Milford chronicle., 1904-12-02


hood where he went as a man, where
he di,Td, where he was resurrected ant
the hill from which he ascended.
The Land and the Book.
The land and the book are one. The
personality of Jesus Christ, in the frs
place has true, a yitally true, geo
graphical setting. No Bible student
ever walked the Judaean hills with eyes
truly opened to the divine truth that
he did not have his belief in Jesus
Christ irrevocably sealed and infinitely
strengthened by the conformation OF
eastern customs and geographical facts
with the recorded biographies OF
Christs life. Henry A. Harper, the
great archaeologist, the author of that
marvellous book entitled ''The Bible
and Modern Discoveries" presses
home this statement upon his readers
in a powerful way. On one of DIR.
Harper's pages l find these words: "a
very dear friend of NINE a splendid
explorer, great traveller, was at heart
and in secret an unbelieyer in the
divinity of Jesus Christ Circum-
stances compelled him to explore Pal
estine. To understand the country he
found that he must read the Bible, and,
reading it in the full blaze of light,
which custom and country and mod
ern investigations threw on it, he
found that Jesus was indeed his Saw
iour. He brought the full power of
his able mind to bear on all he read
and all he saw, and, as a result of
those geographical studies and the
Christ life, in humble alteration he
bowed before his God and Redeemer.
There was no sudden, no violent,
change All had been noiselessly and
gradually accomplished. He was con
vinced of the divinity of Jesus Christ
by the witnesses of the dust" | might
go on and quote scores of testimonies
just like DR.. Harpers in reference to
the harmOnies of the Christ life with
the geographical facts and the Hebrew
customs of the Palestine hills.
Studying today the "evidence Of the
things not seen" in reference to Jesus
Christ. is there nothing rational, moth
ing overwhelming, to you in the har-
mony between the opened leaves of
eastern rocks and the biographies of
the four gospels? Is there nothing
marvellous to you in the fact that there
is not a detail in all Christ's earthly
life which cannot be verified by the
rocks of the Palestine hills and val
leys, which are absolutely in accord
with one another? The men who
wrote the Bible were not historical nov
elists like the author of the Tower of |
London" or of ''Kenilworth" or OF "Ro-
mOla' or Of "The Crisis" They did not |
accept historical facts when they want |
ed to use them for the benefit of their |
plots and reject those facts when it did /
not suit their convenience to use them. |
They did not put Christ in imaginary /
places at impossible times and put fic- |
titious and impossible statements in |
bis mouth. Almost every detail Of |
Christs earthly life can be verified by |
position and eastern Gus
tom. That classic book of travels
written by Richard Henry Dana, called
1.-TWO Years Before the Mast" is sup
posed to contain a perfect geographical
account of the early coast of southern
California and its people. But the
Bible is a more wonderful guideboOk
70 the Holy Land than Dana's master
)iece could ever be to California. The
pest guidebOok through the Holy Land
,ver written is the Bible. In its every
letail the Christ life is found to have
/ perfect geographical setting Is there
nothing wonderful to you that the land
md the book in reference to Chrlst's
ife are one?
Jesus was not NEUROLOGICAL char
cter. Before you can obliterate the
tory of Jesus Christ from this earth,
N which he so sublimely lived, you
will have to grind out of sight and for
ver erase the sacred hills of Pales-
ine," once wrote David Gregg in a
OOk for which authorship he was
lected an honorary member of the
loyal Geographical society of London.
You will forever have to grind out of
light the sacred hills of Palestine,
where Christ was tempted. and where
le preached his wonderful sermon, and
where he was transhgured, and where
le died, and where he ascended. God
,e praised for the gospel according to
geography! God be praised for the
Ioly Land, with its Jordan and Beth
chem and HermOn and Zion and Cal ,
ary and Olivet! These are all indie
pages of the divine and in
estructible book. These are all wit
esses that Christ has spoken to men
nd lived among men and wrought out
Aviation for man." Christ was a God
'es, Christ was a man! By the evi.
ence of the pages of rock 1 know it!
other Evidences of Divinity.
But we find Christ as the evidence
( things not seen" in another way.
" the fulfllment of Scripture prOphe-
les in reference to his birth, his life
is death and his resurrection we
now that the prophecies of his second
1ming will be fulfilled as we'll as was
is first coming. We know there will