Things new and old; sermons

Contents

PAGE

I. The Outlook of the World, .... 6

II. Christian Marriage, ....... 38

I. The Outlook Of The World

It is our humble belief that the world is slowly but surely growing better. This hopeful view, it is likely, some of our hearers do not share. And such are not without grounds for their position. In some respects the world is getting both better and worse. There is upon earth a kingdom of evil and a kingdom of good. Both are expansive and growing. This appears from Christ's parable of the wheat and the tares. The great lord of the field has said, " Let both grow together until the harvest ; the harvest is the end of the world." The tares become ranker as the wheat matures. Wickedness committed in the clearer light of conquering Christianity is bolder

and more heinous. Education and culture make s

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the villain more crafty and successful. The present fierce opposition to Christianity is explained by the fact that the gospel is winning victories. A weak and dying cause would not stir up its enemies to such activity. Holiness and sin, good and evil, are side bv side. Each is advancing and the contest between them will continue until the end of the world. " Of the increase of his kingdom and peace there shall be no end." And also, " Evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived." Yet it appears to us that the good is gradually gaining upon the evil, and beginning to assert its power with an emphasis that finally, at the second coming of Christ, will amount to a complete triumph.

The future of the world is dependent upon the future of Christianity. Outside of religion there is no hope for the race. The outlook of the world is substantially identical with the outlook of Christianity. And the only data for determining the future of Christianity are furnished by its past record and its present condition. It is impossible to read the history of the Christian religion without being impressed with its remarkable vitality and marvelous

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growth. Its unexampled success in the first centuries of its existence, without the aid of learning or political favor, but against their united opposition, is ample surety that no human or satanic power can become sufficiently strong to overwhelm it." Its survival of the corruptions that grew out of the unholy alliance of the church with political power, its effective protest against the evils that had stealthily crept into its organization during the darkness of the Middle Ages, is an earnest of future victory over all opposing forces from within and from without. Only a divine religion could pass safely through such struggles and successfully combat the gigantic forms of vice and error that have appeared. We cannot conceive of any storms so violent as to wreck this ship of church and baffle its divine pilot. Judging the future from the past, we are led to believe that Christianity will continue dominant in the world and that it will make other and still greater triumphs. That the church of Christ, with its elevating and ennobling influences, is going forth " conquering and to conquer," is not simply a matter of opinion, but a matter of promise and a matter of fact.

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L Statistics, so far as they are available, show an encouraging growth on the part of the church. At the close of the first century there were 500,000 Christians in the world ; at the close of the tenth, 50,000,000 ; at the close of the nineteenth, 400,000,000. These figures, of course, are a mere approximation to the actual facts ; yet they are interesting and instructive. Plainly as a finger-post they point to the time when the Holy Spirit shall descend upon every land, and " the ploughman shall overtake the reaper, and the treader of grapes him that soweth seed ; " when it shall be said, " Who shall count the dust of Jacob or the number of the fourth part of Israel ?"

Of all religious statistics available, those relative to our own country are the most com-' plete, and naturally of the most interest to us. In the year 1800 there was, according to Dorchester, one communicant to every ten of the country's population; and in the year 1890, according to the government census, there was one communicant to every three of the inhabitants. During the decade from 1880 to 1890, the increase in the population was 29 per cent, and the increase in church membership 46 per cent. ; so that the increase in church membership was 17 per cent, greater than that of the population. The total number of communicants in the country to-day is 20,488,670, and the religious population at least 46,000,000. This indicates an enormous growth, and does not quite accord with the representations, nor substantiate the fears of those who believe that everything is going to the bad until the Lord shall appear in the great glory of his second coming, to establish his reign on earth. With all the assaults of vice and unbelief, the Christian church, as represented by the evangelical denominations, is making rapid and substantial gains.

II. Another indication that the church is growing and will continue to grow, is the interest and activity manifested in the work of missions. This is the century that has witnessed the revival of missions by which the American churches support almost as many teachers and missionaries, in foreign lands as pastors at home. This is the century that has seen conquests of the gospel as great and farreaching as those of all previous centuries com-

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bined. A remarkable enthusiasm has been enkindled on this important subject, and it is constantly on the increase. As an illustration of this unparalleled zeal, there is a single church in the city of New York (that of the Rev. A. B. Simpson), a church with no rich men in its membership, that sends out this year 100 foreign missionaries, and has contributed in the past six months $118,500 toward furthering the Gospel in heathen lands. We are certain the record of missionary benevolence from the time of the Apostle Paul to the present day has nothing to compare with this.

