The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-07-31
'THE EARTHQUAKE.'
Sermon by Rev. T. Dewitt Tai
mage, D. D.
He Takes for His Text Paups words to
the Philiipian Jailer, "BeIIeve on tho
Lord Jesus Christ and Thou
Shalt he saved.v


heve on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saved,n The eloquent Brooklyn
divine spoke as follows:
Jails are dark, dull, damp, loathsome
places even now; but they were worse in the
apostolic times / imagine to-day we are
standing In the Philippian dungeon. Do
you not feel the chilli Do you not hear the
groans OF those incarcerated ones who for
ten years have not seen the sunlight, and
the deep sigh Of women who remember
their fathers house and mourn over their
wasted estatel Listen again. 1t is the
cough OF consumptive, or the struggle Of
one In the nightmare Of a great horror.
You listen again, and hear culprit, his
chains rattling as herolls over in his dreams,
and you say, "God pity the prisoner" But
there Is another sound in that prison. II is
song Of Joy and gladness. What place to
sing inl The music comes winding through
the corridors Of the prison, and in all the
dark wards the whisper is heard, whats
that What's thatln
- the song of Paul and Silas. They can
..Jt sleep. They have been whipped, very
badly whipped. The long gashes on their
backs are bleeding yet They lie fiat on the
cold ground, their feet fast in wooden SOCK
cts, and OF course they can not sleep. But
they can sing. Jailer, what are you doing
with these peoplei Why have they been
putin herei O, they have been trying TO
make the world better Is that alll That
is oil. A pit for Joseph. A lions cave for
Daniel. A blazing furnace for Shadrach.
Clubs for John Wesley. An anathema for
Philip Melancthon. A dungeon for Paul and
Silas. But while we are standing In the
gloom Of the Philippian dungeon, and we
hear the mingling voices Of sob and groan
And blasphemy and halleluiah, suddenly an
earthquakel The iron bars OF the prison
twist, the pillars crack off, the solid mason
~ begins TO heaye and all the doors swing
open. The jailer, feeling himself respon-
sible for these prisoners, and believing, In
his pagan ignorance, suicide to be hon
Qrable-since Brutus killed himself, and
Cato killed himself, and Cassius killed
bimself-puts his sword TO his own
heart proposing with one strong, keen
thrust to put an end TO his excitement and
agitation. But Paul cries out "Stop Stopl
Do thyself no harm. We are all here"
Then Isee the iailer running through the
dust and amid the ruin Of that prison, and
1 see him throwing himself down at the
feet OF these prisoners, crying out: "What
shall dol What shall doi' Did Paul
answer: "Get outof this place before there
is another earthquake; put handouts and
hopples on these other prisoners, least they
get awayl'' No word Of that kind. His
compact, thrilling, tremendous answer, an
swer memorable through earth and heaven,
was Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and
thou shalt be, saved.n Well, we have all
read Of the earthquake at Lisbon, In Lima,
in Aleppo, and In Caraccus, but we live in a
latitude where severe volcanic disturbances
are rare. And yet we have seen fifty earth
quaRes. Here Is man who has been build
ing mp q large fortune. His bid ON the
money market was felt In all the cities. He
thinks he has got beyond all annoying RI
valries IN trade and he says TO himself,
snow I am free and safe from hll possible
perturbation" But in 1887, or In 1857, or In
1878 . national panic strikes the foun.
dations Of the commercial world, and crash
goes AL that magnificent business establish
ment Here isa man who has built up O.
very beautiful home, His daughters have
Just come from the seminary with diplomas
OF graduation. His sons have started In life,
honest, temperate andpure. When the even
ing lights are struck, there is happy and
unbroken family circle. But there has been
an accident down at Long Branch. The
young man ventured too far out In the surf.
The telegraph hurled the terror up 10 the
city. An earthquake struck under the foun-
dations Of that beautiful home. The piano
closed; the curtains dropped; the laughter
hushea. Crash go all those domestichopes
and prospects and expectations. SO, my
friends, we have all felt the shaking down
Of some great trouble, and there was time
when we were as much excited as this man
Of the text, and we cried out as he did.
"What shall dot What shall doin Tho
same reply thatth apostle made 10 him is
appropriate 10 US: "Believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.n
There are some documents Of so little
Importance that you do not care 10 put any
more than your last name under them, or
even your initials; but there are some doc
uments OF 50 great Importance that you
write out your full name. So the Saviour
In some parts Of the Bible Il called "Lord,n
and in other parts Of the Bible he Is called
Jesus" and In other parts Of the Bible he
Is called "Christ;n but that there might be
no mistake about this passage all three
names come together- ssrhe Lord Jesus
Christi HG af ZEE Th
a Now, who is this being that you want me
TO trust In and believe int Men sometimes
come TO me with credentials and certificates
Of good character, but can not trust them.
There Is some dishonesty In their looks that
makes me know shall be cheated II con-
fde IN them. You can not put your hearts
confidence in . man until you know what
stun he Is made Of, and am / unreasonable
to-day when I stop TO ask you who this Is
you want me 10 trust ini No man would
think Of venturinghis life on vessel going
out to sea that had never been inspected.
No, you must sthave the certificate hung amid
ships, telling how many tons II carries, and
how long II was built and who built II, and
all aboutit And ron can not expect me 10
risk the cargo Of my immortal interests ON
board any craft till you tell me what II is
made Of, and where II was made and what II
IL When, then, / ask you who this Is you
wantme 10 trustin you tell mehe was very
attractive person. Contemporary writ
ers describe his whole appearance as
being resplendent. There was no nced for
Christ TO tell the children 10 come TO Him.
"6ufer little children 10 come unto me,n
was not spoken TO the children IL was
spoken 70 the disciples. The children came
readily enough without any invitation. No
sooner did Jesus appear than the little ones
jumped from their mothers' arms, an av-
alanche Of beauty and love, into His lap.
Christ did not ask John to put his head
down ON His bosom; John could not help
but put his head there. Isuppose TO look at
Christ was TO love him. o, how attentive
his manner. Why, when they saw Christ
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