SUNDAY READING.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXXIX, Issue 12070, 13 September 1902, Page 4 (Supplement)

SUNDAY READING.

IS THE BIBLE THE WORD OF GOD? DR. TORREY'S TEN REASONS, SECOND ADDRESS. "Mr fourth reason for believing the Bible to be the Word of God is the immeasurable superiority of its teachings to those of any other book or all other books. Tbo Bible is absolutely unique in its teachings. Many there are who put the Bible in the same class with other acred books, and with the teachings of the great thinkers of the ages —with Buddha, Zoroaster, Mohammed, Confucius, Socrates, Marcus Aurelius Antonius. Isocrates, Senecca, Epictetus, etc. Those who do this must be ignorant either of the teachings of the Bible or of the teachings of the others. There aro three radical points of difference between the teachings of the Bible and all these others. " First, the Bible contains nothing but truth. Those others contain truth, but truth mixed with error. They have jewels, indeed, in them, but they are ' jewels picked out of the mud.' Take, for example, Socrates, for whom so much is claimed. This great philosopher did, indeed, teach most beautifully how a philosopher ought to die, but his admirers often forget to tell us that lie also taught a woman of the town how to conduct her infamous busineoi. ' Die! not Marcus Aurelius Antonius teach beautiful things about clemency?' we are asked. Yes, and he also taught that it was right to fiercely prosecute people for no other crime than that of being Christians; and being emperor, and having the power to do it, he practised what he preached. '" Second, these other teachings contain part of the truth, but the Bible contains all truth. There is not a single truth on moral or spiritual subjects that cannot be found for instance within this one Book. When lecturing on this subject I have often challenged anyone to bring one truth on moral or spiritual subjects that he could not find the Bible. No one has ever succeeded iii doing it. If you think you will be the first to succeed just try it on. (Laughter.) If all the books besides the Bible that were ever written were destroyed there would not be a single moral or spiritual truth lost, if we had the one book, the Bible, hit. Third, the Bible contains more truth than all other boohs taken together. Bring together from all .the literature of ancient and modern times, the literature of Persia, India, China, Greece, Rome, all lands, all that is good, sift out all that is bad, or worthless, bring the result together into a book, and you will not h..ve then a book that will take the place of the Bible. Burn, up all books but the Bible; you do not suffer loss of a. single moral or spiritual truth. Burn up the Bible, and have all other books left, and you suffer irreparable loss. How will you account for it? Rationally and fairly, in only one way: this Book does not contain man's thinking, but God's. THE OMNIPOTENCE OF THE BIBLE. "In the fifth place, I know the Bible is the Word of Cod because of the history of the Book, and its omnipotence against ail man's attack upon it. The Bible is not only the most intensely loved book in the world: it is also tho most bitterly hated. Scarcely had the Bible been given to the world before men discovered that it condemned sin, laid human pride in the dust, and demanded the renunciation of sin, of tho world, and of self, and so man hated the Bible. Plan's hatred of the Bible has been of a most persistent, determined, relentless, and bitter character. It has led to eighteen centuries of repeated attempts to undermine faith in the Bible, and to consign the Bible itself to oblivion. These attempts have utterly failed. Celsus tried it with the brilliancy of his genius, and he failed. Porphyry tried it with the depth and subtlety of his philosophy, and he failed. Lucien tried it with the keeness of his satire, and ho failed. Then other weapons were used. Diocletian, the mightiest ruler of the mightiest empire of the world, brought to bear against the Bible all the power of Rome. He issued edicts that every Ruble should bo burned, but that failed. Every engine of destruction that human philosophy, human science, human reason, human art, human cunning, human force, and human brutality could bring to bear against a book has been brought to bear against this book, and yet the Bible stands absolutely unshaken to-day. ((Applause.) At times "almost all the wise and great of earth have been pitted against the Bible, and only an obscure few for it. Yet it has stood. At times men have fancied the Bible had gone down, but when the smoke had cleared away from the. field of battle there it stood, not one stone shaken, and the fierceness of the assault, only serving to illustrate again the impregnability of the citadel. (Applause.) Why is it that the Bible has proved omnipotent against all the centuries of attack that man has been -able to make? There is but one candid answei. Because it is God's book. | If the Bible had been man's book it would nave gone down and have been forgotten centuries ago; but because in this book there is the hiding not only of God's wisdom, but also of His power, it stands and wonderfully fulfils the deeper meaning of Christ's words, 'Heaven and earth shall pa.ss away, but My words shall not pass away.' THE VALUE OF EVIDENCE. "Sixthly, I believe in tho Divine origin of the Bible because of the character of those who accept it, and the character of those who reject it. Sometimes when a man says to me, ' I believe the Bible is the Word of (k)d,' foe! like replying, 'I am glad that you do.' The fact that a man who lives so near God, and knows God so well, believes that He is the author of this Book is a confirmation of my own faith. And when other men say to me, ' I do not believe the Bible is the Word of God.' 1 almost feei like replying, ' I am glad that you do not.' The fact that a man who lives so far away from God, and knows so little of God, doubts that the Bible is His word rather confirms my faith that it is. Of course it is not meant by this that every man who professes to believe in the Bible is better than every man who doubts it. But this much is meant: Find a man who has entirely surrendered his will to God, who is lea-ding a life of self-renunciation, of devotion to God and his fellow-man, of humility and prayer, and ia every instance- you will find a inan who is j

