El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1899-04-17
FIRST M. e. CHURCH
Rev. A. M. Lumpkln DisCOurses Up
on Jonah and the Whole.

Rev. A. m. Lumpkin DiscOurses Up.
on Jonah and the Whole.
Rev. A. M. Lumpkin choose as his
text last evening Jonah III. The fol-
lowing is a part of the discourse.
Now the Lord had prepared great
fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah
was in the belly of the fish three days
and three nights. Jonah LII.
To the unbelieving world, Gods deal
ings with those who are the special Cd
jects of his care, have always been
profound mystery. That he would IN
their behalf and for their deliverance;
that he would testify to their works by
acts that were beyond the power OF
human understanding; that he would
listen to them when they call upon
him, and rescue them in hours OF ex-
treme peril, is something that only
those who have profound faith In God
can understand.
But among all that is recorded In the
word of God, of mysterious character,
there is perhaps nothing that has so Of
ten shaken the faith of those who be-
Eeve and brought upon them the ridl-
Guile of those who disbelieve, in GODS
word, as the story recorded In the DOCK
of Jonah.
connected with this took. So many
that learned and pious men have DIFF.
fered greatly in their explanation OF
them. Some have regarded the en-
tire story as an al1egory, referring
wholly to the history of Manasseh, who
was taken captive by the Assyrlans,
thrown into q dungeon for three days
and three nights, and was finally II
berated by his earnest prayer and In
tercession to God. Others have said
that it was only a dream of Jonah's.
Some have claimed that the vessel
tn at picked Jonah up had carved or
painted upon it the picture OF Whale
and was pro badly called"The Whale"
While still others have made the en-
tire story only q parable, referring to
Gods justice and mercy both to those
who believe and to those who DO not
believe his word.
But I see no need of resorting to
such mythical or categorical means OF
Interpretation.
1 propose to make it a plain account
of q historical fact. Christ more than
once refers to it as such In the gospels.
And If we attribute to God Almighty
the power of working miracles at all,
It is one of the least remarkable OF all
of them. To my mind it is much more
reasonable than that Christ should tell
Peter to 60 down to the sea and cast in
the hook and when he drew up the first |
fish to look into it's mouth and there he |
would find just money enough to pay |
the taxes for himself and Peter.
Much more reasonable than the mir
acle of the loaves and fishes; or that |
Christ should open the eyes of one born
blind, or give life to one who for three |
days had been dead.
We are told by those who disbelieve
that the time has come when common
sense men have quit believing in the
account of miracles. But my observa-
ton has been that the time has just
come when common-sense men have
only begun to believe in the account OF
miracles as recorded in the Bible.
Some of you can rememb er-I can re-
myself-When, except the case
of Jonah, there WAS no other miracle
of the bible so often called in question
as that of Moses and Elijah and Jesus
Christ each fasting 40 days and 40
nights. Yet modern science and ex-
perience has proven that that thing
can be done. Yea, it has been done,
and more than once, in these modern
hines. Il
Another miracle that has proven a
block to q great many peo- I
pie, is the one where it is recorded
hat during the battle of Joshua with
he Canaanites, the Lord rained great
l61l SbOuSS upOu Luc 6ueuloS VI lSTd6l,
and that the hail stones destroyed q,
more of them than the Israelites de-
,troyed. Now, if it had been recorded {
hat the shower was of real stones ]
lot hail stones-the case would have
,een much more difficult, would it I
lot? Yet history tells US that there
vas shower of real stones in Bohe- I
mia in 1853. In 1898, just about 100 !
ears ago, there was q shower of stones G
q the East Indies. In 1880 there was
n extensive shower of stones in {
france, In 1910 A. D. near Psdua in l
tally, there was q shower of stones in
which 1900 stones fell. many of which t
Weighed 20, 40, and so pounds, and one I
f which weighed 120 lbs. I
So you see that if in the account of
oshua's battle with the Canasnites it 8
ad been said that there was shower f
I stones that slew more of the Canaan s
les than were slain by the Israelites, c
be only strange thing, or at least I'M 8
ccountable thing, would have been q