The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1901-05-22
Or, TALMAGE'S SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
subject: Influences Once Hostile Now
Friendly to Christ-weapons Former
ly Used Against the Lords Armies
Captured and Put to His Service.
[Copyright 1901. !

ly Used Against the Lords Armies
Captured and Put to His Service.
copyright 1901
WASHINGTON. d. C.-In this discourse
DR.. Talmage calls the roll of influences
gospel and encourages Christian workers;
text, Samuel xxi, 9, There is none like
that; give it me-"
David fed from his pursuers. The world
runs very fast when it is chasing good
man. The country is trying to catch David
and to slay him. David goes into the
house of priest and asks him for sword
or spear with which to defend himself.
The priest, not being accustomed to use
deadly weapons, tells David that he can
not supply him, but suddenly the priest
thinks Of an old sword that had been care
fully wrapped up and laid away-the very
sword that Goliath formerly used-and
he takes down that sword, and while he IS
unwrapping the sharp, glittering,. memor.
able blade it flashes upon DaNds mind
that this is the very sword that was used
against himself when he was in the fight
with Goliath, and David can hardly keep
his hand off it until the priest has un.
wound it. David stretches out his hand
is none like that; give it me'-in other
words, "I want in my own hand the
sword winch has been used against me and
against the cause OF Cod So it was
given him. Well, my friends, that is not
the first or the last sword once used by
giant and Philistine iniquity which is to
come into the possession of Jesus Christ
and of His glorious church. want, as we'll
as God may help me, to show you that
many a weapon which has been used
against the armies of God is yet to be cap
tared and used on our side. and l only lmi.
tate David when / stretch out my hand
toward that blade of the Philistine and
CIV, There is none like that; give it me!''
remark, first, that this is true in regard
to all scientific exploration. You know
that the first discoveries in astronomy and
geology and chronology were used to battle
Christianity. Worldly philosophy came out
of its laboratory and out of its observatory
and said, Now we will prove, by the very
structure of the earth and by the move
ment of the heavenly bodies, that the
Bible is lie. and that Christianity. as we
have it among men, is positive lmposl-
tion:" Good men trem6led:. The telescope,
the Leyden jars, the electric batteries, all
in the hands of the Philistines. But one
day Christianity, looking about for some
weapon with which to defend itself, hap
pened to see the very old sword that these
atheistic Phihstines had been using against
the truth and cried out, "There is none
like that: give it mel" And Copernicus
and Galilel and Kepier and Isaac Newton
and Herschel and o. NJ. Mitchell came
forth and told the world that in their
ransacking of the earth and heavens they
found overwhelming presence OF the God
wnom we worship, and this old Bible be-
gan to shake itself from the Koran and
Shaster and Zendavesta; with which it had
been covered up, and lay on the desk of
the scholar and in the laboratory of the
chemist and in the lap of the Christian un-
harmed and unanswered, while the tower
of the midnight heavens struck silvery
chime in its praise.
Worldly philosophy said Matter is
eternal. The world always was. God did
not make it." Christian philosophy pluges
its crowbar into rocks and finds that the
world was gradually made, and, if gradu'
ally made, there must have been some
point at which the process started: Then
who started it? And so that objection was
overcome, and in the first three words of
the Bible we find that Moses stated
magnificent truth when he said, In the
beginning"
Worldly philosophy said: your Bible
is most inaccurate book. All that story
in the Old Testament again and again
told about the army OF the locusts-it is
preposterous. There is nothing in the
coming of the locusts like an army. An
army walks; locusts fly: An army goes IN
order and procession; locusts without or
der" "Wait," said Christian philosophy,
and in 1858, in the southwestern part OF
this country, Christian men went out m to
examine the march of the locusts. There
are men right before me who must have
noticed in that very part of the country
the coming up of the locusts like an army,
and it was found that all the newspapers
unwittingly spoke of them as an army.
Why? They seem to have commander.
They march like host; they halt like
host.
No arrow ever went in straighter flight
than the locusts come-not even turning
aside for the wind. If the wind rises the
locusts drop and then rise again after it
has gone down, taking the same line of
march, not varying foot. The old Bible
is right every time when it speaks OF To-
Gusts coming like an army; worldly philo-
sophy wrong.
Worldly philosophy said, "An that story
about the light turned as clay to the seal
is simply an absurdity" Old time worldly
philosophy said, THE light comes straight"
Christian philosophy says, Wait a little
while" And it goes on and makes dlscov-
cries and finds that the atmosphere curves
and bends the rays of light around the
earth literally "as the clay to the SEAL"
The Bible right, again; worldly philosophy
wrong again. "Ah,' says worldly phlioSo-
ply, "ail that allusion to Job about the
foundations of the earth is simply an ab-
when 1 set the foundations of the earth"
The earth has no foundation" Christian
philosophy comes and finds that the. word
as translated foundations" may be better
translated sockets" So now we see how
it will read if it is translated right.
"Where vast thou when I set the sockets
of the earth!" Where is the socket? 1t
is the hollow of Gods hand--a socket large
enough for any word to turn in:
Worldly philosophy said: What an alb
surd story about Joshua making the sun
and moon stand still. If the world had
stopped an instant, the whole universe
said Christian philosophy, rot quite SO
quick" The world has two motions..one
on its own axis and the other around the
SUM- 1t was not necessary, in making them
stand still, that both motions should be
stopped-only the one turning the world
on its own axis There was no reason why
the halting of the earth should have Jared
aud disarranged the whole universe.
Joshua right and God right; lnhdeilty
wrong every time. / knew it would be
wrong.
I thank God that the time has come
when Christians need not be scared at any
scientific exploration. The fact is that re
ligion and science have struck hands in
eternal friendship, and the deeper down
geology can dig the higher up astronomy
Can soar all the better for us.
The armies of the Lord Jesus Christ
have stormed the observatories of the
worlds science, and from the highest tow
ers have flung out the banner .l OF the cross
now from she
ont it's hand toward the opposing scien-