The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1895-07-03

twenty remain. Berosius's history all lost.
| Nearly all the old books are mummlneo
and are lying in the tombs Of old Libraries,
and perhaps once in twenty years some man
comes along and picks up one OF tnem anu
blows the dust off ind opens 1t and nnds IL
the book he does not want. But TINS oio
book. much Of 1t forty centuries old, stands
to-day more discussed than any other book,
and it challenges the admiration OF all the
good and the spite and the venom, and the
animosity, and the hypercriticism OF earth
and hell. appeal to your common sense II
a book so divinely guarded and protected In
its present shape must not be In just the way
that God wants 1t to come to US. and II 1t
pleases God ought it not to please us!
from the book failed, but all the attempts to
add to It. Many attempts were made to add
the apochryphal books to the Old Testament.
The council of Trent, the synod Of Jerusalem,
the bishops Of Hippo, all decided that the
apochryhal 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 Christian man that to-day
will put the book Of Maccabees or the book
Romans. Then great many said, I'VE
must have books added to the New Testa-
ment," and there were epistles and gos-
pels and apocalypses written and added
| to the New Testament, but they have all
fallen out. You cannot add anything. You
cannot substract anything. Divinely pro-
| tected book in the present shape. Let no
man dare to lay his hands on it with the in
tention OF detractins from the book or cast
ing out any of these holy pages.
Besides that i am opposed to this expurga-
ton Of the Scriptures becauseifthe attempt
were successful, 1t would be the annihilation
Of the Bible. Inhdel geologists would say,
| "Out with the Book of Genesis" tnfdel as
tronomers would say, "Out with the Book
of joshua" people who do not Deleve IN
the atoning sacrifice would say, "Out with
the Book OF Leviticus;" people who do not
believe In the miracles would say, "O1t wit9
New Testament and some would say.
| "Out with the Book Of Revelations" and
others would say, "Out with the entire PEN
tateuch," and the work would go on until
| there would not be enough Of the Bible lett
to be worth as much as last years almanac.
The expurgation Of the Scriptures means
their annihiletion.
lam also opposed to this proposed expur-
| cation OF the Scriptures for the fact that in
1roportion as the people become self-sacri-
flcing and good and holy and consecrated,
they like the book as it Is. have yet to find
a man or a woman distinguished for self
sacrifice, for conservation to God, for ho1-
ness of life. who wants the Bible changed.
Many of US have inherited family Bibles.
! Those Bibles were in use twenty, forty, fifty,
perhaps 100 years in the generations. To-
day take down those family Bibles, and find
out If there are any chapters which nave
been erased by lead pencil or pen, and II IN
any margins you can find the words, "This
chapter not fit to read" There has been
plenty OF opportunity during the last hall
century privately to expurgate the Bible.
Do you know any case of such expurgation!
Did not your grandfather give 1t to your
father, and did not your father give>it to
you?
Besides that am opposed to the ex-
purgation of the Scriptures. because the So
called indelicacies and cruelties of the Bible
have demonstrated no evil result. A cruel
book will produce cruelty. An unclean pook
| will produce uncleanness. Fetch me VIC
tim. Out OF all Christendom and out OF all
the ages fetch me a victim whose heart has
| been hardened to cruelty or whose LIE has
been made impure by this book. Show me
one. One of the best families ever knew
! Of, for thirty or forty years, morning ana
| evening, had all the members gathered to-
gether, and the servants Of the household,
and the strangers that happened TO be within
the gates-twice day, without leaving out
chapter or a verse, they read this holy
d,
Not only the older children, but the little
child who could just spell her way through
the verse while her mother helped her, the
father beginning and reading one verse and
then all the members Of the family in turn
reading a verse. The father maintained his
integrity, the mother maintained her integ-
rity, the sons grew up and entered pro-
fessions and commercial life. adorn1ng every
sphere in the life in which they lived, and
| It tnfn
Christ was honored, and all that was 5000
and pure and righteous reigned perpetually.
For thirty wears that family endured the
Scriptures. Not one OF them ruined by
them.
Now, II you will tell me Of family where
the Bible has been read twice q day for thirty
years, and the children have been brought
up in that habit, and the father went to
ruin, and the mother went to ruin, and the
sons and daughters were destroyed by IT.
If you will tell me of one such incident,
will throw away my Bible or I will doubt
your veracity. Itellyou II q man Is shocked
with what he calls the indeltcacies OF the
word Of God he Is prurient in his taste and
imagination. II a man cannot read SOLO
mons Song without impure suggestion, he
is either In his heart or In his life liberttne.
The Old Testament description Of wicked
ness, uncleanness of all sorts, Is
purposely and rghteously disgust
ing account, instead OF the Byrontc
sin attractive instead of appalling. When
those old prophets point you to lazaretto,
you understand It is lazaretto. When q
man having begun to do right falls back into
wickedness and gives up his integrity, the
Bible does not say he was overcome by the
destinations Of the festive board, or that he
surrendered to convivialities, or that he be-
came little fast in his habits. will tell
you what the Bible says, "The dog is turned
to his own yomit again and the SOW that was
washed to her wallowlng in the mire." No
gliding of iniouity. No garlands on adeath's
head. No pounding away with silver NAL
let at iniquty when it needs an iron sledge
hammer.
I can easily understand how people brood
ing over the description OF uncleanness In
the Bible may get morbid in mind until they
are as full Of 1t as the wings, and the beak,
and the nostril, and the claw OF buzzard
are full OF the odors OF carcass, but what
Is wanted Is not that the Bible be dfsinfect-
ed, but that you, the critic, have your mind
and heart washed with carbolic acid.
/ tell you at this point in my discourse
that man who does not like this book, and
who Is critical az to its contents, and who Is
shocked and outraged with its descriptions,
has never been soundly converted. The lay
ing on OF the hands Of presbytery or epis-
copacy does not always change mans
heart, and men sometimes get into the pull
pit. as we'll as into the pew, never having
been changed radically by the sovereign
grace of God. Get your heart right and the
Bible will be right. The trouble is mems
natures are not brought into harmony with
the word of God. All, my friends. expurga'
tion Of the heart is what Is wanted!
You cannot make me believe that the
Scriptures, which this moment lie on the
.. table of the purest and best men and women