Milford chronicle., 1889-08-30
DO NOT BE A CASTAWAY.
SERMON 2 PREACHED BY DR.. TAI
MAGE AT PORTLAND, ORE.

'what Sea Captains Say the Subject of the
Disoourse-A Great Throng Present in
the Foremost City of Oregon to Hear
the Eminent Divine.
PORTLAND, Ore, Aug. 25-The Rev. T.
! DE Witt Talmage D. D., who preached here
today to vast audience took for his text
/ Corinthians tx, n: Lest that by any
means myself should be cast away" The
preacher said
In the presence of you who live on the Pa
ciiic coast, who live on the Atlantic coast
may appropriately speak on this marine allu
sion Of the text, for all who know about the
sea know about the c1tstaway The text inn
| plies that ministers Of religion may help
others into heaven and yet miss it themselves
( The carpenters that built Noah's ark did not
get into it themselves. Gown and surplice
A;ld diplomas, and canonicals are no security.
Cardinal Wolsey, after having been petted
/ by kings, and having entertained foreign am
bassadors at Hampton Court, died in dark
ness One Of the most eminent ministers Of
religion that this country has ever known,
plunged into sin and died; his heart, by
post-mortem examination, found to have
BEEN not iguratively, but literally, broken.
We may have hands Of ordination on the
head and address consecrated assemblages,
but that is no reason why we shall necessarily
reach the realm celestial The clergyman
must 60 through the same gate Of pardon as
tho layman. There have been cases Of ship
wreck where all on board escaped excepting
the captain Alasl if having preached to
others l myself should be castaway." God
forbid it.
l have examined some Of the commentaries
TO see what they thought about this word
'castaway," and find that they differ in
regard to the figure used, while they agree in
regard to the meaning So shall make my
own selection, and take it in a nautical and
seafaring sense, and show you that men may
become spiritual castaways, and how finally
they drift into that calamity
BREAKERS AHEADl
You and | live in seaboard cities You
have all stood on the beach Many Of you
have crossed the ocean. Some Of you have
managed vessels in great stress Of weather
There is a sea captain, and there is another,
and yonder is another, and there are a good
ly number Of you who, though once you did
not know the difference between a brig and
bark and between a diamond knot and
spirit sheet sail knot, and although you could
not point out the weather crossjack brace,
and though you could not man the
fore clew garnets, now you are as
familiar with ship as you are with your
right hand, and if it were necessary you
could take a vessel clear across to the mouth
of the Mersey without the loss of a single |
sail Well, there is q dark night in your
memory of the sea. The vessel became I'M
manageable You saw it was scudding to-
wards the shore. You heard the cry; |
Breakers ahead! Land on the lee bowr' |
The vessel struck the rock and you felt the |
deck breaking up under your feet. and you /
were a castaway, rs when the Hercules drove |
on the coast of Caffrara, as when the Por-
tuguese brig went STAYING, splitting, grind
ing, crashing on the Goodwins But whether
you have followed the sea or not, you all
the figure when tell you that
there are men who, by their sins and
are thrown helpless! Driven
before the galel Wrecked for two worldsl
Castawaysl Castaways
WATCH FOR THE TRUE LIGHT.
By talking with some sea captains have
found out that there are three or four causes
for such calamity TO vessel have been
told that it sometimes comes from creating
false lights on the beach This was often so
IN olden times. 1t is not many years ago
indeed that vagabOnds used to wander up
and down the beach, getting vessels ashore
IN the night throwing up false lights in their
presence and deceivug them that they might
iespou and ransack them. All kinds of infer
nal arts were used to accomplish this And
jne night on the Cornish coast, when the
sea was coming in fearfully some villains
.ook Il lantern and tied it 70 u horse, and led
he horse up and down the beach, the lantern
iwayiug to the motion of the horse, and
ea captain in tie otling saw it and made up
lis mind that he was not anywhere near the
hore for he said, There's a vessel-that
must be a vessel, for it has movable light"
md he had no apprehension until he heard
he rocks grating on the ships bottom, ard it
vent TO pieces, and the villains on shore
gathered up the packages and treasures that
we're washed to the land. And l have to tell
'ou that there are a multitude Of souls ruined
" false lights on the beach In the dark
light of-man's danger, false religion goes up
md down the shore, shaking its lantern, and
men look of and take that pickering and ex-
bring wick as the signal OF safety, and the
ry is "Heave the main topsail TO the nlasti
III IS WE'LL VIXEN sudden destruction com
tn upon them, and they shall not escape.
10 there are all kinds Of lanterns swung on
he beach-philosophical lanterns, educa-
ional lanterns, humanitarian lanterns Men
)ok at them and are deceived, when there
nothing but Coils eternal lighthouse Of
be Gospel that can keep them from beconl-
lg castaways. Once, on Wolf Crag light
ouse, they tried to build a copper fig
re of a wolf with its mouth OPEN
, that the storms beating into it,
be wolf would howl forth the danger to .
lariners that might be coming anywhere {
ear the coast OF course it was failure. ,
md so all new inventions for the saving Of
ian's soul are unavaiiing. What the human {
ace wants is a light bursting forth from the ,
ross standing on the great headlands-the
ght Of pardon, the light of comfort, the
ght Of heaven. You might better so to- ,
ight and destroy all the great lighthouses
u the dangerous coasts-the Barnegat light
ouse. the Fastnet Rock lighthouse, the
herryvore lighthouse the Longship's light
ouse, the HOllyhead lighthouse-than to put /
ut God's greatocean lamp-the Gospel Woe I
those who swing false lanterns on the beach /
II nen crash into ruin. Castaways Cast d
waysl n
THE TERRORs OF THE STORM. /
b. talking with sea captains have heard,
$50, that sometimes ships come to this calam =
y by the sudden swOop Of tempest. For
stance, vessel is sailing along in the East
ldies, and there is not a single cloud on the
", hut suddenly the breeze freshens, and J
lere are swift feet on the ratlines, and the
y is: "Way, haul away therem But before
icy can square the boonls and tarpaulin the
the vessel is grooming and creak
g in the grip Of a tornado, and falls over
ito the troughef the sea, and broadside it
Ills on TO the beach and keels over, leaving
le crew to struggle in the merciless surf.
astawayl Castawayl And so have to ten I
Du that there are thoRands of men destroy !
through the sudden swoop Of temptations
jue great inducement 10 worldliness, or to :
or to high temper or to some !
rm Of destination. cnmns nl.nl Lharn u