The Penn's Grove record., 1894-03-23
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON
Subject: "From Conquest to Con.
quest"

PICTURE OF q TROPICAL chime, viii u SeuSOi
SO prosperous that the harvest reaches cleai
over TO the planting time, and the swarthl
husbandman swinging the sickle in the thfeE
grain almost feels the breath OF The horses Of
his shoulders, the horses hitched to thu
pIow preparing for q new crop. "Beholt
the days come, saith the Lord, that the piow
man shall overtake the reaper" When 4
that2 That is now. That z shis day, wheI
/ hardly have you done reaping n harves'
before the plowman is getting ready fol
| another.
l know that many declare that Christianity
has collapsed that the Bible is an obsolete
| book that the Christian church is on the
retreat. I will here and now show that the
opposite Of that is true.
An Arab guide was leading a French In.
idel across a desert, and ever and anon the
Arab guide would get down in the sand and
| pray to the Lord. II disguised the French
infdel, and after awhile as the Arab got up
| from one OF bis prayers he infidel said,
How do you know there is any God?" and
the Arab guide said "How do / know that
a man n a camel passed along our tent last
| night2 1 know it by the footprints in the
sand. And you want to know how l know
whether there is any God? Look at thai
sunset. Is that the footstep OF a mani" And
| by the same process you and / have come to
understand that this book is the f~ootstep Of
a God.
But now let us see whether the Bible is a
last years almanac. Let us see whether the
| church Of God is in a Bull Run retreat,
muskets, canteens and haversacks strewlng
all the way. The great English historian.
Sharon Turner, a man of vast learning and
| of great accuracy, not a clergyman, but an
attorney as we'll as a 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
I aant,rr, KIM nm nhriof{onu In fha aaoNnd
century, 1900, 900 Christians in the third
century, 5000, 900 Christians ; in the fourth
| century, 10, 600, 900 Christians In the fifth
| century, 49, 0O, goo Christians Pin the sixth
century, 20. 600. 900 Christians in the seventh
century, "a, 600. 600 Christians in the eighth
century, 80, 900, 900 Christians; in the
ninth century, 40, 600. 900 Christians ; in the
the eleventh. century, 10000, 600 Christians
in thetwelfth century, SO, 1000, 900 Christians
in the thirteenth century, rs, 000, 600 Christ
ians in the fourteenth century, 80, 000. 900
Christians ; in the fifteenth century, 100,-
coo. 900 Christians; In the sixteenth CEN
ury. 1875, 000, 900 Christians in the seven
tenth century, 155, 900, 900 in the eight
eenth century, 200. 600, 900 Cb~rfstians-a de-
cadence, as you observe, In only one century
and more than rad up in the following CEN
turtles, while 1t Is the usual IN u
tation hat there will be, when the
record OF the nineteenth century is made up.
ut least 800 900, 600, Christians.
Poor Christianity! What q pity It has no
fr,endsl How lonesome 1t must bel Who
will take it out of the poorhouse2 Poor
Christianity! Three hundred millions in enc
century. In q few weeks OF the year 1881
2, 500, 600 copies Of the New Testament dis
tributed. Why, the earth is like an old cas-
tie with twenty gates and a park artillery
ready to thunder down every gate. Lay
aside all Christendom and see how hesthen-
dom fs being surrounded n honeycombed
and attacked by this all conquering gospel.
At the beginning of this century there were
only $50 missionaries now there are %, 900
missionaries and native helpers and evang-
elists. At the beginning of this century
there were only 80, 600 heather converts now
there are 1,750, 900 converts from !eathen-
dom.
, There is not a 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. 1t may take many days
to plant the batteries. and they may do all
their work in ten minutes. These batteries
are being planted all along the seacoasts and
In all nations. 1t may take a good while to
plant them, and they may do all their work
in one cay. They will. Nations are to be
born in n 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
Jury.
So Christianity is falling back, and the
Bible, they say, Is becoming al obsolete
book. 1 go into a court, and wherever /
find a judges bench or a clerks desk I find
a Bible. Upon what book could there be
uttered the solemnity of an oath2 What
book is apt to be put in the trunk of the
young man as he leave for city life2 The
Bible. What shall / find in nine out ofeyery
ten homes in Brooklyn2 The Bible. In nine
out of every ten homes In Christendom2 The
Bible. Voltaire wrote the prophecy that the
Bible in the nineteenth century would be-
come extinct. The century is nearly CONS,
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
next six years?
/ have TO tell you that the room in which
voltaire wrote that prophecy not long ago
ras crowded from floor to ceiling with
iibles from Switzerland. Suppose the Con-
ress Of the United States should pass a law
that there should be no more Bibles printed
Ia America and no more Bibles read. If
there are 40, 000, 900 grown people in the
United States, there would be 40, 600, 900 peo-
pie in an army to put down such a law and
lefend their right to read the Bible. But
suppose the Congress OF the United States
should make a law against the reading or
The publication Of any other book, how many
people would go out in such a crusade?
Could you get 400, 900, 900 people to go out
and risk their lives 10 defense Of Shake
speare's tragedies or Gladstone's tracts or
Macaulay's History of Enslsnd2" 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 I know III know 1t just as I know
in regard to other books. How many vol
I'M OF that book are publisher Well, you
say, 5000. How many copies OF that book
are p~ublished2 A hundred thousand.
Which is the more POPULAR Why, of course
the one that has 100, 600 circulation. And Ii
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-day is the word OF God?
: s'Oh," say people, 'the church is a collec-
ton Of hypocrites, and 1t is losing its power,
and 1t is fading out from the world" Is It'll
A bishop Of the Methodist church told me
that that denomination averages two new
churches every day Of the year. There are
at least 1900 new Christian churches built in
America every year. Doesthat look as though
the church were fading out, as though it
were a defunct institution Which institu- |
ton stands nearest the hearts of the people
OF America today Edo not care in what
village, or in what city, or what neighbor-
hood you go. Which Institution is it2 Is 1t
the postofice2 Is it the hotel2 Is it the
lecturing hall2 All, you know It is NOT. You
know that the institution which stands near
est to the hearts OF the American people il
the Christian church. If you have ever seen
q church burn down, you have seen thou.
sands Of people standing and looking at 1t
people who never go into a church-ths
tears raining down their cheeks. The whole
story is told.
You may talk about tho church being a
collection of hyf ocrlies, but when the diph.
liberia sweeps your children of whom Dc
you send ior2 The postmaster. the attorney
general, the hotel-keeper, alderman No
you send for a minister of this Bible region.
And II you nave not a room in your house
for the o~bsequies, what building do you So
licit2 DO you say, "Give me the finest room
In the hotel2" Do you saY. "Giys me thai