The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-11-18
TALMAGE AT BRINDISI.
HIS SUBJECT "a VOYAGE ON THE
MEDITERRANEAN"

SAAP WAoSAc0 AIoNol0I VI Luo 1oAO-
lical Story, and the Lessons De-
Quoted from 1t by the Preacher.
BRINDIsI, Nov. 17.-The Rev. T. De
Witt Talmage, D. D., preached In this
Italian port to-day. His subject was, "a
Mediterranean Voyage" and he took for
his text Acts xvii. A: Sand so it came to
pass, that they escaped all safe to land. {"
DR.. Talmage said:
Having visited your historical city, which
we desired to see because it was the ter.
mlrus of the most famous road of the ages,
the Roman Appian Way, and for its
mighty fortress overshadowing city which
even Hannibars hosts could not thunder
down, we must tomorrow morning leave
your harbor, and after touching at Athens
and Corinth, voyage about the Mediter-
ranean to Alexandria, Egypt l have been
reading this morning i'll my New Test Ament
OF Mediterranean voyage in an Alexan-
drian ship. 1t was this very month of
November. The vessel was lying in port
not very far from here. On board that
vessel were two distinguished passengers:
one, Josephus, the historian, as we have
strong reasons to believe; the other, a con-
vict, one Paul by name, who was going to
prison for upsetting things, or, as they
termed it, turning the world up
side down. This convict had gained
the confidence Of the captain. In
deed, / think that Paul knew almost
as much about the sea as did the captain.
He had been shipwrecked three times
already; he had dwelt much Of his life
amidst capstans, and yardarms, and cables,
and storms; and he knew what he was talk
ing about. Seeing the equinoctial storm
was coming, and perhaps noticing some
thing unseaworthy In the vessel, he advised
the captain to stay in the harbor. But l
hear the captain and the first mate talking
together. They say: "We cannot afford
to take the advice of this landsman,
and he a minister. He may be able
to preach very well, but [ don't
believe he knows marlinspike from luff
tackle. All aboardl Cast OFF Shift the
helm for headwayl VINO fears the Medi-
terraneanp They had goue only a little
clydon, made the torn sail its turban, SHOOK
the mast as you would brandsh a spear,
and tossed the hulk into the heavens Over
board with the cargol 1t is all washed
with sails water, and worthless now; and
there are no marine insurance companies.
All hands ahoy, and out with the anchors |
Great CONSERVATION comes on crew and
passengers. The sea monsters snort in the
foam. and the billows clap their hands In
hear a chain clank. 1t is the chain Of the
great apostle as he walks the deck, or holds
fast to the rigging amidst the lurching of
the ship-the spray dripping from his long
beard as he cries out to the crew: NOW /
exort you to be of good cheer; for there
shall be no loss of any mans life among
you, but of the ship. For there stood by me
this night the angel of God, whose I am,
and whom serve, saying, Fear not, Paul
= Ar1,, rrI,t h1FN
God hath given thee all them that sail with
thee"
Fourteen days have passed, and there is
no abatement of the storm. 1t is midnight.
Standing on the lookout, the man peers into
the darkness, and, by flash of lightning,
sees the long white line of the breakers,
and knows they must be coming near to
some country, and fears that in few mo-
ments the vessel will be shivered on the
rocks. The ship flies like chaff in the tornado.
They drop the sounding line, and by the light
of the lantern they see it is twenty fathoms.
Speeding along a little farther, they
drop the line again, and by the light
of the lantern they see 1t is fifteen fathoms.
Two hundred and seventy-six souls within
few feet of awful shipwreckl The man.
ayers of the vessel, pretending they want
to look over the side Of the ship and under
grid it, get into the small boat, expecting
in it to escape; but Paul sees through the
sham, and he tells them that if they go off
in the boat it will be the death of them.
The vessel strikesl The planks spring The
timbers crack! The vessel parts in
the laundering surgel Oh, what wild
struggling for life Here they leap from
plank to plank. Here they go under as IL
they would never rise, but, catching hold
of a timber, come floating and painting on
it to the beach. Here, strong swimmers
spread their arms through the waves until
their chins plow the sand, and they rise up
and wiring out their wet locks on the beach,
When the roll Of the ship is called, 276 peo-
pie answer to their names. "And So" says
my text, sit came to pass that they es-
capped all safe to land"
l learn from this subject:
First that those who get US into trouble
will not stay to help us out. These ship
men got Paul out of Fair Havens into the
storm; but as soon as the tempest dropped
upon them, they wanted to go off in the
small boat, caring nothing for what became
of Paul and the passengers. All mel human
nature is the same in all ages. Tney who
get us into trouble never stop to help US out
They who tempt that young man into life
of dissipation will be the first to laugh at
his imbecility, and to drop him out of
decent society. Gamblers always make
fun of the losses of gamblers. They who
tempt you into the contest with fists, say
ing, 81 will back you," will be the first to
run. Look over all the predicaments of
your life, and count the names of those who
have got you into those predicaments, and
tell me the name of one who ever helped
you out. They were glad enough to get you
out from Fair Havens, but when, with
damaged rigging, you tried to get
into harbor, did they hold for you
a plank or throw you rope?
Not one. Satan has got thousands of men
into trouble, but he never got one out. He
led them into theft, but he would not hide
the goods or bail out the defendant. The
spider shows the fly the way over tue gos-
sanler bridge into the cobweb; but it never
shows the fly the way out Of the cobweb
over the gossamer bridge. think there
were plenty Of fast young men to help the
prodigal spend his money; but when he had
wasted his substance in riotous living, they
let him go to the swine pastures, while they
betook themselves to some other new conner.
They who take Paul out of Fair Havens
will be Of no help to him when he gets into
the breakers of Melita.
l remark again, as lesson learned from
the text, that it is dangerous to refuse the
counsel Of competent advisers. Paul told
them not to go out with that ship They
thought he knew nothing about it. They
said: "He is only ministerln They went,
and the ship was destroyed. There are
great many people who now say Of minis
ters: "They know nothing about the world.
They cannot talk to usw All, my friends, it
is not necessary to have the Asiatic cholera
before you can give it medical treatment
T. &, ,1k