Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1890-10-10
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
suz53ect: "My First Day in Palestine"

following is the first sermon of the series:
TEXT: 1.-THE haif tcaS not told MEL
Kings x.,7.
This is the first sermon in a course Of Sab
bath morning sermons on MY Recent jour.
ney Through the Holy Land and NeighbOr.
ing Countries: What 1 Saw and What ]
Learned" Out of the sixty-four millions of
our present American popu. .tion and the
millions Of our past only about five thousand
have ever visited the Holy Land. OF all
those who cross to Europe less than five per
cent. ever get rs far as Rome, and less than
two per cent. ever get to Athens, and less
than a quarter of one per cent. ever get to
Palestine. Of the less than quarter of one
per cent. who do go to the Holy Land some
see nothing but the noxious insects and the
filth of the Oriental cities, and come back
wishing they had never gone. OF those who
see much of interest and come home only
small portion can tell what they have seen,
the tongue unable to report the eye.
The rarity of a successful intelligent and
happy journey through the Holy Land is
very marked. But the time approaches when
a journey to Palestine will be common.
Thousands will go where now there are
scores. Two locomotives were recently sent
up from Joppa to Jerusalem, and railroads
are about to begin in Palestine, and the day
will come when the cry will be, ''All out for
.Jerusalemm Twenty minutes for break.
fast at Tiberiasw Change cars for Tyrem
"Grand Trunk Junction for NinevahP' "All
out for Damascusn' Meanwhile the wet locks
of the Atlantic Ocean and Adriatic and Medi-
terranean Seas are being shorn, and not only
is the voyage shortened, but after while,
without crossing the ocean, you or your chill
dren will visit the Holy Land. A company
of capitalists have gone up to Behring
Straits, where the American and Asiatic
continents come within thirty-six miles ef
meeting.
These capitalists or others will build
bridge across these straits, for midway are
three islands called ''The Diomedes," and
the water is not deep and is never disturbed
with icebergs. Trains of cars will run from
America across that bridge and on down
through Siberia. bringing under more in.
mediate observation the Russian outrages
against exiles and consequently abolishing
them; and there are persons here to-day,
who without one qualm of sea-sickness, will
visit that wonderful land where the Christ
like, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic Solo
monte and Herodic histories overlap each
other with such power that by the time
took my feet out Of the stirrups at the close
of the journey felt SO wrung out with emo
ton that it seemed nothing else could ever
absorb my feelings again.
The chief hindrance for going to Palestine
with many is the dreadful sea, and though
have crossed it ten times it is more dreadful
every time, and fully sy-mpat5ize with what
was said one night when Mr.. Beecher and
went over to speak in New York at the an
niversary of the Seamen's Friend Society,
and the clergyman making the opening
prayer quoted from st. John. There shall
be no more sea-" and Mr.. Beecher, seated be-
side me, in memory of a recent ocean voyage
said amen; am glad of that" By the
partial abolition Of the Atlantic Ocean and
the putting down of rail tracks across every
country in all the world, the most sacred
land on earth will come under the Observa-
ton of SO many people who will be ready to
tell Of what they saw that infdelity will be
pronounced only another form of insanity,
1or no honest man can visit the Holy Land
and remain an inffdei.
This Bible from which preach has almost
fallen apart for 1 read from it the most Of
the events in it recorded on the very placex
where they occurred. And some of the
leaves got wet as the waves dashed over our
boat on Lake Galilee and the book was
jostled in the saddle bags for many weeks
but 1t is a new book to me, newer than any
book that yesterday came out Of any of our
great printing houses. All my life | had
heard of Palestine and | had read about it,
and talked about it, and preached about it,
and sung about it, and dreamed about it,
and prayed about it, until my anticipations
were piled up into something like Himalayau
proportions and yet have to cry out, as
did the Queen of Sheba when she first visited
the Holy Land, The half was not told
me-"
In order to make the more accurate and
vivid book | have been writing a life of
Christ, entitled From Manger to Throne,"I
left home last October, and on the last night
of November we were walking the decks of
the Senegal. q Mediterranean steamer. 1t
was a ship Of immense proportions. There
were but few passengers, for it is generally
rough at that time of year, and pleasurlsts
are not apt to be voyagerS there and then.
The stars were all out that night. Those ar
mics Of light seemed to have had their shields
newly FURNISHED. We walked the polished
deck Not much was said, for in all our
hearts was the dominant word tomorrow"
Somehow the AcropOlis, which few days
before had thrilled us at Athens, now in our
p2inds lessened in the height Of its columns
and the glory CT its temples. And the Egyp-
tian pyramids in our memory lessened their
wonders OF obsolete masonry, and the Coils
cum of Rome was not SO vast ruin as 1t a
few weeks before had seemed to be.
And all that we had seen and heard
dwindled in importance, for tomorrow, to-
morrow we shall see the Holy Land. Gap
tain, what time will we come IL sight OF
Palestine?" ''Well," he said, ''if the wind
ind sea remain as they are, about daybreak."
Never was l SO impatient for a night to
pass I could not see much use for that
night anyhow. I pulled aside the curtain
from the portfolio of my stateroom, so that
the first hint of dawn would waken me. But
it was a useless prec2utiOn. Sleep was
among the impossibilities. Who could be SO
stupid as 10 siumber when any moment there
might start cut within sight o. the ship the
land where the most stupendOuS scenes OF ell
time and all eternity were enactei-land OF
ruin and redemption, land where was fought
Inc battle that made our heaven possible,
Iand of Godfrey and Saladin, OF Joshua and
Jesus?
Will the night ever be gone? Yes, il IS
growing lighter, and along the horizon there
ls something like bank OF Clouds and as