The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-03-28
A GLORIOUS GROWTH
REV. DIR. TALMAeE SHOWS HOW
CHRISTIANITY MOVES FORWARD.

AuO tU0AS4OIO 1OSA0S AtS 0O1u upOn JIG
hearts and consciences Of men. Thesub-
iect of the discourse as announced was
eFrom Conquest to Conquest" the text
being taken from Amos tx, 10, Behold
the days come, saith the Lord, that the
plowman shall overtake the reaper"
Picture of tropical cline, with a sea-
son so prosperous that the harvest reach
es the
swarthy husbandman swinging the sickle
IN the thick grain almost feels the breath
of the horses on his shoulders, the horses
hitched m the plow preparing for q new
crop. Behold the daysscome, saith the
Lord, that the plowmantshal overtake
the reaper" When is that2 That is now.
That isthis day, when hardly have you
done reapingo 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 on the retreat. I VIII here and now
show that the opposite of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading a French
infdel across a desert, and ever and anon
the Arab guide would get down in the
sand and pray to the Lord. It Disguised
the French in6del, and after awhile Is
the Arab got up from of his prayers
the infdel said, "How doyouknow there
is any God??' and the Arab guide said:
ssHow do I know that a man and a camel
passed along our tent last night? know
it blythe footprints in the sand. And you
want to know how know whether there
is any God? Look az thatsunset. Isthat
the footstep of a man?:' And by the same
process you and I have come to under
stand that this book is the footstep of a
God.
A HEALTHY GROWTH.
But now let us see whether the Bible
is a last years almanac. Let us sec
whether the church of God is in a Bull
Run retreat, muskets, canteens and hay
ersacks strewing all the way. The great
English historian, Sharon Turner, a man
of vast learning and Of great accuracy,
not q clergyman, but an attorney as
well as a historian, gives this overwhelm-
ing statistic in regard to Christianity and
in regard to the number Of Christians in
the different centuries: In the first cen
tury, 500, COO Christians; j the second
century, 2,OO0, 900 Christians; in the third
century, 100000 Christians; in the
fourth century, 100000 Christians; in
the fifth century, $4,000 900 Christians;
In the sixth century, 10000, 900 Chris
tians; in the seventh century, M,000,-
coo Christians; In the eighth cen
tury, $4,000, 600 Christians; in the
ninth century, 100000 Christians;
in the tenth century, 5O,O00,0 900 Chris
tians; in the eleventh century, N,0G0,0 900
Christians; in the twelfth century, 3d.
OOO, coo Christians; in the thirteenth CEN
fury, 100000 Christians; in the four
teenth century, 80, 200, 00o Christians; in
the fifteenth century, 100000. 600 Chris
tians; in the sixteenth century, 125,O0O,-
600 Christians; In the seventeenth cen
tury, 155, 000, 900 Christians; in the eight
zenith century, 200,000,000 Christians
a decadence, as you observe, In only n
century and more 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, 600, 900 Christians.
Poor Christianity! What a pity it has
no friends, How lonesome it must be-!
Who will take it out of the poorhouse?
Poor Christianity! Three hundred mil
lions in one century. In a few weeks of
the year 1881 2 800, copies of the New
Testament distributed Why, the earth
is like an old castle with 20 gates and a,
park of artillery ready to thunder down
every gate. Lay aside all Christendom
and see how heathendom is being sur
rounded and h~oneycombed 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 1,750,00 con-
verts from heathendom.
There is not a ~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 chief
work of an army stoplant the batteries.
It may take many days to plant the bat
teries, and they maydo all their work in
10 minutes. These batteries are being
planted all along the seacoasts and in all
nations. It may take 9 good while to
plant them, and they may do all their
work in one day. They will. Nations
are to be born in one day. But just
come back to Christendom and recognize
the fact that during the last 10 years as
many people have connected themselves
with evangelical churches IS connected
themselves with the churches in the first
so years Of this century.
GLORIOUS BOOK.
So Christianity is falling back, and the
Bible, they say, is becoming an obsolete
book. I go into a court, and wherever
find a judges bench or a clerks desk l
find 3 Bible. Upon what book could
thora ha uttered the Solemnity of an