In the early ages Christianity had devotees who became martyrs in defense of its existence ; in the present age it has a noble galaxy of martyrs in propagating its principles. Our missionaries, Williams and Patteson, who were eaten by the cannibals of the South Sea Islands, are worthy a place by the side of Polycarp and Phocus.

Our zeal and heroism now manifested in spreading the gospel. of Jesus, is equal to that of the first Christians in retaining their belief in it. I have profound reverence for the solitary and friendless Christian who stood in the

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arena, calmly waved a last farewell to old Caesar, and then engaged in bloody contest with man or beast until he sank lifeless in the dust, yielding himself a witness to Christ and a sacrifice to Roman depravity ; but not less worthy of our reverence and gratitude are the men who have lately laid down their lives for Christ in foreign lands.

A company of English soldiers, captured during the Sepoy rebellion in India, were offered the alternative of renouncing the Christian religion and embracing that of the rebels, or being murdered by all the horrible ways that the hate and rage of the heathen could invent. They died to a man as Christians. Does the history of the church present anything more brave and heroic ? With the present spirit of self-denial and self-sacrifice, what a glorious prospect opens up to Christianity ! With the present missionary enthusiasm and mode of working, we have no doubt that the time will soon be at hand when " earth's remotest nations shall hear Messiah's name."

III. The condition and work of the Sunday School augurs well for the future of the church

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and the race. It has reached a stage approaching perfection. The first Sunday School of the present kind was founded only one hundred and thirteen years ago ; yet it has become a powerful auxiliary to the church. The best talent and intelligence of the age are brought to bear upon the rising generation through the Sunday School. An army of pious, consecrated men and women are devoting their best efforts to the religious instruction of the young. The Bible is now studied by about ten million children in the Sunday Schools of our land alone. Every possible art and appliance that the modern mind can invent are brought into requisition in the work of simplifying and making plain the truth of God and instilling it into the heart of the scholar. The Sunday School has in its service a teaching corps of almost equal ability to that of the secular school and of greater consecration. Without the aid of the public purse, it has at its disposal one million officers and teachers of the highest type of manhood and womanhood. It communicates instruction of the highest order, because the love of Jesus and the love of souls enlists talent which no mercenary consideration could secure.

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The influence which this instruction must have upon the coming generation should do much toward quieting our anxieties about the future of the race.

IV. The result of every assault upon Christianity, whether made in the name of science, philosophy or history, is a prophecy of what will occur hereafter. The fact that theories hostile to Christianity, and put forth with the utmost assurance of their authors, have been speedily abandoned, is a strong indication that the human mind is not satisfied with the husks of philosophy, and that the best thought of the age is drifting toward the one who is the truth and the life. The enemies of religion have striven among themselves and fiercely demolished one another. According to an ancient fable, when Cadmus had sown the dragon's teeth and they sprang up an army of giants out of the ground, he took a rock and threw it among them. The result was that, instead of slaying him, they went to fighting one another, until only one tall giant remained, and he became the helper of Cadmus in carrying stones to build the walls of the city of Thebes. In i6 this way the enemies of Christ have killed the theories of one another and their contention has only resulted in strengthening the walls of the Master's Kingdom. The theory of the rationalistic Paulus was soon displaced by that of the critical Strauss, who, in his latest writings, severely chastised his opponent, and with telling irony and caustic sarcasm assailed the position held by the whole modern school of rationalists. The theory of Strauss was in turn destroyed by that of the aesthetic Renan. The theory of Renan again has fallen to pieces of its own inconsistencies.

Voltaire said in one hundred years the Bible will be forgotten. The one hundred years are past, but the Bible is not quite forgotten. The Geneva Bible Society is using his printing press in its work of publishing the Word of God, and at least two hundred million copies of the Bible have been printed in the last one hundred years. During the past year the American Bible Society alone has published thirteen thousand copies of the Bible every ten hours of the day. Gibbon labored earnestly to overthrow Christianity ; yet to-day Gibbon's hotel at Lake Leman contains a room where

Bibles are sold. Chesterfield's parlors, formerly an infidel club room, echoing with profanity and raillery at the Christian religion, is now a vestry where the groans and prayers of the penitent go up to God. Tom Paine declared that he had gone through the forests of the Bible and hewn down the trees one by one with the ax of reason. If Paine were to rise from the shades of death, he would find those trees towering heavenward, more thrifty and fruitful than ever.

