Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-05-10
FRIENDLY INFLUENCES.
Or. Talmage Says Influences Once Hostile
Are Now Friendly TO Christ.
Weapons Formerly Used Against the Lord
Armies Captured and Put to
His Service,
Copyright 1901.

once antagonistlc but now friendly to the
gospel and encourages Christian workers;
text, Samuel xxi, 8, There is none like
that; give it me-"
runs very fast when it is chasing a good
man. The country is trying to catch David
and to slay him. David goes into the
house of priest and asks him for a 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
unwrappng the sharp, ghttering, memoir
able blade it flashes upon David's 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
toward that old sword and says, "There
is none like that; give it me"-in other
words, II want in my own hand the
sword winch has been used against me and
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 well
as God may help me, to show you that
many q weapon which has been used
against the armies of God is yet to be cap
tured and used on our side, and l only imi.
tate David when | stretch out my hand
toward that blade of the Phihstine and
cry, There is none like that; give it me!'
I 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
ment of the heavenly bodies, that the
Bible is lie, and that Christianity, as we
have it among men, is a positive imposi.
ton" Good men trembled. The telescope,
the Leyden jars, the electric batteries, all
in the hands of the PhiEstines. 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 Philistines had been using against
like that; give it mel" And Copernicus
and Galilel and Kepler 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
whom 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 tne
chemist and in the lap of the Christian I'M
harmed and unanswered, while the tower
of the midnight heavens struck slivery
chime in its praise.
Worldly philosophy said, "All 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 little
while" And it goes on and makes discov-
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
ply, 7'all that allusion to Job about the
foundations of the earth is simply an alb
surdity. Where vast thou says God.
when ! 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
NWhere vast thou when l set the sockets
of the earth?" Where is the socket? 1t
is the hollow of Gods hand-a socket large
enough for any world to turn in:
Worldly philosophy said: What an abb
surd story about Joshua making the sun
and moon stand still If the world had
stopped an instant, the whole universe,
would have been out of gear. stop,
said Christian philosophy, not quite SO
quick" The world has two motlons-one
on its own axis and the other around the
sun. 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
and disarranged the whole universe.
Joshua right and God right; infdehty
wrong every time. / knew 1T would be
wrong
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 of the cross
and Christianity now, from the observator-
les at Albany and Washington, stretches
out it's hand toward the opposing scien-
tifc weapon, crying, 'There is none like
that; give 1t me-!
] was reading of Herschel, who was
looking at meteor through telescope,
and when it came over the face OF the tel
escope it was so powerful he had to avert
his eyes. And it has been just so that
many an astronomer has gone into an OBJ
servatory and looked up into the midnight
heavens. and the Lord God has, through
some swinging world, famed upon his
vision, and the learned man cried out:
"Who am /? Undone! Unclean! have
mercy, Lord Cod"
Again, I remark, that the travelling dis
position of the world, which was adverse
to morals and religion, is to be brought on
our side The man that went down to
Jericho and fell amid thieves was type
of a great many travellers There is many
a man who is very honest at home who
when he is abroad has his honor hlthed
and his good habits stolen. There are but
very few men who can stand the stress OF
an expeditior. Six weeks at watering
Mace have ruined many a man. In the
oiden times God forbade the travelling OF
men for the purposes of trade because OF
the corrupting influences attending IL. "A
good many men now cannot STAND the
transition from one place 10 announcer.
Some men who seem TO be very conslsIent
here in the way of keeping the Sabbath
when thew get into Spain on the Lord
J Mnea a,w s,y 90 to see the bulights. Plato
SAID that that no city ought to be built nearer
to the sea than ten miles lest it be tempted
to commerce But this travelling dispose,
ton of the world which To T Se brousht
our side. These mail trains-why, tney
take our Bibles; these steamers, tney
r rahiporff from city to city all around the
world are to be converted into Christian