have been written? II the
ship on which Columbus sailed for
America had gone down in al Atlantic
cyclone, how much longer would it have
taken for the
DISCOVERY OF THIS CONTINENT?
II Groucby had come up with rein
fOrcements In time to give the French
the victory at Waterloo, what would
have been the fate Of Europe? II the
Spanish Armada had not been wrecked
of the coast how different would have
been many chapters in English history
If the battle of Hastings, or the battle
of PultOWa, or the battle Of Valmy, or
the battle Of MatauruS, or the battle OF
Arbea, or the battle OF ChaloDs, each
one Of which turned the worlds deS-
tiny, had been decided the other way.
II Shakespeare had never been born for
the drama, or Handel had never been
born for music, or Titan had never
been bonn for painting. or ThOrwaldsen
had never been born for sculpture, or
Edmund Burke had never been born for
elOQuence, or Socrates had never been
born for philosophy, or Blackstone had
never been born for the law, or COPern-
icus had never been born for astronomy,
or Luther had never been born for the
reformation Oh, that conjunction
"Ifr' How much has depended on IT,
The height of 10, the depth or it, the
length OF 70, the breadth Of IL, the i'm
mensity Of it, the infnity OF 10, who
can measured 10 Wouid swamp any
thing but OmnipOtenCe. But I must
confne myself to-day 20 the "Iis" Of
the Bible, and in doing so / shall con-
fine myself to the 'If" OF OverpOwer-
ing earnestness, the "If' or inCredulity,
the 'If" OF threst, the 'If'' Of argu-
mentation, the SIR OF eternal signif-
c2pce, or so many Of these IFS" as 1
in the time that may be
reasA otted to
PULPIT DISCOURSE.
Firsashe 'If'' OF. overpowerinR ear
nestness. Ny text gives 10. The Israel
ties have been wCrShipping an idol, not
withstanding all that God had done for
them, and now Moses offers the most
vehement PRAYER Of all history, and it
turns upon an If" "lf thou wilt for
give their sins,-and II not, blot me, l
pray thee, out Of thy book. Oh, what
an overwhelming "If?" It was as much
as to say, IF thou wilt not pardon
them, do not pardon me-; If thou wilt
not bring them to the Promised Land,
let me never see the Promised Land;
If, they must perish let me perish with
them; in that book where thou re-
cOrdest their doom, record my doom;
If they are shut out Of heaven, let me
be shut out of heaven; IL they go down
into darkness, let me 60 down into
darkness" What vehemeuCe and holy
reckieSsness of prayer Yet there are
those here who, have no doubt, have,
in their all-sbsOrbing desire 20 have
others saved, riSked the same prayer,
for Is a risk. You must not make 10,
ua you ara willing % balance your
eternal salvation on such an ali"
Yet there have been cases where z
mother has been so anxious for the re-
covery OF a hayward son that her prayer
has swung aud trem bied and poised on
an "If' like that of the text III not,
blot me, pray thee, out OF thy book.
Write his name i'm the Lambs Book Of
Life, or turn TO the page where my name
was written ten or twenty or forty or
sixty years ago, aud with the black ink
Of everlasting midnight erase my first
name and my last name and all my
name. II be is to 90 into shipwreck,
let me be tossed amid the same break
ers. II he cannot be partner ia my
bliss, let me be a partner Ia his woe
have for many years loved thee, o God!
and 10 has been my expectation 10 sit
with Christ and all the redeemed at the
banquet OF the skies, but / now give
up my promised place at the feast, and
my promised robe, and my promised
crown and my promised throne, unless
John, unless George, unless Henry,
unless
MY DARhING SON
can share them with me. Heaven will
be no heaven without him. o God, save
my boy, or count me among the lost"
That IS a terrific prayer, and yet there
is a young man sitting 10 the pew on
the main floor, or in the lower gallery,
or in the top gallery, who has already
crushed such a prayer from his moth
er's heart. he hardly ever writes home,
or, living at home, what does be care
hoW much trouble be gives her? Her
10. q