Belding banner. (Belding, Mich.) 1889-1918, 1901-05-09


an absurdity. Where vast thou
says God, when / set the foundations
OF the earth?' The earth has no foun-
dation." Christian philosophy comes
and finds that the word as translated
foundations" may be better trans
lated sockets" So now see how it
will read II IL is translated right,
Where vast thou when / 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
absurd story about Joshua making the
sun and moon stand still! If the world
had stopped an instant. the whole uni
verse would have been out Of gear"
Stop" said Christian philosophy;
mot quite so quick" The world has
two motions-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 hating of the earth should have
Jared and disarranged the whole uni
verse. Joshua right and God right;
infidelity wrong every time. l knew it
would be wrong. / thank God that the
time has come when Christians need
not be scared at any scientific explora-
ton. The fact Is that religion and
science have struck hands in eternal
friendship and the deeper down geol-
ogy can dig and the higher up astron-
omy 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
towers have flung out the banner Of
the cross, and Christianity now from
the observatories at Albany and
Washington stretches out its hand
toward the opposing scientific weapon,
crying. There is none like that; give
1t me-" / was reading Of Herschel,
who was looking at meteor through
a telescope, and when it came over
the face of the telescope 1t was so pow
erful he had to avert his eyes And
1t has been just so that many an as
tronomer has gone into an observa-
tory 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 1? Undone! Unclean.
Have mercy, Lord Cod"
Temptati ons OF the Traveller,
Again, | remark that the travelling
disposition 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 a 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 fllched and his
good habits stolen. There are but very
few men who can stand the stress of
an expedition. Six weeks at a water
ing place have ruined many a man.
In the olden times God forbade the
travelling of men for the purposes OF
trade because of the corrupting inhu-
ences attending it. A good many men
now cannot stand the transition from
one place to another. Some men who
seem to be very consistent here in the
way OF keeping the Sabbath when they
get into Spain on the Lords day al
ways go out to see the bull fights.
Plato said that no city ought to be
built nearer to the sea than ten miles
lest 1t be tempted to commerce. But
this travelling disposition Of the world
which was adverse 70 that which Is
good is to be brought on our side
These mail trains, why, they take our
bibles; these steamships, they trans
port our missionaries these sailors,
rushing from city TO city all around
the world are to be converted into
Christian heralds and go out and
preach Christ among the heather ma
tions. The gospels are infinitely null
tiplied in beauty and power since Rob-
inson and Thompson and Burckhard.
have come back and talked to us
about Sloan and Capernaum and Jer-
usalem, pointing out TO us the lilies
about which Jesus preached, the
beach upon which Paul was ship
wrecked, the fords at which Jordan
was passed. the Red Sea bank on
which were tossed the carcasses of the
drowned Egyptians. A man said: 81
went to the Holy Land an infidel
came back Christian. l could not
help It,"
UnIversarity of Religion.
So 1t has also been with the learn
ing and eloquence of the world. Peo-
pie say, religion is very good for aged
women, it is very good for children,
but not for men" But we have In the
roll OF Christs host Mozart and Han
del in music, Canova and Angelo in
sculpture, Raphael and Reynolds in
painting, Harvey and Boerhaave in
medicine, Cowper and Scott in poetry,
Grotius and Burke in statesman ship,
Boyle and Leibnitz in philosophy,
Thomas Chalmers and John Mason in
theology. The most brilliant writings
of a worldly nature are all aglow With
Scriptural illusions.
Samuel l.. Southland was mighty in
the court room and in the senate cham