Connecticut western news., 1889-08-28
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
"wHAT SEA CAPTAINS sAY.o
Dr. Talmage's Discourse Sunday, Au-
 gust 25.

Dr. Talmage's Discourse Sunday, Au-
 gust 25.
 Text-I. Cor. fix, 27: "Lest that by any means I myself should be cast away" The preacher said:
 In the presence of you who live on the Pa cific coast, who live on the Atlantic coast sion of the text, for all who know about the sea know about the castaway. The text inn plies that ministers of religion may help oth- CTS into heaven and yet miss it themselves. The carpenters that built Noah's ark did not get into it themselves. Gown and surplice, Cardinal Wolsey, after having been petted by kings, and having enter tained foreign ambassadors at Hampton Court, died in darkness. One of the most eminent ministers of religion that this coun- try has ever known, plunged into sin and died; his heart, by post-mortem examination, found to have been, not tiguratlvely but literally, broken. We may have hands of ordination on the head, and address conse- crated assemblages, but that is no reason why we shall necessarily reach the realm celestial. The clergyman must go through the same gate of pardon as the layman. There have been cases of shipwreck where all on board escaped excepting the captain. Alas! if, having "preached to others, l myself should be castaway." God forbid it.
 I have examined some of the commentaries to see what they thought about this word ''castaway,' and find they differ in regard to the figure used, while they agree in regard to the meaning. So I shall make my own selection, and take it in nautical and sea- faring sense, and show you that men may be- come spiritual castaways, and how finally they drift into that calamity.
 You and I live in seaboard cities. You have all stood on the beach. Many of you hoV npA Sad hn managed vessels in great stress of weather. There is & sea captain, and there is another, and wonder is another, and there are goodly number who, though once you did not know between 8 diamond knot and spirit sheet sail knot, and although you could not point out the weather cross brace, and though you could not man the fore clew garnets, now you are as familiar with ship as you are with your right hand, and if it clear across to the mouth of the Mersey without the loss of sim gle sail. We'll, there is a dark night in your memory of the sea. The vessel became un- manageable. You saw it was was seuddlng ''Breakers ahead! Land on the lee bow N' The vessel struck the rock and you felt the deck breaking up under your feet. and you were a castaway, as when the Hercules drove on the coast of Caffraria, as when Portugese
 
 ing on the GOOdwins. But whether you have followed the sea or not, you all under stand the figure when tell you that there are men, who by their sins and temptations, are thrown helpless! Driven before the gale! Wrecked for two worlds! Castaways Castaways!
 By talking with some sea captains, have found out that there are three or four causes for such a calamity to a vessel. I have been told that 1t sometimes comes from creating false lights on the beach. This was often so in olden times. It is not many years ago, and down the beach, getting vessels ashore in the night, throwing up false lights in their presence and deceiving them, that they may despoil and ransack them. All kinds of internal arts were used to accomplish this. And one night, on the Cornish coast, when the sea was coming in fearfully, some villains took lantern and tied it to a horse. and led the horse up and down the beach, the lantern swinging to the motion of the horse, and sea cap tain in the offing saw 1t, and made uI near the shore, for he said: s9There's vesseHthat must be vessel, for it has a movable light" and he had no apprehension till he heard the rocks grating on the ships bottom, and it went to pieces and the williams on shore gathered up the packages and treas. ures that were washed to the land. And have to tell you that there are multitude of souls ruined by false lights on the beach In the dark night of mans danger, false re hgion goes up and down the shore, shaking it's lantern, and men look of and take that fiickering and expiring wick as the signal oi safety, and the cry is ''Heave the main top sail to the mast! All is well '" when sudden de struction cometh upon them, and they shallnoi escape. So there are all kinds of lanterns on the beach-philosophica lanterns, educa- tional lanterns, humanitarian lanterns. Men look at them and are deceived. when there is nothing but Gods eternal lighthouse of tht Gospel that can keep them from becoming castaways. Once, on Wolf Graz lighthouse they tried to build copper figure of a vol with it's mouth open, so that the storms beat ing into it, the wolf would howl forth thu dangers to mariners that might be coming anywhere near the coast. Of course it was { failure. And SO all new inventions for tn saving of mans soul are unayailing. Wha the human race wants is light bursting forth from the cross standing on tn great headlands-the light of pardon the light of comfort, the light of heav en. You might better go tonight, and de stroy all the great lighthouses on the danger ous coasts-fhe Barnegat lighthouse, tn Fastnet Rock lighthouse, the Sherryvor lighthouse, the Longship's lighthouse, tn Hollyhead lighthouse to put ou Gods great ocean lampethe Gospel. Wo to those who swing false lanterns on tn beach till men crash into ruin. Castaways Castaways!
 By talking with sea captains I have hear also that sometimes ships come to this calam ity by the sudden swoop of tempest. Flo instance, vessel is sailing along in the Eas Indies, and there is not single cloud on tn sky; but suddenly the breeze freshens, an there are swift feet on the ratlines, and tn cry is: "Way, haul away there" but befor they can square the booms and tarpaulin tn hatchways, the vessel is grooming and creak ing in the grip of a tornado, and falls owe into the trough of the sea, and broadside rolls on to the beach and keelS over, leavln the crew to struggle in the merciess sur1 Castaway! Csstaway! And so have to te you that there are thousands of men destroy ed through the sudden swoop oftemptation' Some great inducement to worldllness o to sensuality, or to high temper, or to som form of dissipation, comes upon them. If the had time to examine their Bible, if they Ina time to consult with their friends, if the had time to deliberate, they could stand it but the temptation came so suddenly-a euroclydon on the Mediterranean, whir wind of the Caribbean. One awful surge ( temptation and they perish. And so w often hear the old story: "I hadn't seen m friend in great many years. We were yer glad to meet. He said I must drink and | took me by the arm and pressed me alonl and filled the cup until the bubbles ran ovt the edge, and in an evil moment all my goo resolutions were swept away, and to the ou raging of God and my own soul. fell" ( the story is: s'I had hard work to suppO my family. thought that by one fal: entry, by one deception, by one embezzl ment, might spring out free from all m trouble; and the temptation came upon n so fiercely I could not deliberate. I di wrong and having done wrong once, cou not stop.r O, it is the first step that costs the second Is easier; and the third; and o to the last. Once having broken loose frol the anchor, it is not so easy to tie the parte strands. How often it is that men are ruine for the reason that the temptation come