The Greenville times., 1894-02-24
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvTNE's sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject; "The Lightning Of the
Sea-

II lor the next thousand years ministers OF
Hngion should preach from this Bible. there
VIII YET De texts unexpounded and unex-
piained and unappreciated. What little
mas been said concerning this chapter In Job
nom which my text is taken bears on the
controversy as 10 what was really the leyia-
tnan described as disturbing the sea. What
creature 1t was know not. Some say it was
whale. Some say it was crocodile. Nv
own opinion is il was a sea monster now ex-
tinct. No creature now floating in Mediter-
ranean or Atlantic waters corresponds to
Jobs description.
What most interests me Is that as il moved
on through the deep II left the waters fash
ing and Respondent. In the words OF the
text, He maketh a path to shine after
MN. What was that illumined' path? 1t
was phosphorescence. You find II In the
wake Of a ship in the night, especially after
rough weather. Phosphoreseence is the
lightning ot the sea. That this figure of
speech is correct in describing its appear
ance l am certified by an incident. After
crossing the Atlantic the first time and
writing from Basse, Switzerland, to an Amer
lean magazine an account of my voyage, in
which nothing more fascinated me than the
phosphorescence in the ships wake, called
Il the lightning OF the sea. Returning TO my
hotel, found book Of John Ruskin. and
the nrst sentence my eyes fell upon was his
description OF phosphorescenee, In which he
| called II ''the lightning OF the sea-"
Down to the postoffiee | hastened to get
the manuscript. and with great labor and
| some expense got possession OF the maga-
zine article and put quotation marks around
that one sentence. although il was as orig
inal with me as with John Ruskin. sup
pose that nlne-tenths of you living so near
the seacoast have watched this marine ap-
| pearance called phosphorescence. and | hope
that the other one-tenth may some day be so
happy as to witness IT, It Is the waves OF the
sea diamonded it is the inflorescence OF the
billows the waves OF the sea crimsoned as
was the deep after the sea fight OF Lepanto
the waves OF the sea on fire.
There are times when from horizon TO
horizon the entire ocean seems in confiag-
ration with this strange splendor as il
changes every moment TO tanner or more
dazzling color on all sides OF YOU You sit
looking over the taffrail OF the yacht or
ocean steamer. watching and waiting to sec
what new thing the God Of beauty will do
with the Atlantic. 1t IL the ocean in trans
fguration 1t is the marine world casting its
garments OF glory in the pathway OF the
Almighty as He walks the deep 1t Is an in
verted armament with all its stars gone
down with 1t. No picture can present II, for
photographers camera cannot be success
| fully trained 10 catch 1t, and before II the
hand Of the painter drops its pencil, over
awed and powerless.
This phosnhorescence is the appearance
| OF myriads of the animal kingdom rising,
falling, playing, flashing living, dying.
These luminous animalcules for nearly 15C
years have been the study OF naturallsts and
| the fascination and solemnization OF all who
have brain enough TO think. Now, God
who puts in His Bible nothing trivial or use
less, calls the attention OF job. the greatest
scientist Of his day. TO this phosphorescence
and as the leviathan OF the deep sweeps past
points out the fact that she maketh patti
TO shine after him.
Is that true OF us now, and will II be tru'
OF us when we have gone? viii there b'
subsequent light or darkness2 VIII there b.
n trial OF gloom or good cheer2 Can any on
between now and the next 100 years say o
us truthmlly as the text says Of the leviathal
of the deep, "He maketh q path to shin
after himY' For we are moving on. Whil
we live in the same house, and transact bust
ness in the same store. and write on the sam
table, and chiscl In the same studio. ant
thrash in the same barn, and worship In TIL
same church. we nre IN motion and are ii
many respects moving on, and We are no
where we were ten yenrs ago, nor where W
will be ten years hence. Moving on
Look at the family record. or the almanac
or into the mirror. and see II any one OF yol
is where you were. All in motion. Othe
feet may trip and stumble and halt. but th
feet OF not one moment for the last sixty cen
turies has tripped or stumbled or halted
Moving on Society moving on The worl,
moving on Heaven moving on The uni
verse moving on Time moving on Eter
nifty moving on Therefore 1t is absurd t
think that we ourselves can stop. rs we mus
move with all the rest. Are we like the crea
ture of the text making our path to shin
after useY II may be a peculiar question
but my text suggests ii.
What influence will we leave in this wor
after we have gone ethroughit III None, an
swer hundreds OF voices 'we are not one 0
the immortals. Fifty years after we are on
of the world II will be as though we never in
habted it," You are wrong in saying that
pass down through this audience and n
through these galleries, and am looking 10
some one whom cannot find.
lam looking for one who will have no in
fuence In this world 100 years from nov
But have found the man who has the leas
influence. and inquire into his history, an
find that BY a yes or no he decided som
ones eternity. In time oil temptation he gay
an Affirmative or negative TO some tempti
ton which another. hearing OF, was induce
TO decide in the same way.
Clear on the other side OF the next millio
years may be the first you hear OF the lon
reaching influence of that yes or no. bt
hear OF 1t you will. viii that father make
path to shine after him? VIII that motht
make path to shine after herr You Will |
walking along these streets or along thu
country road 200 years from now Ia u
character OF your descendants. They wi
be affected BY your courage or your GOV
ardice, your purity or your depravity. yot
holiness or your sin. You will make II
rath TO shine after you or backen after yo'
why should they point out to US on SON
, mountain two rivulets one OF which pass
down into the rivers which pour out into Il
J Pacific Ocean, and the other rivulet How'll
down into the rivers which pass out into Il
: Atlantic Ocean, Every man, every woma
stands at a point where words uttered,
deeds done, or prayers offered. decide opp
I site destinies and opposite eternities.
= ace man planting tree, and treading 8
! IN either side of II, and watering 1t In
weather, and taking a great care IN It's 9,
Z ture and he never plucks any fruits from
q bouyb But his children will. We are
|. planting trees that will yield fruit hundre
n wears after we are dead-orchards oil 81
j. dem fruit or groves OF deadly upas.
am 40 fascinated with the phospnt
escance In the track oil ship that l ma
Z aometimes watched for long while and ma
y seen sesn nothing on the face of the deep
Madness. The mouth OF watery chas
. That looked like gaping jaws Of he'll; Not
{ snark as big as firehy not white scr scr
of surf; not taper to illuminate the sdnd migl !;
!. senuIehers OF dead ships; darkness 5000 Il
}; deep, and more thousands OF feet s.. long z 2 ?
d wide That is the kind Of wake that ?
man leaves behind him as he plcws tnrou