Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1893-04-07
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINES sun
DAY SERMON.
Sublect: biblical and Modern Mar.
rations of Dreams"


place and put them for has pitto,os and lay
dorm an that place to sleep, and he dream
ed."-Geness xviii, IL.
Asleep on a pillowcase filled with hens
feathers it is not strange one should have
pleasant dreams, but here is a pillow CT
rock, and Jacob with his head on it. and 10:
q CT cam of angels two professions those
coming down the stairs met by those going
up the stairs 1t is the first dream of Bible
record. You may say Of dream that it is
nocturnal fantasia or that it is the absurd
combination of waking thoughts. aud with
SUR OF 1ntonation you may say, 1T is only
a dream" but God has honored the dream
by making it the avenue through which
again and again He has marched upon tue
human soul, decided the fate OF Nations
and changed the course OF the worlds ms
tory.
God appeared in a dream to Abimelech,
warning him against an unlawful marriage;
in a dream to Joseph, foretclling His COM
ing power under the figure OF all the
sheaves of the harvest bowling down to his
sheaf; to the chief butler, foretelling his
dislmprisonment: to the chief baker, an
nouncing his deca pitation; to Pharaoh,
showing him first the seven plenty years
and then the seven famine struck years, un-
der the figure OF the seven fat COWS devour-
ing the seven lean COWS; to Solomon, giving
him the choice between wisdom and rlcneS
and honor: to the warrior under the figure
of a barley cake shifting down tent, en-
couragDg Gideon in his battle against the
Amelekites: to NebuchadneZZar, under the
figure of a broken image and a hewn down
tree, fOretelling his overthrow OF power; to
Joseph of the New Testament. announcing
the birth Of Christ in his own household to
Mary, bidding her fly from HerOdic perse-
cutiOns; to Pilates wife, warning him not
to become complicated with the judicial
overthrow or Christ.
We all admit that God in ancient times
i sod no
people through dreams. The question now
is, Does God appear in our day and reveal
Himself through dreams? That Is the ques-
ton everybody asks, and that question this
morning shall try to answer. You ask me
if l believe in dreams. NY answer is do
believe IN dreams, but all have TO say Will
be under five heads
Remark the Flrst-The Scriptures are so
full OF revelation from God that if we get
no communication from Him 10 dreams We
ought nevertheless to be satisfied.
With 20 guidebooks to tell you how to get
to Boston or PittSburg or London or elias
gov or Manchester do you want night
vision to tell you how to make the journey?
We have in this Scripture full direction IN
regard to the journey of this life and how to
get to the celestial city, and with this grand
gudebook, this magnificent directory. we
ou2 hit to be satisfied. l have moro faith in
a decision to which come when L am wide
awake than when am sound asleep. l have
noticed that those who gave great deal Of
their time to studying dreams get their
brains added. They are very anxious to
remember what they dreamed about the
first night they slept in a new house.
If in their dream they take the hand of a
corpse, they are going to die. If they dream
of garden it means sepulcher. If some
thing turns out according to night vision,
they say, We'll, [ am not surprised.
dreamed it," If it turns out different from
the night vision, they say, ''Well. dreams
go by contraries." In their efforts to put
their dreams INTO rhythm they put their
waking thoughts into discord. Now the
Bible is so tutl Of revelation that we ought
to be satisfied if we get no further revela-
ton.
Sound sleep received great honor when
Adam slept 50 extraordinarily that the sur
gical inc!son which gave him Eve did not
wake him, but there is no such need for eX
traordinary slumber now, and he who
catches an Eve must needs be wide awake!
NOneed Of such dream as Jacob had with
a ladder against the sky, when 10000 times
1t had been demonstrated that earth and
heaven are in communication. Nc such
dream needed as that which was given to
Abimelecb, warning him against an unlawful
marriage, when we have the records OF the
county clerks office. No need of such
dream was given to Pharaoh about the
seven years of famine, for now the seasons
march in regular procession, and steamer
and rail train carry breedstutfs to every
famine struck Nation. No need of dream
like that which encouraged Gideon, for all
through ChristendOm it is announced and
acknowledged and demonstrated that right
eouSneSs sooner or later will get the victory
II there should come about crisis in
your life upon which the Bible does not
seem to be sufficiently specific, go to God in
prayer, and you will get especial direction.
have more faith 80 times out of 100 in di-
rections gwen you with the Bible in your
God than IN all the information you will
get unconscious on your pillow.
/ eau very easily understand why the
BabylOnians and the Egyptians, with no
Bible, should put so much stress on dreams
and the Chinese, in their holy book. Chow
King, should think their emperor gets his
directions through dreams from God, and
that Homer should think that all dreams
came from Jove, and that in ancient times
dreams were Classified into science. But
why do you anu put so much stress upon
dreams when we have suparnaI book of in
finite wisdom on al subjects? Why should
we harry ourselves with dreams7 Why
should Eddystone all Barnegat lighthouses
question summer tirefy.
Remark the Second-All dreams have an
meaning.
They prove that the soul is comparatively
independent of the body. The eyes are
closed, the senses are dull, the entire body
goes into a lethargy which in all languages
is used as a type of death, and then the soul
spreads its wing and never sleeps. 1t leaps
the Atlantic Ocean and mingles in scenes
1000 miles away. 1t travels great reaches Of
time flashes back eighty years, and the
octogenarlan is boy again i'll his fathers
house 1t the soul before it has entirely
broken its chains OF flesh can do ell this, how
Tar can It leap, what circles can it cut, when
it is fully liberated.
Every dream, whether agreeable or har-
assing, whether sunshiny or te1npestuous.