Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1901-07-12
HARVEST TIME HERE
A Sermon of Generalization for
Christian Endeavorers.
Or. TaImage Finds a Mighty Sugges-
tiveness i'm His Textile Growth
and Perfection of Chris
tfanity.
(Copyright. 1901, by Louis K1opsch, N. u
Washington, July Z.

CCopyright. 1901, by Louis K1opsch, N u
Washington. July.
Although DR.. Talmage was hindered |
from attending the great annual meet
ing of the Christian Endeayor society
at Cincinnati, his sermon shows him to
be in sympathy with the great move
ment; text, Amos 9:13: Behold the
days come, saith the Lord, that the
plowman shall overtake the reaper.
Unable because of other important
duties to accept the invitation to take
part in the great convention OF Chris
tian Endeavorers at Cincinnati, begun
last week, 1 preach sermon OF con-
gratula ton for all the members OF that
magnificent association, whether now
gathered in vast assemblage or busy In
their places of usefulness, transatIan-
tic and elsa tia ntic, and a S it is now har-
vest time in the fields and sickles are
flashing in the gathering of. a great
crop, 1 find mighty suggestiweness IN
my text.
1t is a picture of tropical CLINE,
with 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 to 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 phraseology charged with all VEN
ON and abuse and caricature know
that infidels and agnostics have de-
clared that Christianity has collapsed;
that the Bible is an obsolete book; that
the Christian church is on the retreat.
I shall answer that wholesale charge
to-day.
Between 100000 and 1000, 900 En-
deavorers sworn before high Heaven
that they win 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 overtaken
by more than million p1owmen. 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 infidel
across the 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 after awhile,
as the Arab got up from one of his
prayers, the infidel said: Glow do
you know there is any God?" And the
Arab guide said: GLOW do I know that
q man and a camel passed by our tent
last night? 1 know it by the footprint
in the sand. And you want to know
how I know whether there is any God?
Look at the sunset. Is that the foot
step of a 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 Bull
Runt retreat, muskets, canteens and
haversacks strewing all the way. The
great English historian Sharon Tur-
ner, a man of vast learning and grea t
accuracy, not clergyman, but an at
torney as well as a historian, gives this
overwhelming statistic in regard to
Christianity and in regard to the num-
turtles: In the first century 100000
Christians, in the second century 1000,
600 Christians, in the third century
100000 Christians, in the fourth cen
fury 100000 Christians, in the fifth
century 100000 Christians, in the
sixth century 10000, 600 Christians, in
the seventh century 24,OO0,0o0 Chris
tians. in the eighth century 3O,oOo.00C
Christians, in the ninth century 40, 900,
600 Christians, in the tenth century So.
100000 Christians, in the eleventh cen.
fury O,000, oC0 Christians, in the twelfth
century S0,000,0 0OChristians, in the
thirteenth century 100000 Chris
tians, in the fourteenth century so GOO,
600 Christians. in the fifteenth century
100000 900 Christians, in the sixteenth
century 125,000,O0 Christians, in the
seventeenth century 155.OO0,000 Chris
tians, in the eighteenth century 200,
100000 Christians decadenee, a. yol
observe, in only one century and NOR.
than made up in the following cen
turtles, while it is the usual computa
tion that there were a the close of ths
nineteenth century 470.000,0O0 Chris
tians. making us to believe that before
this century is closed the millennium
will have started it's boom and lifted
its hosanna.
Poor Christianity! What pity i
has no friend! How lonesome it must
be! Who will take it out of the poor
house? Poor Christianity! Four hun
dred millions in one century. In few
weeks of this year 100000 copies o,
the New Testament distributed. Why
the earth is like an old castle with q
gates and a park of artillery ready tt
thunder down every gate. See how
heathendom is being surrounded ant
honeycombed and attacked by this al