Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1901-07-11
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
CHRISTIAN ENDEAvoR LAST
SUNDAYS SUBJECT.
Behold the Days Come, Saith the
Lord, That the fIowman Shall over
take the Reaper'--Amos. L., l3-The
Force of the Bible.


Talmage was hindered from attending
the great annual meeting Of the Chris
tian Endeavor society at Cincinnati,
his sermons show him to be in SYM
patty with the great movement;
text, Amos tx, 10. Behold the days
come, saith the Lord, that the plow-
man 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, began
last week, | preach sermon of con-
graduation for all the members Of that
magnificent association, whether now
gathered in vast assemblage or busy
in their places of usefulness, trans
atlantic and cisatlantic, and as it is
now harvest time in the fields and
sickles are flashing in the gatherings
Of great crop, find mighty sugges-
tiveness in my text.
1t is a picture of tropical cline,
with season so prosperous that the
harvest reaches clear over to the
planting time, and the swarthy hus-
bandman, busy cutting the grain, al
most feels the breath of the horses
on his shoulders, the horses hitched to
the pillow, preparing for a new crop.
Behold 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 re-
hgious result than the plowman is
getting ready for another.
> In phraseology charged with all
venom and abuse and caricature |
know that infidels and agnostics have
declared that Christianity has COL
lapsed; that the Bible is an obsolete
book; that the Christian church is on
the retreat. shall answer that whole
sale charge today.
Growth of Christianity.
But now let us see whether the book
is last years almanac. Let us see
whether the church of God is Bull
Run 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
number of Christians in the different
centuries: In the first century, 100000
Christians; in the second century,
100000 Christians; in the third CEN
fury, 100000 Christians; in the fourth
century 100000 Christians; in the
fifth century $1,000, 900 Christians; In
the sixth century 100000 Christians;
in the seventh century $4,000, 900
iChristians; in the eighth century, 3d.
100000 Christians; in the ninth CEN
fury 40,000,00 Christians; in the tenth
century $4,000, 900 Christians; in the
eleventh century 100000 Christians;
in the twelfth century 10000. 900 Chris
tians; In the thirteenth century u.s.
100000 Christians; in the fourteenth
century S0,000,000 Christians; in the
fifteenth century 100,000.O00 Chris
tians; in the sixteenth century, 1885,
900. 900 Christians: in the seventeenth
tChtuiy 1Oo,OVV,OVV SilEASllduo, III LIE
eighteenth century 200.000,000 Chris
tians-a decadence, as you observe, in
only one century, and more than made
up in the following centuries, while it
Is the usual computation that there
were at the close Of the nineteenth
century 470,000,O00 Christians, making
us to believe that before this century
is closed the millennium will have
started its boom and lifted its hosan-
ma.
Poor Christianity! What a pity 1t
has no friends! How lonesome 1t must
be! Who will take it out of the poor
house? Poor Christianity! Four hun
dred millions in one century. In a
few weeks of this year 2,500.000 copies
OF the New Testament distributed
Why, the earth is like an old castle
with 20 gates and park of artillery
ready to thunder down every gate
See how heathendom is being sur
rounded and honeycombed and at
tackled by this all conquering gospel
At the beginning of the nineteenth
century $50 missionaries; at the close
of that century $4,000 Missionaries and
native helpers and evangelists. At
the beginning of the nineteenth CEN
fury there were only $4,000 converts.
Now there are over 1000, 900 converts
from heathendom.
The Force of the Bible.
Suppose the congress OF the United
States should pass law that there
should be no more Bibles printed in
America and no Bibles read. II there
are 100000 grown people in the
United States, there would be &C, 000,-
600 people in an army to put down
such a law and defend their right to
read the Bible. But suppose the con-
igress of the United States should
make law against the reading or the
publication of any other book, how
many people would go out in such
crusade? Could you get 60,00O.00O
people to go out and risk their lives in
defense of Shakespeare's tragedies or
Gladstone tracts or Macaulay's HIS
tory CT England?" You know that
there are thousand men who would
die In the defense of this book where
there is not more than one man who
would die in the defense Of any other
book. You try to insult my common
sense by telling me the Bible is fading
out from the world. 1t is the most
popular book of the centuries.
How do know It? l know 1t just as
know in regard to other books. How
many volumes of that history are
published? Well. you say 5000. How
many copies of another book are pub
lished? A hundred thousand. Which
is the more popular? Why the one that
hoz tho l,oJu1J tbnnoan