The Wahpeton times., 1889-08-08
TALMAGE At ST. PAUL
The Eninsst Brooklyn Divine Deliv.
srs . Discourse at the Mime.
Z !. sofa Capital,
: His Subject u tron tho Words az tn
Apostle Pauls ssBelievs On tho
Lord Jesus Christ.s

APVssso 1seAs 60ll0vo On tho
Lord Jesus Christ.''
81. PAU, MINI, July, 2s-Ths Rev. 7. D.
Witt Talnass, D. D.. Of Brooklyn, n. r,
prsaehsd In this city to-day. His sub,sct wss
Tue Earthquaks," and hs took for his tsxt:
believe On the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt bs savsd."-Acts xvi. 81, The .srmon
was - follows:
Jails arsdark, dun, damp, loathsoms places
even now; but they wsrs worse IN the apos-
tohe times. Imagine to-day ws ars stand.
In the Philipiap dungeon. Do you not feel
the ehill7 Do You not hear the groan Of
those fnearcsratsd ones who for ten years
have not seen the sunlight, and thedsep sigh
ofwomen who remember their fathers houss
and mourn over their wasted estate? Listen
again. 1t is the cough of q consumptiye, or
the struggle Of one in the nightmare Of q
great horror. You listen again and heor a
culprit, his chains rattling as lie rolls over in
his dreams. and you soy: God pity the
prisoner" But there is another SOUND
In that prison. It il song of
Joy and gladness. What q place to sing
In! The music comes winding through the
corridors Of the prison, and In all the dark
What's that"
It is the song of Paul and silas. They can
not sleep. They have been whipped. yerv
badly whipped: The long gasnes on their
backs are bleeding yet. They lie fiat on 1.-THE the
cold ground, their feet fast in wooden
sockets, and Of course they con not sleep,
But they can sing. Jaiier. what are YOU
doing with these people? Why have they
been put in here7 Oh, they have been trying
That is all, pit for Joseph. Alon's cave ave
for Daniel. A blazing furnace for Shadrach,
Clubs for John Wesley. An anethema for
Philip Melancthon. Adungeon 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 hallelujah, suddenly
an earthquake! The iron bars Of the prison
begins to heave, and all the doors swing
open. Thejailer, feeling ghimselfresponsibl for
these prisoners and beliving, in his pagan igno.
rance, suicide to be honerable-since Brutus
killed himself and Cato killed himselfand Co.'S
sius killed himself-puts his sword to his own
heart, proposing with one strong, keen
A9sssSSAOAs
Stop! Do thyself no harm. We arc all here
Then see the jailer 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 I
do? What shall dor" Did Paul answer:
"Get out of this place before there is another
earthquake; put handouts and hopples on
No word of thatkind. Hiscompact, thrilling,
tremendous answer, answer all through
earth and heaven, was: believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. /"
Well, We have all readlof the earthquake in
Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppo, and in Caracas,
but We live In a latitude where severe volcan.
ic disturbances are rare. And yet we have
has been building up Q largo fortune. His
bid on the money market was left in all the
cities. he thinks he has got beyond all an
noying rivalries IN trade and he says to him.
self: "Now l am free and safe from ell posi-
bic perturbation" But in 1887 or in 1857
or in 1873 national panic strikes tho
foundations Of tho commercial world and
establishment. Here is man who has built
up very beautiful home. His daughters
have just come from the seminary with
diplomas Of graduation. His. sons have
started in life honest, temperate, and pure.
When the evening lights are struck there is q
happy an6 unbroken family circle. Butthe
has been an accident down at Long Branch.
surf. The telegraph hurled the terror up to
the city. An earthquake struck under the
toundations:of that beautiful home. The
piano closed; the curtains dropped; the
laughter hushed. Crash! go all those
domestic hopes and prospects, and
sxpectations. SO, ny friends, We
$nanh1A onA khoro n
when We were az much excited as this man of
the text, and We cried out as he did: "What
shall do? What shall do?" The same re.
ply that the apostle made to him ID appro.
pirate to Us: "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and thou shalt be savsd.
There are some documents of SO little i'm
portance that you do not care to put any
more than your last name under them, or
even your initials, but there are some docu-
ments of SO great Importance that you write
out your full name. So the savior in some
parts of the bible is called Lord" and in
other parts OF the bible he is called "Jesus,"
and in other parts of the bible he is called
''Christ, but there might be no mistake
about this passage nll three names come to-
gether-"the Lord Jesus Christ"
Now, who is this being that you want me
to trust in and believe in? Men sometimes
come to me with credentials and certificates
OF good character, but / can not trust them.
There 10 some dishonesty in their looks that
makes me know shall be cheated If Iconfide
in them. You can not put your hearts con-
6dsnce in man until you know what stuff
he ia made of, and am unreasonable to-day
when stop to ask you who this is that you
want me to trust in? No man would think
ofventuring his Life on a vessel going out to
sea that had never been inspected. No, you
must have the certificate hung amidships,
telling how many tons it carries. and how
h,,i1 md Whn hniIf II md
all about it. And you can not expect me to
risk the cargo of my immortal interests on
board any craft till you tell me what 1t is
made of and where it was nude and what it
is. When, then, ask you who this 10 You
want me to trust in you tell me he was very
attractive person. Contemporary writer's
describe his whole appearance as being re-
tell the children to come to him. "Su6Fer lit
tle children to come unto me" was not spok-
en- to the children; il was spoken to the dis.
ciples. The children came readily enough
without any invitation. No sooner did Jesus
appear than the little ones jumped from thei.
love, into his lap. Christ did not ask John
to put his head down ON his bosom; John
could not help but put bis head there.
suppose to look at Christ was to love
him. Oh, how attractive his manner! Why,
when they saw Christ coming along the
street they an into their houses, ana tney
wrapped up their invalids o quick as they
look ut them. There was something 30
pleasant. 90 inviting, so cheering in every.
thing he did, in his very look. When these
sick ones were brought out did he say: do
not bring these sorrs: do not trouble me with
these leprosies?" No, no; there was kind
healing touch. They could not keep away
from him..
In addition to this softness of character
there was q fiery Momentum. How the