The free press., 1894-09-13
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DININE'S SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject "The Rescue"

TEXT ''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved. 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 Philippian dungeon.
Do you not feel the chilli Do you not
| hear the groans of those incarcerated ones
| who for ten years have not seen the sun
| light and the deep sigh OF women who
| remember their fathers house and mourn
over their wasted estates? Listen again. 1t
| is the cough OF a consumptiye or the strug-
| gle OF one in the nightmare OF great hor-
ror. You listen again and hear culprit,
his chains ratting as he rolls over in his
dreams and you say. "God. pity the prison
| erp But there is another sound in that
| prison. 1t is the song of Joy and gladness.
| What place 10 sing in The music comes
winding through the corridors OF the prison.
| and in all the dark wards the whisper Is
! heard "what's that? What's that?"
II is the song of Paul and Slas. They
| cannot sleep They have been whipped
very badly whipped. The long gashes on
| their backs are bleeding yet They lie fiat
| on the cold ground. their feet fast in wooden
| sockets, and of course they cannot sleep.
| But they can sing. Jailer. what are you do
| ing with these people? Why have they been
| put in here? Oh, they have been trying to
| make the world better. Is that all? That
| is all. A pit for Joseph. A lions cave for
| Daniel A blazing furnace for Shadrach.
| Clubs for John Wesley. An anathema for
| Philip Melancbthon. A dungeon for Paul
| and Silas.
But while we are standing in the gloom of
| the Philippian dungeon. and we hear the
I mingling voices Of sob and groan and BIAS
| phemy and hallelujah, suddenly an earth
| quake The iron bars of the prison twist,
| the pillars crack off. the solid masonry be-
! gins to heava and all the doors swing open.
4 l.. ~lf IL, f0-
| these prisoners and believing. in his pagan
| Ignorance. suicide to be honorable-since
| Brutus killed himself. and Cat o killed him
self, and Cassius killed himself-put his
| sword to his own heart, proposing with one
1 strong, keen thrust to put an end to his ex-
J citement and agitation. But Paul cried out
.Stop. stop! Do thyself no harm We are
all here -
Then 1 see the jailer running through the
| dust and amid the ruin Of that prison, and l
see him throwing himself down at the feet
| ofthese prisoners. crying out "What shall
| I do? What shall do?" Did Paul answer
"Get out of this place before there is another
| earthquake. Put handouts and hobbies on
these other prisoners lest they get away"
! No word Of that kind. His compact, thrill
| ing tremendous answer memorable all
| through earth and heaven, was, "Believe on
| the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be
saved
Well we have all read of the earthquake
| in Lisbon, in Lima, in Aeppo and in Cara
| cas- but we live in Il latitude where in all our
memory there has not been one severe vol
canic disturbance. 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 beyond all an
| noying rivalries in trade, and he says to him
self, "Now am free and safe from all possi-
| BILE perturbation" But in 1857 or in 1878 a
national panic strikes the foundation OF the
| commercial world, and crash goes all that
| magnificent business establishment
| Here is man who has built up very
| beautiful home. His daughters have just
| come home from the seminary with diplo-
| mas of graduation. His sons have started
| in life, honest, temperate and pure. When
| the evening lights are struck. there Is a hap
| piness and unbroken family circle. But
| there has been an accident down at Long
| Branch. The young man ventured too far
| out in tho 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 go allthose do
\ mestic hopes and prospects and expecta-
| tions. So, my friends, we have all folt the
| shaking down OF some great trouble, and
| there was a time when we were as much ex-
| cited as this man of the text and we cried
| out as he did "What shall do? What shall
1 doP" The same reply that the apostle
| made to him is appropriate to us, "Beleve
| on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be
| saved"
| There are some documents OF so little i'm.
| portance that you do not care to put any
more than your last name under them, or
| even your initials, but there are some docu-
! ments OF so great Importance that you write
out your full name. SO the Saviour In some
| parts of the Bible 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 mis-
| take about this passage all three names come
| together-"the Lord Jesus Christ"
Now, who s this being that you want me
to trust in and believe in? Men sometimes
| come to mo with credentials and certificates
| of good character, but cannot trust them.
There is some dishonesty in their looks that
makes me know that | shall he cheated II l
conflde in them. You cannot put your
hearts confidence in n man until YOU know
what stuff he Is made OF. and am unrenson-
able when I stop to ask you who this is that
you want me to trust int No man would
think OF venturlng his life on vessel going
out to sea that had never been inspected.
| No; you must have the certificate hung
amldships telling how many tons 1t carries,
and how long ago it was built, and who
built It, and all about It, And you cannot
expect me TO risk the cargo Of my immortal
interests on board any craft till you tell me
what it is made Of, and where 1t was made,
and what it is.
When, then, ask you who this is you want
me to trust In, you tell me He is very at
tractivo person Contemporary writer's de-
scribe His whole appearance as being re-
splendent. There was no neel for Christ to
tell the children TO come to Him. "Suffel
little children TO come unto Me" was not
spoken to the children. II was spoken to
the disciples. The children came readily
enough without any invitation. No sooner
Hid Jesus appear than the little ones jumped
from their mothers arms an avalanche o
beauty and love, into His lap. Christ die
not ask John to put his hend down on Hi
bosom. John could not help but put his
head there. suppose a look at Christ wa'
just o love Him. How attactivo His manner
Why. when they SAW Christ comm,
along the street, they ran into their honses
and they wrapped up their invalds as quicl
as they could and brought them out that HI
might look at them. Oh, there was some
thing so pleasant. so inviting. so cheering il
everything He did, in His very look ! Wbei
| 1, 81, ont A