The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1894-07-30
BY THE SKIN OF HIS TEETH.
TaImage DiSCOuTSeS on Job and NaT.
row Escapes.

sands of Men Make Just as Narrow
Escape for Their Soul-Paul Ex-
presses the Same Idea in His Saved
as by Fire.
Brooklyn, July 29-Rev. DR.. Talmage
has selected as the subject for his sermon
for to-day through the press: Marrow
Escapes" the text being taken from job
Il. 20, q am escaped with the skin OF
my teeth"
Job had it hard. What with boils, and
bereavements. and bankruptcy, and a
fool Of a wife, he wished he was dead
and do not blame him. His flesh was
gone, and his bones were dry. His teeth
wasted away until nothing but the
enamel seemed left. He cries out, L am
escaped with the skin of my teeth
There has been some difere1ceIof opin-
ion about this passage. St Jerome and
Schultens, and Doctors Good, and Poole,
and Barnes, have all tried their forceps
on Jobs teeth. You deny my interpre-
tation, and say. What did Job know
about the enamel of the tee thu He
knew everything about it, Dental sur
gerry is almost as old as the earth. The
mummies of Egypt, thousands of years
old, are found to-day with gold filling in
their teeth Ovid, and Horace, and Solo
mon, and Moses wrote about these i'm
portant factors of the body. To other
provoking complaints, Job, think, has
added an exasperating toothache, and,
putting his hand against the n1amed
face, he says, Il am escaped with the
skin of my teeth
A very narrow escape, you say, for
Jobs body and soul; but there are thou
sands of men who make Just as narrow
escape for their soul. There was a time
when the partition between them and
ruin was no thicker than a toOth's ena-
mel but as Job finally escaped, so have
they Thank God thank God
Paul expresses the same idea by diff
ferenU figure when he says that some peo-
pie are saved as by fire" A vessel at
sea is in flames. You go TO the stern of
the vessel. The boats have showed off.
The flames advance; you can endure the
heat no longer in your face. You slide
down on the side of the vessel, and hold
on with your fingers until the forked
tongue of the fire begins to lick the back
of your hand, and you feel that you must
fail, when one of the lifehOats come back,
and the passengers say they think they
have room for one more. The boat swings
under you-you drop into it--you are
saved. So some men are pursued by
temptation until they are partially con
sumed, but after all get of-"saved as
by fire p" But ! like the figure of Job a
little better than that of Paul, because
the pulpit has not worn it out; and | want
TO show, if God will help, that some men
make narrow escape for their souls, and
are saved as with the skin of their
teeth"
II is as easy for some people to look to
the cross as for you to look to this pulpit
Mild, gentle, tractable, loving, you ex-
pect them to become Christians You go
over to the store and say, "Grandon
joined the church Yesterday" Your
business comrades say, That is just
what might have been expected; he al
ways was of that turn of mind " In
youth, this person whom / describe was
always good He never broke things. He
never laughed when it was improper to
laugh. AT seven, he could sit an hour in
church, perfectly quiet, looking neither
to the right hand nor to the left, but
straight into the eyes of the minister, as
though he understood the whole discus
sion about the eternal degrees. He never
upset things, nor lost them. He foated
into the kingdom of God so gradually
that il is uncertain just when the matter
was decided.
Here is another one, who started in life
with An uncomfortable spirit He kept
the nursery in an uproar. His mother
found him walking on the edge of the
house roof to see if he could balance him
self. There was no horse he dared not
ride-no tree he could not climb His
boyhood was a long series of predica.
ments; his manhood was reckless: his
midlife very hayward. But now he is
converted, and you go over to the store
and say, "Arkwright joined the church
yesterday" Your friends say, 1T
is not possible! You must be Joking r.
You say: No; ! tell you the truth.
He joined the church" Then they
reply: There is hope for any of US
If old Arkwright has become a Chris
tian !"
In other words, we all admit that it is
more difficult for some men to accept the
gospel than for others
may be addressing some who have cut
loose from churches, and Bibles and Sun
days, and who have at present no inten.
tion of becoming Christians themselves.
but just TO see what is going on and vet
you may find yourself escaping, before
you hear the end. as with the skin of
your teeth do not expect to waste
this hour have seen boats go off from
Cape May or Long Branch, and drop their
nets, and after a while come ashore, pull
ing in the nets without having caught a
single tlsh. 1t was not good day, OF
they had not the right kind of a net But
we expect no such excursion to-day. The
water is full of fish; the wind is in the
right direction; the gospel net is strong.
Q, thou, who didst help Simon and An.
drew TO fish, show US to-day how to cast
the net on the right side of the ship
Some of you, in coming to God, will
have 10 run against sceptical notions. II
Is useless for people to say sharp and
cutting things to those who reject the
Christian religion | cannot say such
things. BY what process of temptation
or trial, or betrayal you have come to
your present state, | know not There
are two gates TO your nature: the gate OF
the head and the gate of the heart The
gate of your read is locked with bolts
and bars that an archangeul could not
break, but the gate of your heart swings
easily on its hinges. If assaulted your
body with weapons you would meet me
with weapons, and it would be sword
stroke for swOrd-slroke, and wound fol
wound, and blood for blood but if | come
and knock at the door of your house you
open it, and give me the best seat in your
parlor. If | should come at you TO-DAY
with an argument, you would answer me
with an argument; if with sarcasm. VOL
would answer me with sarcasm blow for
blow, stroke for stroke but when ! come
and knock at the door of your heart, yoL
open II and say, Come in, my brother
and tell me all you know about Christ
and heaven"
Listen TO two or three questions: Are
you as happy as you used TO be when yol
believed in the truth of the Christian re
ligion Would you like to have your chill
q a -. a. q