The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-06-29
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NoTEr
DIVINE.
Subject: The Best OF All Books-Ths
Bibles Divine origin Upheld--FuI-
filled Prophecies of the ola Testamen
Prove Its EmanatIon From God.
.CopyrightlpOu1


Prove Its Emanation From God.
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON. ID. C.-ln the great CON
fict now raging IN Europe, az IN this coun-
try, between Christianity and agnostlclsm
Dr. Tahnagc has taken decided stand,
and I'M this sermon declares his unwaycr-
ing belief in ihe divine origin OF the Scrip
tures; text, Matthew vi, 10, DO men
gather grdtes OF thornsF
Not M his country. Not IN any couE-
try. 1horns stick thOrns laCcrato, nUt
all the thorns put together never yielded
one cluster OF Catawba or Isabella grapes.
Christ who was the master OF ant and pO-
tent illustration u thus setting forth what
YOU and | well know-that you cannot get
that which Is pleasant and heathiul and
good from that which is bad II you ind
a round large, beautiful cluster OF grapcs
you know tha, II was produced 10y good
grapevine and not from a tanglc OF Can
ada thistle Now II | can show you that
TINS Holy Bible yields good fruit, hcalthiu,
fruit, grand fruit, splendid fruit, YOU VIII
come 10 the conclusion 10 D. goCd Bible,
and all the arguments OF the skcpuc
against il when he tries 10 show II is a bad
book, will go overheard.
DO mon gather grapes OF thornsy can
a bad took yield good results SkCptlcs
with great yehemence declare that the Ia
bic - cruel hook. They read the story
OF the determination OF the Canaanl,cs
and oi all the ancient wars and of the N'.-
tory Of David and Joshua, and they come
30 the conclusion that the Bible IL m IN.
vor of laccration and manslaughtcr and
massacre Now, q bad book viii produce
a bad result, a cruel book will produce
cruel result.
You have friends who have been in the
habit OF reading the Bible a great many
years. Have YOU noticed n tendency TO
cruelty on their partE Have you ever
heard any of them come out and practl-
cally say Il have been reading the story
about the determination of the Canaanltcs
and | am seized upon with a disposition
10 cut and slash and maui and pinch and
murder and knock 10 pieces everything !
can lay my hands ony' Have your friends
IN proportion as they become diligcnt 81.
bic students and disciples of the Christ of
the Bible shown q tendency toward mas
sacre and murder and manslaughter; Has
that been your observation!
What has been the effect upon your chll.
dren OF this cruel book? Or, II YOU do not
allow the book TO be read in your house
hold, what has been the effect upon the
children of other households where the
Word Of God is honored! Have they AZ a
result OF reading this cruel book gone
forth with n cruel spirit 10 pull the wings
of flies and to plnion grasshoppers and to
rob birds ncstsy \ cruel book ought TO
make cruel people IT they diligently read
II and get absorbed with It's principles that
cause must produce that effect. At what
time did YOU notice that the teachings OF
this Holy Bible created cruelty in the heart
and the life of George Peabody, of Miss
Dix. of Florence Nightingale of John
Howard OF John Frederick Oberlin, of
Abbot Laurence? Have YOU noticed IN
reading the biography of these people that
IN proportion as they became friends of
the Bible they became enemies 10 human
Ityt Have YOU not, on the contrary, no
ticed that all the institutions OF mercy
were chiefly supported 10y the friends OF
this book There is the hospital IN war
time. There are twenty Christian women.
They are binding mp wounds, they are of
fering cordlals, ttey are kuechng down 10y
the dying, praying for their departing spr-
it's. Where does the cruelty crop OUT
They have been reading the Bible all their
lives They read u every morning; they
read II every night; they carry It under
their arm when they go into the hospital.
Again, inhdels go on and most vche-
mently charge that this Bible is an impure
book. You all know that an impure book
produces impure results No amount OF
money could hire you 10 allow your child
90 read an uncea book. Now, ii this B-
ble be an impure book, where are the VIC
Tins Your father read ibid 10 make
him a bad man? Your mother read it
did il make her a bad woman? Your Sis
ter fifteen years IN heaven uied IN the
faith OF this cospel-did it dcspoIl her ma.
turet Some say there are OOOOO0OO cop
les OF the Bible IN existence; some say there
are OOOOO.OOO copies of the Bible. II ls
impossible 10 give the accurate statistics.
But suppose there are 2OOOOOOOO copies Of
the Bible abroad. this one book read more
than any twenty bookc that the world
ever printed. this book abroad for ages
fpp ksF "a - VIC.
time! Show me 1000. show me 500 vac.
Tins Of an impure book: show me loo de-
spoiled Of the Bible; show m fifty. show
me ten; show me two; show me one Two
hundred million copies of an impure book
and not one victim of the impurity On
the contrary. YOU know "crv well that it ~
where the Bible has the most power that
the family institution rs most respected.
Again. agnostics 20 on still further, and
they say the Bible is mass of coutradic-
tions. and they put prophet against pro-
phet, evangelist against evangelist, apos-
tie against apostle, and they say n this hc
true how, then, can that he true. Mr..
Mil. who was a friend of the Bible. said
he had discovered 10000 different read
inCs Of the Scriptures and yet not one inn
poitant difference out OF 10000. only the
. difference that YOU might expect from the
fact that the book came down from gencr-
alton 90 generation, aud was copied los a
great many hands And yet | put before
You thu TACT to-day-that all the Bible
writers agree i'm the four great doctrines OF
the Bible.
What are these four great doctrines
God-eood. kind. patient. Just. loving. ON.
nipotent. Mana lost sinner. Two desti.
nies-one Tor believers. the other for un-
believers. All who accept Christ reaching
that home and only those destroyed who
DESTROY themselves only those who turn
their back upon Christ and come to the
precipice and jump off, for God never
pushes man OF he jumps off Now
in these Aur great doctrines all the
Bible writers agree. Mozart. Beethoven
Handel. Hadyn. never wrote more harmo
nious music than you will find in this per
feet harmony Of the Word OF God, the har
mony in providence aud IN grace
You must remember also that the au
thors Of the Bible came from different
lands. from different ages AMI from dif
ferent centuries. They had no communica
ton with each other. they did not have M
idea ar to what was the chief lesign Of the