The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-04-17
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Wonders of Disaster and
Blessing" preached at Kan
sas City, MOI

h.arens and in the earth."-Joel IL, 80.
DR.. Cumming-great and good man
would have told us the exact time of the full
fillment of this prophecy. AS stepped into
his study in London on my arrival from Paris
lust after the French had surrendered at
Sedan, the good doctor said to me: ut is Just
as told you about France; people laughed at
me because I talked about the seven
horns and the walls, but forsaw all this from
the Book of Daniel and the Book of Revela-
ton" Not taking any such responsibility IL
the Interpretation of the passage, simply
assert that there is in it suggestions OF many
things in our time.
Our eyes dilate and our heart quickens its
pulsations as we read of events in the Third
century, the Sixth century, the Eighth CEN
tury, the Fourteenth century, but there are
more far reaching events crowded into the
Nineteenth century than into any other,
and the last quarter bids fair to
eclipse the preceding three quarters.
events announced in one paragraph and
without any special emphasis-of events
which Herodotus, a Josephus, Aenophon,
q Gibbon would have taken whole chapters
or whole volumes to elaborate. Looking out
upon our time. we must cry out In the words
OF the text: ''Wo Wonders in the heavens and in
the earth"
propose to show you that the time in
which we live is wonderful for disaster and
wonderful for blessing, for there must be
lights and shades in this picture as in all
others. Need I argue this day that our time
is wonderful for disaster? Our world has
had rough time since by the hand Of God it
was bowled out into space 1t is an epileptlc
earth: convulsion after convulsion; frosts
pounding it with sledge hammer of
iceberg, and fires melting it with
furnaces seven hundred times heated. 1t is a
wonder to me it has lasted so long. MeteorS
shooting by on this side and grazing 1t, and
meteors shooting by on the other side and
grazing it, none Of them slowing up for
Safety. Whole fleets and navieS and argosleS
and fiotillas of worlds sweeping all about us
Our earth like fishing smack off the banks
of Newfoundland, while the Etruria and
Germanic and the Arizona and the City Of
New York rush by. Besides that, our
world has by sin been damaged in its inter-
nal machinery, and ever and anon the fur
naces have burst, and the walking beams of
the mountain have broken, and the islands
have shipped sea, and the great hulk OF tho
world has been Jared with accidents that
ever and anon threatened immediate demoli.
tion. But it seems to us as if our century
were especially characterized by disaster,
volcanic, cyclonic, oceanic, epidemic. say
volcanic, because an earthquake is only q
volcano hushed up. When Stromboli
and Cotopaxi and Vesuvius stop breath
ing, let the foundations of the earth
beware Seven thousand earthquakes in
two centuries recorded in the catalogue OF
the British association. Trajan, the
Emperor, goes to ancient Antioch, and amid
the splendors Of his reception is met by an
earthquake that nearly destroys the Emper-
or's life Lisbon, fair and beautiful at one
O'Clock on the 1st of November, 1855 in six
minutes 10000 have perishcd, and Eoltaire
writes of them: "For that region it was the
last Judgment, nothing wanting but a
trumpetw Europe and America feeling the
. throb; 1900 chimneys in Boston partly OF
! fully destroyed.
But the disasters of other centuries have
had their counterpart in our own. In 1872
Caracas was caught in the grip Of the earth
quake; in 1922, in Chill, 100000 square miles
of land by volcanic force upheaved to four
and seven feet of permanent elevation; in
1854 Japan felt the geological agony;
Naples shaken in 1857; Mexico in 1858;
Medosa, the capital of the Argentine
Republic, in 1861; Manila terrorized in 1868;
the Hawaiian islands by such force uphfte6
and let down in 1871; Nevada shaken in 1871
Antioch in 1872; California in 1872; San
Salvador in 1878; while in 1888 what
subterranean excitement! Ischia, an isl
and of the Mediterranean, beautiful
Italian watering-place, vineyard clad, sur
rounded by all natural charm and historical
reminiscence; yonder, Capri, tine summer re-
sort of the Roman Emperors; yonder,
Naples, the paradise of art-this beautiful
! island suddenly toppled into the trough OF
the earth 5000 merry-makerS perlshlnS, ana
some of them so far down beneath the reach
of human obsequies that it may be said Of
many one of them as it was said of Moses:
or1l l,,,.:o Il fol n
Europe weeping, all Christendom weeping
where there were hearts to sympathize and
Christians to pray. But while the nations
were measuring that magnitude of disaster,
measuring it not with golden rod like that
with which the angel measured heaven,
but with the black rule of death, Java,
of the Indian archipelago, the most fertile
island of all the earth, is caught In the gril
of the earthquake, and mountain attel
mountain goes down, and city after city
until that island, which produces the health
lest beverage of all the world, has produced
the ghastlest accident of the country. One
hundred thousand people dying, dying, dead
dead.
But look at the disasters cyclonic. At thu
mouth of the Ganges are three islands-th'
Hattiah, the Sundeep and the Dakin Shabaz
pore. In the midnight of October, 1871. ol
all those three islands tie cry was: "Th
waters. the watcrsm A cyclone arose ant
rolled the sea over tho-, three Islands
were drowned. Only those saved VIII
had climbed to the top of the highest trees
Did you ever see a cyclone? No? Then
pray God you may never see one. saw on
on the ocean, and it swept US eight hundre'
miles back from our course, and for thirty
six hours during the cyclone and ate
it we expected every moment to g
to the bottom. They told us be
fore we retired at o'clock that tn
barometer had fallen, but at II o'cloc
at night we were awakened with the shock
the waves. All the lights out! Crash. Wen
all the life boats. Waters rushing Ihroug
the skylights down into the cabin and dow
on the furnaces until they hissed and smoke
in the deluge Seven hundred people pray
ing, disappearing, shrieking. Our great shi
poised moment on the top Of mount
ain of phoSphorescent fire, an
then plunged down, down, down
until it seemed as if she would never agal
be righted All. you never want to see
cyclone at sea. But was in Minnesota
where there was one of those cyclones o
land that swept the city of Rochester fror
its foundations and took dwelling houses
barns, men, women, children, horses, ca
tie and tossed them into indiscriminat
ruin, and lifted a rail train and dashed
down, mightier hand than that OF the el
gineer on the air brake. Cyclone in kar
sas, cyclone in Missouri, cyclone in Wisccl
sin, cyclone in Illinois, cyclone in Iows
Satan, prince of the power of the air, neve
made such cyclonic disturbances as he has
our day. And am not right i'll saying tha
one of the characteristics of the time i
which we live is disaster cyclopic?
But look at the disasters oceanic. Shall
call the roll of the dead shipping? Ie mon
sters of the deep, answer when ! call you
names Vile de Havre, the Schiller. City O
Boston, the Melville the President, the Gin
bria. But why should l 60 on callin
the roll when none of them answer
-, fhn