Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-09-21
Observation-Disclosures
LIGHTS OF THE CHURCH WHO
HAVE DIED In DARKNESS.

BROOKLYN, Sept. 20.--Dr. TalmRge,
who has just returned from Europe, de.
llvered a sermon to-day ON "Castaways,"
at the Tabernacle, to a crowded audience
He gave out the familiar hymn, beginning
"Out on the ocean all boundless we ride,'
after which he read and expounded the
10th chapter OF Acts. His text was
Lest that by any means, when l have
preached to others, 1 myself should be a
castaway." /. Corinthians tx, 81. The
following is a complete report OF the SER
mon:
The apostle, in the text. indicates that
some religious teachers may fail TO reach
the heaven to which they point others.
Gown and surplIce and Cardinals red
hat are no security. Cardinal Wolsey,
after having been petted by kings, and
having entertained foreign ambassadors
at Hampton court. died in darkness.
One of the most eminent ministers of re-
ligion that this country has ever known
plunged into sin and died, his heart, in
pOst-mOrtem examination, found TO have
been not tiguratively but literally broken.
O ministers of Christi because we
have diplomas of graduation, aud hands
of ordination on the head, and address
consecrated assemblages, that Is no
reason why he shall necessarily
reach the realms celestial. The
/ clergyman must 20 through the
same gate of pardon as the layman.
| The preacher may get his audience into
! heaven and he himself miss il. There
have been cases OF shipwreck where all
on board escaped excepting the captain.
Alas If, after having preached to others,
| myself should be q castaWay" God for
bid it..
| have examined some OF the COM
mentaries to see what they thought about
this word "castaway," and | find that
they differ in regard to the figure used,
while they agree in regard 70 the mean
Ing. so | shall make my own selection,
and take it in nautical and seafaring
sense, and show you that men may be-
come spiritual cGstaways, and how finally
they drift into that calamity.
We are a seabOard town. You have all
stood on the beach Many OF you have
crossed the ocean. Some OF you have mau-
aged vessels in great stress OF weather.
There is a sea captain, and there is an
other, and yOnder is another, and there
are a g0Odly number OF you who, though
once YOU did not know the difference be-
tween a brig and bark, and a diamond
knot and a spritsheetsaI knot, now you
are as familiar with a ship as you are
with your right hand, and, if it were ne
cessary, you could take Il vessel clear
across the mouth of the Mersey without
the loss of single sail. Well, there is a
dark night in your memory of the sea.
The vessel became unmanageable.
You saw it was scudding toward the
shore. You heard the cry, breakers
aheadV Gland ON the lee bowr' The yes
sci struck the rock, and you felt the deck
l Iii nd vynn
were a castaway, rs when the Hercules
drove on the coast OF CaAraria, as when
the Portuguese brig went staving, split
| ting, grinding, crashing on the GOOdwins.
| But whether you have followed the sea or
not, you all understand the figure, when
/ l tellyOu there are men who, by their sins
and temptations, are thrown helpless
Driven before the galel Wrecked for two
! WOrldsl CastaWay! castaWay!
! BY talking with some sailors l have
| found out that there are three or four
| causes for such a calamity to vessel.
have been told that it sometimes comes
! from creating false lights on the beach.
! This was often 50 In Olden times. 1t Is
not may years ago, indeed, that vaga-
bonds used to wander up and down the
! beach getting vessels ashore in the night.
/ throwing up false lights in their presence
and deceiving them, that they might de-
! spoil and ransack them. All kinds Of in
fernal arts were used to accomplish this.
And one night on the Cornish coast, when
I the sea was coming on feariully, some
villains took a lantern and tied it to a
horse and led the horse up and down the
beach, the lantern swaying TO the motion
| of the horse, and sea captain IN The
otling saw it, and made up his mind that
he was not anywhere near the shore, for
! he said, "There's vessel; that must be a
vessel, for it's movable light" and he
| had no apprehension until he heard the
! rocks grating on the ships bottom, and ii
went 20 pieces, and the villains on shore
| gathered up the packages and the
| treasures that were washed 20 the land.
| Aud / have 10 tell you that there are a
multitude Of souls ruined by false lights
/ on the beach. In the dark night Of man's s
! danger religious error goes up and down
| the shore shaking its lantern. and men
! look of aud take that Pickering aud ex-
/ piring wick as the signal OF safety, and
/ the cry is, "Heave the maln-topsail
! TO the mast All is wellV when
/ sudden destruction cOmeth upon
them, and they shall not escape. SO
\ there are all kinds OF lanterns swung on
the beach-philosOphi lanterns, edu-
| cati0nal lanterns, humanitarian lanterns.
/ Men look az them and are deceived, when
/ there is nothing but Gods eternal light
house of the gospel that can keep them
/ from becoming castaWays. Once, on
! Wolf Crag lighthouse, they tried TO build
! a copper figure Of "A wolf with its mouth
/ open, so that, the storms beating into r.,
the wolf would howl forth the danger "a
mariners that might be coming anywhere
near the coast. OF course 10 was a fail
I ure. And 50 all new Inventions for the
saving Of mans soul are unavailing.
1 What the human race wants Is light
I bursting from the cross standing on the
great eadlands-tbe light Of pardon, the
light Of comfort, the light Of heaven. You
might better 20 tonight and destroy all
the great lighthouses on the dangerous
coasts--the Barnegat lighthouse, the Fast
net rock lighthouse, the SkerryyOre light
house, the Lougship's lighthouse, The
| HOlyhead lighthOuse-than 10 put out
Gods great ocean lainp-the gospel. Woe
| 10 those who swing false lanterns on the
beach tall men erase ih and perish! Cast
away castawayl
BY talking with sailors, / have heard
also that sometimes ships come 10 this
calamity by the sudden Bwoop OF temp
est. For instance, "a vessel Is sailing
along In the East Indies and there Il not
q single cloud in the sky, but suddenly
the breeze freshens and thore are swift feet
on the rail lines, and the cry is "Way
haul away thereiv but before they can
square the bOOms and tarpaul In the
hatchways the vessel ls grOaning and
creaking in the grip OF tornado and
falls over into the trough OF the sea, and,
hroadslde-ou rolls on b the bench and