Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-03-23

| in Christendom? The Bible. Voltaire
wrote the prophecy that the Bible in
the nineteenth century would become
extinct. The century Is nearly gone
and as there have been more Bibles
published in the latter part of'the CEN
fury than in the former part of the
century, do you think the Bible will
become extinct in the next six years?
I have 10 tell you that the room in
which Voltaire wrote that prophecy,
not long ago was crowded from floor to
ceiling with Bibles from Switzer-
land. Suppose the congress OF
the United States should pass
n law that there should be no
more Bibles printed in America. and no
more Bibles read. If there are 40
600, 900 grown people in the United
States, there would be 40, 900, 900 people
in an army to put down such law
and defend their right to read the
Bible. But suppose the congress of
the United States should make law
against the reading of the publication
of any other book, how many people
would go out on such a crusade? Could
| y
risk their lives in defense of Shake
speare's tragedies, or Gladstone
tracts, or Macaulay's history of Eng
land? You know that there are a
thousand men who would die in de-
Tense of this book, where there is not
more than one man who would die in
defense of any other book. You try
to insult 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 l know it?
know it just as 1 know in
regard 10 other books How
many volumes of that book are pub
lished? Well, you say, five thousand
How many copies of that book are
published? A hundred thousand
Which is the more popular? Why OF
course the one that has hundred
thousand circulation. And if this
book has more copies abroad in the
world, If there are five times as many
Bibles abroad as any other book, does
T OF that show you that The most pop
ular book on the planet to-day is the
Word of God?
"oh," say people, "the church is a
collection of hypocrites, and it is los
ing its power and it 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 fifteen hundred new
Christian churches built in America
every year. Does that look as though
the church were fading out, as though
it were n defunct institution? Which
institution stands nearest the hearts
of the people of America to-day? / do
not care in what village or in what
city, or what neighborhood you go.
Which institution is il? Is IL the post
Office? Is it the hotel? Is it the lectur-
ing hall? An, you know it is not.
You know that the institution which
stands nearest the hearts OF the Ameri-
can people is the Christian church II
you have ever seen a church burn
down, you have seen thousands OF
people standing and looking at it
people who never go into church
the tears raining down the;: cheeks.
The whole story is told.
You may talk about tho church be-
ing collection OF hypocriteS but
when the diphtheria sweeps your chill
dren off, whom do you send for? The
postmaster? the general? the
hotel keeper? alderman? No, you
send for minister of this Bible relig-
ion. And il you have not a room in
your house for the obsequies, what
building 60 you solicit? Do you say;
give me the finest room in the hotel?
Do you say: Give me that theater?
Do you say: GIVE me a place In that
public building where / can lay my
dead for little while until we say q
prayer over it?' No; you say: Give
us the house Of God" And If there is
n song to be sung at the obsequies
what do you want? What does any,
body want? The Marseillaise hymn;
God Save the Queen? Our own grand
national air? No. They want the
hymn with which they sang their ole
Christian mother into her last sleep
or they want sung the Sabbath schoo
hymn which their little girl sang the
last Sabbath afternoon she was Out
before she got that awful sickness,
which broke your heart l appeal t.
your common sense. You know the
most endearing institution on earth
the most popular institution on earth
to-day, is the church of the Lord Jesus
Christ
The inidels say: "Infdelity shows
its successes from the fact that it il
everywhere accepted, and it can say
what it will" Why, my friends, in
fidelity is not half so blatant in oul
day as it was in the days of our faith
ers. DO you know that in the days OF
our fathers there were pronounced in
fidels in public authority and they could
get any political position? Let a mar
to-day declare himself antagonistic u
the Christian religion and what city
wants him for mayor, what state want,
him for governor and what nation
wants him for president or for king;
Let a man openly proclaim himself the