The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1889-08-07
III. TALMAGE AT ST. PAUL.
Us RECENT SERMON IN MINNESOTA.
efject, "The Earthquake''-The Preacher
shows That n Belief In the Lord
Jesus Christ IL Necessary to
save the Sinner.

The Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage, d. D., of
1ooklyn, y. Y. preached in ST. Paul last
snday. His subject was "The Earth
uake," and he took for his text: "Be-
we on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
salt be saved"-Acts xvi, 81. The SER
pDn was as follows:
Jais are dark, dull. damp, loathsome
bees even now; but they were worse in
De apostolic times. / imagine to-day we
ae standing in the Philippian dungeon.
h YOU not feel the chill? Do you not
bar the groan of those incarcerated ones
do for ten years have not seen the sun
lint, and the deep sigh OF women who re-
number their fathers house and mourn
nFer their wasted estate? Listen again.
q - the cough OF consumptive, or the
Etru < lone in the nightmare OF great
houSr. Z YoI listen again and hear a cul-
rrit his chains rafting as he rolls over In
mis- dreams, and you say: "God pity the
prisoner" But there is another sound in
that prison. II is a song of Joy anu glad
x,ess. What place To sing in The mu-
SIC comes winding through the corridors
Of the prison, and in all the dark wards
She whisper is heard What's that?
Whats that?"
II is the song Of Paul and Silas They
cannot sleep. They have been whipped
Y cry badly whipped The long gashes on
eheir backs are bleeding vet. They lie fiat
en- the cold ground, their feet fast in
wooden sockets. and, of course, they can
rot sleep. BUT they can sing. Jailer.
what are YOU doing with these people2
Why have they been put in here? oh,
fsIey have been trying to make the world
better Is that all? That Is all. A pit
fdr Joseph. A lions cave for Daniel. A
bkzing furnace for Shadrach. Clubs for
joan Wesley. An anathema for Philip
Ne nncihon. dungeon for Paul and
Silks. But while we are standing in the
gldbm OF the Philippian dungeon, and We
herr the minging voices OF sob and groan
ami blasphemy and hallelniah, suddenly
an earthquake The iron bars OF the
Isi son twist the pillars crack of, the solid
masonry begins 10 heave, and all the doors
erging open. The jailey. FEELING himself
responsible for these prisoners and believ-
rlg, in his pagan Ignorance, suicide to be
u onorablc-since brubls killed himself
and Cato killed himself and Cassius killed
h imself-puts his sword 10 his own heart.
proposing with one strong, keen thrust TO
nut an end % his excitement and agita-
taon. But Paul cries out stop! stop!
DO thysef no harm. We are all here.
Then ! see the jailer running through the
dust and amid the ruin of that prison and
T. see MIN throwing himself down at the
fe ct OF these prisoners, crying out: What
sh all do? What shall do" Did Paul
an swer: "Get out of this place before
tlsere is another earthquake; put hand
cuffs and hobbies on these other prisoners
lea they Get away" No word of that
kind. HIS compact, thrilling, tremendous
answer-.answer memorable all through
earth and heaven-was: "Believe on the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved Well, we have all read of the
earthquake in Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppo,
and IN Caracas. but we live in a latitude
where severe volcanic disturbances are
MARE. And yet We have seen fifty earth
qrnkes. Here is n man who has been
building up a large fortune. His bid on
the uoney market was felt in all the cities.
Gle thinks he has got beyond all annoying
I-svairies in trade and he says TO himself:
snow / am free and safe from all possible
perturbation" But in 1897 or in 1857 or
ar 1873 a national panic strikes the found
~ ions OF the commercial world and crash
lsies all that magnificent business estab-
Ithment. Here is a man who has built
up a verv beautiful home. His daughters
lsave Just come from the seminary with
diplomas of graduation. His sons have
IS arted in life honest, temperate and pure.
phen the euening lights are struck there
4 a happy and unbroken family circle.
long Branch. The young man ventured
900 FAR out in the surf The telegraph
hurled the terror up TO the city. An earth
oslake struck under the foundations of
that beautiful home. The piano closed /;
the curtains dropped; the laughter
hSlshed. Crash 90 all those domestic
hopes and prospects and expectations. so,
NJ friends, we have all felt the shaking
down OF some great trouble, and there was
s,time when We were as much excited as
this man OF the text, and we cried out as
re- did "What shall do? What shall
dor The same reply that the apostle
naade 10 him is appropriate 10 rs: Be
lisve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
sh alt be saved"
There are some documents of so little
i'm portance that YOU do not care 10 put
any more than your last name under them,
or even your initials. but there are some
drCuments OF so great Importance that you
write out your full name. SO the Savior
IN some parts OF the bible is called Lord"
ard in other parts of the bible He is called
',Jesus, and in other parts Of the bible lie
is called "Christ," but that there might be
no mistake about this passage all three
names come together-"the Lori Jesus
Christ
Now, who is this being that you want
ME 10 trust in and believe in? Men some
times come % me with credentials and
certificates of good character, but cannot
trust them. There is some dishonesty in
Their looks that makes me know shall be
cheated If ! conhde in them. You cannot
ppt your hearts, confidence in a man until
you know vsal - 40 is made Of, anu
am 7 unrea< s5n~ Il To-day when l stop TO
ask yl1S6o thu is that YOU want me to
trsust ~ No mar would think OF ventur-
ing his life on a vessel going out to sea
tnat had never been inspected. No, Won
must have the certificate hung amid
ships, telling how many tons it carrids,
and how long ago it was built, and who
built il, aud all about il. And you cab
not expect me 10 risk the cargo of NV i'm
mortal interests on board any craft till
you tell me what il is made OF and where
IL was made and what it is. When, then,
] ask you who this is you want me totrust
in you tel me He was a very attractive
person. Contemporary writers describe
His whole appearance as being resplen-
dent There was no need for Christ to tell
the children TO come to Him. 'Suffer lit
tie children 10 come unto me-" was not
spoken TO the children; it was spoken to
the disciples. The children came readily
enough without any invitation. No sooner
did Jesus appear than the little ones
+ - a