Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1894-07-20
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DTvINE's SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: Laughter"

TIT; Then was our mouth filled with
laughter. Psalm c1xvl. 2 He that ait
H.,4
Ihirty-eight times does the Bible max,
reference to this conigarntion OF the fea.
| lures and quick expulsion OF breath which
We call laughter. Sometimes II Ia born q
the sunshine and sometimes the midnight
sometimes II stirs the sympathy OF angels
ana sometimes the cachinnation OF devils
Az healthy people laugh. Whether Il
P'eases the Lord or displeases Him, that de-
penis upon when we laugh and at what we
laugh. My theme to-day is the laughter of
tue biole-nnmely. Sarahs laugh. or that OF
sKeptlclsm Davil's laugh, or that OF spirit
uhl ekultation the FOOLS laugh, or that OF
siniul merriment Gods laugh, or that OF
| lhhnte condemnation heavens laugh. or
that OF eternal triumph.
scene an oriental tent. The occupants,
oIu horaham and Sarah, perhaps wrlnkled
hnd Iecrepit. Their three guests are three
angels, the Lord Almighty one Of them. In
return for the hospitality shown by the old
people God promises Sarah that she shall
become the ancestress OF the Lor Jesus
Christ. Sarah laughs in the face OF God
one does not believe Il. She Is Rffrlshted AZ
what she has done. She denies II. She
says, Il did not laugh." Then God retorted
with an emphasis that siencei all disputa-
.ioh, nut thou dtdst laugh" MY friends,
tne Iaugh OF skepticism Ia all ages Is only
rue echo OF Sarahs laughter God saws He
will accomplish thing, an men say n can.
not DC done. great multitude laugh at the
miracles. They say they are contrary 10 the
Jaws OF nature. What Is law OF nature2
IL Is co.'s way OF doing thing. You or
u'harlIS cross river ut ono ferry To-mor-
TO" you change for one day. and YOU 20
across another ferry. You made the rule
nave you not the right 10 change 1t? You
or hnarily come in at that door OF the church.
suppose that next Sabbath you come in at
tue other door. Ii Is a habit YOU have. Have
you not right TO change your habItY A
law OF nature IL Gods habit His way of
uolhy thlngs. II He makes the law. has He
nor right to change 1t at any time He wants
TO changei ~
Alas Tor the folly OF those who laugh at
Tod when He SAYS. Il will do a thing"
they responding. you can't do II God
SAYS That the Bible Is tru"-it Is all true
b'shop Colenso laughs. Herbert Spencer
iuuHhs, stuart Mill laughs, great German
Universities laugh, Harvard lauyLs-softly
a great many Of the learned institutions,
wth long rows OF professors seated on the
renee between Christianity and iniieity,
hhSh softly. They say, eve didn't laugh"
lhat was SarahS trick. Gol thunder, from
the heavens. "But thou diist laugh :" Tho
garden OF Eden WAS only a fable. There
never was any ark built or n /, was built II
was too small to have two OF every kind.
Inc piIIar OF fire by night was only the
northern lights, the ten plaques OF Egypt
only brilliant specimen OF jugSlerv, The
sea parted because the wind blew violently N
great while from oue direction. The sun
ana moon did not put themselves out OF the
way Tor Joshua. Jacobs ladder was only
horizontal and picturesque clouds. The de-
stroylnS angel shifting the nrstlorn in
Egypt was only cholera iufantun become
epidemic, Tn" outlet OF the whale nv
positive measurement, too small to swallow
prophet. Inc story OF the immaculate
conception shock to all decency. The
lame, the dumb. the blind, the halt cured
by mere human surgery. The resurrection
OF Christs friend only a beautiful tableau
ohrIst and Lazarus AMI Mary ami Martha
acting their parts well. My friends. there
Is not doctrine or statement OF Got's HOLY
worn that has not been derlded by the
skepticism Of the day
take up this book OF King Jamcs's trans.
iation. consider 1t a perfect Bible bu,
mere are skeptics who want il torn TO pieces
And now, with this Bible in my hanl. let
me Tear out all those portions which the
skepticism OF this day demands shall he torn
one In the audience, take outal that about
me creation and about the first settlement
OF inc world. Away goes Genesis. Nov"
says some one, take out all that about the
miraculous guidance Of the children OF Israel
IN the wilderness. Away goes Exodus
NOW, saws some one else IN the audience
There are things in Deuteronomy and
Kings that are not 1T to be read" Away 20
Deuteronomy and the Kings. Now" saws
some one, the book o! Job Is IA fable that
ought TO come out. Away goes the book of
job. Now" says some one, those mass.
ages In the New Testament which impIy the
divinity OF Jesus Christ ought to come out"
Away 30 the Eyangelists. Now" savs
some one. ''the book OF Ravelation-how
preposterous Ii represents a man withthe
moon under his feet and sharp sword in
MS hand. Away goes the book Of Reyea.
lion. Now there are a few pieces left. What
shau We do with them? "Oh," saws s,me /
man In the audience, Il don't believe a
word In the Bible from one emf to the 9TH
Or. Well, 1t Is all gone. Now YOU have
put out the last light for the nations. Now
! Is the pitch darkness OF eternal midnight I
How do you like II?
bur think. my friends. we had better
keep tho Bible q little Ion ger intact II has
lone pretty well for good many yenrs
| zen there are old people VINO find il a com.
OR TO have 1t on their laps, and children
Ike the stories In II. Let us keep II for a
curiosity anyhow. II the Bible Is 10 be
nrown out OF the school and out OF the
courtroom, 80 that men no more swear BY IL.
md II Is to be put in n dark corridor OF tb.
lily library the Koran on one side and tbo
writings oil Coniucius on the other, then let
Is each one keep copy for himself, for we
night have trouble, AMI we would want 70
'e under the decisions OF its consultations
md we might die, and we would want thu
lelusion OF the exalted residence OF God,s
ight hand, which II mentions. On, what an
Iwful thing II Is to laugh In Gods face and
luri HIS revelation back at Him After
while the day will come when they will sav
hey did not laugh Then all the hyper,
criticisms, all the carlcatures and ali the
earned sneers IN the quarterly reviews will
70 Drought TO Judgment, and amid the rock
hg OF everything beneath and amid the
tanning OF everything above God will thun-
Ter, But thou didst laugh" | think the
most fascinating laughter at Christianity
yer remember was man In New England.
10 made the word OF God seem ridiculous.
nd he laughed on at our holy religion until
le came TO die, and then he said "My life
las been Il failure-a failure domestically
have no children. A failure socially for
IN treated in the streets like a pirate. A
allure professionally because know but one
minister that has adopted my sentiments"
.or quarter OF century he laughed at
and ever since Christianity has
zen laughing at him. Now, it is a mean
hing to go into mans house and steal his
GODS, but tell you the most gigantic bur
larry ever invented Is the proposition to
teal these treasurers OF our holy religion.
he meanest laughter ever uttered is the
lugh ofthe skeptic.
The next laughter mentioned In tho Bible
! Davld's laughter, or the expression OF
piritual exultation. Then was our mouth
lied with laughter" He got very much
own sometimes, but there are other chap.
srs where for four or Ave times he calls upon
le people to praise and exult. 1t was not
lere twltch OF the lips 1T was demonstra-
on that took hold OF his whole physical ma
are. Then was our mouth filled with
luRhterh NV friends this world will never