Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1901-07-10
HARVEST TIME HERE
a Sermon of Congratulation for
Christian Endeavorers.
DR.. TalmaEe Finds N Mighty suEEe.-
siveness i'm His Text-Tbe Growth
and Perfection OF Chris
tianity.
rcopyrigh,. 1901, by Louis Klopsch n. u


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:l3: Behold the
days come. saith the LORD. that the
Plowman shall overtake the reaper"
Una bile because of other important
duties 10 accept the invitation TO take
part in the great convention of Chris
tian Endeavorers at Cincinnati, begun
last week, L preach a sermon of con-
graduation for all the members of that
magnificent association, whe now
gathered in vast assemblage or busy in
! their places of usefulness. transatlan-
tic and cisatlantic. and as it is now har-
vest time in the fields and sickles are
1ashing in the gathering of great
crop, find mighty suggestiveness in
my text.
Ii is picture of tropical cline.
with a season so prosperous that the
harvest reaches clear over TO the plant
ing time, and the swarthy husband
man, busy cutting the grain, almost
feels the breath of the horses on his
shoulders, the horses hitched 10 the
pillow, 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 phras eology charged with all ven
ON and abuse and caricature l know
that infdels and agnostics have de-
clarcd that Christianity has collapsed;
that the Bible is a II obs olete book; that
the Christian church is on the retreat.
] shall answer that whole sale 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 ovcrtaleu
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 a French infdel
Ecross me 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 fter awhile,
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 camel passed by our tent
10 MI q. 4.
IN the sand. And YOU want 10 know
how l know whether there is any God?
Look a the sunset Is that the foot
step of man. And by the same
process you and 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 n Bull
Runt retreat, muskets, canteens and
haversacks strewing all the way. The
great English historian Sharon Tur-
ner, man of vast learning and great
accuracy, not a clergyman. but an at
torney well as n historian. gives this
overwhelming statistic in regard to
Christianity and in regard to the mum
Der of Christians in the different CEN
turtles: In the first century SOC. 900
Christians, in the second century :. 600
600 Christians, in the third century
100000 Christians. in the fourth cen
tury 10000. 900 Christians. in the fifth
century 100000 Christians. in the
sixth century 10000. 900 Christians. in
the seventh century 24,OO0, 900 Chris
tians, in the eighth century 10000. 600
Christians, in the ninth century 40. OOO.-
600 Christians, in the tenth century 90
O00.O0O Christians. in the eleventh cen
fury 10000 600 Christians, in the twelfth
century SO,0O0,000 Christians. in the
thirteenth century $4,000. 900 Chris
tians. in the fourteenth century so COO
600 Christians. in the fifteenth century
1OOOOO,OOO Christians, in the sixteenth
century 125 900 900 Christians. in the
seventeenth century 155, 600. 900 Chris
iians. in the eighteenth century 200
100000 Chris ians-a decadence. as YOU
observe, in only one century and more
, than made up in the following cen
turies. ,Fhile il is the usual computa-
tion that there were at the close Of the
nineteenth century 100000 600 Chris
tians, making us 10 believe that before
this century is closed the millennium
viii have started it's boom and lifted
its hosanna.
Poor Christianity What pity e.
has no friend! How lonesome il must
be! Who will take it out Of the poor
house? Poor Christianity -Four hun
dred millions in one century. Inafew
weeks OF this year 100000 copies Of
the New Testament distributed Why.
the earth is like an old castle with 20
gates and park OF artillery ready 10
thunder down every gate. See how
heathendom is being surrounded and
boneycombed and attacked by this all
conqueriog Gospel. At the beginning