The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-12-18
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIyINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Birthplace of Sewing
Societies." Preached at Joppa.)

Subject: "The Birthplace of Sewing
Societies." Preached at Joppa)
TEXT: "And all the avido,Vs stov,! By him
,ceepinq, and shouting the coats and gar
ments ichich Dorcas made ,chiLc she 'Oas
with them" Acts tx, 80.
Christians of JoppaI Impressed as am
with your mosque, the first I ever saw, and
stirred as / am with the fact that your har-
Dor once floated the great RATS Of Lebanon
cedar from which the temples at Jerusalem
were builded, Solomon's oxen drawing the
logs through this very town on the
way to Jerusalem, nothing can make
me forget that this Joppa was the
birthplace of the sewing society that
has blessed the poor of all succeeding ages IN
all lands The disasters to your town when
Judas Maccab;eus set it on fire, and Napoleon
had five hundred prisoners massacred IN
ycur neighborhood, cannot make me forget
that one of the most magnificent charities OF
the centuries was started in this seaport by
Dorcas, woman with her needle embrolder-
ing her name ineifaccablY in the beneficence
of the world. I see her sitting in yonder
home. In the doorway, and around about
the building, and in the room where
she sits, are the pale faces OF M the
pities their woe, she makes garments
for them, she adjusts the manufactured arti:
cles to suit the bent form of this Invalid
woman, and to the cripple that comes crawl
ing on his hands and knees. She gives
coat to this one, she gives sandals to that one.
With the gifts she mingles prayers and tears
and Christian encouragement. linen sne
goes out to be greeted on the street corners
by those whom she blessed, and all through
the street the cry is heard: "Dorcas is COM
ingr The sick look up gratefully In her
ing brow, and the lost and the abandoned
start up with hope as they hear her
gentle voice. as though an angel had
addressed them; and as she goes out the
lane, eyes half put out with sin think they
see halo of light about her brow, and trail
of glory in her pathway. That night half
paid shipwright climbs the hill and reaches
home, and sees his little boy well clad, and
saws: "Where did these clothes come from"'
And they tell him, 'Dorcas has been here"
In another place woman is trimming.
lamp, Dorcas brought the oil. In another
place, a family that had not been at table
for many week are gathered now, for Dor
cas- has brought bread.
But there is a sudden pause in that woman's
ministry. They say: "W here is Dorcas:
Why, we haven't seen her for many day,
Where is Dorcas? And one of these poor
people goes up and knocks at the door and
finds the mystery solved. All through the
haunts of wretchedness, the news comes;
''Dorcas is sickp No bulletin flashing from
the palace gate, telling the stages of a Kings
the news from this sick benefactress. Alas!
for Joppa! there is wailing, wailing. That
voice which has uttered so many cheerful
words is hushed; that hand which
had made so many garments for the
poor is cold and STILL that star
which had poured light into the midnight OF
wretchedness is dinlmed by the binding
mists that go up from the river Of death. In
every God forsaken place in this town,
wherever there is q sick child and no balm;
wherever there is hunger and no bread
wherever there is guilt and no comlniseration;
wherever there is broken heart and no
comfort, there are despairing looks and
streaming eyes and frantic gesticulations:
as thew cry: 'Dorcas is deadm They send
for the apostle Peter who happens to be in
the suburbs of this place, stopping with O
tanner by the name Of Simon. Peter urges
his way through the crowd around the door.
and stands in the presence Of the dead What
-expostuation and grief al about him! Here
stand some d the poor people, who show the
garments which this poor woman had made
for them. Their grief cannot be appeased.
The apostle Peter wants to perform mira.
Gle. He will not do it amidst the excited
crowd, so he kindly orders that the whole
room be cleared. The door is shut against
the populace. The apostle stands now with
the dead. Oh, it is serious moment, you
know, when you are alone with hfeless
body! The apostle gets down on. his lnees
and prays, and then he comes to tho lifeless
form of this one all ready for the sepulchcr,
and in the strength of Him who is the resur.
rection he eXclaims "Tabitha, arise"
There is stir in the fountains of life; the
heart futters; the nerves thrill, the cheek
hushes; the eye opens; she sits up!
We see in this subject Dorcas the disciple;
Dorcas the benefactress; Dorcas the lamented;
Dorcas the resurrected.
If had not seen that word disciple in my
text, would have known this woman was
Christian Such music as that never came
from heart which is not chorded and
strung by divine grace. Before l show you
the needfe-work Of this woman, want to
show you her regenerated heart, the source
of a pure life and of all Christian charities
I wish that the wives and mothers and
daughters and sisters of all tho earth would
initiate Dorcas in her discpleship. Beforey you
enter upon the temptations and trials
of tomorrow, I charge you, in the
name of God, and by the turmoil and
tumult of the Judgment day, oh, women!
that you attend to the first, last and
greatest duty Of your lifeItho seeking
for God and being at peace with Him.
When the trumpet shall sound, there
will be an uproar. and wreck Of mount
ain and continent, and no human arm
can help you. Amidst the rising of the
dead, and amidst the boiling Of yonder
sea, and amidst the live, leaping thupders
of the flying heavens calm and placid
will be every woman's heart who hath
put her trust in Christ; calm notwithstand-
ing all the tumult, as though the fire in the
heavens were only the gildings of all autumn
nal sunset, as though the peal of the trumpet
were only the harmony of an orchestra, as
though the awful voices of the sky were but
group Of friends bursting through gate
way at eventime with laughter and shout
ing "Dorcas, the disciple!" Would God that
every Mary and every Martha would this
day sit down at the feet of Jesus!
Further, we see Dorcas the benefactress.
History has told the story Of the crown; the
epic poet has sung Of the sword the pastoral
poet, with his verses full of the redolence of
clover tops, and a-rustle with the silk of tho
corn, has sung the praises of the plow. lteil
you the praises Of the needle. From the fig
leaf robe prepared in the garden of Eden to
the last stitch taken on the garment for the
poor, the needle has wrought wonders Of
kindness, generosity and benefaction. 1t
adorned the girdle of the high priest; it fash
ioned the curtains in the ancient tabernacle;
it cushioned the chariots Of King Solomon;
it provided the robes of Queen Elizabeth;
and in high places and in low places, by the
fire of the pioneers back log and under the
flash of the chandelier everywhere, it has
clothed nakedness, it has preached the Cos.
pei, it has overcome hosts of penury and
want with the war cry of "Stitch, stitch,
stitchr' The operatives hive found liYeli.