The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-09-05
"THE RESCUE"
Rev. DR.. Talmage Discourses on
Kinds of DeEverancs.
some Remarkable Escapes from Loath-
some Dungeons Graphically Pictured
Tho Difference Between Saving
Faith and Historical Faith
What It Means to be Saved.


In the South Pacific, selected as the
subject of his recent sermon through
the press, "The Rescue" the text
chosen being Acts xvi. 81:
''Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
lhalt be saved"
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 Phillippian
dungeon. Do you not feel the chill?
Do you not hear the groan Of those in
carcerated ones who for ten years have
not seen the sunlight, 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 consumptive, or the
struggle of one in the nightmare of a
great horror. You listen again, and
hear culprit, his chains rattling as he
rolls over in his dreams, and you say:
"God pity the prisoner" But there is
another sound in that prison. 1t is the
song of joy and gladness What a
place to sing in! The music comes
winding through the corridors of the
prison, and in all the dark wards the
whisper is heard: whats that? What's
that?"
1t is the song of Paul and Silas. They
cannot sleep. They have been whipped.
very badly whipped. The long gashes
on their backs are bleeding yet. They
lie fat on the cold ground, their feet
fast in wooden sockets, and of course
they cannot sleep. But they can sing.
Jailer, what are you doing with these
people? Why have they been put in
here? o, they have been trying to
make the world better. Is that all?
That is all. Pit for Joseph. A lions
cave for Daniel. A blazing furnace for
Shadrach. Clubs for John Wesley. An
anathema for Philip Melancthon. A
dungeon for Paul of Silas.
But while we are standing in the
gloom of the Philippian dungeon, and
we hear the mingling voices OF sob and
groan and blasphemy and hallelujah
suddenly an earthquake! The iror
bars of the prison twist, the pillars
crack off, the solid masonry begins tx
heave, and all the doors swing open
The jailer, feeling himself responsible
for these prisoners, and believing, IL
his pagan ignorance, suicide to be hon
orable-since Brutus killed himself
and Cato killed himself, and Cassiu
killed himself-puts his sword to hi
own heart, proposing with one stronl
keen thrust to put an end to his excite
ment and agitation. But Paul erie
out: stop! Stop Do thyself n
harm. We are all here"
Then I see the jailer running througl
the dust and amid the ruin of tina
prison, and l see him throwing himsel
down at the feet of those prisoners
crying out: "What shall do? Wha
shall ! do?" Did Paul answer "Ge
out of this place before there is anothe
earthquake; put handouts and hopple
on these other prisoners lest they &c
away?" No word of that kind. III
compact, thrilling, tremendous answer
answer memorable all through cart
and Heaven, was: believe on tn
Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt b
saved"
Well, we have all read of the eartl
quake in Lisbon, in Lima, in Aleppc
and in Caracas; but we live in a lat
tude where in AL our memory theI
has not been one severe volcanic di
turbance. And yet we have seen fift
earthquakes. Here is man who hf
been building up large fortune. Fl
bid on the money market was felt
all the cities. He thinks he has gC
beyond all annoying rivalries in trad
and he says to himself: "Now l am fire
and safe from all possible perturb
. tion." But in 1857 or in 1873 a nations
panic strikes the foundation of tt
commercial world, and crash goes a
that magnificent business establis
ment. Here is man who has built l
a very beautiful home. His daughte
have Just come home from the semin
: ries with diplomas of graduation. Ii
sons have started in life honest, tel
perate and pure. When the eveniI
: lights are struck there is happy al
/ unbroken family circle. But there h
been an accident down at Long Branc
The young man ventured too far out
the surf. The telegraph hurled Il
terror up to the city. An earthqual
struck under the foundation of tn
: beautiful home.
The piano closed; the curtai
I dropped; the laughter hushed. Cras
| 20 all those domestic hopes and prC
pecss and expectations. So, my frienC
: we have all felt the shaking down
some great trouble, and there was
i time when we were as much excited
this man of the text, and we cried o
as he did: "What shall do? VIII
@ shall do?" The same reply that
q apostle made to him is appropriate
o us: "Believe on the Lord Jesus Chri
and thou shalt be saved"
B: There are SOME documents of so lit
e Importance that you do not care to r
. any more than your last name und
y them, or even your initials; but the
~ are some documents of so great impo
ance that you write out your full nan
- So the Saviour in some parts of t
G Bible is called Lord" And in otl
. parts of the Bible He is called "Jesu
s and in other parts of the Bible He
= called Christ" but that there mig
, be no mistake about this passage,
three names come together-'The Ii
1t Jesus Christ.
l. Now, who is this Being that J
want me to trust in and believe
Men sometimes come to me with c
= dentials and certificates Of good ch
= acter, but cannot trust them TIL
Ia some dishonesty in their looks Il