Democratic messenger., 1894-08-04
WISHED HEWASDEAD
AND REV. DR.. TALMaGE DOES NOT
BLAME JOB FOR IT.

oLNmG SOo run ".
In Addition to Doiis, Bereavement, BanIs-
ruptcy and n Fool of n Wife. lie Had n
Raging Toothache-The Narrow Escapes
of Life.
BROOKLYN. July a9-Rev. DIR. Tai.
mage has selected rs the subject for his
sermon for today through Hhe press
Marrow Escapes. the text being tax
en- from job xix, 90. II am escaped
with the skin Of my teeth. -
Job had il hard. What with boils and
bereavements and bankruptcy and fool
Of wife he wished he was dead, and
do not blame him. His flesh was gone.
and his bones were dry. His teeth vast
ed away until nothing but the enamel
seemed left. He cries ont, II am escap-
ed with the skin of my teeth.
There has been some difference of
opinion about this passage. st. Jerome
and Schultens and Drs. Good and Poole
and Barnes have all tried their forceps
ON Jobs teeth. You deny my interpre-
tation and say, What did job know
about the enamel Of the teeth" He knew
everything about il. Dental surgery is
almost as old as the earth. The num-
mics Of Egypt. thousands of years old,
are found today with gold filling in
their teeth. Ovid and Horace and Solo,
mon and Moses wrote about these i'm
portant factors Of the body. To other
provoking complaints job. think. has
added m exasperating toothache, and
putting his hand against the infiamed
face he says. II am escaped with the
skin Of my teeth. "
A very narrow escape, you say. for
Jobs body and soul. but there are
thousands Of men who make just as
narrow escape for their soul. There was
a time when the partition between
them and ruin was no thicker than
tooth's enamel; but, as Job finally es-
capped, so have they. Thank Godi
Thank Godi
with Gods Help.
Paul expresses the same idea by q
different figure when he says that some
people are saved as by fire" A" A vessel
at sea is in flames You 60 to the stern
Of the vessel The boats have showed
Of. The flames advance. You can en-
dure the heat no longer OH your face.
You slide down ON the side Of the ves-
sci and hold OH with your fingers until
the forked tongue of the fire begins to
lick the back Of your hand. aud you feel
that you must fall. when one of the
lifeboats comes back. and the passen-
gers say they think they have room for
one more. The boat swings under you;
you drop into il; You are saved. So
some men are pursued by temptation
until they are partially consumed, but
after all get off-''sayed as by fire. J."
But like the figure of Job little bet
ter than that Of Paul, because the pull
pit has not worn it out. and want to
show you, il God will help. that some
men make narrow escape for their
souls and are saved as with the skin
Of their teeth"
1t is as easy for some people to look
TO the cross rs for you to look to this
pulpit Mild. gentle. tractable. loving,
you expect them to become Christians
You go over to the store and say,
''Grandon joined the church yesterday"
Your business comrades say: THAT is
Just what might have been expected.
He always was of that turn of mind
In youth this person whom describe
was always good. He never broke
things. He never laughed when it was
improper to laugh. At he could sit an
hour In church. perfectly quiet. looking
.ase 80. sl.o rssx l,.x 80 &leI Iaf$
but straight into the eyes of the minis
ter. as though he understood the whole
discussion about the eternal DEGREES.
He never upset things nor lost them.
He fioated into the kingdom Of God so
gradually that it is uncertain Just when
the matter was decided.
To the Unconverted.
Here is another one. who started in
life with an uncontrollable spirit. He
kept the nursery in an uproar. His
mother found him walking ON the edge
Of the house roof TO see il no could bal
ance himself. There was no horse bc
dared not ride, no tree he could not
climb. His boyhood was long series
Of predicaments; his manhood was reck.
less; his midlife very wayward. But
now he Is converted, and you go over to
the store and say. "Arkwright Joined
the church yesterday" Your friends
say: ut is not possiblei You must be
joking" You say: mo: / tell you the
truth. He joined the church. Then
they reply. There is hope for any of
MS IL old Arkwright has become Chris
tian."
In other words. we all admit that IL
Is more difficult for some men to accept
the gospel than for others
may be addressing some who have
cut loose from churches and Bibles and
Sundays and who have at present no
intention Of becoming Christians them
selves. but just to see what is going ON.
And yet you may find yourself escaping
before you hear the end, as with the
skin Of your teeth. do not expect to
waste this hour. have seen boats go
OF from Cape May or Long Branch and
drop their nets and after awhile como
ashore pulling in the nets without hav-
ing caught a single fish. II was not q
good day, or they had not the right
kind OF net. But we expect no such
excursion today. The water is full Of
fish: the wind il in the right direction;
the gospel net is strong. o thou who
didst help Simon and Andrew to fish.
show us today how to cast the net on
the right side Of the ship!
A Few Questions.
Some Of you. in coming to God, will
have TO run against skeptical notions.
1t is useless for people to say sharp and
cutting things to those who reject the
Christian religion. / cannot say such
things By what process Of temptation
or trial or betrayal you have come to
your present state know not. There
are two gates TO your nature-the gate
Of the head and the gate Of the heart.
The gate Of your head is locked with
bolts and bars that an archangel could.