Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-03-22
AT THE TABERNACLE.
EHARAC TERl5TlC AND ELOQUENT
/ SERMON BY REV. DR.. TALMAGE.

to Conquest-Is Christianity Retrograd- !
ing and the Bible Losing Its Hold7-An
Encouraging Discourse.
BRooKLYN March 1S.-In the Tabernacle !
today Rev DR. Talmage preached most
eloquent and Enthusiastically vigorous
sermon in REPUTATION of the oft renewed as
sertion of the enemies of religion that Chris.
tianity is retrograding and the Bible losing
its hold upon the hearts and consciences OF
men. The subject of the discourse as an.
nounced was, From Conquest to Con.
quest" the text being taken from Amos tx,
IL, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
that the plowman shall overtakc the reap.
er."
Picture of a tropical cline with a season
so 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 pillow preparing for a new crop BE
hold, 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 reapiuG
one harvest before the plowman is getting
ready for another.
know that many declare that Christian
ity has collapsed; that the Bible is I'm obso.
lete 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 in.
fidel across a desert, aud ever and anon the
Arab guide would get down in the sand
and pray to the Lord. 1t disguised tho
French infdel, and after awhile AS the
Arab got up from one of his prayers the in
fidel said, How do You know there is any
God:' and the Arab guide said: How dc
| know that a man and a camel passed
along our tent last night? | know it by
the footprints in the sand. And you want
TO know how know whether there is any
God Look at that sunset Is that the
footstep Of a man, And by the same
process you and have come to understand
that this book is the foOtstep of n God
GROWTH OF CHRISTIANITY.
But now let us see whether the Bible is n
last year $ almanac Let us see whether the
church of God is in "A Bull Run retreat,
muskets, canteens and haversacks strcwing
ali the way. The great English historian,
Sharon Turner, man of vast learning and
of great accuracy. not clergyman, but an
attorney as well as a historian, gives this
overwhelming statistic in regard to Chris
tiauity and in regard to the number OF
Christians in the different centuries In the
first century, 500, 900 Christians in the sec.
ond century, 100000 Christians: in the
third century, 5000, 900 Christians: in the
fourth century, 10, 900 COO Christians: in the
fifth century, 1900, 900 Christians; in the
sixth century, e, COO 600 Christians; in the
seventh century, "a 100000 Christians; in
the eighth century, 30,0OO,0OJ Christians;
in the ninth century. 10000, COO Christians:
in the tenth century. 50 900, 900 Christians: in
the eleventh century, 10000 600 Christians:
in the twelfth century, 80 900. 900 Christians.
in the thirteenth century, -, Co., 900 Chris.
tians; in the fourteenth century, 10000
600 Christians; in the fifteenth century,
100 100000 Christians; in the sixteenth cen
tury, l25,WO,OOO Christians; i'll the seven
teenth century, l55. 100000 Chris ians; in the
eighteenth century, 2O0,OOO,OOO Christian,
"a decadence, as you observe, in only one
century and more than made up in the fcl
lowing centuries, while it is the usual com
putution that there will be, when the rec
ord OF the nineteenth century is made up
at least 300 0OO,0 900 Christians
Poor Christianity. What Il pity it has
no friends. How lonesome it must be
Who will take it out of the poorhousc'
Poor Christianity. Three hundred millions
III one century. In a few weeks of the yea
ISL 2,5uO,OOO copies OF the New Testament
distributed Why, the earth is like an ole
castle with % gates and park of artiller,
ready TO thunder down every gate La,
aside all Christendom and see how heather
dom is being surrounded and honcycumhcc
and attacked By this all conquering gospel
At the beginning of this century Their
were only $50 missionaries. Now there arr
25,0O0 missionaries and native helpers ant
eyangelists At the beginning of this cen
fury there were only 90, 600 heather convert :
Now there are ,75O, 600 converts from hea
thendom.
There il NOT a seacoast on the pIanet I'm
the hatterv If the vosnel il nlautpd am,
ready IA march on north. south. east west
Won all know that the chief work If n
army * 20 nlant the batteries II may tax
many davs To nlant the batteries and the
may do all their work in 10 minute. Ties
batteries are being PLANTED all alone II
seacoasts and in ali nations 1t may take
Good wbilc ia n1ant them and th.v may Il
all their work in one dey They will, M