The Penn's Grove record., 1894-07-20
REV. DIR, TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: ~''Laughter's

TEXT: 'Then was our mouth filled with
laughter. Psalm cxxvi., 9. "He that sit
teth In the heavens shall laugh. Psalm
H.,
Thirty-eight times does the Bible max.
reference to this ~conlguration OF the fea-
lures and quick expulsion OF breath which
we call laughter. Sometimes It is born OF
the sunshine and sometimes the midnight.
Sometimes 1t stirs the sympathy OF angels
and sometimes the cachinnaton of dayIls
All healthy people laugh. Whether It
pleases the Lord or displeases Him, that de-
ponds upon when We laugh and at what we
laugh. My theme to-day is the laughter OF
the Bible-namely, Sarah's laugh, or that of
skepticism /; Davld's laugh, or that Of spirit
ual exultation /; the FOOLS laugh, or that Of
sinful merriment Gods laugh, or that OF
infinite condemnation heavens laugh, or
that OF eternal triumph.
Scene, an oriental tent. The occupants,
old Abraham and Sarah, perhaps wrinkled
and decrepit. Their three guests are three
angels, the Lord Almighty one OF them. In
return for the hospitality shown by the old
people Coo promises Sarah that she shall
become the ancestress OF the Lord Jesus
Christ. Sarah LAUGHS in the face of God,
She does not believs IT. She Is afrIghted at
what she has done. She denies it, She
says, 81 did not laugh." Then God retortedI
with an emphasis that silencei all disputa4
ton, But b didst laugh" My friends,
the laugh Of skepticism Ia all ages is only
the 9 of Sarah's laughter. God saws HID
will accomplish a thing, and men say it cam
not be done. A great multitude laugh at thd
miracles. They say they are contrary to thu
laws OF nature. What is a law OF nature3
II is Gods way of doing a thing You or
dinarily cross a river at one ferry. To-mor7
row you change for one day, and you cd
Il nnFNQd nathan NAHrNs W.. - - I
Have you not the right to change 1t? You
ordinarily come in at that door ofthe church,
suppose that next Sabbath you come In at
the other door. 1t is habit you have. Have
you not q right TO change your habit2 A
law OF nature Is Gods habit-His way OF
doing things. II He makes the law. has He
nof right to change 1t at any time He wants
to change It?
Alas for the folly of those who laugh at
God when He says. 81 will do a thing"
they responding, "You can't do IT." God
pays that the Bible is true-it is all true.
Btshop Colenso laughs, Herbert Spencer
laughs. Stuart Mill laughs, great German
universities laugh, Harvard laughs-softIy.
A great many Of the learned institutions,
with long rows Of professors seated on the
fence between Christianity and in1delity,
laugh softly. They say, ave didn't laugh"
That was Sarah's trick. God thunders from
the heavens, "But thou didst laugh - The
garden Of Eden was only a fable. There
never was any ark built, or II it was built ID
was too small to have two of every kind.
The pillar OF fire by night was only the
northern lights, the ten plaques of Egypt
only q brilliant specimen Of jugglery. The
sea parted because the wind blew violently a
great while from one direction. The sun
and moon did not put themselves out OF the
way for Joshua. Jacobs ladder was only
horizontal and picturesque clouds. The de-
4 HfParfn0 aNNa1 aaattn. 4ha n.Al1-. -
Egypt was only cholera infantum become
epidemic. The gullet OF the whale, by
positive measurement, too small 10 swallow
0 prophet. The story Of the immaculate
conception a shook to all decency. The
lame, the dumb, the blind, the halt. cured
by mere human surgery. The resurrection
Of Christ's friend only q beautiful tableau,
Christ and Lazarus and Mary and Martin
acting their parts well. My friends, the
ls not a doctrine or statement OF Gods no y
word that has not been derided by I'll
skepticism OF the day.
I take up this book Of King James's trans
lation. I consider 1t q perfect Bible, but
here are skeptics who want It torn to pieces.
