The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1900-07-06

Inc come 10 lnc YICCAF4Cc LIE JUMP OI,
for God never pushes a man off, he
Jumps off. Now, in these four great
doctrines ALI the Bible writer's agree.
Mozart, Beethoven, Handel and Hadyn
never wrote more harmonious music
than you will find in his perfect har-
meny of the word Of God, h harmony
II providence and grace
A REMARKABLE FACT.
Y must remember also that the au-
lands, from different ages n from diff
ferent centuries. They had no COM
munication with each other; they lid
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 n all these different ages and
all these different centuries, coming to-
gether make a perfect harmony in the
opinion of the very best scholars Of all
lands. Is not that a most remarkable
fact?
Again, infdels vehemently charge
that the Bible Is IN unScientific book.
In a former discourse / showed you that
there was no collision between science
and revelation, and / went from point
to point in the discussion, but now let
us have authority in this matter. You
and l cannot give 40 or 80 or so years
exclusively to the study of science that
some men give. Let us have authority
in this matter.
Who says there is a collision between
science and revelation? Well, Herbert
Spencer, Tyndall, Darwin. They say
there is a discord between science and
revelation; but 1 will bring you names
of men who have found a perfect ac-
cord between science and revelation-
men as much higher in intellectual
character above those whom I have
mentioned as the Alps and Mount
Washington and the Himalayas are
higher than the hill back of your house.
Hersched, Kepler, Leibnitz, Ross, Isaac
Newton. My friends, we are in respec-
table company when We believe in the
word Of God-very respectable COM
pany.
In the temple of nature there are two
orchestraS, the orchestra of revelation
and the orchestra of science. The or
chestra of revelation has all the musical
instruments full strung, n it is ready
for the burst of eternal accord. The
orchestra of science is only just string
ing the Instruments. If you will only
wait long enough you will find hat it
is as in the old German c~athedrals
where they have an organ at one end Of
ne building and an organ at the other
end Of the building, both responding to
each other and making mighty music.
So it will be in the temple of the uni
verse-the orchestra of revelation and
the orchestra of science will respond to
each other after awhile, and it will be
found hat he roar of the ocean is only
the magnificent bass of the temple
voices. and that the earth is only the
pedals of the great organ, of which the
heavens are keyboard.
INFIDELITY NONSUITED.
Now, 1 might, as infidels have failed
to prove that the Bible is a cruel book,
that the Bible is an impure book, that
the Bible is a contradictory book, that
the Bible is an u~nscientific book-I
might nov a nonsuit in this case of
Infidelity, the plaintiff, against Chris
tianity, the defendant, but / will not
take advantage of the circumstances,
for when the skeptic goes on to say
that we are a gullible people, when he
the greater the improbability the more
we like to believe it, when he goes on
to say that the Bible is made up of a
lot of manuscripts, one picked up here
n another there and another from
some other. place n hat the whole
thing is an imposition on the credulity
of the una race, I must reply to that
charge.
The Bible is made up of the Old Tes-
lament and the New Testament. Let
us take the New Testament first. Why
do I believe it? Why do I 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 hat door
and that aisle to that door.
Jerome and Eusebus in the first cen.
fury and Origen in the second century
and other writer's in the third and
fourth centuries gave a list of the New
Testament writer's just exactly CORE.
spending with our list, showing that
the same New Testament which We
hav they had in the fourth century
and the third century Inc the second
century and the first century. But
where did they get the New Testament:
They got it from I%renaeus. Where die
Irenaeus get it? He got it from Poly
carp. Where did Polycarp get it? He
got it from St. John, who was the per-
sonal associate of the Lord Jesus
Christ. My grandfather gave a book
to my father, my father gave it to me
1 give it to my child. Is there any
difficulty in tracing this line?
On the communion day I will start
the chalice at that end Of the aisle, and
the chalice will pass along to the other
end of the aisle. Will it be difficult to
trace the line of that holy chalice? Nc
difficulty at all. This n will say, 81
gave it to that one," and this one will
say, ct gave it to hat one" But il
will not be so long a line as this to trace
the New Testament. 1t is easier to get
at the fact. But you say, Although
this was handed right down in that
way, who knows but they were lying
imposters? How can you take thei
testimony" They died for the truth Of
that book. Men never die for a lie
cheerfully and triumphantly. They
were not lying imposters. They died in
triumph for the truth of that New Tes-
lament.
We'll, says some one, nov 1 an
ready to believe that the New Tesla.
ment is from the heart of Christ, but
how about the Old Testament? Why
do you believe hat? / believe the Ole
Testament because the prophecies fore.
told events hundreds and thousands OF
years ahead-events which afterwarG
took place. How far can you sex
ahead? Two thousand years? Car
you see ahead a hundred years? Car
you see ahead five minutes? No, no,
Human prophecy amounts to nothing
Here these old prophets stood thou.
sands of years back. and they foretol6
events which came accurately true ia,
on in the future centuries. Suppose
should stand here and say to you
Twenty-Five undre and sixty wears