fully convinced that the Bible is Gad's "Word. An exception to this tannot be found. On the other band, find v mart who denies or continuously doubts feat 'the Bible is the : Word of Clod, and in ciery instance you will ! find a man who is lesling either a life of I last, or greed for ituney, or self-will or j pride. i "In other words, ih'fco who live nearest i God and know, God bes! with absolute unai niroity say the Bible. ii.God'a Word- those j who denies it are the.ft who live farthest I from Him. Which shall!wo believe? Sup'J pose a manuscript werefound purporting to _ be by Oliver Wendell Holme*., ami there * was much discussion anj difference of opin- * mi as to whether OH*r Wendell Holtnea 3 v ote it or not. _ Bui when it was taken 1 *< tho critics to decide every one of them 5 wi, had Jived nearest to Oliver Wendell 1 Ito, lr . Si bad known hitibest, and were m<;st r >", vmpatliy with hJ life and thought, said t was by him. (Those who doubted it we 0 those who haj lived farthest from ' him i, lif c ami tlioiht, and knew him 5 least. Which would vfi believe! (Voices--3 ' Those who knew hitj best.') Of course* you woinl, and that ij the exact case with " the Bible- those whojive nearest to God, J who are oost in symplhy with His life &lv 5 thought, vho know lift 1" st, with one voice I proclaim iiat the Rib] is God's work: those ' who deny or doubt i are those who live * farthest fv (£n Hint, fhith will you believe? _ But ( that ii not all. , The nearer men K et 1 to (.Sod the stronger peonies theit faith that 3 the Bible is the W/d of God; the more ' they drift away fiju God, the more full - they beeoito of dotp. '-his is a common experience, that mi who are both sceptic* and sinner), by t'i/ simple fact of giving up their sins. losJtheir doubts. My ex- . perieueo of late yJis with sceptics has led I rue. when men tellpe they are getting seep. , tii al, t.i ask thenifVhat they have been doing, and a onfe-fu of sin often follows * ; profession of scepjfism. Where is the strong. . hold of the Bible'/ The pure, happy, loving . holy home. Were is the stronghold of . scepttcifin and ifidelity? The saloon, the , gamblii£ den. tr racecourse, and the bro- | thel. Suppose /walked down Collins-street with ny Bible under my arm. and went into me of yourbiir hotel.-, slapped the Bible ;. down on the center, and said, "A glass of J whisly, please.' The barmaid would look at my Jible and Say. 'Beg pardon, what did ' you order?' (laughter.) But if 1 carried in a book by (.ngersoll, ami put- it on the L co-inter, she jould bring me the whisky ; witbut common. There would l>e no ineorrruity about that. No, men, the Bible ' am whisky dc not go together. Infidelity I ant whisky wjlk alxmt arm in arm."

! THE LAST REVIEW. ' .0! the Great Review is ordered, 1 And the mighty inarching past, Prom tho hifftiiwt to the lowest, r , From the flmt unto the last. ) Soundless is the lons defiling. SUM tho trooping of ilia dead. or the muffled drum is rolling Nor the champion steed is led. ■lorse and fool are wheeled in si!enc«, Mannered busts, without a breath. ' Life," the watchword and tie rally, lint, the countersign is death. battered square and broken column, Rank and remnant of the slain, , Imply saddles at the outposts. Dotted graves along tbo plain. 'torn tbo red heart of the conflict. From the battle's bleeding marge, "rora the thunder of the onset From the whirlwind of the charge. 'rum the main guard and the picket*, ,'Neath the red fla«r and the white, rom the " missing of the skirmish From the fallen of the fight. ; fere they muster to the death-roll, Here they form on every band, , •'rom the beaten paths of conquest, To the silent unknown land. ' from the stained clouds of warfare, , To Valhalla's taintless breath, i?rom the troubled fields of glory, 1 To the level ranks of death. tow your heads, exultant cities, Dale and township, hut and hall, ffinA the Last Post from your gateway! O'er the hilltops Bound "recall!" > Sow your heads above the fallen. Droop the Colours overcast, ?or the Great. Review is ordered, And the mighty Marching Past. _________________ iDEAbO. 1