Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-03-24
A GLORIOUS GROWTH
REV. DR.. TALMAGE SHOWS HOW
CHRISTIANITY MOVES FORWARD.

REV. DR.. TALMAGE SHOWS How
CHRISTIANITY MOVES FORWARD.
Some Sturdy Blows Mt Infidelity-Religiol
Good to 1.-Two by and Consoiing to Di
By-An Encouraging Discourse by tn
Eloquent Pastor.
BROOKLYN, March 1s.-In the Taber
nacle today Rev. Dr. Talmage preached
q most eloquent and characteristically
vigorous sermon in refutation of the of
renewed assertion of the enemies of reli
gion that Christianity is retrogradine
and the Bible losing its hold upon thu
hearts and consciences of men. The sub
iect of the discourse as announced wa:
"From Conquest to Conquest" the tex
being taken from Amos tx, 49, "Beholt
the days come, saith the Lord, that the
plowman shall overtake the reaper"
Picture of tropical cline, with n sea
son so prosperous that the harvest reach
es clear over to the planting time, andth
swarthy husbandman swinging the sickle
in the thick grain almost feels the breath
of the horses on his shoulders, the horses
hitched to the plow preparing for new
crop. Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that the plowman shall overtake
the reaper" When is that? That is now.
That is this day, when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest before the plow.
man is getting ready for another.
know that many declare that Chris
tianity has collapsed; that the Bible is an
obsolete book; that the Christian church
is Oh the retreat. will here and now
show that the opposite of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading a French
intidel across desert, and ever and anon
the Arab guide would get down in the
sand and pray to the Lord. 1t disguised
the French inhdel, and after awhile as
the Arab got up from one of his prayers
the infidel said, "How do You know there
is any God:" and the Arab guide said:
"How do know that man and Il camel
passed along our tent last night? know
it by the footprints il the sand. And you
want to know how know whether there
is any God? Look mt that sunset Is that
the footstep of IL man. And by the same
process you and have come to under
stand that this book is the footstep Of q
God.
4 HEALTHY GROWTH.
But now let us see whether the Bible
is a last years almanac. Let us see
whether the church of God is in Bull
Run retreat, muskets, canteens and lav-
ersacks strewing all the way. The great
English historian, Sharon Turner, a man
of vast learning and of great accuracy,
not a clergyman. but an attorney as
well as historian, gives this overwhelm-
ing statistic in regard to Christianity and
il regard to the number'of Christians in
the different centuries: In the first CEN
fury, 100000 Christians; in the second
century, 2. 100000 Christians; in the third
century, 6 Gee 900 Christians; in the
fourth century, 100000 Christians; in
the fifth century, 100000 Christians;
in the sixth century, 2O,OOO,OOO Chris
tians; in the seventh century, 24,OO0,-
900 Christians; in the eighth cen
fury, 100000 Christians; in the
in the tenth century, 1n S"N 500,,6OO,6OU THfls-
tians; in the eleventh century, 10000, 600
Christians; III the twelfth century, So
OOO, 900 Christians; in the thirteenth cen
fury, 75OOO,OO Christians; in the four
teenth century, SO,0OO,00O Christians; i'll
the fifteenth century, 100, 600, 900 Chris
tians; in the sixteenth century, 5,0OO,-
600 Christians; in the seventeenth cen
tury, 155, 100000 Christians; in the eight
eenth century, 100000 Christians
a decadence, as you observe, in only one
century and moro than made up in the
following centuries, while it is the usual
computation that there will be, when.
the record Of the nineteenth century is
made up, at least 800, 000,0 900 Christians.
Poor Christianity! What a pityi has
no friends! How lonesome it must be!
Who will take it out of the poorhousef
Poor Christianity Three hundred mil
lions in one century. In few weeks Of
the year 1881 $500, 900 copies of the New
Testament distributed. Why, the earth
is like an old castle with 20 gates and g
park of artillery ready to thunder down
every gate. Lay aside ali Christendorl
and see how heathendom is being sur
rounded and honeycombed and attacked
by this all conquering gospel. At the
beginning of this century there were
only $50 missionaries; now there are 25,-
600 missionaries and native helpers and
evangelists. At the beginning of this
century there were only $4,000 heather
converts; now there are 1,75O,000 con-
verts from heathendom.
There is not seacoast on the planet
but the battery of the gospel is planted
and ready to march on-north, SOUTH
east, west. You all know that the CHEZ
work of an army is to plant the batteries +
1t may take many days to plant the ba (
teries, and they may do all their work =
10 minutes. These batteries are bell +
planted all along the seacoasts and in q
nations. 1t may take good while Il
plant them, and they may do all t. q
work in one day. They will. Mats f
are to be born in one day. But'C D
come back to Christendom and recoee Il
the fact that during the last 10 yeaas Il
many people have connected themes 81
with evangelical churches as connsa
themselves with the churches in thfst q,
30 years of this century. lc
GLORIOUS BOOK. sc
So Christianity is falling back, a1ne hi
Bible, they say, is becoming an oete az
book. go into court, and whe1r l gc
find judges bench or clerks : ! #
find Bible. Upon what bookul b
there be uttered the solemnlty an he
OATH What book is apt to be pu .ne b.
trunk of the young man as he ieiior ;o
city life? The Bible. What shahnd Il
in nine out of every ten homes ir9oK- ~
lyn? The Bible In nine out Gery ~