Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-03-30
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "From Conquest to Con-
quest"

TEXT: "BetoId tte days come, saith th'
IOrd, thGt The pl0lcDan shall OUertake btt
reaper. Amos tx, 10.
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
| piow preparing for 4 new crop. "BehOld
the days come, saith the Lord. that the pIow-
/ man shall Overtake the reaper" When is
/ that That is now. That is this dav, when
/ hardly have you done reaping one harvest
before the plowman is getting ready for
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 l will here and now show that the
| opposite of that is true
/ An Arab guide was leading Il French in
! hdel across desert. and ever and anon the
/ Arab guide would get down in the sand and
! pray 10 the Lord. 1t disgusted tho French
! inhdeI, and after awhile as the Arab got up
| from one of his prayers the inhdel said.
/ How do you know there is any GOd?" and
the Arab guide said How do [ know that
j man and n camel passed along our tent last
/ ntght2 know it by the footprints in the
| sand. And you want to know how | know
| whether there is any GOd2 Look at that
| sunset Is tnat the fOOtstep Of a manY And
/ understand tina: this book is the foOtstep 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 Bull Run retreat
! mHSkets, canteenS and haverSacks strewipg
! all the way. The great English historian.
/ sharon Turner, man OF vast learning and
Ot great accuracy, not a clergyman, but an
! attorney as well as a historian gives this
! overwhelming statistic in regard to Chris
4
! tlans in the different centuries In the first
! century, 500 900 Christians in the second
! century, 1000, 900 Christians in tho third
| century, 5000. 900 Christians in the fourth
! century, 10000 600 Christians in the fifth
! century, $4,000 900 Christians :; in the sixth
! century, 20. coo 600 Christians in the seventh
/ century, 81 000. 900 Christians in the eighth
/ century. 80 600, 900 Christians; in the
! ninth century 30 600. 900 Christians in the
/ tenth century. 50OOO,O00 Christians; in
! the eleventh century. 70 900, 900 Christians
/ in the twelfth century, so, 00O. 900 Christians
/ in the thirteenth century, 5000, 900 Christ
/ Ians in the fourteenth century, 50, 900 900
/ Christians in the fifteenth century, 100,-
/ OOO,OOO Christians; in the sixteenth CEN
/ ury, 125, 900 900 Christians in the seven
/ teenth century, 155, 900 900 in the eight
eenth century, 200. 900 900 Christians-a de-
/ cadence. as you observe. in only one century
and more than made up in the following cen
turIeS, while it is the usual cOmpu-
/
I record of the nineteenth century is made up
| at least 300, 900 000,Christians.
Poor Christianity What pity it has no
friends How lonesome it must be! Who
will take it out Of the poorhouseP Poor
Christianity Three hundred millions in one
century. In a few weeks of the year 1881
2,5OO,O 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 heathen-
dom IS being surrounded and hOneycOmbed
and attacked by this all conquering gospel
At the beginning of this century there were
Cnly $50 missionaries now there are 25 900
missionaries and native helpers and evang-
eliats. At the beginning of this century
there were only 80, coo heather converts now
there are 100000 converts from heathen-
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 It may take many davs
TO plant the batteries. and they NAV do all
their work IN ten minutes. These batteries
are being planted all along the seacoasts and
IN all nations, 1t may take good while to
plant them, and they may do all their work
IN one day. They will. Nations are to be
horn III one day. But Just come back to
ChrIstendoln 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
tury.
So Christianity is falling back, and the
Bible. they say, is becoming an obsolete
book. | 20 into a court, and wherever I
find judges bench or a clerks desk find
a Bible. Upon what book could there be
uttered the soemnity of an oath? What
book IS apt to be put in the trunk of the
young man as he leaves for city life? The
Bible. What shall l find in nine out ofevery
ten homes III Brooklyn? The Bible. In nine
out Of every ten homes in Christendom? The
Bible. Noltaire wrote the prophecy that the
Bible in the nineteenth century would be-
come extinct. The century is nearly gone,
and as there have been more Bibles pub
lshed 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
Voltalre wrote that prophecy not long ago
was crowded from floor to ceiling with
Bibles from Switzerland. Suppose the CoL-
gress OF the United States should pass a law
that there should be no more Bibles printed
IN America and no more Bibles read If
there are 10000 grown people in the
United States, there would be 40. 900, COO peo-
pie in an army to put down such q law and
defend their right to read the Bible. But
suppose the Congress of the United States
ehouiu make law against the reading or
tne publication of any other book. how many
people would 80 out i'll such crusade?
Could you get 400, 900 900 people to 20 out
and risk their lives in defense of Shake
speare 5 tragedies or GladStone's tracts G
Macaulays ''History OF England?" 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
bihiG Is fading out from the world
1t Is the most popular book of the century
How do know it? l know it just as know
III regard TO other books. How many vol
umos Of that book are published? We'll. YOU
say. 5000. How many copies of that book
are published? A hundred thousand
Which is the more popular? Why of course
the one that has 100. 900 circulation And if
TINS book has more copies abroad in the
world. If 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-dayis the word of God?
"Oh.' say people, the church is a collec-
tion of hypocrites, and it is losing its power.
and it is fadipg out from the world" Is it3
bishop of the Methodist church told me
tnat that denomination averages two new
churches every day Of the year. There are
at least 1900 new Christian churches built in
America every year. Does that look as though
the church were fading out. as though it
were defuuct institution? Which institu-
ton stands nearest the hearts of the people
of America to-day? do not care in what
village, or in what city, or what neighbor-
hood you go. Which institution is it? Is it
the postoffice? 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 is
the Christian church. If you have ever seen
a church burn down, you have seen thou
sands of people standing and looking at it
people who never go into a church-the
tears raining down their cheeks. The whole
story is told.
You may talk about tho church being
collection of hypocrites, but when the diph-
iberia sweeps your children off whom do
YOU send for? The postmaster. the attorney
general, the hotel-keeper. alderman? No;
you send for minister of this Bible region.
And if you have not a room in your house