The Penn's Grove record., 1889-08-17
DR.. TALMAGL'S SERAUN:


shalt be saved. Act l6 ~.
JALs arcdark, dull, damp, loathsome
places even now; hut they were worse
in the apostolic times. l imagine to-
day we are standing in the Philippian
dungeon. Do you not feel the chill?
Do YOU not hear the groan of those in
carcerated ones. who for ten years have
not seen the sunlight, and the deep
sigh of woman who remember their
iatl.er's house and mourn over their
wasted estate? Listen again. 1t is the
cough of Il consultative, or the strug-
gle Of one in the nightmare Of
HoRRoB.
You listen again and hear 4 culprit, his
chains rafting as he rolls over in his
dreams, and you say, God pity the
prisoner But there is another sound
In that prison 1t is "A song of JOY and
gladness. What a place to sing in! The
music IN winding through the cor
ridors of the prison, and in all the
dark wards the whisper Is heard:
whats that? What's that?"
1t is the song of Paul and Silas. They
cannot sleep. They have been whip
ped, very badly whipped. The long
ltashes on their backs are bleeding yet.
fhey lie flat on the cold ground, their
feet fast in wooden sockets, and of
course they cannot sleep. But they
can sing. Jailer, what are you dong
with these people? Why have they
been put in here? Oh, they have been
trying to make the world better. is
that all? That is all. A pit for Joseph.
4 lions cave for Daniel. A blazing
furnace for Shadrach, Clubs for John
Wesley. An anathema for Philip Mel
ancthon. A dungeon for Paul and
Silas. But while we are standing IN
the gloom of the P~hilippian dungeon,
and we hear the mingling voices of sob
and groan and ~blasphemy and hallelu-
i,h, suddenly an earthquake! Theron
bars of the prison twist, the pillars
crack off, the solid masonry begins to
heave, and all
THE DOORS SWING OPEN.
The %jailer, feeling himself response
BILE for these prisoners, M believing,
in his pagan Ignorance, suicide to be
honorable-since Brutus killed himself,
and Cato killed himself, and Cassius
killed himself-puts his sword to his
own heart, proposing with n strong,
keen, thrust to put an end to his ex-
citement and agitation. But Paul cries
out; stop, stop! Do myself no harm.
We are all here" Then | see the jailer
running through the dust and amid the
ruin of that prison, and ] see him
throwing himself down at the feet OF
these prisoners, crying on: What
shall L do? What shall l do?" Did
Paul answer: Get ont of this place
before there is another earthquake; put
handouts and hopples on these other
prisoners, lest they get away Nc
word of that kind. His compact, thrill
ling, tremendous answer, answer mem
orable all through earth and heaven,
was: ''Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved"
Well, We have all read of the earth
quakes in Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppo,
and in Caracas, but we live in n lati-
tude where severe volcanic disturbance
are rare. And yet We have seen fifty
earthquakes. Here is n man who has
been building up II large fortune. His
bid on the money market was felt in al
the cities. He thinks he has got be.
You'd all annoying rivalries i'll trade.
and he says to himself, "Now | an
free, and safe from all possible pertur
baton" But in 1887, or in 1857, or il
1873 a national panic strikes the foun
dations of the commercial world, ant
crash goes all that magnificent bushes,
establishment. Here is a man who ha'
built up IA very beautiful home. Hi
daughters have Just come from thu
seminary with diplomas of graduation
His sons have started in life, honest
temperate, and pure. When the even
lights are struck, there is q happy ant
unbroken family circle. But there ha
been an accident down at Long Branch
The young man ventured too far out il
the surf, The telegraph hurled.
THE TERROR TO TIE CITY.
An earthquake struck under the foun
dations of that beautiful home. Tn
piano closed; the curtains dropped; tn
laughter hushed. Crash go all thos
domestic hopes and prospects and ex
pectations! So, my friends, w hav
all felt the shaking down of some grea
trouble, and there was II time when W
were as much excited as this man of tn
text, and We cried out as he did, ''Wha
shall / do? What shall | do?" TIL
same reply that the apostle made t.
him is appropriate to us: believe ol
the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shal
be saved"
There ar some documents of 70 littl,
importance that you do not care to pu
any more han your last name unde
them, or wen your initials; but ther
are some documents of so great import
ance that you write out your full name
c. thA Snxnnp -, ,Nnrtg pf th
Bible is called Lord" and in othe
parts of the Bible He is called 'Jesus,
and in other parts of tn Bible He j
called "Uhrist;" but that there Nigh
be no mistake about this passage, a
three names come together-''The Lor,
Jesus Christ" Now,
WHO Is THIS BEING
that you want me to trust in and be
lieve in? Men sometimes come to m
with credentials and certificates of goo
character, but l cannot trust them
There is some dishonesty in their look
that makes me know | shall be cheate
if / confide in them. You cannot pu
your hearts confidence in II man unit
you know what stuff he is made of, an
am l reasonable to-day when 1 stop t
ask you who this is that you want m
to trust in? No man would think Q
venturing his life on a vessel going on
to sea that had never been inspected
No, You must have the certificate hun
amidships, telling how many tons
carries, and how long ago it was bull
and who built it, and all about it. An
you cannot expect me to risk the carg
of my immortal interests on board an,
craft till you tell me what it ismade of
and where it was made, and what it is
When, then, | ask you who this is yo'
want me to trust in, you tell me He wa
a Uefy attractive person. Contempor
airy writer's described Hiswhole appear
anee as being respondent. There wa
no need for Christ to tell the childreI
to come to Him. ''Suffer little chill
dren to come unto me" was not spoke
to the children; it was spoken to tn
disciples. The children came readil
enough without any invitation. n
sooner did Jesus appear than the littl
one jumped from their mothers arms
an avalanche of beauty and love, int
lI.. l.. Il-,4 IA - II. ~. A