Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1894-03-29
TALMAGE IN THE SOUTH.
&c breaches to a Mobils Audience
on "Unappreciated Services"
The Lesson Drawn from the story OF
Paurs Escape frcm His Enemies in
a Basket There Are No Insig-
nificances in Our Lives.

at Mobile, Ala, on the subject of I'm
appreciated Services the text being
taken from H. Corinthians, IL, IS:
Through window in basket was
let down by the wall" The eloquent
divine spoke as follows;
Damascus is a city Of white and glis-
tening architecture, sometimes called
the eye of the East sometimes
called "a pearl surrounded by emer-
aids, " at one time distinguished for
swords Of the best material called Da-
mascus blades, and upholstery of rich
est fabric called damasks. A horse
mau by the name of Paul, riding to-
ward this city, had been thrown from
the saddle The horse had dropped
under a flash from the sky, which at
tae same time was so bright it blinded
tae rider for many days. and | think SO
permanently injured his eyesight that
this defect Of vision became the thorn
ID the flesh he afterward speaks Of
He started for Damascus to butcher
Christians but after that hard fall
from his horse be was changed man
and preached Christ in Damascus un-
ttt tl4C 1ttA was otiAtAcu 70 ALH AOuuud-
tons.
The mayor gives authority for his ar
rest and the popular CRY is xiii him
Kill him' The city is surrounded by
high wall and the gates are watched
By the police lest the Cicilian preacher
escape. Many of the houses are built
On the wall, and their balconies p-o-
.laar ,,va,. l,,r..,.,sl ., 49,.
the gardens outside. 1t was customary
to lower baskets out of these balconies
and pull up fruits and flowers from the
gardens. To this day visitors at the
monastery Of Mount Sinai are lifted
and let down in baskets. Detective
provided around from house to house
looking for Paul but his friends hid
him now in one place, now in another.
He is no coward, as fifty incidents in
his life demonstrate. But he feels his
work is not done yet, and SO he evades
assassination. rs that preacher here?'
she foaming mob shout at one house
door. Is that fanatic here?" the po-
lice shout at another house door
Sometimes ON the street ineognito he
passes through a crowd of clenehed fists.
and sometimes he seeretes himself on
the housetop. At last the infatuated
populace get ON sure track of him.
They have positive evidence that he is
in the house of one of the Christians
the balcony of whose home reaches
over the wall Here he is! Here he
isr' The vociferation and blasphemy
and bowling of the pursuers are at the
front door They break in. Fetch out
the gospelizer and let US hang his head
on the city gate. Where is hep" The
emergency was terrible Providential-
~ there was good stout basket in the
house Paul's friends fasten a rope
70 the basket. Paul steps into it. The
basket is lifted TO the edge of the bal
eony on the wall, and then while |
Paul holds ON to the rope with both |
hands, his friends lower away. care
fully and cautiously, slowly but surely, |
further down and further down. until |
the basket strikes the earth, and the |
apostle steps out and afoot and alone |
starts on that famous missionary tour, |
the story of which has astonished earth
and heaven. Appropriate entry in !
Paul diary of travels: Through a |
window 10 basket was let down by |
the wall
Observe first. on what a slender ten |
ARE great results hang. The ropemalSer |
Waa twisted that cord fastened to that !
lowering basket never knew how much |
would depend on the strength of it, |
Hdw if it had been broken and the
apostles life had been dashed out? |
What would have become Of the Chris |
tan church? All that magnificent mis-
sionary work in Pamphylia, Capadocia
dalatia. Macedonia, would never have
been accomplished. All his writings |
that make up so indispensable and en-
chanting part of the New Testament |
would not have been written. The
story Of resurrection would never have
been 50 gloriously told as he told it.
That example of heroic and triumph
ant endurance at Philippi. in the Medi-
terranean euroclydon, under hagella-
tlon. and at his beheading would not
have Aindled the courage of ten thou
sand martyrdoms. But the rope hold
ING that basket. how much depended
on i, So again and again great re-
suits have hung on what seemed slen-
Ger circumstances.
Did ever ship of many thousand tons
crossing the sea have such important
passenger as had once boat Of leaves,
rom tatfrail to stern only three or four
ieet. the vessel made waterproof by a
SCAT Of bitumen and floating on the
Vile with the infant lawgiver of the
Iews on board? What if some croco-
Ollie should crunch it? What if some of
The cattle wading in for drink should
sink it? Vessels of war sometimes car
rr forty guns looking through the port
holes ready to open battle But that
tiny craft ON the Nile seems to be
armed with all the guns of thunder
that bombarded Sinai at the law-giv-
ing. On how fragile craft sailed how
much Of historical Importance!
Tie rs. rsf,uac-a a Enxv0rth ENGLAND