The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-04-11

England was a peaceful revolution. Beiore
john Wesley was dead this new message
Of the ancient book had spread all through
England crossed the Atlantic ocean ana
spread through the United states OF An1eri-
ca, crossed the channel and spread through
the nations OF Europe II has gone gone wneT WesL
ley's time the little circle at OXFORD hsu
grown 10 church numbering eighty thou
sand members. Who can tell what Aetnoo.
ism has done I'm this country Who can tell
what the pioneer missionary has done with
no book but the Bible ia his saddle-oags.
at his side? Who can tell what churches
have grown out of these influences. what
education has been wrought. what life has
been given? We do not know Methodism in
our great cities. Time fails to speak of
preachers since the days OF Wesley and
Whitfield. But every preacher. ! think
though broad and general statements. |
admit are dangerous-every preacher, /
think. whether ne has been Protestant or
Roman Catholic. or jew: whether he has
been orthodox or heretical; whether he has
been Friend or Episcopalian: whether he
has been cultivated or uncultiVated. who
has produced strong. permanent, spiritual
Influence on his age and generation. is a
man who has gone back of the tradition,
back OF the ecclesiastici@m. back of the
theology. back OF the commentaries. TO the
book an: gathered his message therefrom.
BIBLE INTERPRETERS
1t is true that We are all partialists. We
see in part we know in part. and we
prophesy in part: but whether it has been
Bosuet or Fenelon, whether it has been
Sturgeon or Maurice or Kingsley or Rob-
ertson whether it has been Jonathan Ed
wards or Beecher or Bushnell or Phillips
Brooks. aye. or whether it has been Chan
ming Theodore Parker. these men have
gone TO the heart of the book 10 gather
their message, and from the heart of the
book they have given il. They have some
times affirmed an authority in the book
which l do not believe it possesses; they
have sometimes denied an authority TO the
book which L believe it does possess: they
have sometimes coupled with the message
an authority in the church which / do not
think it possesses; they have sometimes
denied TO the church an authority which |
think il does possess. it is not that they
have agreed with my Interpretation of the
book; il is not that they have agreed with
my Interpretation of other things tnan the
book; IL is not dat they have agreed with
each other-whether they have been Cal
whist or Arminian, whether they have been
Romanist or Protestant, whether they have
been called heretical or orthodox, whether
Old school or new school-eyery preacher
VINO mas really made the world stir afresh,
VINO has really reused Ii from its Slumber,
who has really called 1t back 10 life from
Paul TO Phillips Brooks. are men who have
clesas ticism, seized the book and found
the word of their message therein.
This is what the Bible has done for the
world in these great epochS- What has IL
done for the inoividual? In spite of the
length of the paragraph, ! read this testi-
mony from Theodore Parker. because no
one of you skeptically inclined will think
Theodore Parker likely 10 exaggerate the
value of the Bible to the individual:
This collection of books has taken such hold
Greece, which goes up like incense from that
land % temples and heroic deeds. has not half
the influence OF TINS book from nation alike
despsed in ancient and modern times. ii Is
read Of sunday day in all the 5000 Ful6ts Of our si
voice lifted up week by week. The sun never
sets set on It's cleaning page IL goes equally to
the king. 1t is woven into the literature OF the
scholar and colors the talk of the street. The
out it, no ship Of war goes to the conflict but
the Bible is there IL enters mems closets. min
giles in all the grief and cheerfulness of life.
The ahianced maiden prays God in Scripture Tor
Scripture The Bible attends them in their sick
ness; when the fever OF the world is on them
leaves lie underneath. The mariner, escaping
from shipwreck, clutches this first of his treas
the pe ed IN his crowded pSc cheers ef bim al
eventide. when he sits down. dusty and fatgued;
It biesses US when We are born: gives names to
half christendom rejoices with us; has sympa-
thy for our mourning; tempeTs our grief 10 finer
issues. IL is the better part of our sermons. 1T
hits man above himself; our best Of uttered
fathers and the patriarchs prayed. The timid
ook hgough he s of s and hi his eve
ercws bright: he does not fear TO stand alone.
The death angel bv the hand and hid farewell
10 wife and babes and home. Men rest this
Their dearest hopes. II tells them OF God and
of His blessed Son. of earthly duties and of
heavenly rest.
Young man. if some one laughs a you be-
cause you read the Bible laugh him to
scorn. Let him laugh at you because you
read Plato, or Homer, or Dante, or Shak-
speare. or Browning. but laugh at him il
he laughs at you because you read the BIZ
BILE. More than we have gained from all
other literatureS have we gained from this.
More of our law from Moses than from
Justinian; more of our poetry from David
than from Homer; more of our inspiration
from Isaiah than from Dante, DemoStheneS
from Cicero; more of our philosophy
from Paul than from Plato; more of our
life from this one book than from all other
books combined. And yet il is not the
book; it is the message i'm the book that
is to give the life. Who are the men who
have so preached this book that ii is car
ried life with them, and what have they
preached? ON what has actually rested its
authority? On this: that Moses wrote the
PentateIich? Was that the message of
Luther? On this: that Jonah is history?
Was that the message of Wesley? On TINS:
that David wrote all the Psalms? Was
that what Paul went saying in Spain, in
Rome. and i'm all Greece? No. On this:
that one testimony sounds out from all the
writer's of this book-from Moses and
Joshua and David and Isaiah and Paul
from them all one message-God is one and
a righteous God. and Righteousness is love
and love binds us 10 Him and TO one an
other. That is the message that is to rev.
oiutionize the world. 1t is because Ger
many and England have accepted that mes
sage that they march toward the future.
II is because Italy and Spain have turned
a deaf ear 10 that message that they nave
remained i'm the civilization and intellectual
activity of the middle ages. Whatever
heart takes this message takes God into
itself: whatever heart gets from this mes
sa ge the love of God and love for human
itV gets the Bible and whatever man goes
without the Bible-that is. without its mes
saRe-goes without the sunshine that makes
life ioycus and death more Joyous. This
message makes life worth living. brings
the future life into this life and makes all
one.