Democratic messenger., 1893-09-16
RELIGIOUS ADVANCE.
REV DR.. TALMAGe breaches A SER
MON OF HOPE.

Watchw"rd More Cnity In Religion
Than In Science Tho Great Trial of
| Past Centuries.
BRoOKLYN, Sept. l0.-This forenoon
Rev. I. De Wit Talmage preached to n
thronged audience in the Brooklyn Tab
ernacle. The keynote of the service was
one of gladness. Many of the audience
had been absent during the summer and
had returned for this service. The pas
tor commenced on passages of Scripture
depicting the morning of the worlds de-
liverance. The subject of the sermon
was, THE Battle Ours" the text being
Kings Xxx. 81, And the children of
Israel pitched before them like two little
fioclis of kids
With 33 kings drunk in one tent this
chapter opens. They were allies plot
ting for the overthrow of the Lords Is
rael. You know that if a lion roar flock
of kids will shiver and huddle together
One lion would conquer thousand kids
The battle opens. There are great
multitude of Syrians under General
Ben-hadad, strong as lions. The Israel
/ lits dIt ltN anu Ntih, Ilht lMO lltllt
fiocks of kids Who beat? The lions, of
course. Oh. no; the kids. for it all de-
pends whether God is on the side Of the
lions or the kids. After the battle 1O0,-
600 Syrians lay dead on the field, and
% 900. attempting to fly. came along by
a great wall. which toppled and crushed
them to death.
Which was the stronger weapon
great Goliath's sword or little David's
sling? David had five smooth stones
| from the brook. He only used one in
striking down Goliath He had sur
plus of ammunition. He had enough to
take down four more giants if they had
appeared in the way. 1t all depends
upon whether God is on the side of the
shepherd boy or on the side of the giant
TIE PUBLISHERS AND RELIGION.
There have been many in our day who
have vcntared the opinion that Christi
anity is falling back, and that in 30 years
it will be extinct. They found their
opinion or the assumed fact that the BIZ
bic is not as much of book as it used TO
| be, and tina; portions of it are repulsive
TO the people. reply by asking. Which
one Of the publishing houses of New
York, Philadelphia, Boston or Chicago
is publishing the Bible today with the
omission OF "a single verse or chapter:
Are not oar publishers intclligen, men?
And would they contrary to their finan-
cial intert St. continue to publish the BIZ
BILE without the omission of a single chap
1
an unpopular book and the people did
not want il:
If Harrers or Appleton or Scribner
or Lippincott should publish Bible
with the omission of one chapter, they
would not sell 10 copies i'll 10 years. The
fact that throughout Christendom there
are hundreds of printing presses print
ing the word of God without the omis-
sion of Il chapter or a verse proves that
the Bible Is popular. and the fact that
there are more being printed in this dec
ade than any other decade proves that
the Bible is increasing in popularity.
go through the courtrooms of the
country. Wherever find judges bench
or a clerks desk find the bible. BY
L W ltLl Otlltl IpUh nOAiti tlitN SOitIflII
oath? What is very apt TO be among the
brides presents? The Bible What is
very apt to be put i'll the trunk of the
Young man when he starts for city life?
The Bible. Voltaire predicted that the
Bible during the nineteenth century
would become an obsolete book. Well,
we are pretty nearly through the nine
| tnnptk Tho ntl,la NOT aIe.N
lete vet. There is not much prospect of
its becoming obsolete. but have to tell
You that that room-the very room in
which Voltaire wrote that prediction
some time ago was crowded from floor
TO ceiling with Bibles for Switzerland.
Suppose the congress of the United States
should pass a law that no Bibles should
be printed in the United States.
If there are 30.000.000 grown men and
women in the country. then there would
be 1900, 900 people armed against such
n law. But suppose the congress of the
United States should pass law that
Macaulay's history or Charles Reade's
novels should not be read-could YOU get
half as large an army or the fourth as
~
are. as you know and know, thou
sand mon who would die for their Bibles
where there are 30 men who would die
for any other book. The fact that there
are now more Bibles being printed than
ever before. that publishers find it a
financial interest for them to continue
the Bible. proves that this book is still
| tb.. - ,.g,.,,l.ar hnnl. tho r,iaput
SOURCE OF COMFORT.
But. say those who are antagonistic
christianity is falling back from the
fact that the church is not rs much re-
spected rs it used to be and is not as in
iiuential." reply TO that with the sta
tisiic that one dencminaiion-the Meth
odist church-according TO a statistic
given me by one Of their bishops, dcdi-
Gates on an average Il new church every
day Of the year. Three hundred and
sixty five new churches in one denomi-
nation in Il yer and over thousand
new churches built every year in this
country Does that look as though the
church We're failing III its power and
We're becoming "a wornout institution?
Around which institution in our COM
munities gather the mott ardent affcc-
iions: The postoflicc, the hotel, the
cour house, the city hail or the churches?
Why. when onr old Tabernacle was
burning there were hundreds of men
standing in the streets who never went
10 church. tears raining down their
| cheeks. II is because the church Of God
] stands nearer he SylnrlafhipS az fha
American people than any other insti-
tuition. Men may caricature the church
and cali it II collec,ion Of hypocrites, but
when their children are swept off with
I the diphihcria for whom do they sead:
; To the postmaster. TO the attorney gen
eral 10 the aldermen. or TO the pastors
In childhood's Happy Days.