Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1896-11-23

Whole Volume.
Last evening Rev DR.. Cunningham,
pastor Of the First Presbyterian
Church, delivered the first of a series
of four sermons on special subjects.
The sermon last night was heard by a
large congregation, who showed plain
ly their appreciation by the rapt at
tention given the pastor. Dr. Cum
ningham's subject last night was Did
God Make a Book"
The Scriptural text was taken from
II. Timothy iii. Is: All Scripture is
given by inspiration Of God" The Bible
claims to be Gods Book. Men who
wrote it We're inspired by God to do
so. The canon or table of books re-
ceived as genuine gives us work that
opens with Genesis and closes with
Revelations, and bears the name-the
Bible; that is, the Book And did God
make a Book? Yes; why not? Man
is creature of God, and if he can be
an author of books, why may not the
same be true OF the Author of man S
mind and being? No modern criticism
has overthrow the fact that the earlier
pages of this Book were written by
Moses, who. doubtless possessed ira
ditions and documents Of still earlier
date, and who, by direction OF heaven
has given us the only account we have
of the creation of the world.
Since we learn from the lips of our
Savior that Moses wrote the opening
pages of the Bible, we must be careful
lest in disOwning Moses. we disown
Christ. The Jewish canon of the Old
Testament book names those that the
Christian Church receives. The Jews
preserved these books with their pro-
verbal attention to detail The New
Testament has been preserved with
equal care, and from its pages the unity
of the one work in two parts is clearly
proven The first association of
Christians, of whom we have lnOwl-
edge. accepted the sacred writings OF
the Old Testament, quoting them more
than two hundred and fifty times in q
manner to cover al the essential parts
Christ always spoke of the old Tesla
ment as the Word of God. The New
Testament is the equal 10 the Old.
Christianity is the full unfolding Of
Judaism.
AS to our assurance that The books
forming the New Testament are genu-
inc. we have solid ground on which to
base the claim that they We're written
and published to the world more than
eighteen hundred years ago by the
venerated founders Of Christianity to
whom they were attributed. BY quo
tatiOns from the authors at these times,
the Scriptures are found as we have
them. There is an UnbrOken chain OF
evidence beginning with writer's who
lived at the very time of Christ and
the Apostles. and extending TO the
present writer's, who enjoyed the OPP
pOrtunity of knowing the truth and
whose reputation for veracity is unim-
peachable-all testifying that this New
Testament is the work of the primitive
disciples of Christ. Why 90 we re-
ceive the works of Tacitus? Because
their authorship is assisted by the gen
eral voice of antiquity. They are quo
ted and cited by friends and enemies,
who. from their honesty and nearness
in point of time. were qualified to judge.
Now. we have the same kind of proof
as to the Bible. God might have
written the proof that the BiOle is His
Book with a pen of fire across the sky.
He chose rather to give us precisely
the same evidence that we have OF the
genuineness of other books. what
more can we ask? The writer's of the
first centuries allude TO the Gospels as
coming from the pens of different men
inspired by God. There was IraeneS'
Origen and Justin Martyr from whose
works the New Testament could oe
gathered by quotation. These fathers
could not be deceived: they had no
object TO deceive others. An absurd
ity is involved in the assertion that the
book was of human invention. Ii
claims TO be from God; the several
writer's declare they wrote by Goa S
direction. If they speak falsely they
are unworthy of being considered good
men. If they are good men, they can
not deliberately lie. If they were
fools. their words would not read as
wisely as they do. and if they We're
fanatics. such wonderful results Wouid
not follow their words.
There is such a thing as recorded
history. vouched as authentic hN IN
ternal evidence by tradition, by other
corroboratiye writer's. In this way We
are substantially assured OF thousands
of events that happened ages ago as OF
auv of which we read in yesterday S
newsDapers. That Jesus Christ, the
central figure of the Bible was born in
Beth' hem of Judea, that He was
marvellous teacher mighty in word
and deed. that He was put To death
under Pontius PLATE, and during the
reign of Augustus Caesar. are facts or
which we are as we'll certified as that
George Washington was the first Pres
ident of the United States
Passing from the facts OF the BOOK
to the style i'm which III is written, we
claim that the varieties of style in the
compOsition of the different BOOKS Is
rather a proof than otherwise thaI GoG
dictated the whole volume. " Goa
should inspire all the singing uiI0s III
tho snring time with sOl"e sudden Joy
and tive them Q new song, we Shouiu
NOT evnect the canary to sing preCselE
Iil,e tho robin. but each bird TO express
Sc sorc, i'm notes peculiar to itself Al
tLo,cb written by forty men during
,,ari1d of fifteen hundred years there
= o,o DIon running through the Whoie
- eacb writer developing ms own
EXPRESSIONS. his mind being go aIl',..
inspired. kept from error by ne p III,
mind We listen TO an orchestra OIL
f ll,t'y,' musicians, each playing his own
s en-, instrument. rendering each OF OF
tber5 notes that are unlike those ot
sny other player, and yet the orchestra
'N' -, boru1oniOnS effects. and we