Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1890-01-23

TO Do 1t.
The Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage, D. D.,
of Brooklyn, preached in London, taxi
ing for his text Acts xvi, 81: Believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt
be saved" He said:
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 Philippian dun
Reon. Do you not feel the ehill2 Do
you not hear the groans of those incar-
cerated 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-
tates2 Listen again. 1t is the cough of
consumptive, or the struggle of one in
nightmare of great horror. You
listen again, and hear q culprit, his
chains rattling as he rolls over in his
dreams, and you say, God pity the pris-
oner." But there is another sound in
that prison. 1t is q song of JOY and
gladness. What place to sing in! The
music comes winding through the cor
ridors of the prison, and in all the dark
wards the whisper is heard: What's
that? What's that?" 1t is the song of
anu nllNb. 1uON
They have been whipped, very badly
whipped, The long g@shes on their
backs are bleeding yet. They lay fiat 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 peopler
Why have they been put in here2 Oh,
they have been trying to make the world
better. Is that allp That is all. A pit
for Joseph. A lions cave for Daniel.
A blazing furnace for Shadrach. Clubs
for John Wesley. An anathema for
Melancthon. A dungeon 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 halle
lujah, suddenly an earthquake! The
iron bars of the prison twist, the pillars
crack off. the solid masonry begins to
heave and rock till all the doors swing
open, and the walls fall with terrific
crash. The jailer, feeling himself re-
sponsible for these prisoners and feel
ing suicide to be honorable-since Bru-
tus killed himself and Cato killed him
self and Cassius killed himself-puts his
sword to his own heart, proposing with
one strong, keen thrust to put an end
to his excitement and agitation. But
Paul cries out: stop! stop! Do thy
self no harm. We are all here" Then
see the jailer running through the dust
and amid the ruin of that prison, and
see him throw himself down at the feet
of these prisoners crying out: What
shall do? What shall do?" Did Paul
answer: "Get out of this place before
there is another earthquakes; put hand
cuffs and hopples on these other pris-
oners, lest they get awayP No word of
that kind. Compact, thrilling, tremen :
dous answer; answer memorable all
through earth and heaven: Be-
lieve 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 N caraccas but we live in latitude
where in all our memory there has not
been one severe volcanic disturbance.
And yet we have seen fifty earthquakes.
Here is o 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 beyond all annoying
rivalries in trade, and he says to
himself: Nov I am free and safe from
all possible pertubation. Buta national
panic strikes the foundations of the
commercial world, and crash! goes all
that magnificent business establishment.
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 i'll life, honest, temperate and
pure. When the evening lights are
struck, there is happy and an un-
broken family circle. But there has
been an accident down at the beach.
Tie young man yentured too far out in
the surf. The telegraph hurled the
terrorup to the city. An earthquake struck
under the foundations of that beautiful
home. The piano closed; the curtains
dropped; the laughter hushed. Crash
go all those domestic hopes, and pros
poets and expectations. So, my friends,
we have all felt the shaking down OF
some great trouble, and there was time
when we were as much excited as this
man of the text, and we cried out as he
did: What shall l do? What shall
dor" The same reply that the apostle
made to him is appropriate to us: Be
lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou
shalt be saved" There are some docu-
ments OF so little importance that you
do not care to put any more than your
last name under them, or even your
initials; but there are some documents
of so great Importance that you write
out your full name. So the Saviour in
some parts of the Bible is Lord" and
in other parts of the Bible He is called
Christ" but that there might be NO
mistake about this passage, all three
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 creden.
tials and certificates of good character;
but l cannot trust them. There is some
dishonesty in their looks that
makes me know that shall
be cheated if I confide in them. You
cannot put your hearts confidence in 6
man until you know what stuff he il
made of, and am unreasonable this
morning, when I stop to ask you who
this is that you want me to trust in? Nc
man would think of venturing his life
on vessel going out to sea, that had
never been inspected. No, you must
have the certificate hung amidships, tell.
ing how many tons it carries, and how
long ago it was built, and who built it
and all about it. And you cannot expect
me to riskthe cargo of my immortal in
terests on board any craft till you tel
me what it is made of, and where it wat
made, and what it il. When, then,
ask you who this you want me to trus
in, you tell me He was very attractive
person. You tell me that the contem.
porary writer's describe Him, and Civ,
the color of His eyes, and the color o.
His hair, and they describe His who'll