The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1896-04-01
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE
NOTED DIVINE.
Subject: "America for God"

TEXT: "And beheld another beast coming
up out Of the earth, and he had two horns
IKE lamb, and he spake as a dragon"
-heyelation Kill, II.
1sAmerica mentioned in the Bible? Learned
and consecrated men who have studied the
inspired books Of Daniel and Revelation
more than have and understand them better
agree in saying that the leopard mentioned
IN the Bible meant Grecia, and the beer
meant Medo-Persia. and the lion meant
Babylon, and the beast of the text coming up
out Of the easn, with two horns like lamb
and the voice of a dragon, means our
country, because among other reasons 1t
seemed to come up out Of the earth when
columbus discovered it. and 1t has been for
the most part at peace like lamb unless as
saulted by foreign foe, in which case 1t has
two horns strong and sharp and the voice
ola dragon loud to make all Nations hear
the roar OF its indignation. Is it reasonable
to suppose that God would leave out from
the prophecies Of His book this whole west
ern hemisphere? No, no! ~ beheld anoth-
er beast coming up out OF the earth, and he
had two horns like lamb, and he spake as
q dragon"
Germany for scholarship, England for
manufactures, France for manners, Egypt
for antiquities, Italy for pictures, but Amer
ica for God.
start with the cheering thought that the
most popular book on earth to-day is the
Bible, the most popular institution on eartn
to-day is the church, and the most popular
name on earth to-day is Jesus. Right from
this audience hundreds Of men and women
would, If need be, march out and die for
Hin.
Am too confident in saying, america
for God?' Ii the Lord will help me, will
show the strength and extent OF the long
line Of fortresses to be taken and give you
my reasons for saying 1t can be done and
will be done. Let US decide, in this battle
for God, whether We are at Bull Run or at
Gettysburg. There is Fourth of Julyish
way of Dragging about this country, and the
most tired and plucked bird that ever flew
through the heavens Is the American eagle,
so much so that Mr.. Gladstone said to me
facetiously Mt Hawarden, II hear that the
fish in your American lakes are so large that
when one Of them is taken out the entire
lake is percsptibly lowered" and at q dinner
given in Paris an American offered for
sentiment, "Here is to the United States
bounded on the north by the aurora borealis,
on the south by the procession OF the equi-
noxes, on the east by primeval cnaos and on
the west by the day of judgment" The ef-
feet of such grandiloquence is to discredit
the real facts, which are so tremendous they
need no garnishinS. The worst thing to do
In any campaign. military or religious. is to
underestimate an enemy, and will have no
part in such attempt at belittlement.
This land to be taken for God, according
to Hasse:, the statisttcian. has 14,219, 1857
square miles, q width and length that none
but the Omniscient can appreciate. Four
Europes put together and capable OF holding
and feeding, as 1t will hold and feed. accord
ing to Atkinson, the stalistician, II the world
continues in existence and does not run afoul
of some other world or get consumed by the
fires already burning in the cellars Of the
planet-capable, say. Of holding and feed
Ing more than 1000, ,000. 900 inhabitants. For
as we'll as taken for God, and the last 500,-
900 900 inhabitants must not be allowed to
swamp the religion Of the first 500, ZOO, 900.
Not much use In taking the fortress II we
cannot hold It. It must be held until the
archangel's trumpet bids living and dead
arise from this laundering planet.
You must remember 1t Is only about
o'clock in the morning Of our Nations life.
Great cities are to fash and roar among
what are called the "Bad Lands" Of the Da-
kotas and the great Columbian plains OF
Washington State, and that on which We put
our schoolboy fingers on the map and spelled
out rs the "Great American desert" Is,
through systematic and consummating irri-
cation, to bloom like Chatsworth Park and
be made more productive than those regions
dependent upon uncertain and spasmodlc
rainfall. All those regions, as we'll as all
those regions already cultivated, to be in
habited! That was asublime thing said by
Henry Clay while crossing the Allegheny
Mountains; and he was waiting for the Stage
horses to be rested, as he stood on a rock,
arms folded, looking of into the valley, and
some one said to him. MIR. Clay, what are
you thinking about?" He replied, ~ am
listening to the oncoming tramp of the fu-
ture generation Of America"
Have you laid our home missionary scheme
on such an inflnitude of scaleg If the work
OF bringing one soul to God is so great. can
10000 600 be captured? In this country,
already planted and to be overcome, pagan
Ism has built its altar to Brahma, and the
Chinese are already burning incense in their
temples. and Mohammedanism, drunk in
other days with the red wine Of human blood
at Lucknow and Cawnpur and now fresh
from the diabolism in Armenia, is trying to
get foothold here, and from the minare;s of
her mosques will yet humble her blasphe-
mics, saying. "God isgreat, and Mohamned
is His prophet" Then there are the vaster
muititudes with no religion at all They
worship no God, they live with no consola-
tion, and they die with no hope. No star of
peace points down to the manger in which
they are born, and no prayeris is uttered over
the grave into which they sink. Then there
Is alcoholism, its piled up demijohns and
beer barrels aud hogsheads Of fiery death, a
barricads high and long as the Alleghenies
and Rockies and Sierra Nevadas, pouring
forth day and night their ammunition OF
wretchedness and woe. When a German
wants to take a drink, he takes beer. When
an Englisnman wants to take drink, he
takes ale. When 6 Scotchman wants to take
q drink. he takes whisky, But when an
American wants to take drink hetakes any
thing he can lay his hands on.
Plenty of statistics to tell how much money
Is spent in this country for rum, and how
many drunSards die. But who will give US
the statistics OF how manyhearts are crushed
under the heel OF this worst demon Of the
centuries? How many hopes blasted? How
many children turned out on the world &C
cursed with the stigma OF q debauched an
cestrY? Until the worm of the distillery be-
comes the worm that never dies and the
smoke Of the heated wine watts becomes the
smoke OF the torment that ascendeth up for
ever anil ever. Alcoholism, swearinS-not
with hand uplifted toward heaven, for from
that direction it can get no help. but with
right hand stretched down toward the per-
dition from which it came eup-swearing that
1t will not cease as long as there are any
homesteadsto to despoil, any magnificent men
and women to destroy, any immortal souls
to damn. any moro Nations to balk, any
more civilizations to eXtinguish.
Then there Is what in America we coil
socialism. in France communism and in
Russia nihilism. the three names for one and
the same thing, and having but two doc.
trines in its creed. First, there Is no God
second. there shall be no rights Of property.
One of their CHIEF journals printed this senti.
ment: Dynamite can be made out Of the
daed ho6iaS NJ noDitalists nc vvpll Out a.
hogs" One Of the leaders Of communism
left insccihad ON his nrison wall where be