The Penn's Grove record., 1901-07-12
DIR. TALMAGE'S SERMON
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE.
subject: The Triumph of Christianity -
The Church of Christ is tho Most En-
dearinE Institution ON Earth-Its I'm
surpassed Crowth-Infidelity Hefu:ed.

dearing Institution On Earth-Its I'm
surpassed Crowth-Infidelity Kefu:ed,
fCopyright 1901
WASHINGTON, d. c. - Although DR..
Talmage was hindered from attending the
great annual meeting Of the Christian En-
deavor Society at Cincinnati, his sermon
shows him to be in sympathy with the
great movement; text, Amos iX, ID, BE
hold the days come, saith the Lord, that
the plowman shall overtakc the reaper"
Unable because of other important du-
ties to accept the invitation to take part
in the great convention OF Christian En-
deayorers at Cincinnati, ! preach a ser
mon of congratulatiOn for all the members
of that magnificent association, whether
now gathered in vast asscmLlaEe or busy
in their places of usefulness, transatlantic
and cisatlantic. And. as it is now harvest
time in the fields and sickles are flashing
in the gathering of a great crop, l find
mighty s|uggestiveness in my text.
1t is a picture of a tropical cline, with
a season so prosperous that the harvest
reaches clear over to the planting time
and the swarthy husbandman, busy cut
ting the grain, almost feels the breath Of
the horses on his shoulders, the horses
hitchcd to the pillow preparing for n new
crop. ''Behold the days come, saith the
Lord, that the plowmau shall oycrtake
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 ploWmdn is getting ready
for another.
In phraseology chatged with all venom
and abuse and caricaturc l know that in
fdels and agnOstics have declared that
Christianity 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 5000, 600 and 1000, 900 Endenv-
orers 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 over
taken by more than Il million plowmen.
Besides this, there are more people who
believe in the Bible than at any time in
the worlds existence.
But now let us see whether the book is
q last years almanac. Let us see whether
the church of God is a Bull Run retreat,
muskets, cantCens and haversacks strew-
ing all the wav, The great English histor-
ian Sharon Turner, a man Of vast learning
and great accuracy, not a clergyman, but
an attorney as well as n 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 century 5,000,0 900 Christians, in
the fourth century 10000. 900 Christians,
in the fifth century l5,0O0,0OO Christians,
in the sixth century 2O,0OO,0 600 Christians,
in the seventh century q, 000,00 Chris
tians. in the eighth century 3N.000,D00
Christians, in the ninth century 10000, 900
Christians, in the tenth century $4,000 01
Christians, in the eleventh century TO-
100000 Christians, in the twelfth century
10000. 900 Christians, in the thirteenth
pnDtury ~ tun mn Christians in tho tOuT-
tenth century S0,000,d00 Christians. in the
fifteenth century 100000 900 Christians, in
the sixteenth century l2j, 900, 900 Chris
tians. in the seventeenth century Is, 000,-
900 Christians, in the eighteenth century
200, 000, 900 Christians-a dPcadence. ms YOU
observe, in only one century and moro
than made up in the following centuries,
while it is the usual computation that
there were at the close of the nineteenth
century 40, 600 900 Christians, making us
to believe that before this century Is
close the millennium viii have started its
boom and lifted its hosanna.
Poor Christianity! What a pity it has
no friendsi How lonesome it must be-
Who will take it out Of the poorhouse?
Poor Christianity! -Four hundred mill
ions in one century.
At the beginning of the nineteenth cen
fury $50 missionaries; at the close Of that
century $4,000 missionaries and native
helpers and evangclists, At the beginning
OF the nineteenth century there were only
$4,000 converts; now there are over l,000,-
900 converts from heathendom.
So Christianity is falling back and the
Bible, they say, is becoming an obsolete
book! ] 90 into a court, and wherever J
find a judges bench or a clerks desk l
find a Bible. Upon what book could there
be uttered the solemnity of an oat4S
What book is apt to be put in the trunk
Of the young man as he leaves for city
life? The Bible. What shall | find IN
nine out of every ten homes in this city?
The Bible. In nine out of every ten homes
in Christeudom? The Bible. Noltalre
wrote the prophecy that the Bible in the
nineteenth century would become extinct,
The century is gone, and l have to tell
you that the room in which NoltRlre
wrote that prophecy not long ago was
crowded from floor to ceiling witt Bibles
from Switzerland.
Suppose the Congress of the United
States should pass a law that there should
be no more Bibles printed in America and
nc Bibles read. II there are 6o,00Q.O1O
grown people in the United States there
would be 60, 200, 900 people in an army to
put down such a law and defend their
right to read the Bible. But suppose the
Congress of the United States should
make Il law against the reading or the
publication of any other book-how many
people would go ont in such a crusade
Could you get 6O.000,GO0 people to 60 out
and risk their lives in the defense of
S~hakespeare's tragedies or Gladstones
tracts or Macaulay's History OF Eng
land2" You know that there are a thou.
sand men who would die in 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 Hlble Is
fading out from the world. 1t is the most
OOpular hook of the centuries,
ooh" say people, the church Is n col
lection of hypoerites, and 1t Is losing ITS
power, and it is fading out IRON the
world" Is it? a bishop OF the Metho-
dist church told me that that dcnomina-
ton averages two new churches every daN'
In other words, they build 100 churches
in that denomination in a year. and
there are at least 1900 new Christian
churches built in America every year,
Does that look as though the Christian
church We're fading out, as though ~ were
a defunct institution What stands near
est to the hearts of the American people
to-day? / do not care IN what village or
what city or what ncighborhood YOU 60.
What is itg Is it the postotilce! Is 1t the
hotel? Is it the lecture hall! An, Zon
know it is not. You know that .that
which stands nearest to the hearts OF the
American people is the Christian church.
You may talk about the church being a
collection Of hypocritcs, but when the
diphtheria sweeps your children of whom
do You send for? The postmaster! lbe
Attorney General? The hotel keeper
Alderman? No. You send for a minister
of this Bible religion. And II there IS "
song to be sung at the oOsequlcs, what 90
you want? What does anybody want
The 'Marseillajse Hymn God save
tile Qucen?' Our own grand national arr
No. They want the hymn with when
they sang their old Christian mother INTO