The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-07-03
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.'
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "Expurgation Of the Scrip
lures"

SUBJECT: "Expurgatton OF the Scr1p-
lures"
TEXT: "Let God be true, but every man
O liar. Romans ill.,, 4.
The Bible needs reconstruction according
to some inside and outside the pulpit. 1t Is
no surprise that the world bombards the
Scriptures, but it is amazing to find Chris
tian ministers picking at this In the Bible
and denying that until many good people
are left in the fog about what parts OF the
Bible they ought to believe and what parts
reject. The Nervousness of finding fault
with the Bible at this time is most evident.
In our day the Bible is assailed by scurrility,
by Misrepresentation. by infdel scientists,
by all the vice of earth and all the venom Of
perdition. and at this particular time even
preachers OF the Gospel fall into line Of
criticism Of the word Of God. Why, it makes
me think of ship in a September equinox,
the waves dashinc to the top of the smoke
stack, and the matches fastened down, and
many prophesyinS the foundering OF the
steamer, and at that time some OF the crew
with axes and saws 90 down into the hold Of
the ship, and they try to saw off some OF the
planks and pry out some Of the timbers be-
cause the timber did not come from the right
forest.
It does not seem to be commendable bus
ineSs for the crew to be helping the w1nos
and storms outside with their axes and saws
inside. Now, this old Gospel ship. what with
the roaring of earth and hell around the
stem and stern and mutIny on deck. Ii haV.
ing very rough voyage, but have noticed
that not one Of the timbers has started, AMI
the captain says he will see 1t through. And
have noticed that keelson and counter tim
Der knee are built out OF Lebanon cedar, and
she is going to weather the gale, but no
credit to those who make mutiny on deck.
When I see professed Christians In this
particular day finding fault with the Scrip
lures, it makes me think Of fortress ter
r1fcally bombarded. and the men on the ram
parts. instead Of swabbing out and loading
the guns and helping fetch up the ammuni-
ton from the magazine, are trying with
crowbars to pry out from the wall CERTAIN
blocks of stone, because they did not come
from the right quarry. Oh, men on the ram
parts, better fght back, and fight down the
common enemy, instead Of trying to make
breaches in the wall!
While I oppose this e1purgation OF the
Scriptures, shall give you my reasons 1or
such opposition. "what" say some of the
theological evolutionists whose brains have
been added Sy too long brooding over them
by Darwin and Spencer, "you don't now
really believe all the story Of the garden OF
Eden, do you?" Yes, as much as I believe
there were roses in my garden last summer.
"But." say they. you don't really believe
that the sun and moon stood still?" Yes. and
II had strength enough to create sun and
moon could make them stand still or cause
the refraction Of the suns rays so 1t would
appear to stand still. "But, they say, you
don't really believe that the whale swal-
lowed Jonah?" Yes. and II I were strong
enough to make whale I could have made
very easy ingress for the refractory prophet.
leaving to evolution to eject him II he were
an unworthy tenant! "But, say they, "you
don't really believetha the water was turned
into wine?" Yes, just ss easily as water now
is often turned into wine with an admixture
OF strychnine and logwood! "But. say
thev. avou don't really believe that Samson
slew 1000 with the jaw bone Of an ass?' Yes,
and I think that the man who in this day
assaults the Bible is welding the same
weapon!
There is nothing in the Bible that staggers
me. There are many things do not under
stand, do not pretend to understand, never
shall in this world understand. But that
would be very poor God who could be fully
understood by the human. That would be
very small Infinite that can be measured by
anite. You must not expect to weigh the
thunderbolts Of omnipotence In an apothe-
cary's balances. Starting with the idea that
God can do anything, and that He was pres
ent at the beginning, and that He Is present
now, there is nothing in the holy Scriptures
to arouse skepticism in my heart. Here
stand q fossil Of the ages, dug up from the
tertiary formation, fallen of the shelf OF an
antiquarian, a man in the latter part Of the
glorious nineteenth century believing In q
whole Bible from lid to lid
am opposed to the e1purgation OF the
Scriptures in the first place, because the
Bible In its present shape has been so mirac-
ulously preserved. Fifteen hundred years
after Herodotus wrote his history. there was
only one manuscript copy OF 1t. Twelve
hundred years after Plato wrote his book
there was only one manuscript copy of it.
God wasso careful to have us have the Bible
In Just the right shape that We have fifty
manuscript copies OF the New Testament q
thousand years old, and some Of them 1900
years old. This book, handed down from
the time Of Christ, or just after the time OF
Christ, by the hand Of such men as Origen
In the second century and Tertullian In the
third century, and by men Of different ages
who died for their principles. The three
best copies Of the New Testament in manu-
script in the possession of the three great
churches-the Protestant church OF England,
the Greek church of st. Petersburg and the
Romish church OF Italy.
It is plain matter OF history that Tischen-
dorf went to convent In the peninsula ofSinai
and was by ropes lifted over the wall into the
convent, that being the only mode OF admis-
sion, and that he saw there in the waste
basket for kindling for the fires manuscript
OF the Holy Scriptures. That night he cop
led many Of the passages Of that Bible, but
twas not until fifteen years had passed Of
earnest entreaty and prayer and coaxing and
purchase on his part that that copy OF the
Holy Scriptures was put into the hand oi
the Emperor of Russla-that one copy &c
marvelously protected.
Do you not know that the catalogue OF the
books OF the Old and New Testaments as we
have it Is the same catalogue that has been
coming down through the ages? Thirty.
nine books Of the Old Testament Thousands
OF years ago. Thiry-nine now. Twenty.
seven books OF the New Testament 1900 years
ago. Twenty-seven books Of the New Testa
ment now. Marcion, for wickedness, was
turned out OF the church in the second cen
tury, and In his assault on the Bible and
Christianity he incidentally gives cata
logue Of the books Of the Bible-that cata'
logue corresponding exactly with ours-tes
timony given by the enemy Of the Bible anC
the enemy Of Christianity. The catalogue
now just like the catalogue then. Assaulted
and spit on and torn to pieces and burned
yet adhering. The book to-day. in 800 Ian
guages, confronting four-ffths OF the human
race in their own tongue. Four hundred
million copies oft in existence. Does no
that look as If this book had been divineI,
protected. as if God had guarded 1t al
through the centuries?
Is 1t not an argument plain enough tt
every honest man and every honest woman
that book divinely protected and in thi
shape is in the very shape that God want
it. It pleases God and ought to please US
The epidemics which have swept thousand
of other books into the sepulcher Of forget