Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1894-02-23
REV. DIR. TALMAGRa
The Eminent Brooklyn DivineS Sum-
day Sermon.
Subject: The Lightning of the sea-"
TExR "He makeih a path 10 shin. m
him job xii. 30.

religion should preach from this Bible. thera
will yet be texts unexpounde1 and uner-
planned and unappreciated. What little
has been said concerning this chapter in JOB
from which my text is taken bears on the
controversy as TO what was really the lovia-
than described as disturbing the sea. What
creature 1t was / know not SOmesav II WAC
whale. Some say it was crocodile. Nv
own opinion is II was a sea monster now oy-
tinct. No creature now floating in Nediter.
ranean or Atlantic waters corresponds to
Jobs description.
What most interests me is that as il moved
on through the deep it left the waters flash.
ing and respondent. I'm the words OF the
text, "IIe maketh a path to shine after
him. What was that illumined PATH II
was phosphOrcsccnce. You find It in tho
wake OF a ship in the night, especially after
rough weather. Phosphoresccnce is the
lightning Of the sea. That this figure Of
speech Is correct in describing its appear
nnco | am certified by an incident. After
crossing the Atlantic the first time and
writing from Basic, Switzerland. to an Amer
lean magazine an account OF my voyage in
which nothing more fascinated me than the
phosphorescence in the ships wake I called
1t the lightning OF the sea. Returning tony
hotel, found a book of John Ruskin. and
the first sentence my eyes fell upon was his
description Of phosphorescence. in which he
called 1t ''the lightning OF the sea-"
Down 70 the postofilce ] fastened TO get
the manuscript, and with great labor and
some expense got possession Of the maga-
zine article and put quotation marks aroun1
that one sentence. although it was as orig
inal with me as with John Ruskin. l sup
pose that nine-tenths Of you living so near
the seacoast have watched this marine ap-
pearance called phosph orescence, and I hops
that the other one-tenth may some day be so
hdppy rs to witness II. II IS the waves OF tho
sea diamonded it is the in0orescence Of the
pillows the waves o. the sea crimsoned as
was the deep after the sen fight OF LepantO A.;
the waves OF tho son on fire.
There are times when from horizon to
horizon the entire ocean seems i'm confag-
ration with this strange splendor as it
changes every moment to tanner or moro
dazzling color on all sides OF you. You sit
looking over the taffrail OF the yacht or
ocean steamer. watching AMI waiting 10 see
what new thing the Col OF beauty will do
with the Atlantic. It is the ocean in trans
hguration il is the marine world casting its
garments OF glory in the pathway OF the
Almighty rs He walks the deep Il Is an in
verted armament with all its stars gone
down with il. No picture can present It. for
photographers camera cannot be success
fully trained TO catch it, and before it tho
hand ofthe painter drops It's pencil, over
awcd and powerless.
This phosphorcsccncc is the appearance
OF myriads OF the animal kingdom rising
falling playing. flashing living. dying
These luminous animalcules for nearly $50
years have t"en the study OF n1turalsts and
the fascination and sOlcmn'zltiOl Of all who
have brain enough TO think. Now, God.
who puts i'm His Bible nothing trivial or use
less calls the attention OF JOB. the greatest
scientist Of his day. to this phosphores.ence,
and as the levathan OF the deep sweeps past
points out the fact that "he maketh path
10 shine after him.
Is that trua Of MS now. AMI viii il be true
OF us when we have conc} viii there be
subsequent light o. darkness? viii there be
trial OF gloom or zoo ! cheor2 Can any one
between now and the next 100 years say OF
Us truthfuily rs the text Saws OF the leyiathsn
nj the deep. He maSeth % path 10 shine
after HIM For We are moving Oh. While
we live in the same house. and transact bust
ness in the same store an | write on the slme
table. and chsel in the same SIN Ito. AMI
thrash in the same barn. and worship in the
same church. W. are In motion AMI ar in
many respects moving 90. AN we are not
whore we were ten years ago. nor whore W.
