Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-06-28
TALMAGE IN THE ISLES
THEBROORLYNC ONGREG ALTON
ON AN EXCURSION.

ALEXANDRIA BAY, n. Y, June ~
The congregation of the Brooklyn Taber-
nacle this year have made pilgrimage to
this place, accompanied by the Rev. L.
Dewitt Talmage, d. D., their pastor.
Many hundreds OF them left Brooklyn on
Saturday, June 26, arriving here the even
ing of tue same day, and will remain un-
I'll Tuesday. Special trains of cars were
provided for them. A multitude from the
surrounding villages joined them to-day,
aud DR.. Talmage preached the following
sermon. His subject was IAN Island
Vision" and his texts Rev. il, 81, John,
was IN the isle that is called Patmos''-
and Rev. xxi, 2l-"And the twelve gates
were twelve pearls" The preacher said:
Sabbath morning finds us amid the Thou
sand Isles of the ST. Lawrence. Amid the en-
chantment of the scenery some OF Us are like
Pau when he said: NV neither in the body or
out of the body cannot tell" Not having read
the geoOgsts' account of how this region was
formed. | may surmse that after the st. Law
renee began its majestic roll thee islands
were dropped into II QUITO the heavenly land
scape. Islands above us, isl ands below us.
islands all around us, / am reminded how
much the islands of the world have had to do
with sacred and proiane history. Elba, from
which Napoleon started for his last struggle;
bnd L. Helena. where he ended it; island of
Guernsey. where the great soul of Victor
Hugo chafed in exile until repubhcanism in
France drove back despotism; Isle Of Rorueo,
where AdOnlram Juds0n STOOD, Naming
RVangel; the Mediterranean is and. where
Garibaldi rested after the emancipation Of
Italy; island of Cyprus, where Barnabas
preached; island Of Melita, on which Paul
snlpwrecked; and last OF all, put
mightier than ali and more impressive than
all, the island OF Iatmos, OF which my text
speaks ana from which ST. John, the eXIled
Ephesian gospelizer, saw the twelve pearline
gates. II God viii help us, we can from these
Thousand Isles. on tins Sabbath morning, see
the same glitter ng portals.
Our subject speaks of great metropolis,
the existence of which many have doubted.
Standing on the wharf and looking off upon
the harbor and seeing the merchantmen COM
ing up the bay, the flags of foreign nations
streaming from the top galants, you immedl-
atey make up your mind that those vessels
came from foreign ports, and you say: THAT
is from Hdmburg, anu that is from Marseilies,
and that is from Southampton, and that is
from Havana" and your suppOsitiOn is acru-
rate. But from the city of which | am now
speaking no weather beaten merchantmen or
trIgates with SCARED nukhead have ever
come. There has been a vast migration into
that city, but no emigration from lt-sO far as
our natural vision can descrv.
There is no such city" says the undevout
astronomer. IL have stool In high towers
with mighty telescope and have swept the
heavens, and l have seen spots on the sun
and caverns in the moon; but no towers have
ever risen on my vision, no palaces, no tenn
pies. no shining streets. no massive wall.
tell me that heaven is not materal organism
but grand spiritual fact, and that the Bible
descriptions Of it are in all cases TO be taken
hgurauvey. | bring in reply TO this what
Christ said, and he ought to know: II go 10
prepare"-not a theory, not Il principle, not
sentiment; but Il 20 10 prepare a place for
you" The rcsurrected body implies this. III
my foot is to be reformed from the duet 1t
must have sonnet hing to tread on. IL my nand
IS to be reconstructed 1t must have something
to handle. IL nv eye, having gone out in
death. is to be rekindled, l must nave some-
7aiHg 10 gaze on. Your adverse theory seems
70 imply that the resurrectod body is to be
hung on nothing. or to walk In air, or to float
AMID the intangibles, You may say. If there
be material organisms then a soul in Heaven
Will lie cramped and hIndered in its enjoy
meDts: but answer: ID I'd not Adam and Eve
have plenty OF room in the garden of Eden?
