The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-04-04
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
. DAY SERMON.
Subject: "From Conquest to Con.
quest"

TEXT: "BPhold the days conc. saith The
Lord. that the plornidn shall ore'fd6e ne
reaper. tx, 13.
30 prosperous that the harvest reaches clear
over to the planting time. and the 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 plow-
man shall overtake the reaper" When Is
that2 That is now. That Is this day, when
hardly have you done reaping one harvest
before the plowman is getting ready for
another.
know that many declare that Christianity
has collapsed that the Bible is an obsolete
book that the Christian church Is on the
retreat will here and now show that the
opposite OF that is true.
An Arab guide was leading French In
f1del across desert, and ever and anon the
Arab guide would get down In the sand and
pray to the Lord. It disgusted the French
infldel, and after awhile as the Arab got up
from one OF his prayers the infdel said,
"How do you know there is any God?" and
tho Arab guide said: "How do I know that
night2 I know it by the footprints in the
sand. And you want to know how know
whether there Is any Godf Look at that
sunset. Is that the footstep OF a man?" And
by the same process you and I have come to
understand that this book Is the footstep Of
q God.
But now LET US see whether the Bible is a
last years almanac. Let US sse whether the
church of God is in Bull Run retreat,
muskets, canteens and haversacks strewing
all the way. The great English historian,
Sharon Turner a man of vast learning and
of great accuracy, not clergyman, but an
attorney as we'll as historian, gives this
overwhelming statistic in regard to Chris
tianity and In regard to the number OF Chris
tians In the different centuries: In the first
century, 500 900 Christians In the second
century, 1900, 900 Christians ; in the third
century, 5000, 900 Christians in the fourth
century, 10000, 900 Christians in the fifth
century, 15,000, 900 Christians In the sixth
century, 20. .000, 900 Christians I'm the seventh
century, $4,000, 900 Christians a; in the eighth
century, 30,0O0,00O Christians in tie
ninth century, 10000. 900 Christians In the
tenth century, $4,000, 900 Christians; in
the eleventh century. 10000, 900 Christians |;
In the twelfth century, $4,000, 600 Christians
In the thirteenth century, rs. 1000, 900 Christ
ians in the fourteenth century, 0,0O0 600
Christians in the fifteenth century, 100,-
000, 600 Christians in the sixteenth CEN
ury. 125, 100000 Christians in the seven
teenth century, 155, ,000, 900; in the eight
eenth century, zoe, ,000, 900 Christians-a de-
cadence, as you observe, in only one century
turies, while it is the usual compu-
tation that there will be-, when the
record Of the nineteenth century Is made up.
ut least 500, 900 900, Christians.
Poor Christianity! What pity 1t has no
friends! How lonesome 1t must be! Who
will take it out Of the poorhouse? Poor
Christianity! Three hundred millions In one
century. In few weeks of the year 1881
a,500, 900 copies OF the New Testament dis
tributed. Why, the earth Is like an old cas-
tie with twenty gates and park artillery
ready to thunder down every gate. Lay
aside all Christendom and see how heathen-
dom Is being surrounded and honeycombed
and attacked by this all conquering gospel.
At the beginning Of this century there were
only $50 missionaries now there arc 25, 600
missionaries and native helpers and evang-
elists. At the beginning Of this century
there were only so. 900 heathen converts now
there are 1,750,G00 converts from heathen-
dom.
t 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 chief work of an army is to
plant the batteries. It may take many days
to plant the batteries. and they may do all
are being planted all along the seacoasts and
In all nations. It may take 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 ten years as many people
have connected themselves with evangelical
churches as connected themselves with the
churches in the first fifty years of this CEN
tury. .
So Christianity Is falling back, and the
Bible, they say, is becoming an obsolete
book. I 60 inro court, and wherever I
find judges bench or clerks desk find
Bible. Upon what book could there be
uttered the solemnity of an oath? What
book Is apt to be put in the trunk Of the
young man as he leaves for city life2 The
Bible. What shall find in nine out ofevery
ten homes in Brooklyn? The Bible. In nine
out of every ten homes in Christendom2 The
Bible. Voitaire wrote the prophecy that the
Bible in the nineteenth century would be-
come extinct. The century is nearly gone,
and as there have been more Bibles pub
lished In the latter part OF the century than
In the former part OF the century, do you
think the Bible will become extinct in the
Ihaye to tell you that the room in which
voltatre wrote that prophecy not long ago
was crowded from floor 10 ceiling with
Bibles from Switzerland. Suppose the Con-
gress Of the United States should pass law
that there should be no more Bibles printed
In America and no more Bibles read. II
there are 10000, 900 grown people In the
United States, there would be 40, ,000, 600 peo-
pie in an army to put down such law end
defend their right to read the Bible. But
suppose the Congress OF the United States
should make q law against the reading or
the publication Of any other book, how many
people would 60 out In such a crusader
Could you get 400, 600 900 people to 20 out
and risk their lives in defense OF Shake
speare's tragedies or Glsdstones tracts or
Macaulay's "History of England?P You
know that there are 1000 men who would
die in defense OF this book where there is
not more than one man who would die In
defense: Of any other book. You try to In
suit my common sense by telling me the
Bible is fading out from the world.
1t is the most popular book Of the century.
How do know it2 know 1t just as know
In regard to other books. How many vol
umes OF that book are published2 Well, you
say, 5000. How many copies Of that book
are published2 A hundred thousand.
Which is the more popular? Why, Of course
the one that has 100, 900 circulation. And If
this book has more copies abroad In the
world, II there are five times as many Bibles
abroad as any other book, does not that
show you that the most popular book on the
planet to-dayis the word OF God2
"Oh," say people, "the church Is collec-
ton of hypocritea, and it Is losing its power,
and 1t Is fading out from the world" Is it?
A bishop Of the Methodist church told me
that that denomination averages two new
churches every day OF the year. There are
at least 800 new Christian churches built in
America every year. Does that look as though
the church were fading out, as though 1t
.ua-a O daf1nnnt inctif ntinn2 Which inSfitn-