The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1897-03-06
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Diyine's Sermon, De-
livcred in Washington.
Subject, 'sstorming the Heights"

TEXT. "Who art thou, o great mountain
Before DISQUALIFICATION shalt become plain.
-zechariah iv., z.
ZerubbabeI! Who ownei that difficult
name in which three times the letter ''b" oc-
ours, disposing most people TO stammer In
the pronunciation? Zerub5abel WAS the
splendid man called to rebuild the destroyed
temple OF Jerusalem. Stone for the building
had been quarried, andthe trowei had rung al
tie laying OF tho cornerstone, and al went
well, when the Cutbgaus offered TO help in
the work. They were bad lot OF people,
and Zerubbabel declined their help, and then
the trouble began. The Cnthaans preju-
diced the secretary of the treasury against
Zerubbabel. SO that the wages OF the carpen-
tiers and masons could not be paid, and the
heavy cedar timbers which had been dragged
from Mount Lebanon to the Mediterranean
and foated in RATS from Beirut TO Joppa and
were TO be drawn by OK team from Jorpa to
Jerusalem had halted, and as result of the
work of those jealous Cutheans for sixteen
years the building of the temple was stopped.
But after sixteen years Zerubbabel. the
mighty soul, got new cali from God 10 go
ahead with the temple building, and the
angel OF the Lord in substance said: "They
have piled up obstacles in the way of Zerub-
babel until they have become as mouatain,
height above height. crag above crag, but ii
shall all be Numbered down and made fiat
and smooth as the floor of q house. Who
art thou, great mountain? Before Zerub-
babel thou shalt become plain"
Well. the Cutb8ans are not all dead yet.
They are busy in every neighborhood and
every city and every Nation OF every age,
heaping obstacles in the way OF the cause Of
God. They hare piled up hindraEees above
hindrances until they have become hill.
and the hill has become mountain, and the
mountain has become an Alp. and there it
stands, right in ihe way OF all moSeme nts
for the worlds salvation. Some people are
so discouraged about the height and breadth
OF this mountain in front of them that they
have done nothing for sixteen years, and
many OF those who are at work trying to do
something toward removing the mountain
toll in such way that can see they have
not much faith that the mountain of him
ORANGES will ever be removed. They feel
they must do their duty, but they feel all the
time-l can hear it in their prayers and ex-
hortations-that they are striking their
pickaxes and shoyels into the sides of ths
Rocky Mountains. II the good Lord will
help me while preach, will give you the
names of some of the high mountains which
are really In the way and then show you that
those mountains are to be pros,rated, torn
down, ground up, leveled, put out OF sight
forever.ss.'Who art thou, o great mountain?
Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a
plain"
First, there is the mountain of prejudice,
as lone as range OF the PyreneeS. Preju-
dice against the Bible as o dull book, an in
consistent book, cruel book. en- unclean
book, and in every way an unfit book. The
most ofthem have never read il. They think
Sthe strata ofthe rocks contradict the account
in Genesis. Tho poor souls do not know
that the Mosaic account agrees exactly with
the geological account. No violin or flute
N hot pxy. A
pickax and shovel aud blasting powder the
geologist goes down In the earth and says:
THE first thing created ia the furnishing OF
the earth was the plants" Moses says:
AYE. told you that in the book OF Gene
sis, The earth brought forth grass and herb,
Yielding seed after his kind and the tree
yielding fruit +" The geologist goes on
digging in the earth and says: 1.-THE next
thing in the furnishing OF the earth was the
making of the creatures of the sea-" Moses
says: "Aye. / told you that was next in the
book of Genesis. God said. Let the waters
bring forth abundantiy the moving creatures
that have life, and God created great
whales
The geologist goes on digging and says.
1.-THE next tlring in the furnishing OF the earth
was the creation of the cattle, and the rep
tiles and the beasts of the field" "Aye,"
says Moses. told you that was next in the
first chapter of Genesis, And God said. Let
the earth bring forth the living creature
after his kind, cattle and creeping things
and beasts OF the earth after his kind"
The geologist goes on digging in the earth
and says, ''The next creature was the human
family" aye" says Moses. az told YOU
that was next in the hook OF Genesis, so
God created man in His own image. In tho
image of God created He him; male and fe-
male, created He them.'" Those prejudiced
against the Bible do not know that the explor-
atoms in Egypt and Palestine and Syria are
confirming the Scriptures--the same facts
written on monuments and on the walls OF
exhumed cities as written in the Bible. The
city of Pithom has been unburied, and its
bricks are found to have been made without
straw, exactly corresponding with the Bible
story of the prosecuted Hebrews. On terra
Gotta cylinder, recently brought up from
thousands OF years Of burial, tire capture of
Babylon by Cyrus Is told. On a Babylonian
gem recently found are the figures of tree.
man, a woman and serpent, and the
hands OF the man and woman are stretched
up toward the tree as to pluck the fruit.
Thus the Bible story OF the fall is confirmed.
In museum at Constantinople you see
piece OF the wall that once 10 the ancient
temple OF Jerusalem separated the court of
the Gentiles and the court OF the Israelitss
10 which Paul refers when he SAYS OF Christ,
"He is ourpeace, Who hath broken down th,
middle wall of partition between US" On
tablets recently discovered have been found
the names OF prominent men of the Bible,
spelled little different, according to the
demands OF ancient language. "Adamu"
for Adam, "Abramn" for Abraham, ''Ablu''
for Abel. and so on. Twenty-Five feet UNDER
ground has been foand a seal inscribed with
the words, 'Haggai, son OF Shebnniah,"
thousands OF years ago cut, showing that
the Prophet Haggai, who wrote part Of the
Bible, was not myth.
The royal engineers have found, eighty
feet below. the surface of the ground at
Jerusalem, Phpnician pottery and hewn
stones with inscriptions showing that they
were furnished by Hiram, King of Tyre, Just
as the Bible says they were. The great names
OF Bible history, that many suppose are
names OF imaginary beings, are found cut
into imperishable stones which have within
few years been rolled up from their
entombment of ages, such as Sennacherib
and Tigiath-Pileser. On the edge OF a
pronzed step and on burned brick has been
.ound the name OF Nebuchadnezzar. Henry
Rawlinson and Oppettand Hicks and Pales-
tine exploration societies and Assyriologists
and Egyptologists have rolled another Bible
up from the depths OF the earth, and lol il
corresponds exactly with our Bible, the rock
Bible just like the printed Bible, inscrip-
tons on cylinders and brickwork cut
$500 years before Christ testifying
to the truth Of what We read 1891
years after Christ. The story OF the tower
OF Babel has been confirmed by the fact that
recently at Babel IN oblong pie OF brick 10
feet high evidences the remains OF fallen
tower. In the inspired book of Ezra we
read Of the great and noble Asnapper, name
that meant nothing especial until recently
in pried mp Egyptian sculpture we have
the story there told of him as a great hunter
as well as great warrior. What say now