Although only a few miles would have de-
scrlbet the circumference of that place. they
had ample room And do You not suppose
that God in the immensities can build a zee
large enough to give the whole race room,
even though there be material organisms.
Herschel looked into the heavens. As a
Swiss guide puts his Alpine stock between The
vi ciers and crosses over from crag to crag 70
Hersehel planted his tel scope betWeen The
worlds aud gided from star t. star, until he
could announce 10 us that we live in part of
he universe but sparsely strewn with worlds;
and he peers out into lmmensty until ne
nads region no larger than our solar sys-
tenn, in which there are 80, 600 worlds moving
And Professor Lang says that by philo-
sophic reasoning there must be somewhere a
world where there is no dark ness, but ever
lasting sunshine; so that do not know but
that 1t l. simply because We.have no telescope
powerful enough, that we cannot see
into the land where there is no dark
ness at all, anu catch 3 glimpse of the
FURNISHED plnacles. AS coDquering army
marching on TO take a city comes at nightfail
10 the crest oil mountains, from winch in the
midst OF the Landscape they ee the castles
they are 60 capture, and rein in their war
chargers, and halt and take q good
look before tney pitch their tens
we do this mountain top Of prospect, /
command this regiment of God to rein in their
thoughts nd balt AMI before they pitch their
tents for the MI ht take one good, long look al
the gates OF the great city. "And the twelve
gales were welVe pearls"
sin the first place, want you to examine
The architec ure OF those gates. Prophet, rs
of large estates are very apt TO have an orna-
mental gateway. Sometimes they spring an
arch of masonry; the posts OF the gate hanked
with lions in statuary; the bronze gate rep
resentation OF intertwinlng foliage bird
haunted. until the hand of architectural
genius drops exhausted. all its Ii frozen into
the stone. Babylon had humid ed gates; 80
hod rheoes Gates of wood and iron and stone
guarded nearly all the old cities. Mos ems
have inscribed upon their gateways inscrip-
tons from the Koran of the Mohammedan.
There have been great many fine gateways.
but Christ set his hand TO the work and for
the upper city swung a gate sucn as no eve
ever gazed on, untouched of inscription. With
the nail OF ms own cross he cut into its won
derful tracerles stories of our past suffering
and OF giadness to come. There
Is no wood or stone or bronze in
that gate, but from top To haze and from side
to side IL ie all OF pearl. Not ne piece pic ed
mp from CeylOn INKS, and aO0ther piece fro m
the Persian gulf and anoi her from the is aud
of Margarita: but one solid pearl picked up
from the beach OF everlasting light by beay-
emily hands. and h0isted and swung am "a the
shouting Of angels, The glnrirs OF alabaster
vase ana porphyry pillar fade ont before this
gateway. " puts out the spark Of feldsDpr
and Bohemian diamond. You know how one
little precious stone on your finger Will flash
under the gasiignt But . TIE T.ght rs4
wheDltbe great gate Of heaven swiI e, struck
through and dripping with the lighl Of eter-
nal monday.
Julius Caesar paid hundred and twenty
I'VE thOusani crowns or one pearl The gov
ernmeDt Of Portugal boosted 0 having a tearl
larger than pear Cleopatra ana Phuip ii
dazzled the worlds vision with lrceious
stones But gather all these together and lilt
them, and add TO them all the wealth OF the
pearl fisheries, and set Them In the panel Of
one door. and 10 does not equal this mAgniG-
cent gateway. An almighty hand hewed
this, strung this. polished tn =. Against his
gateway on the one side dash all the spleudor-
OF earthly beauty. Against this gate on the
other side beat the surges Of eternal glory.
o, the gate! The eatel II strikes an innniic
charm through every one that pIsses No.. One
step this side Of that gate aud W are pBupcrs.
one step the other SIDE Of mat gate an we
are kings. he pilgrim 81 earth going
through sees in the one huge pearl an ms
earthly tears M orl stRl. -, gate Of light,
gate Of pearl. gate of heaven, for our weary
lHIN. 49, 4.l go IasIH