The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1901-08-08
HARVEST TIME HERE
A Sermon of Congratulation for
Christian Endeavorers.
DR.. Talmage Finds . Mighty SugEes-
tiyeness in His Text-The Growth
and Perfection of Chris
tianity.

copyright, 1901, by Louis Klopsch, N. VI
| Washington,
Although DR.. Talmage was hindered
| from attending the great annual meet
| ing of the Christian Endeavor society
at Cincinnati, his sermon shows him to
| be in sympathy with the great move
| ment; text, Amos 9:13: Behold the
days come, saith the Lord, that the
| plowman shall overtake the reaper"
Unable because of other important
duties to accept the invitation to take
part in the great convention of Chris
tian Endeavorers at Cincinnati, begun
| last week, l preach sermon OF con-
gra ula tion for all the members of that
| magnificent association, whether now
gathered in vast assemblage or busy in
| their places of usefulness, transatlan-
tic and elsa tlantic, and as il is now har-
vest time in the fields and sickles are
flashing in the gathering of a great
crop, l find mighty suggestiveness in
my text.
1t is picture of tropical cline,
| with a season so prosperous that the
harvest reaches clear over to the plant
| ing time, and the swarthy husba nd
/ man, busy cutting the grain, almost
feels the breath of the horses on his
shoulders, the horses hitched to the
plow, preparing for a new crop. Be
hold the days come, saith the Lord,
| that the plowman shall overtake the
| reaper" When is that? That is now.
That is this day, when hardly have you
done reaping one harvest of religious
result than the plowman is getting
ready for another.
In phra seology charged with all VEN
ON and abuse and caricature l know
| that infidels and agnostics have de-
clared that Christianity has collapsed; /;
| that the Bible is an obsolete book; that
| the Christian church is on the retreat.
| I shall answer that wholesale charge
to-day.
Between 100000 and 100000 En-
deavorers sworn before high Heaven
that they will do all they can to take
| America for God, Europe for God, Asia
| and Africa for God-are not the signs
most cheering? Or, to return to the
agricultural figure of my text, more
than million reapers are overtaken II
by more than million plowmen. Be-
sides this, there are more people who
believe in the Bible than at any time
in the worlds existence. An Arab
guide was leading French infidel
across the desert, and ever and anon
the Arab guide would get down in the
sand and pray to the Lord. 1t disgust
ed the French infdel, and after awhile,
as the Arab got up from one of his
prayers, the infdel said: "How do
you know there is any God?" And the
Arab guide said: "How do 1 know that
man and a camel passed by our tent
last night? know it by the footprint
in the sand. And you want to know
how know whether there is any God
Look at the sunset. Is that the foot
step of a man?" And by the same
process you and I have come to under
stand that this book is the footstep
of God.
But now let US see whether the book
is last years almanac. Let US see
| whether the church of God is a Bull
Runt retreat, muskets, canteens and
haversacks strewing all the way. The
great English historian Sharon Tur-
ner, a man of vast learning and great
accuracy, not a clergyman, but an at
torney as well as historian, gives this
overwhelming statistic in regard to
Christianity and in regard to the num-
| Der of Christians in the different GEN.
turies: In the first century 100000
Christians, in the second century 2,O0O,-
| 900 Christians, in the third century
100000 Christians, in the fourth CEN
tury 100000 Christians, in the fifth
century 100000 Christians, in the
sixth century 100000 Christians, in
the seventh century 100000 Chris
tians, in the eighth century 10000 .o0O
Christians, in the ninth century 40, ,0OO,-
| 600 Christians, in the tenth century so,
100000 Christians, in the eleventh CEN
tury 70, ,000, 900 Christians, in the twelfth
| century s0,0O0,00O Christians, in the
| thirteenth century 100000 Chris.
tians, in the fourteenth century so, ,ooo.-
600 Christians, in the fifteenth century
| 100000 900 Christians, in the sixteenth
century 125,oO0,O00 Christians, in the
seventeenh century 155,000,O 900 Chris
tians, in the eighteenth century 200,-
100000 Christians-a decadence, as you
observe, in only one century and more
than made up in the following CEN
turies, while it is the usual computa-
| tion that there were at the close of the
nineteenth century 470,0O0,ooO Chris
tians, making us to believe that before
| this century is closed the millennium
| will have started it's boom and lifted
! its hosanna.
Poor Christianity! What a pity ii
| has 40 friend! How lonesome it must
be! Who will take it out of the poor.
house? Poor Christianity! -Four hun
dred millions in one century. In few
weeks of this year 100000 copies OF
the New Testament distributed. Why,
the earth is like an old castle with 2e
gates and a park Of artillery ready to
thunder down every gate. See how
heathendom is being surrounded and