And now, with this Bible In my hand, lei
me tear out alr those portions which thu
skepticlsm of this day demands shall be torn
put. What shall go irstp "Well," says somi
one in the audience, take out all that about
the creation n about the first settlement.
Of the world" Away goes Genesis. "Now,"
Gays some one, "take out all that about tho
miraculous guidance Of the children o%tIsrael
In the wilderness" Away goes Exodus.
.Now," saws some one else in the audience,
"there are things in Deuteronomy and
Kings that are not ct to be read" Away 90
Deuteronomy and the Kings. Now" says
some one, 1.-THE book Of Job is a fable that
ought 10 come out" Away goes the book Of
JOB. "Now," says some one, "those pass
I aswoz L., a.. w., ok ,-ltnA -
divinity OF Jesus Christ ought to come out"
Away go the Evangellsts. "Now," says
some one, ''the book Of Revelation-how
preposterousl 1t represents a man with the
moon under his feet and q sharp sword In
hts hand" Away goes the book Of Revela.
ton: Now there are a few pieces left. What
shall VIC do with them2 "oh," says soms
man In the audience, ~ don't believe a
word in the Bible from one end to the oth-
er." Well, 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 like III
But I think, my friends, we had better
keep the Bible a little longer intact. It has
done pretty we'll for a good many years.
Then there are old people who find Il a cons
fort TO have It On their laps, and children
like the stories in It. Let us keep It for a
curiosity anyhow. II the Bible is to be
thrown out of the school and out Of the
courtroom, so that men no more swear by it,
and It is to be put In a dark corridor OF the
city library, the Koran on one side and tho
writings OF Confucius on the other, then let
US each one keep a copy for himself, for wa
might ave trouble, and We would want to
be under the decisions OF its consultations,
and we might die, and we would want thu
delusion OF the exalted residence OF Gods
right hand, which 1t mentions. oh, what an
awful thing It Is to laugh In Gods face and
/ k...l TTg. n.-tla. k-.t. - uI.a a..
awhile the day will come when they will say
they did not laugh. Then all the hyper
criticisms, all the caricatures and oil the
learned sneers IN the quarterly reviews will
be brought to judgment, and amid the rock
ing OF everything beneath and amid the
flaming Of everything above God will thur
der, "But thou didst laughV I think tho
most fascinating laughter at Christianity I
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 "My life
has been q failure-a failure domestically.
I have NO children. A failure socially, for
am treated In the streets like a pirate. A
failure professionally because I know but one
minister that has adopted my sentiments"
For a quarter Of q century he laughed at
Christianity, and ever since Christianity has
been laughing at him. Now, 1t is u mean
thing to go into o mans house and steal his
goods, but / tell you the most gigantic bur-
glary ever invented is the proposition to
steal these treasurers Of our holy religion.
The meanest laughter ever uttered is the
laugh ofthe skeptic.
The next laughter mentioned in the Bible
! 10 David's laughter, or the expression OF
: spiritual exultation. ''Then was our mouth
filled with laughter" He got very much
down sometimes, but there are other chap
tiers where for four or five times he calls upon
4 the people to praise and exult. 1t was not a
mere twitch OF the lips lit was a demonstra-
ton that took hold OF his whole physical ma
ture. "Then was our mouth Allied with
laughter" My friends, this world will never
be converted TO God until Christians cry less
and laugh and sing more. The horrors are
a poor bait. II people are to be persuaded
to adopt our holy religion, II will be because
they have made up their minds it Is q happy
religion. They don't like a morbid Chris
nanity. I know there are morbid naeple WHO
enjoy a funeral. They come early TO seeth1
friends take leave OF the corpse, andthey steal
\ ride to the cemetery, hut all healthy people
snioy a wedding betterthan they do a burial
Eow. you make the religion OF Christ
sspulchral and hearselike, and you
make 1t repulsiye. 1 say plant the rose Of
ri III W1h