The Brandon news. (Brandon, Miss.) 1892-1961, 1902-06-12

flower thereof fallcth away. but the Word of
the Lord endurcth forever
My text has three thoughts in it.
1t leads us to conclude that there
is a God, that this God has made a
revelation to man and that this reve-
lation will last through time and
eternity. But who said this was
the word of God? In what way do
you know that the book read
from today is the message from God
HIMSELF Why, the preachers say
SO, and therefore | believe it. But
let me ask you how the preacher
knows? How did your mother
know? So you see have raised a
question in order to answer it.
will take the Bible itself as its own
witness. Now, is this fair ? Let
us see. You give me a piece of
rough looking ore, and tell me it
contains gold, and that your father
told you SO, and his father who
found it in California told him it
contained gold. While may not
doubt your statement, will it not be
the surest for me to analyze the
ore-or put it through a chemical
TESTIFY the ore itself ? Have
not a perfect right to do it !? So
with the Bible. If people say it
came from God and contains his true
and only message, may we not
make it testify of itself? Now let us
examine the Bible as to its revela-
ton.
1t is beyond my scope now to
prove the existence of God. We
will assume that all of us believe in
the personal existence of an omni-
potent being. We will also take it
for granted that God in some way
communicates with his creatures on
earth. One question is, How do
we know this to be His message3
Now, 60 with me in Imagination,
while we travel the world over. Let
us search the libraries of antiquity to
sssss asff they 1havvee-sany message from
God. We search Egypt and
Babylon and ChaIdea. We ask
Greece and Rome if they have a
revelation to man. None! Let us
ask the great philosophers of earth
if they can explain to us the origin
of this world, the origin of man,
the origin of sin, the destiny of man.
No! In subdued tones they make
the hopeless response, "That has
seen our search for all the ages, but
we cannot tell" Let us consult
the astronomer and the magician and
the wise man of fable, story and
song, and they all repeat the same
negative response. Now stand be-
meath the starry vault of heaven and
and look up into space. Ask the
stars as they look down upon you
if they have message for you as
to your origin, your present state
and your future home. Ask them
if they cannot assure your soul of it's
Immortality. They shine on and
in their silence your soul turns back
in helplessness and hopelessness.
Where am from? What am do
ing here and where shall | 60. Now
take one more visit with me. Let
us sit in Gods sanctuary, and hear
a message something like this: GIN
the beginning God created the
heavens and the earth. He breath
eth into man the breath of life.
For God so loved the world, etc.
Because live We shall live also"
Does that not answer the questions
you have been asking? Where did
it come from? Here in this book,
said to be the word of God! You
may search this world with a men
tai microscope and not one trace of
evidence will you find upon these
great questions. Men have been
trying to answer them for all these
centuries, but not the faintest
whisper of truth ever falls upon the
waiting and listening ear.
"Where shall | go3" said q dying
Hindoo to the Brahmitic priest, to
whom he had given money to pray
for his salvation. "Where shall L
60 after | die?" The priest said,
"First, you will 90 into holy
quadruped." "Where them" said
the dying man. "Next you will 90
into a singing Bird" "But, said
the dying Hindoo, where shall 90
then!' "Then into a beautiful
Hover At last the struggling and
dying soul exclaimed, "Where Shall
i 60 last of alI2" Just so the religions
andphilosophies of the world have
theorized and philosophical, but no
satisfaction can they give any soul.
Thank God for this book that tells
Us, not where we shall go tomor-
row or next year, but first and last
and always. NY point then. is this.