The pioneer express. [volume] (Pembina, Dakota [N.D.]) 1883-1928, 1889-08-09
TALMAGE Af-ST. PAUL
The Eminent Breeklya Divine Dellv.
ers . Discourse at the Mime.
sofa Capital,
His Subject IL from the Words Of tho
Apostle Paul: "Believe ON the
Lord Jesus Christ"

Lord Jesus Christ"
sr. PAUL, MIMI, July, 2s-The Rev. T. De
Witt Talmage, d. D., Of Brooklyn, N. Y.
preached In this city to.day. H,seul,jcct wa.
1.-The Earthquake, and he took for his text
"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be snved. d."-Acts xvi, 81. The sermon
WIS as follows:
Jails arcdark, dull, damp, loathsome places
even now; but they were worse in the apos
tollc times. imagine to-duy we orc stand
in the Philipian dungeon. Do you not fee
the chill? Do you not hear the groan D
those incarcerated ones who for ten yearf
have not seen the sunlight. and thedeep sigl
Of women who remember their fathers house
and mourn over their wasted estate? Listen
again. 1t is the cough Of o consumptive, ol
the struggle Of one in the nightmare Of O
great horror. You listen again, and hear O
culprit, his chains rattling as lie rolls over in
his dreams. and you soy: God pity the
prisoner" But there is another sound
in that prison. 1t il q song o.
joy and gladness. What place to sing
inl The music comes winding through tn.
corridors Of the prison, md In oil the durl
wards the whisper is heard: "What's that
What's that."
It's the song of Paul md Silas. They car
not sleep. They have been whipped. very
badly whipped. The long gaslles OH tlleil
backs arc blce ding yet. They lie ilat on TIL,
cold ground, their feet fi.st in wooder
sockets and Of course they can not sleep
But they Gun sing Jniler. what are you
doing with these people! Why have they
to mnko tho world l,ettcr. Is that ALI
That is NIL, u pit for Joseph. A lions cave
for Daniel. a blazing furnace for Shadrach
Clubs for John Wesley. An another tol
Philip Mclanrthon. A dungeon for Paul an,
Silas. But while we are standing in Ill,
gloom Of the Philippinn dungeon, and We
hear the mineling voices of sob and groar
and blasphemy and hal!elujah. suddenl,
an earthquake! The IRON bars of the prison
twist, the pillars crack of, thcsulii masOnr,
begins To llrnve, ind all the doors swinr
open. Thejailer. feeling himEel irresponsible fol
thcse prisoners and heliving, in his Iaganigno
rance suicide to he onrrnble-since Brutu.
killed himself and Cnt o killed himsrlfnnl Cas-
sus killed himself-puts his sword to his own
heart, proposing will, "ns strong, kcpI
thrust to put an end to His excitement and
agitation. But Paul cries out: stop
Stop! Dothysclf no harm. We are all here. y
Then see the jniler running through the
dust md amid the ruin Of that prison and
scc him throwing himself down ut tho feet o
these prisoners. crying out: "Whnt shall
do? What shall d0?" Did Pnul answer
"Get out of this plncc l,c!oro there is nnothc,
earthquake: put hantlrutls md hopplcs on
these other prisoners lest they get nwuy?'
No word of that kind. liiscompnct, thrilling
tremendous answer, answer all through
earth aud heaven, wns: believe in Tho
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt he saved. y
Well, We have all rra,llof the earthquake in
Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppo. and in Cnrnr,,,s
hut We live in IL latitude where severe yuIc,n
ic sturbances are rare. And yet VIC have
seen fifty earthquakes. Here IN Il man who
hna been building up II large fortune. Ills
bid ON the money market wus left in all the
cities. lie thinks lie has got beyond all an.
noying rivalries in trade and hc snys TO him.
self "Now am free and sare from all posi-
bic perturbation. But in 1897 Or in 1867
or in 1873 natiOnal panic strikes the
foundations OF tho commercial world and
crash goes all that magnificent business
establishment Hero is a man who has huilt
up II very l@autiful home. His dumehte
have just come from tho seminary with
diplomas of graduation. His sons have
started In life honest, temperate, and pure
When the evening lights are truck there is !,
happy an6 unbroken tamily circle. But there
has been an Incident down at Long Branch
The young man ventured too far out in the
surf The telegraph hurled the terror up Ia
he city. An earthquake struck under the
founlations..of that beautiful home. The
piano closed; tho curtains dropped: the
laughter hlshed. Crash! go all thos,
Al. q.
expectations. So, my friends, VIC
have all felt tho sinking down Of
some great trouble, md there w;is a time
when We were us much excited as this man OF
the text, and We cried out as he did: "Wlut
shall I do? What shull dor" The same re.
ply TINT the apostle made to him is uppro.
printe to US: Believe on tho Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt bc saved.