V. The confirmation of the truth and accuracy of the Scriptures furnished by modern archaeological discoveries gives added strength to the Christian religion. The records and relics dug up from the ruins of ancient tombs and cities corroborate many of the disputed declarations of Sacred Writ. Before any effective explorations were made in the East, the external evidences of the genuineness of the Scripture were few indeed, and we had little to substantiate the Biblical histories, but when the valleys of the Nile and the Euphrates began to reveal the secrets which had so long been hidden under the dust of the ages, and 2 i8

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the stones of Canaan and Syria began to speak out, we had what all Biblical students had been longing for. The historical intelligence gained by Oriental exploration confirms beyond cavil the reliableness of the Scripture record, and knocks some of the wild and radiical theories of infidel critics into pieces so fine that they cannot be swept up with a broom. It is no longer safe for any student to make a statement destructive to the Biblical record, for the very next spade turned by the archaeologist may expose his ignorance, and sustain the correctness of the Scriptures. This unquestionable confirmation of Bible history is the source of much strength to the Christian religion, and gives valuable support to its claim on universal acceptance.

VI. The popularity of the Gospel is also a very encouraging sign of the times. Never since the time when the first message of hope was uttered in Eden has the Gospel received so large and intelligent a hearing as it does to-day. It has been said by the pessimist that the average man of this age hates the preacher and his preaching. I call the state-

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ment in question. There may be a certain perverted form of the message that is repulsive to many of the men of our day ; but the message as it is proclaimed in its bright and hopeful form by McLaren, and Storrs, and Talmage, and Moody, and thousands of others is not only not repulsive to the spirit of the age, but on the other hand is quite attractive. The immense audiences that flock to hear these men, and the remarkable enthusiasm created by them is something unparalleled in the history of the church. The fifty million dollars paid annually to the one hundred thousand ministers of this country are strongly expressive of the faith and interest of the people in the message they proclaim.

VII. Another indication of the progress of Christianity is the liberality of its devotees. No equal number of persons can anywhere be found so firmly devoted to any hero or principle as the disciples of Christ are to him and his gospel. No charitable or scientific society receives the attention and support from its members that the church receives from Christians. No distinctly humanitarian organization

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can command half the friends the church has at its disposal. Generous gifts are laid upon the altar of the sanctuary. The widow does not withhold her mite, nor the rich man his abundance. The rapid accumulation of wealth by individuals may be one of the evils of the times from a sociological standpoint, but if that wealth is properly used, it converts the evil into a blessing. When I consider the princely munificence which many of fortuned favorites have been able to exercise toward the church and other benevolent institutions, I feel less inclined to criticise the financial inequalities so perplexing to the sociologist. One person now does with a single donation what formerly required many persons and many years to do. Christian liberality erects the most costly structures on earth to the service of God, and furnishes every conceivable means and appliance for facilitating the spread of the Gospel.

VIII. The Bible is read by a larger proportion of the world's population now than in any previous age. In 1802, when the British and Foreign Bible Society was formed, there was a great distribution of the Bible in all

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countries. It had then been printed and circulated in only forty-seven languages and dialects ; but since that time more than 200,000,- 000 Bibles, New Testaments and portions of the Bible have been issued. The Scriptures are now circulated among nearly all the nations of the earth, and in more than two hundred and fifty different languages. The heathen are eagerly reaching out for the heavenly message; and Christian people are reading it quite as reverently as ever, and with probably a more intelligent and correct interpretation than in former times. Significant upon this point is the fact that on the first day the revised version of the New Testament was placed on the market, one publishing house in New York sold a quarter of a million copies before three o'clock in the afternoon. This is certainly indicative of the intense interest taken in the grand old Bible. Popular as many books have been, no such record of one day's sale has ever been made before. Colonel Ingersoll and other infidels have bitterly assailed the New Testament with wit and ridicule, and have loudly asserted that it is losing its hold upon the people. But these unprecedented sales do

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not confirm that assertion. People are not simply reading, but studying the word of God in the light of the nineteenth century. It cannot be otherwise than that this thoughtful, yet devout, use of the Scriptures will have an elevating effect on the race.

