The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1894-10-26
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
A Timely Lesson Drawn FROM the
Disobedience of Jonah.
To-Day. ms Then, There Are Those Who
Win Not Listen to Divine Injunc-
tions, and Are Swallowed Up
In the Waves of Sin.

Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage assigned the
following sermon for publication this
week. Its subject is: "The Oarsmer
Defeated" being based on the text:
The men rowed hard to bring it to the land
but they could not; wherefore they cried unto
the Lord.-Jonah l., 1914.
Navigation in the Mediterranean sea
always was perilous, especially so in
early times. Vessels were propelled
partly by sail and partly by oar. When,
by reason Of great stress of weather, it
was necessary to reef the canvas or
haul it in, then the vessel was entirely
dependent upon the oars, sometimes
twenty or thirty of them on either side
the vessel. You would not venture
outside your harbor with such craft
as my text finds Jonah sailing in; but
he had not much choice of vessels. He
was running away from the Lord; and
when man is running away from the
Lord, he has to run very fast.
God had told Jonah to go to Nineveh,
to preach about the destruction of that
city. Jonah disobeyed. That always
makes rough water, whether in the
Mediterranean, or the Atlantic, or the
Pacific, or the Caspian sea. 1t is very
hard thing to scare sailors. 1 have
seen them when the PROV of the vessel
was almost under water, and they were
walking the deck knee-deep in the
surf, and the small boats by the side
of the vessel had been crushed as small
as kindling wood, whistling as though
nothing had happened; but the Bible
says these mariners of whom speak
were frightened. That which sail
ors call "a lump of sea" had become
a binding, deafening, swapping fury.
How mad the wind can get at the wa
ter and the water can get at the wind
you do not know unless you have been
spectators. l have in my house the
piece of a sail of a ship, no larger than
the palm of my hand; that piece of
canvas was all that was left of the
largest sail of the ship Greece, that
went into the storm two hundred miles
off Newfoundland. Oh, what a night
that was! l suppose it was in some such
storm as this that Jonah was caught.
He knew that the TEMPEST was on
his account, and he asked the sailors to
throw him overheard. Sailors are gen.
erous-h hearted race, and they resolved
to make their escape, If possible. with
out resorting to such extreme meas,
ures. The sails are of no use, and SO
they lay hold on their oars / see the
long bank of shining blades on either
side the vessel. Oh! how they did pull,
the bronzed seamen. as they laid back |
into the oars. But rowing ON the sea is |
very different from rowing upon a |
river; and as the vessel hoists, the oars |
skip the wave and miss the stroke, and |
the tempest laughs to scorn the flying |
paddles. 1t is of no use, no use. There |
comes a w ave that crashes the last mast |
and sweeps the oarsmen from their
places, and tumbles everything in the |
confusion of impending shipwreck, or,
as my text has it, ''The men rowed |
hard to bring it to the land; but they |
could not; wherefore they cried unto
the Lord. "
This scene is very suggest i've to me,
md pray God l may have grace and
strength enough to represent it intelli-
gently to you. Years ago preached
subject, and / got letter from Hous-
ION, Tex, the writer saying that the
reading of that sermon in London had
ed him to God. And I received anoth-
n letter from South Australia, saying
hat the reading of that sermon in
Australia had brought several souls to
Christ. And then, thought, why not
low take another phase of the same
subject, for perhaps that God who can
'aise in power that which is sown in
weakness may now, through another
chase of the same subject, bring saliva
ion to the people who shall hear. and
aviation to the people who shall read.
Men and women, who know how to
,ray, lay hold of the Lord God Al
mighty, and wrestle for the blessing.
have to tell you that the unvailing
.fforts of these Mediterranean oarsmen
rave a counterpart in the efforts some
# us are making to bring our children
o the shore of safety. There never
we're so many temptations for young
,eople as there are are now. The lit
rary and the social influences seem to
,e against their spiritual interests.
,hrist seems to be driven almost en-
irely from the school and the pleas
lrable concourse, yet God knows
low anxious we are for children.
We eau not think of going into
heaven without them. We do not want
o leave this life while they are tossing
IN the waves of temptation and away
rom God. From which of them could
We consent to be eternally separated?
Would it be the son? Would it be the
laughter Would it be the eldest.
Would it be the YOUNGEST Would it I