There are some documents OF so little i'm.
portnnce that you do not care TO put my
more than your last name under them, or
even your initials, hut there are some dorl.
mcnts Of SO great Importance that you write
out your full name. So the savior in some
pnrts of the bible IL called Lord" and in
other pnrts Of the billie he ia called "Jesus, y
and in other parts Of the bible he is calle,i
"Ci,rist." but there might be no miatnkc
about this passage all three names come to.
gether-"tlI8 Lord Jesus Christ"
ANOWs WIZ 10 DtIuH tult YOU WttIV mC
to trust in and believe in? Men sometimes
come to me with credentials and certificates
Of good character. but can not trust them.
There is some dishonesty in their looks thnt
makes me know sllnll be cheated if contitlu
In them. You Gun not put your hearts cs,ll-
fdence in n man until you know what stuff
he is nude Of, and am unreasonable I o day
when stop to ask you who lls is that YOU
want me to trust IN? No man would think
ff n Inf
sen thnt hud never tfen inspected. M, yull
must hive the certificate hung amidslIps.
telling how many tons 1t carrra, and how
long ngO 1t was built, and who built it, and
all about it. And you can not expect me to
rink the cargo Of my immortal interests on
board any craft till you tell me what it il
made OF ind where it was ma,ie aud what it
is. When, then, ask you who this il you
want mo to trust in you tell me le was Il very
describe his whole appearance as being re-
splen.lent. There was no nerd Tor Christ to
tell he children to come to him. "Su1cr lit
tle children to come unto me, was not spok-
en to the children; it was spoken TO the dis.
ciples. The children came readily enough
without my invitation. No sooner did Jesus
appear than the little ones jumped from their
mothers arms, an avalanche of beauty and
love- into hs lap. Christ did not akk John
to put his head down on his bosom; John
could not help but put -, head there.
suppose to look at Christ was to love
him. Oh, how attractive his nnnner! Why,
when they saw Christ coming along the
street they ian into their houses, and they
wrapped up their invalids rs quick rs they
could and brought them out that he might
look ut them. There was something so
thing he did, in his very look. When these
sick ones were brought tVt did h. say: do
not bring these sores: do not trounle me Will,
these leprosics?" No, no; there WAS IL kind
look, there was Il gentle word. there was /.
healing tough. They could not keep away
from him.
In addition TO this so'tness of character
there was n fiery momentum. How the
kings Of the earth turned pale! Here il a
plain innn with IL few sailors ut his back,
coming of the sea OF Galilce. going up to tho
pnlnce Of he Crsars, making that palace
quake to the foundations. and uttering II
word of mercy aud kindness which tllrobs
through ull the earth and through nll the
heavens and through all ages. Oil. he was
IL loving Christ! But it was not efleminacy
or insipidity ofchuracter, it was uccomparli MED
with majesty, infinite und omnipotent
Lest the world should not realize his
earnestness this Christ mounts the cross.
You say: "If Christ has to die why not
let him take some deadly potion an lie on IL
couch in some bright and beautiful home?
II he must die let him expire amid all kindly
intentions" No, the world must heur the
hammers on the heads of the spikes. The
world must listen to the death rattle of the
sufferer. Tho world must feel his warm
blood dropping on each cheek while it looks
up into the flce Of his anguish. And so the
cross must be lifted and hole is dug ON the
top ofCulvury. 1t must be dug three feet deep.
mud then I he Cross in laid on the gre und, and
the sufferer is stretched uponit and the mills
are pounded through nerve and muscle and
bone. through the right hand. through
,L, t,,t bn,J onI sh., Ill. ~: