The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1901-07-12
HARVEST TIME HERE
A Sermon of Generalization for
Christian Endeavorers.
DR.. TaImage Finds n Mighty Sugges-
tiveness i'm His Textile Growth
and Perfection of Chris
tianity.

lCOpyTlBHl, W A-OuAS tAAoPSSN' ~'' - -
Washington,
Although DIR. 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
tan Endeavorers at Cincinnati, begun
last week, 1 preach sermon OF con-
gratula ton 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 it is now har-
vest time in the fields and sickles are
flashing in the gathering of great
crop, L find mighty suggestiveness IN
my text.
1t is a picture of a tropical cline,
with a season so prosperous that the
harvest reaches clear over to the plant
ing time, and the swarthy husb band
man, busy cutting the grain, almost
feels the breath of the horses on his
shoulders, the horses hitched to the
plow, preparing for 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 Chris tianity has collapsed;
that the Bible is an obsolete book; that
the Christian church is on the retreat.
! shall answer that wholesale charge
to-day.
Between 100000 and 10000 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 a million reapers are overtaken
by more than a 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 a French inhdel
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 infidel, and after awhile,
S the Arab got up from one of his
prayers, the infidel said: How do
you know there is any God?" And the
Arab guide said: "How do know that
a 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 1 have come to under
stand that this book is the footstep
of God.
But now let us see whether the book
IS a. last years almanac. Let US see
whether the church of God is 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 CEN
turtles: In the first century 100000
Christians, in the second century 2 ,000,
900 Christians, in the third century
100000 Christians, in the fourth cen
fury 100000 Christians, in the fifth
century 100000 Christians, in the
sixth century 10000, 900 Christians, in
the seventh century 24,000,000 Chris
tians, in the eighth century 100000
Christians, in the ninth century &C, OOO,
600 Christians, in the tenth century 5O,-
oOO, 900 Christians, in the eleventh CEN
fury &c, 900, 900 Christians, in the twelfth
century SO,OOO,OOO Christians, in the
thirteenth century 100000 Chris
tians, in the fourteenth century so, 0O0,-
600 Christians, in the fifteenth century
100, O00, 900 Christians, in the sixteenth
century 125, 100000 Christians, in the
seventeenth century $4,000, 900 Chris
tians, in the eighteenth century 20o,
000,0 900 Christians-a decadence, as you
observe, in only one century and more
than made up in the following CEN
turtles, while it is the usual computa-
ton that there were at the close of the
nineteenth century 47O,O00,000 Chris
tians, making US to believe that before
this century is closed the millennium
will have started its boom and lifted
its hosapna.
Poor Christianity! What a pity it
has no 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 a few
weeks of this year 100000 copies of
the New Testament distributed. Why,
the earth is like an old castle with 20
gates and a park of artillery ready to
thunder down every gate. See how
heathendom is being surrounded and
honeycombed and attacked by this all
conquering Gospel. AT the beginning
of the nineteenth century $50 mission
aries; at the close of that century a.,
900 missionaries and native helpers
and evangelists. AT the beginning of
the nineteenth century there were only
$4,000 converts. Now there are over
! ,O0O, 600 converts from heathendom.
You all know that an important work
of an army is to plant the batteries. 1t
may take many days to plant the bat
teries, and they may do all the work in
ten minutes. These Gospel batteries
are being planted all along the sea-