IX. There are millions of men and women of at least average intelligence, who firmly believe that Christianity affords them the only adequate comfort in sorrow and the only hope for the future. To these the religion of the Nazarene is precious above all mundane treasures. They cherish it fondly as a sacred and invaluable heritage, and would be slow to relinquish possession of it. Napoleon had his " Old Guard " ready to die, but not to surrender, jesus has his followers who, rather than see his name perish from the earth, would dip their fingers in their own blood and write it upon the heavens. The unquenchable ardor and devotion of millions of Christians must prove an invincible defense of the cause of righteousness, and will perpetuate with ever increasing power the religion of Christ among men.

Christianity is certainly more firmly established now than ever before ; its influence is wider and its promise of future advancement better. Along with this religious progress there has been a corresponding progress .in morals. That the world has improved in its ethical condition will scarcely admit of a doubt. Yet whatever progress has been made in this sphere must be credited mainly to the influence of Christianity. All moral reforms hitherto effected are of Christian parentage. Though godless men, in the pride of their unbelief, have endeavored to trace the lineage of modern ethical progress to a different source, the judgment of impartial and thorough scholars connects it with religion. History and recent experience have demonstrated that reforms must take their place under the banner of the cross if they would march to victory. The two are cause and effect. A growing religion necessarily produces an improved morality.

It may be encouraging to notice a few of the triumphs achieved in this realm, some of them within the memory of the " oldest inhabitant."

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I. An improvement has been made in the matter of temperance. While it is to be regretted that the methods of campaign against intoxicating liquors have been wild and spasmodic in many quarters, yet it canruot be denied that much good has been done. Prohibitory laws have been enacted and are reasonably well enforced in several states. By reason of the constant agitation of this burning question drunkenness has come to be regarded a disgrace. Many, no doubt, recollect the time when intoxication was considered somewhat excusable on the plea of respectability. That time has passed by. Neal Dow, the venerable prohibitionist of Maine, expressed himself as follows in a recent issue of the Independent : " My knowledge of the drinking habits of the people goes back beyond fifty years. I very well remember when this habit was almost universal among all classes of society. It may be said to have been quite universal among mechanics and other workingmen. I remember when the town bell, which rang at seven in the morning, at noon and at nine o'clock at night, was also rung at eleven in the forenoon and at four in the afternoon to call workingmen to

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their i grog ' which was considered a necessity among working people.

"At the same time the drink custom was universal among the upper classes of society. Always, when calling at the houses of such people, whether socially, ceremoniously or on business, the first thing after the greeting was an invitation to the sideboard ' to take something.' Whether the caller were the pastor, the doctor, the stranger or neighbor, the invitation and the drink w r ere never omitted.

"In those days of liquors at public as well as social gatherings, alcoholics were always present, with boisterousness, coarseness and even vulgarities. Excess to the extreme was not considered a reproach to any gentleman. I have seen such persons leap upon the table at such feasts and dance a 'jig' there, making all the bottles, decanters and glasses join in the fun. I have seen six gentlemen doing this at one time on a long table — a few ladies and many other gentlemen being present. All these habits and customs are gone now; they were dismissed years ago from all circles of which I have any knowledge."

The disgust of all moderate people with in-

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ebriety has never been more thorough. The hard drinker must now bear the brand of a social outcast. Bibulous dissipation is no longer condoned by the respectable as it used to be. The effects of temperance work are felt in the highest ranks of society as well as in the low T - est. The " gilt-edged " grog shop that once flourished in the basement of the capitol and furnished the inspiration for senatorial eloquence has been abolished. A recent president of the United States was brave enough to violate foreign court etiquette, and the custom of his predecessors, by removing the wine cup from the White House table at state dinners. Many fashionable people have made the new departure of showing hospitality without offering intoxicating drinks. The bench, the bar, and the senate are not so frequently degraded by drunken incumbents as they once w r ere. A smaller proportion of prominent political characters go to a drunkard's grave than formerly. The fact that physicians are compelled to designate diseases resulting from intemperance by some obscure, scientific name shows the drift of public sentiment.

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II. Not many years ago the lottery was a popular institution. From the earliest settlement of the country it has been a familiar means of raising funds for various charitable purposes. Colleges have been founded, libraries established, and hospitals erected by the aid of this game of chance. Very near all the states of the Union have, at some period of their history, employed lotteries as a means of revenue. But, though they supply a ready mode of replenishing the public treasury, they have always been found to exert a mischievous influence upon the people. The hope of sudden and splendid gains, the prospect of getting something for nothing, divert the attention of the masses from their usual labor and occupation, and make them restless and adventurous. These schemes once enjoyed a fair reputation ; now they are condemned. Every state has abolished them and the Government has made it a penal offense to send lottery advertisements through the mails.

III. Fifty years ago duelling was a common practice in this country. In those days the "code of honor" was in full force. Some of

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our greatest men had not the power to resist it. The noble Hamilton lost his life in combat with Aaron Burr, vice president of the United States. Barron fought with Decatur, Clay fought with John Randolph, Jackson fought with Dickinson. These " affairs 99 were of frequent occurrence in the earlier years of this century. Now they are rare. Southern chivalry, in foolish imitation of foreign manners, furnishes the few we now hear of. The verdict of popular opinion is that he who refuses to fight a duel is a moral hero, and that he who kills another in a duel is a murderer.

IV. The present century has witnessed the noblest manifestations of Christian sympathy and aid. On the fatal night of October 8, 1 87 1, Chicago was visited with one of the most destructive conflagrations of modern times. The greater part of the city was destroyed. Two hundred million dollars' worth of property was licked up by the hungry flames. One hundred and sixty thousand people were homeless, shelterless, and without provisions. This dread calamity sent a thrill of sympathy through all of this country, and through all of Europe. From all parts of the world messages of aid and encouragement came in. Whole trains of clothing and food were sent from our larger cities to shield the unfortunate against cold and starvation. In a few days seven million dollars in money, and almost unlimited provisions and articles of clothing were contributed to the relief of the sufferers. What a beautiful testimony to the brotherly love that now pervades the human family !

The fearful plague that in 1873 and again in 1878 scourged the South with its poisonous lash called out noble exhibitions of philanthropy and self-sacrifice. Every church in the land lifted liberal collections for the benefit of the afflicted, and sent a fervent prayer to God that he might call off the dread epidemic. Many physicians and nurses from the North hastened to the beds of the dying as ministers of mercy. Bright men and fair women laid down their lives for those who had no other claim upon them than that of a common humanity.

This manifestation of philanthropy was re-

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peated after that dreadful calamity in the Conemaugh valley five years ago. As a result of heavy rains, a dam across the south fork of the Conemaugh river was carried away, and the valley engulfed with a raging flood. Johnstown and the surrounding villages were swept away, and more than six thousand persons lost their lives. The catastrophe was probably without parallel in its awful results since the days of the Noachian deluge. But aside from the mortality and its consequent sorrows, everything else has been restored again. The whole civilized world felt the shock of the disaster, and opened its purse to relieve the distress entailed by it. The disheartened citizens of the ill-fated town were so encouraged by the generous offers of substantial aid that they at once began to rebuild, and to-day nearly every trace of the flood has disappeared, and a new city stands on the site of the old. With such repeated evidences of love to mankind who will say the race is deteriorating?

V. There was a time, and that not far distant, when African slavery was encouraged by the

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kings and parliaments of England. In 1708, the House of Commons declared by the report of a committee, that " the trade in negroes was important and ought to be free and open to all the Queen's subjects." Still later, under George II., the British Government sought in every way to foster the iniquity and " diligently checked any beginnings of virtuous action in the colonies directed against the evil." In due season the crime became thoroughly established also in the American colonies, and for decades had able defenders, both in church and state. To-day slavery has scarcely an apologist in England or America and is not tolerated in any civilized country in the w r orld.

VI. The position and rights of woman in the not remote past were those of an inferior creature. Under the common law of England her husband, no matter how degraded he might be, could take her property and all her earnings and use them for his own base and selfish gratification. As the statute says, " He could beat his wife, though not to death, and chastise her reasonably. " It was a common thing in the eighteenth century for a man to sell and deliver his wife to another man. Parleigh's register, a historical document, speaks of a " bought wife delivered in a halter" as late as 1782. To-day, thanks to the elevating influence of Christianity, woman stands by the side of her husband, his equal and his companion, instead of his chattel.

Thus, on all moral questions and all questions coming under the head of the humanities of life, we are far in advance of bygone centuries. It does not require a parallax of more than a hundred years to demonstrate this to the complete satisfaction of any one who is not abnormally splenetic.

But some one may ask, " If the world is growing better, why do we now read in the papers of so much more wickedness than formerly?" The answer to that is easy enough. It is because of the remarkable increase in our population, which has more than doubled in the last thirty years. No special endowment of wisdom is necessary to perceive that, all things being equal, the larger the number of people, the larger the number of crimes to be expected. Another reason for this apparent increase in crime is the elevation of our moral standard, by which many offenses, formerly