Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1895-06-15

being the only mode OF admission, and
that he saw there In the wastebasket for
kindling for the fires manuscript Of
the Holy Scriptures. That night he cop
led many Of the passages Of that Bible,
but it was not until 10 years had passed
Of earnest entreaty and prayer and coax
ing and purchase on his part that that
copy of the holy Scriptures was put into
tho hand of the emperor Of Russia
that one copy SO marvelously protected
Do you not know that the catalogue
of the books of the Old and New Tesla
ments as we have it is tho same cata-
ioguo that has been coming down
through the ayesf Thirty nine books Of
tho Old Testament thousands Of years
ago. Thirty -nsae now Twensy-sevcn
books OF the New Testament /, COO years
ngo. Twenty books OF tho New
Testament now. Mascion. for wicked
ness, was turned ont Of the church in
the second century, and il his assault
on the Bible and Christianity iio incl
dentally gives catalogue OF the books
of the Bibic-that catalogue correspond
ing exactly with curs--testimony given
by the enemy OF the Bible and the enc
my OF Christianity. The catalogue now
Just ike tho catalogue then. Assaulted
ana spit ON and torn to pieces and
burned, yet adhering. The book today,
IN 800 languages, confronting four-fifths
o. the human race IN their own tongue.
-Four hundred million copies OF 1t III ex-
istence. Does not that look rs II this
book had been divlnely protected, as II
God had guarded 1t all through the CEN
turles!
BOOK lp'demies.
is IL not an argument pam enough to
every honest man and every honest
woman that a book divinely protected
ana IN TINS shape Is III the very shape
that God wants 1t! 1t pleases God and
ought to please u.s. The epldemlcs which
have swept thousands OF other books in
10 the sepulcher OF forgetfulncss have
only frightened the faEio Of this. There
ishot one DOCK out OF ,oon ~ lfFcs 1--WE
years. ANY publisher Will ~ you that
There Will not be more than che book out
OF ,O00 that VIII live Century. Yet
mere Is BOOK, much CT 1t LEGO years
OLD ana much OF 1t 1900 years Old and
with more rebound and residence and
strength IN 1t than when the book was
first put upon parchment or papyrus.
ms book saw the cradle OF all other
books, and 1t VIII see their graves Would
you not think that an Odd book like
this, some OF 1t 40 centuries old, would
come along hobbIing with age and on
crutches! Instead OF that, more potent
than any other book of the time. More
copies OF IL printed IN the last ten years
than OF any other book-Walter Scott's
Wayerley Novels, Macaulay's History
OF England, Disraeli's "Endylnion,
the works OF Tennyson and LonSfellow,
and all the popular books OF our time
having nosuch sale IN the last ten years
as tins old worn out book. Do you know
what struggle book has Ill order to
getthrough one century or two centuries!
Some old books, during fire i'll serag-
no OF Constantlnople, We're thrown into
the street. A man without any educa-
ton picked up one OF those books, read
1t, and dld not see the yalue OF 1t. A
scholar looked over his shoulder and
saw 1t was the first and second decades
OF Layy, and he offered the man a large
reward II he would bring the books to
his study, but IN the excitement OF the
lire the two parted, and the first and
second decades OF Livy were forever lost.
Pllny wrote 20 books of history. All
lost. The most of Menander's writings
lost. vi $50 comedies OF Plautus, all
gone but 60 Euiipides wrote 100
dramas, all gone but IL. Assehlyus
wrote 100 dramas, all gone bat seven.
Varro wrote the laborious biographies OF
700 Romans, not fragment LETT. Gain
lillian wrote his favorite book on the cor
ruption of eloquence. all lost. Thirty
books OF Tacitus lost. Dion Cassius
wrote 80 books, only 20 remain. Berosi-
u.s. history all lost
Attempts to add to the Bible.
Nearly all the old books are mummi-
ned and are lying IN the tonlbs OF old
libraries, and perhaps once III 20 years
some man comes along and picks up one
Of them and blows the dust eli and
opens 1t and hnds 1t the book he does
not want. But this Old book, much OF
1T 40 centuries old, stands today more
discussed than any ether book, and 1t
Challenges the admiration CT all the
good and the spite, and the venom, and
the animosity, and the hypercriticism
OF earth and hell l appeal to your COM
mon sense If a book SO divinely guarded
and protected in its present shape must
not be i'll just the way that God wants
1t to come to us, and If it pleases God
ought it not to please us?
Not only have all the attempts to de-
tract from the book failed, but all the
attempts to add to 1t. Many attempts
were made to add the apochryphal books
to the Old Testament. The council Of
Trent, the synod of Jerusalem, the bish
ops of Hippo, all decided that the apoch
ryphal books must be added to the
Old Testament. "They must stay in, :"
said those learned men. but they staid
out. There is not an intelligent Chris