The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-12-04
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "a Mediterranean Voyage"
preached at Brindisi, Italy.)

TEXT: "A,,d so it came to pass that they
escaped oil safe to land" Acts xvii, A.
Having visited your historical city, which
we desired to see because it was the terminus
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 har-
Dor, and after touching at Athens and Cor
inth, voyage about the Mediterranean to
Alexandria, Egypt. | have been reading
this morning in my New Testament of
Mediterranean voyage in an Ale1andrian
ship. 1t was this very month of November.
The vessel was lying in a 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. convict, one Paul by
name, who was going to prison for upsetting
things or as they termed it, turning the
world upside down." This convict had gained
the confidence of the Captain. Indeed,
1 think that Paul knew almost as
much about the sea as did the Cap
tain. He had been shipwrecked three
life amidst capstans, and yardarms, and
cables, and storms; and he knew what
he was talking about. Seeing the
equinoctial storm was coming, and perhaps
noticing something unseaworthy in the
vessel he advised the Captain to stay in the
harbor. But hear the Captain and the
first mate talking together. They say: I'VE
cannot afford to take the advice of this
landsman, and he a minister. He may be
able to preach very we'll, but I don't believe
he knows marlinspike from a luff tackle.
All aboard! Cast eff! Shift the holm for
headway. Who fears the Mediterranean?
l,l tuho q
whirlwind, called Euroclydon, made the
torn sail its turban, shook the mast as you
would brandlsh spear, and tossed the hulk
into the heavens. Overheard with the car
go. 1t is all washed with salt water, and
Worthless now, and there are no marine in
surance 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 pillows clap their hands in
glee of destruction. In the lull Of the storm
hear chain clank. 1t is the chain of the
great apostle as he walks the deck, or holds
fast to the rigging amidst the elurching of the
ship-the spray dripping from his long beard
as he cries out to the crew: NOW l exhort
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 am, and whom I
serve saying. Fear not, Paul; thou must be
brought before Cesar; and, 10, 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 a few moments the vessel
will be shivered on the rocks. The ship
flies like chaff in tornado. They drop the
sounding line, and by the light Of the Ian
tern they see it is twenty fathoms. Speed
ing along little farther they drop
the line again, and by the light
of the lantern they see it is fifteen fathoms.
Two hundred and seventy-six souls within a
few feet of awful shipwreckl The managers
over the side of the ship and undergrad 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 surge! Oh,
what wild struggling for life! Here they
leap from plank to plank. Here they 60
under as if 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, two hundred and seventy-six people
answer to their names And So" says my
text, sit came to pass that they escaped all
safe to land"
learn from this subject:
First, that those who get us iuto trouble
will not stay to help us out. These shipmen
got Paul cut of Fair Havens into the storm;
but as soon as the tempest dropped upon
them, they wanted to 60 off in tho small
boat, caring nothing for what became Of
Paul and the passengers All me! human
nature is the same in all ages. They 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
fun Of the losses of gamblers. They who
tempt you into the contest with fists, saying,
II 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 rig
ging, you tried to get into harbor, did they
hold for you 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 the gossa.
mer bridge into the cobweb, but it never
shows the fly the way out Of the cobweb over
the gossamer bridge. I think that 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.
I remark again, as lesson learned from
the text, that it is dangerous to refuse the
counsel of competent advisers. Paul told
them not to 60 out with that ship. They
thought he knew nothing about it. They
said: "He is only minister" They went,
and the ship was destroyed. There are q
great many people who now say of minister's:
aThey know nothing about the world. They
cannot talk to u.s." All, my friends, it is not
necessary to have the Asiatic cholera be-
fore you can give it medical treatment in
Others 1t is not necessary to have
your own arm broken before you can
know how to splinter fracture. And
we who stand in the pulpit, and in the office
of Christian teacher, know that there are
certain styles of belief and certain kinds Of
behavior that will lead to destruction as GER
tainly as Paul knew that if that ship went
out of Fair Havens it would 60 to destruc-
ton. "Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth;
and let thy heart cheer thee in thy days of
thy youth; but know thou that for all these
things God will bring thee into judgment" !"
We may not know much, but we know that.
Young people refuse the advice of parents.
They say Father is :, over-susPicious, S sP and
have been on the sea Of life. They know
where the storms sleep, and during their
voyage have seen thousand battered hulks
marking the place where beauty burned and