The Greenville times. [volume] (Greenville, Miss.) 1868-1917, 1900-06-30

agree in the four great doctrines o
the Bible.
Whatare those four great doctrines
God-good, kind, patient, just, loving
omnipotent. Mana lost sinner TIVE
destinies-one for believers, the othei
for unbelievers; all who accept Chris
reaching that home and only thos,
destroyed who destroy themselves
only those who turn their back upoI
Christ and come to the precipice anC
jump off, for God never pushes a mar
off, he jumps off. Now, in these foul
great doctrines all the Bible writer's
agree. Mozart, Beethoven, Handel
and Hadyn never wrote more har-
monious music than you will find in
this perfect harmony of the Word OF
God, the harmony in providence and
in grace.
You must remember also that the
authors of the Bible came from diff
ferent lands, from different ages and
from different centuries. They had
no communication with each other;
they did not have an idea as to what
was the chief design of the Bible, and
yet their writings, got up from all
these different lands and all these diff
ferent ages and all these different
centuries, coming together make a
perfect harmony in the opinion of the
very best scholars of all lands. Is not
that most remarkable fact?
The Bible is made up of the Old
H.
Let us take the New Testament first.
Why do l believe it? Why do | take
it to my heart? 1t is because it can
be traced back to the Divine heart
just as easily as that aisle can be
traced to that door, and that aisle to
that door.
Jerome and Eusebius in the first CEN
tury and Origen in the second century
and other writer's in the third and
fourth centuries gave list of the New
Testament writer's just exactly corre-
spending with our list, showing that
the same New Testament which we
have they had in the fourth century
and the third century and the second
century and the first century. But
where did they get the New Testa-
ment? They got it from Irenaeus.
Where did Irenaeus get it? He got it
from Polycarp. Where did Polycarp
get it? He got it from St. John, who
was the personal associate of the Lord
Jesus Christ. My grandfather gave a
book to my father, my father gave it
% me, I give it to my child. Is there
any difficulty in tracing this line?
On communion day | will start the
,halice at that end of the aisle, and the |
,halice will pass along to the other end |
If the aisle. Will it be difficult to trace |
he line of that holy chaliee? No diff
,ulty at all. This one will say: 81 gave
t to that one" and this one will say:
4 gave it to that one" But it will not
'e so long line as this to trace the
Jew Testament. It is easier to get at
he fact. But you say: although this
vas handed right down in that way,
Who knows but they were lying impos-
ers? How can you take their testi-
nony?" They died for the truth of
hat Book. Men never die for lie
heerfully and triumphantly. They
we're not lying imposters. They died
n triumph for the truth of that New
Testament.
SWELL" says someone, NOW I am
eady to believe that the New Testa-
lent is from the heart of Christ, but
ow about the Old Testament? Why
o you believe that" / believe the Old
testament because the prophecies fore
old events hundreds and thousands of
ears ahead-events which afterward
ook place. How far can you see ahead?
'wo thousand years? Can you see
head a hundred years? Can you see
head five minutes? No, no! Human
amounts to nothing. Here
hese old prophets stood thousands of
ears back, and they foretold events
'hich came accurately true far on in
he future centuries. Suppose should
and here and say to you: Twenty
We hundred and sixty years from now
1ree miles and half from the city of
Ioscow, there will be an advent. and it
ill be in certain family, and it will
e amid certain surroundings" 1t
ould make no impression upon you
ecause you know l cannot foresee a
lousand years or one year or one min
tie, and / cannot tell what is going to
in land far away. But that I
what these old prophets did.
You must remember that Tyre and :
abylon and Nineveh were in full pomp
I'd splendor when these prophecies,
lese old prophecies, said they would
, destroyed. Those cities had archi-
cture that make the houses of mod
n cities perfectly insignificant. Yet
lese old prophets walked right :,
rough those magnificent streets and u
id: "This has all got to come down. !
his is all going to be leveled." y
Suppose man should stand up in
lese cities to-day and say: There
i'll be harvests of wheat and corn :"
here these cities now stand, and these
reefs will be pasture for cattle" n
lch man would be sent to the insane
ylum. Yet the old prophets did that =
ry thing. Where is Babylon to-day? =
ou go and walk over the ruins of =
lbylon and you will not find leaf or y,
grass blade of those splendid hanging =
rdens, and in the summer time the =
ound actually blisters the feet of the =,
aveler. Babylon destroyed accord a
g to the prophecy. ..
Where is Tyre? In the day of its a
mp the prophet said: 1.-THE fisher h
en- will dry their nets where this e.
y stands" If you should go to that II
ice to-day, you would find that lit f.
ally. The fishermen are drying their d,
is on the rocks where the city OF r.
re once stood. Tartar and Turk and OF
racen drying their nets on the rocks. h,