Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1903-11-05
ISTHEOLDBOOK KFROMGOD?
A Strong Sunday Sermon By the Rev.
DR.. Kerr.
Some Of The Evidences That the Book We Gail
the Bible Has Been Given to Us By
the Inspiration Of God.

Bovce Upper, pastor of the First Baptist
Church of this city, preached strong SER
mon Sunday morning on rs the Old BOOK
:. rom God" This is one of the Oldest
and strongest churches in the land. 1t
was presided over for thirty years by Dr.
George Dana Boardman, who was succeed
ed about eight years ago by Dr. upper.
Two years ago, at cost OF nearly Sloo,ooo,
magnificent house of worship was erected
and $780, 900 endowment laid aside. The
congregations are very large, especially IN
the evening. The text for this sermon was
from First Thessaonians ii-l3: I'VE thank
God without ccasing because when yc
received the word of God We received 1t
not as the word of man, but as it IS IN
truth, the word of God" DR.. Iupper
said:
Ancient history has preserved the ira
dition that when, thirty centuries ago, the
city of Troy was sacked by the Greeks,
the conouerors made the general proclaim.
alton that each of the inhabitants thereof
be permitted to save a single article OF
property especially dear to his own heart.
Taking advantage of the offer, Aeueas
selected his household gods and carried
them in triumph and for JOY to place
of safety So pleased were the Greeks
by this unaffected act OF pletv that they
lowing him to save one other thing, when,
returning in haste, he bore Off on his
shoulders his aged father, whose wisdom
and affection constituted for him price
less Inheritance.
Were the traditions thus related to re-
peat itself in history to-day and the priv
ilcgc granted every genuine Christian De'
lever, in supposed season OF calamity
and privatiOn, to make a selection OF that
both because of its intrinsic value and It's
immortal influence, the truest wisdom
would dictate peculiar and, to thousands,
an inexp,icable choice. This choice would
not be silver or gold, military fame or
civic honor profound learning or match
less eoquence; this choice would not be
even father or mother, husbanG or Wlfe,
son or daughter, friend or lover, precious
as might be each of these, it would not be
the one thing wisely chosen if the choice
were made both for time and eternity.
| What then would the one thing be?
! Strange as it may seem to many, the
calm firm. heaven guided, intelligent
choice of the earnest thankful Christian
| in that solemn sacred hour. would be
| certain book-a book ancient and artleSs,
e,evating and ennobling, divine and CUR
abe.
a. utter this sentence you anticipate
| the designation ] am about to make gu
need not be told that. This book IS no
work of mere poetry, neither Had nor
| Odyssey. Mlton's Odes nor Snarcspcare's
| plays; no work of mere history, neither
| liyv nor Tacitus. Haliam nor Hume; no
work of mere philosophy, neither Bacon
nor Hamilton, Descartes nor Locke; no
book of mere biography, neither p!utarch
nor Lamartine, Remusat nor No!taire; no
book of mere romance, neither George
llnt In lhlpEDr1N.
| no book of mere ethics, neither Plato, nor
| Seneca, Paily nor Balm: no book OF Chris
| tian morality and meditation. neither
Thomas a Kemnis' Limitation of Christ
nor Bunvan's "Pilgrim's Progress Hook,
er's "Homics" nor PaschaPs Thoughts,
great and good as are many II NOT all
OF these immortal works some OF them,
rising like grand and majestic mountain
! peaks. catching and presenting to lhe
! world the glorious splendors of the high.
est human genius--we could sec them ana
| nil else of mans creation burn into ashes
or buried in the sea, if at their expense
we might save to our hearts and lives
here and hereafter that one single book;
which has an origin and a character ana
q mission and a destiny as far above every
work of mans creation as the skies are
above the clouds-that book whose 'au-
| thor is God, whose subject Is man, whose
obiec. is salvation. whose end eternity -
that hook of which Pollock. in an out
hurst of poetic fervor and Christian faith,
so feelngly writes:
This iamp from off the everlasting throne
Mercy took down, and in the night OF
tine
Stood casting on the dark and gracious
bow, -,
And foreve: more beseeching men with
And earnest sighs, to hear, believe and
live.
Surely, brethren this must be the book
of all booEs, which, while full and rlch
with the sweetest strains OF poetry, the
most memorable deeds of history, the most
in,xhaustible stores of philosophy, the
most thrilling incidents of biography, the
loftiesc principles of ethical and moral
teaching, counts no one OF these ITS lea'
lures OF chiefest glory, but rather TINS;
that for centuries it has gone up and down
this world OF ours. relieving human con
sciences, Illuminating human inteliects, re-
decming human spirits, Transforming hU,
ma, lives, and tnat, III so beautiful and
glorious a degree, that the thinking word
is beginning to accept the statrment OF
Schleimermacher, TO abolish the Blb!e
is to pluck up ~ the roots all that Is
noblest and truest ana dNlhesC III VIC
worlds civilization
OH if there is one prayer that. I offer
uD daily with more constancy and tcrNor
Of soul than another in our age. OF lheo-
logical ferment and unrest, 1t Is TINS: Hoa;
feep me as an ambassador of Christ and
the great brotherhood of Christian beMeT-
ers, true now and always to the nlalnp.e
Word Of the Eternal God; AS IN fhe past
/ supernatIral revelation has had to con,
tend against the sophisms OF Hume ana
lie transcendental philosophy OF Ger
many. SO to-day. ell about us there are
those VINO battle against the idea OF nv
inp. personal, omnipotent Jehovah, VINO
can and does freely and fully Gommuni-
cate with His children; and to-day there
is a call long and loud for those VINO ac.
cent the Bible as the full and satisfactory
oracle from heaven. to stand up and out
against all these attacks, and that, too,
with convictions strong and unshakeh.
With you to-day | come to consider inc
question, What are some OF the eVldehces
that the Book we call the Bible has peen
given by inspiration OF Cod. l say some,
for we have no time, even II VIC nn haa ne .ne
ability, to enumerate theil all: That these
sacred writer's themselves believe that
theirs were the ora2les of God is without
question. Hear David sing: The spirit
Of the Lord spake by me and HIs word
was in my tongue;" and Isaiah, Hear, on
heavens, and give ear, oh earth, Tor tne9
Lord has spoken, the mouth OF ,, the Lord
nf l,S't tbe spd' Lord came expressly to Ezekiel
the priest. and the hand of the Lord i, was az
u,ci him" ana Peter; after the death OF
Judas, Men and brethren, the scripture ,
mist needs have been fulfilled, which the
HoIv Ghost by the mouth OF David spake
lfts tefore concerning Judas" and Paul would
sneak, sneak mot IN the words which mans
Wisdom teacheth, but which the HoI,
Chest Ghost teacheth." And how our. Lord
throws the "broad shield of His infalble al
truthfulness" over the whole Old Testa
ment canon, testifying both to to tne nG aGcu u
God The Old Testament was then, as
now now. divided into the Law. the Prophets
and and the sacred writings, Holding up the
scroll that contained these, the Master
| ~ II ,,,irL Er1nnnnSs of cnnNictiOn