The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1894-07-16
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
THROUGH THE PRESS He FURNISH
ESAN INTERESTING DISCOURSE.
Laughter" forms the Subject of His Ser
mon-The Parts of the Bible the Skep-
tics Would Have Thrown Out


cxxvi:2: '"lnen was our mouth filled with
laughter and Psalms liza: He that stitch
In the heavens shall laugh.
ThIrty-eight times does the Bible make
reference to this confirmation of the feat
ures and quick expulsion of breath winch
we call laughter. Sometimes it is born OIL
the sunshine and sometimes the midnight.
Sometimes it stirs the sympathies of angels
and sometimes the achinnation OF devlis.
All healthy people laugh. Whether IL
pIeaSes the Lord or displeases Him; tii@'l
depends upon when we laugh ana at what
We laugh. My theme today is the lausnlei
of the Bible namely: Sarahs laugh or th@1s
OF scepticism David's laugh, or that u
spiritual exultation; the fools laugh, or thft
OF sinful merriment; Gods laugh, or that Oh
infinite condemnation; heaven b laugh vi
that OF eternal triumph.
Scene: An oriental tent; the occupants
old Abra ham and Sarah, perhaps Wrlhhieu
and decrepit. Their three guests are three
argels-the Lord Almighty one of them. In
return for the hospitality shown by the olu
people God promises Sarah that she shall
become the anceStresS of the LORD Jesus
Christ Sarah laughs in the face OIL Gou'
she does not believe ii. She denies H. one
saws: Il didn't laugh Then Goa retoi leo
with an emphasis that silenced all dlsputa-
ton: BIT thou didst laugh MY Iilehu9'
the laugh of scepticism, in all ages Is ollS
The echo of Sarah's laughter. God says he
viii accomplish tmnS; ana men say II
cannot be done. A great multitude laugh d.
the miracles They say they are contrary
20 the laws of nature. What Is q law "a
nature? 1t is Gods way OF doing il thlhs'
ca ordinarily cross a river at one ferry.
Tomorrow you change for one day, ana
Won go across another ferry. You mace the
rule. Have YOU not the right TO change II
You ordinarily come III at that door OF the
cnurcn. Suppose that next Sabbath you
SHOULD come in at the other door! II Is
q habit you have Have you not right
70 ca3uge your habit: y law OF nature Is
Gods habit-His way of dong Things
Il lie makes the law, has lie not
RIGHT 10 change it at any time he wants TO
cran4e it? Alaat Tor the folly OF those
who laugh At God when lie says: / wan
40 a thing they responding; GU cant
% it," cod says that the Bible is true
! is all true. Bishop COlenso laughs.
Herbert Spencer laughs; Stuart Mill laughs;
ereat German universities laugh; Harvard
la1-.h..-,-fiIy! \ great many of the
learned Institutions with long rows OF pro-
%essors seated on the fence between Chris
t.ani.y and infGeity, laugh softly. They
say: I'VE didn't laugh That was
Sarah's trick. God thunders from the
heavens: But thou ddst laugh" The
Garden of Eden was only a fable. There
never was any ark built; or if it was built,
il was TOO small 10 have two of every
kind The pillar Of fire by night was only
IN northern lights. The ten plaques of
Egypt only a brilliant specimen of jug
ciery The sea parted, because the wind
blow violently a great while from one di-
reetion. The sun and moon did not put
themselves out OF the way of Joshua.
Jacobs ladder was only horizontal and
picturesque clouds The destroying angel
shifting the first-born in Egypt was only
cholera infantum become epidemic. The
guilet of the whale, by positive measure
meut, too small TO swallow q prophet.
The story Of the Immaculate conception a
shock TO all decency. The lame, the dumb,
the blind, The halt, cured by mere human
surgery. The resurrection of Christ's
friend, only beautiful tableau; Christ,
anu Lazarus, and Mary, and Martha acting
their parts well. My friends, there is not
E doctrine or statement of Gods holy
word, that has been derded by the scepti~
cism of 4he. day. [ take up this book OF
King Janl8s'S translation. l consider 1t a
perfect Bibte; but here are sceptics who
want it torn to pieces. And now, with this
Bible in my hand. let me tear out all those
portions which the scepticism of this day
demands shall be torn out. What shall go
first? WELL" says some one in the au-
Gience, take out all that about the ere
alton, ana about the first settlement OF
The world" Away goes Genesis. Now,
says some one, take out all that about
The miraculous guidance Of the children OF
Israel in the Wilderness" Away goes Exc
aus.~ Now" says some one else in the
audience. there are things in DeuterOno-
my and Kings that are not fit to be read.
Away go deuteronomy and the Kings.
CHOW" says some one, "the Book of job
IS q fable that ought to come out" Away
goes to Book Of Job. Now" says some
one, those passages in the New Tesla
a yit,iA f 10.
Christ 0uent to come out" Away so the
E,vanEelsts Now" says some one, the
Book Of ReVelation-hoW preposterous. it
represents "A man with the moon under his
feet. and a sharp sword in his hand.
Away goes The Book OF Revelation. Now
there are a few pieces left. What shah
We do with them? "O,' says some man in
HE audience. II don't believe word in
the Bible. from one end to the other"
Wen, it is all gone. Now you have put out
the last light for the nations. Now 1t is
the pitch darkness of eternal midnight.
How do YOU ike it?
But / think, my friends, we had better
Keen the Bible little longer intact. it has
done pretty wei for a good many years.
Thcu there are old people who hnd 1t
romf0r1 to nave it on their laps, and chill
aren like the stories in it. Let us keep it
fol. n curiosity, anyhow. If the Bible is to
be thrown out of the school, and out of the
courtroom so that men no more swear by
IL and il is to be put in q dark corridor OF
the city library, the Koran on one side ana
the writings Of Confucius on the other,
Ehen let us each one keep a copy for hlm-
self for we might have trouble, ana we
would want 10 be under the decisions of
IFS consultations; and we might die, and we
would want the deluson Of the exalted
residence of Gods right hand, which 1t
mentions o. what an awful thing it is to
laugh in Gods face, and hurl His revela-
ton ack at Him. After awhile the Gay
will come when they will say they did not
the caricaturos, and all the learned sneers
in the .'Quarterly Reviews" will be brought
10 Judgment; and amid the rocking Of
gveryt hing beneath, and amid the flaming
of everything above, God will thunder:
But thou didst laugh!' 1 think the most
fascinating laughter at Christianity [ ever
remember was a man in New England. He
made the word of God seem ridiculous,
and he laughed on at our holy religion
until he came to die, and then he said:
NY life has been a failure-a failure do
rnestfcaIly; | have no children; a failure
socially for | am treated in the streets
like Il pirate; a failure professionally, be-
cause i know but minister that had
edopted nv sentiments For a quarter of
q century he laughed at Christianity; and
ever since Christianity has been laughing
at him. Now, it is a mean thing to go into
q mans house and steal his goods; but 1
+all yoa the most gigantic burglary ever