Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1889-12-27
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Weekly Discourse Of the Great
Brooklyn Preacher.
Subject; ''Tisc stormy Pas
sage" (PrcHrhPd at Ca.
pcrnaunl, in the
Holy 1and.)

TEXTS: "Ehtered into q ship and lUent
yer me sea totOdrd CGpernHum. John
IT,, Il; And He arose and reJuked the
'thd and the Scd.'--Mark iv., 30.
Here in this seashorc village was the tenn,
'orary home of that Christ who, for the
aost part OF His life, was homeless. On the
site OF this village, now in ruins, and ell
around this lake, what scenes of kindness
ana power, and glory and pathos when our
Lord lived herel 1t has been the wish of my
ne! cannot say tho hope, for never ex-
pected the privilege-to stand on the banks
1t Galilee. What solcmnity and what a
apture to be here! | can now understand
me feellng Of the immortal Scotchman
hobert McCheyne, when sitting on the banks
If this lake. he wrote:
1t s not that the wild gazelle
Comes down to drink thy tide,
But he that was pierced to save from hell
OFT wondered by thy side
Graceful around thee the mountains meet,
Thou calm reposing sea;
But ah fur more, the beautiful feet
vi Jesus walked oer thee.
can now easily understand from the con-
tour of the country that bounds this lake that
storms were easily tempted to make these
waters their playground. From the gentle
way this lake treated our boat when we
sailed on it yesterday, one would have
thought it incapable of a paroxysm of rage,
"NV ~ was lulIC ulllGl6llb Du uOIH bUS OCCd-
slons spoken of in my two texts. | close my
eyes, and the shore of Lake Galilee as it now
is, with but little signs of human life, dsap-
pears, and there comes back to my vision the
lake as it was in ChriSt's time. 1t lay in
scene OF great luxuriance; the surrounding
hills, telraced, slopeJ, groovcd, SO many
hanging gardens of beauty. On the shore
verb castles, armed towers, Roman baths,
everything attractive and beautiful-all
nF Y1.,l,
almost any other space in all the world, from
the palm tree of the forest to the trees of
rigorous climate.
1t seemed as il the Lord had launched one
wave OF beauty on all the scene, and it hung
and swung from rock and hill and oleander
Roman gentlemen i'll pleasure boats sailing
this lake, and countrymen in fish smacks
coming down to drop their nets, pass each
other with nod and shout and laughter, or
swinging idly at their moorings. q, what a
beautiful scene!
1t seems as If wo shall have quiet night
Not leaf winked in the air; not ripple dis
Lurbed the face of Geunesaret; but there
seems to he a little excitement up the beach,
and we hasten to see what it is, and we find
it an embarkation.
From the western shore a fotilla pushing
out; not a squadron, or deadly armament,
nor clipper with valuable merchandise, nor
they could seize but flotilla, bearing mes
sengers of light and life and peace. Christ is
in the front of the boat. His disciples are in
l smaller boat. Jesus, weary with much
speaking to large multitudes, is put into
;omnolence by the rocking of the waves
If there was any motion at ALL the ship was
easily righted il the wind passed from star.
board to larboard, OF from larboard to star.
board the boat would rock, and by the
Jpntlnnncc nf tba il, ta,ttinor tho
asleep. And they extemporizod pillow
made ont of fisherman's coat. | think no
sooner is Christ proStrate, and His head
touched the pillow, than He is sound asleep.
The breezes of the lake run their fingers
through the locks of the worn sleeper, aud
the boat rises snd falls like sleeping child
on the bosom Of sleeping mother,
Calm night starry night, beautiful night.
Run up all the sails, ply all the oars, and let
the large boat and the small boat glide over
gentle Gennesaret. But the sailors say there
is going to be change of weather. And
sven the passengers can hear the moaning of
the storm, as it comes on with great stride,
and all the terrors Of hurricane and dark
ness The large boat trembles like a deer at
bay among the clangor of the hounds; great
patches Of foam are flung into the air: the
sails of the vessel loosen, and the sharp winds
crack IL pistols; the smaller boats like
petrels poise on the cliffs of the waves and
then plunge.
Overheard go cargo, tackling and masts,
and the drenched disciples rush into the back
part of the boat, and lay hold Of Christ, and
'ay unto Him. Master carest Thou not that
we perishY' That great parsonage lifts His
head from the pillow of the fisherman's coat,
walks to the front of the vessel, and looks out
into the storm All around Him are the
smaller boats, driven in the temptest, and
through it comes the cry of drowning men.
By the flash of the lightning see the calm
brow Of Christ as the spray dropped from His
beard He has one word for the sky and
another for the waves. Looking upward He
cries; 'Peacer Looking downward He says
"Be stillp
The waves fall fiat on their faces, the foam
melts, the extinglished stars relight their
torches. The tempest falls dead and Christ
stands with His feet on the neck of the storm.
And while the sailors are bailing cLJ the
boats, and while they are trying to untangle
the cordage, the disciples stand in amaze
ment, now looking into the calm sea, then
into the calm sky, then into the calm
Saviour's countenance, and they cry out:
What manner of man is this that even the
winds and the sea obey Himp
| The subject in the first place impresses me
with the fact that it is very important to
have Christ in the shjn, for all those boats