Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-01-30
TALMAGEs SERMON.
Lessons to be Drawn From the
Philippian Earthquake.
The Cry Of fine Tailor of Old Answered BY
Practical IIlustratIOns-The Re-
ply Made Then Equally
Applicable Now.

Witt Talmage was prepared for de-
livery in London on his return trip from
the Holy Land, his text being:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shalt be saveG.-Acts xvi. 81.
Jails are dark, dull, damp, loathsome
places even now; but they were worse
in the apostolic times. imagine to-
day we are standing IN the Phiippian
dungeon. Do you not feel the chill?
Do you not hear tho groan Of those in
generated ones who for ten years have
not seen the sunlight and the deep sigh
OF women who remember their fathers
house, and mourn over their wasted es-
tateS? Listen again. 1t is the cough
of the cOnsumptive, or the struggle of
one in nightmare of a great horror.
You listen again, and hear a culprit, his
chains rafting as he rolls over in his
dreams, and you say: 'God pity the
in that prison. 1t is song of Joy and
gladness. What a place to sing in! The
music comes winding through the corri-
doris of the prison, and in all the dark
wards tho whisper is heard: whats
that? What's that?"
1t is the song of Paul and Silas. They
can not sleep. They have been
whipped, very badly whipped. The long
gashes on their backs are bleeding yet.
They lie fat on the cold ground, their
feet fast in wooden sockets, and of course
they can not sleep. But they can sing.
Jailer, what are you doing with these
people? Why have they been put in
here? o, they have been trying tomake
the world better. Is that all? That is
all A pit for Joseph. A lions cave
for Daniel A blazing furnace for Shad-
rach. Clubs for John Wesley. An anath-
ema for Philip Melancthon. A dun
geon for Paul and Silas. But while we
are standing in the gloom of that
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
twist, the pillars crack off, the solid
masonary begins to heave and rock till
all the doors swing open, and the walls
fall with a terrible crash. The jailer,
feeling himself responsible for these
prisoners, and feeling suicide to be hon
/rable-since Brutus killed himself, and
Cato killed himself, and Cassius killed
himself-puts his own sword to his own
heart, proposing with one strong, keen
thrust to put an end to the excitement
and agitation.
But Paul cries out: "Stop! stopl Do
thyself no harm. We are all here"
Then see the jailer running through
the dust and amid the ruin of that
prison, and see him throwing himself
down at the feet of those prisoners, cry
ing out: What shall l do? What shall
do?" Did Paul answer: Get out of
this place before there is another earth
quake; put handouts and hobbies on
these other prisoners, lest they get
away?'' No word of that kind. Com
pact, thrilling, tremendous answer; an
swer memorable all through earth and
Heaven:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved.
Well, we have all read OF the earth
quake in Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppo
and in Caracas; but we live in a lati- |
tude where, in all our memory, there |
has not been one severe volcanic dis
turbance. And yet we have seen fifty
earthquakes. Here is man who has
been building up large fortune. His
bid on the money market was felt in all
the cities. He thinks he has got be-
yond all annoying rivalries in trade, and
he says to himself:
Now am free and safe from all pos
sible perturbation" But a national
panic strikes the foundations of the
commercial world, and crash! goes all
that magnificent business establish
ment. He is a man who has built up
very beautiful home. His daughters
have just come home 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 happy and an I'M
broken family circle. But there has
been an accident down at the beach.
The young man ventured too far out in
the surf. The telegraph hurled the
terror up to the city. An earthquake
struck under the foundation of that
beautiful home. The piano closed the
curtains dropped, the laughter hushed.
Crash! 60 all those domestic hopes, and
prospects, and expectations So, my
friends, we have all felt the shaking
Town of some great trouble, and there
was a time when we were as much ex-
:ited as this man of the text, and we
cried out as he did:
''What shall ] do? What shall d02'
The same reply that the apostle made
70 him is appropriate to US:
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
Ihalt BE saved.
There are some documents of so little
Importance that you do not care to put
any more than your last name under
them. or even your initial, but there
are some documents of so great impor-
lance that you write out your full name
So the Saviour in some parts of the BIZ
BILE 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 that there might be no
mistake about this passage, all three !
names come in together-''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 is some
dishonesty in their looks that makes me
know that l shall be cheated if confide
in them You can not put your hearts
confidence in man until you know
what stuff he is made of, and am un-
reasonable this morning when stop to
ask you who that is that you want me
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