Will he ten years henr, Moving on
Look at the family rscori. or the aim7nq",
~ into the mirror. AMI soe 10 any one OF YOU
Is where you were. Al in motion. Other
foot may trip AMI stumble AMI halt. bat tho
feet Of not ono moment for tine last sixty con-
tur.c. has tripod or stumble or h1ltel
Moving on Society moving ou the wJrld
moving on Heaven moving on The uni-
verse moving on Time moving on Eter-
nifty moving on Therefore D. b. a5sIri %
.hink that We ourselves can stop. as So mus
move with all the rest. Are vs. Ike the crea-
ture Of the text, making orr path 90 shin3
after usey II may be 70 peculiar question,
Tut my text suggests il.
/ What influence will We leave in this worl /
after we have gonothrouyht? "None, an
swer hundreds Of voices I've are not ono Of
,ae immOrals. Fifty years after We ar3 out
OF the world il will be- as though wsnaver in
habited il. You are wrong in saying that.
pass down through this au ijca'o AMI mp
through these galleries. AMI ! am looking for
some one whom cannot find.
+ am looking for ono who win nav, no in
fuanee in this world 100 years from now.
But have found the man who has the least
influence AMI inquire into his history, AMI
find that by Us or no be decided some
ones eternity. In tims %, tenpil'i0l he gave
m affirmative OF negative % some tempt1-
ton which another, hearing o., was indu,s
TO decide in the same way
Clear on the other side o. tho novt million
years may be the first YOU hear Of the lon,
reaching influence OF that yes or no, but
hear o. it YOU will. VIII that father MAKE a
path 10 shine after him, Will that mother
make path 10 shine after herr You will D.
walking along these streets or along that
country road 200 years from now in tha
character Of your desean1ants. They will
be affected by your courage or your COW
Rriice, your purity or your deprlvity, your
holiness or your sin. You will make tho
Path TO shine after you or blacSen after YOU.
Why should they point out TO rs on soma
mountain two rivulets. one OF which pass,
down into the rivers which pour ont into tho
Pacific Ocean, an ! the other rivu,et flOWn1
down into the rivers which pass out into On.
I Atlantic Ocean Every man. every woman
stands al point where wor Is Utiere J, NJ
deeds done, or prayers offered, decide opp0
site destines AMI opposite eternities. w.
see a man planting a tree and treading sO@
on either side % it, and watering II in dry
weather. and taking a great care in its en-!
ture, and he never plucks any fruits from it.
bOugh. But his children will. We ara al
planting trees that will yield fruit hundred
OF years after we are dead-orchards OF gol
den fruit or groves Of deadly upas.
! I am so fascinlte1 with the phosphor
escence in the trlcS o a ship that / hav.
sometimes watched for a long while and hly.
seen nothing on the face OF the deep bu
blackness The mouth o.! wdtery chasm
that looked like gaping jaws OF he'll. Not Z
spark as big rs a FREELY; not a white scrOi
OF surf not a taper 10 illuminlte the mighty
sepulchers % dead ships darkness 1900 feet
deep, and more thousands OF feet long an
wide. Tha. is the Kind OF wake TINT In
man leaves behind him rs he plows through
the ocean Of this life toward the vaster Oceai
OF the great future.
Now, suppose "a man seated in q cOrne
grocery or business Office among clerks give
himself to jolly skepilcism. He laughs a
the Bible, makes sport OF the miracles
speaks OF perlition in jokes AMI laughs a
revivals rs a frOlic, AMI at the passage OF
funeral procession, which always solemnizc
sensible people says. Boys, lets take
drink" There is in that group youn
man who is making great struggle agains
temptation and prays night an morning an
reads his Bible ana is assin; Col for bel
day | y day. But that gu1aw against Chris
tianity makes him lose hl' grip OF sacre
things. and he gives up Sabbath an chure
and morals and goes from bad 10 worse. ii
he falls under designations. dies In a laz1
house AMI is buried in the potters fell.
Another young man who heard that ioll
skepticism made mp his mind that ut make
no difference what we do or say. for W. wi
all come out at last at the right place. an
began as a consequences 10 purloin som
money that came into his hanls for other
he applied to his own uses. thinkin, per
hans ho would rnai-o IL cf~tf.hf bo