Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-12-16
HIS SOUTHERN TOUR.
DR.. TALMAGE breaches ON ST. PAUL
AT BIRMINGHAM. ALA.

AT BIRMINGHAM. ALA.
The Miraculous Conversion OF the Great
Prosecutor Both an encouragement and
a warning-Out OF Great Tribulations
Come Zeal and Clear Views of Truth.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala, Dec. 10.-Rev. DIR.
i Talmage, who lectured in this city yes
terday, having spoken during the week
at Nashville, Memphis and other cities.
preached here this forenoon to a large
audience under the auspices Of the Bap-
tist church. The subject was "Un-
horsed," and the text chosen was Acts
tx, 3-5: "And as he journeyed he came
near Damascus, and suddenly there
shined round about him light from
heaven, and he fell to the earth and heard
a voice saying unto him. Saul. Saul, why
persecutest thou me. And he said, Who
art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, |
am Jesus whom thou persecutest.
The Damascus of Bible times still
stands, with population of 10000 1t
was gay city of white and glistening
architecture, its minarets and crescents
and domes playing with the light of the
morning sun; uncovered in groves OF
olive and citron and orange and pome-
granate; famous river plunging its
brightness into tho scene; city by the
ancients styled "a pearl surrounded by
emeralds."
THE COMING TERROR.
A group of horsemen are advancing
upon that city. Let the Christians Of
the place hide, for that cavalcade COM
ing over the hills is made up of persecu-
tors; their leader small and unattractive
in some respects, as leaders sometimes
are Insignificant in person-witness the
Duke of Wellington and DR.. Archibald
Alexander But there is something very
intent in the eye of this man of the text,
and the horse he rides is lathered with
the foam of long and quick travel of 1876
miles. He urges on his steed, for those
Christians must be captured and 81
fenced, and that religion of the cross
must be annihilated.
Suddenly the horses shy off and plunge
until the riders are precipitated. Freed
from the riders, the horses bound snort
ing away. You know that dumb ami
mails, at the sight of an eclipse, or an
earthquake, or anything like a supernat-
ural appearance, sometimes become very
uncomfortable. A new sun had been
kindled in the heavens, putting out the
glare of the ordinary sun. Christ, with
the glories of heaven wrapped about him,
looked out from cloud, and the splen-
dor was insufferable, and no wonder
the horses sprang and the equestrians
dropped.
Dust covered and bruised, Saul at
tempts to get up, shading his eyes with
his hands from the severe luster of the
heavens, but unsuccessfully, for he is
struck stone blind as he cries out, who
art thou, LordP and Jesus answered him:
81 am the one you have been chasing.
He that whips and scourges those Dam
ascene Christians whips and scourges
me. 1t is not their back that is bleeding;
it is mine. 1t is not their heart that is
breaking; it is miHe. am Jesus whom
thou persecutest."
THE DEFoRMED TRANSFORMED.
From that wild, exciting and over
whelming scene there rises up the great
est preacher of all the agos-Paul-in
whose behalf prisons were rocked down,
before whom soldiers turned pale, into
whose hand Mediterranean sea captains
put control of their shipwrecking craft,
and whose epistles are the avant courier
of resurrection day.
| learn from this scene that worldly
fall sometimes precedes a spiritual up
lifting. A man does not get much sym
pathy by falling off horse. People say
he ought not to have got into the saddle
if he could not ride. Those of US who
were brought up in the country remem-
Der well how the workmen laughed
when, on our way back from the brook,
we suddenly lost our ride. When in a
grand review general toppled from the
stirrups, it became national merriment.
Here is Paul ON horseback proud
man, riding on with government docu-
ments in his pocket, a graduate of most
famous school, in which the celebrated
DR.. Gamaliel had been professor, per-
haps having already attained two of the
three titles of the school-rab, the first;
rabbi, the second, and on his way to
rabbak, the third and highest title.
know from his temperament that his
horse was ahead of the other horses
But without time to think of what pos
ture he should take, or without consid-
Grafton for his dignity, he is tumoled
into the dust. And yet that was the best
ride Paul ever took. Out of that vio-
lent fall he arose into the apostleship.
So it has been in all ages, and soft is now
PURIFIED BY SUFFERING.
You will never be worth much for
God and the church until you lose your
fortune, or have your reputation upset,
or in some way, somehow, are thrown
and Inundated. You must goodwin be-
fore you go up. Joseph finds his path to
the Egyptian court through the pit into
which his brothers threw him. Daniel
would never have walked among the
bronzed lions that adorned the Babylon
ish throne if he had not first walked
among the real lions of the cave. And
Paul marshals all the generations OF
Christendom by falling fat on his face
on the road to Damascus.
Men who have been always prospered
may be efficient servants of the world,
but will be of no advantage to Christ
You may ride majestically seated on
your charger, rein in hand, foot in STIR
rup, but you will never be worth any
thing spiritually until you fall off. They
who graduate from the school of Christ
with the highest honors have on theil
diploma the seal of a lions muddy paw,
or the plash of an angry wave, or the
drop of stray tear, or the brown scorch
of a prosecuting fire. In 999 cases ont
of | 900 there is no moral or spiritual
elevation until there has been thorough
worldly upsetting.
THE BRAVE CHRISTIANS.
Again, learn from the subject that
the religion of Christ is not pusillan-
imouG thing, People in this day try to
make us believe that Christianity is some
thing for men of small ealiber, for wom-
en- with no capacity to reason. for chill
dren in the infant class under Q years
of age, but not for stalwart men. Look
at this man of the text! Do you not
think that the religion that could cap
ture such man as that must have some
power in it, He was logician; he was
a metaphysician; he was an all conquer
ing orator; he was a poet of the highest
type. He had nature that could swamp
the leading men of his own day, and
hurled against the sanhedrin he made
it tremble.
He learned all that he could get in the