News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1895-08-08
JONAH'S PERVERSITY
MORAL LESSONS OF THE MEMORABLE
JOURNEY TO TARSHISH.


Of the year, when large portion of the
community is journeying either by land
or sea, Rev. DR.. Talmage, who is still
absent ON his midsummer preaching and
lecturing tour, has chosen as the subject
of his sermon for today, "Man Over
board the text being Jonah i, 6: $50
the shipmaster came to him and said
unto him: What meanest thou, o sleep
er? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be
that God will think upon us, that we
perish not. -
God told Jonah to go to Nineveh on
an unpleasant errand. He would not go.
He thought to get away from his duty
by putting to sea. With pack under his
arm find him ON his way to Joppa,
seaport. He goes down among the ship
ping and says to the men lying around
on the docks, (Which of these vessels
sails today?" The sailors answer, "Yon-
der is vessel going to Tarshish Think
if you hurry you may get on board her. "
Jonah steps on board the rough craft,
asks how much the fare is, and pays it.
Anchor is weighed, sails are hoisted,
and the rigging begins to rattle in the
strong breeze of the Mediterranean.
Joppa is an exposed harbor, and it does
not take long for the vessel to get on the
broad sea. The sailors like what they
call spanking breeze" apd the
plunge of the vessel from the crest of a
tall wave is exhilarating to those at
home on the deep. But the strong breeze
becomes gale, the gale hurricane.
The affrighted passengers ask the cap
tain if he ever saw anything like this
before
ooh, yes" he says. "This is moth
ing" Mariners are slow to admit dan
ger to landsmen. But after awhile
crash goes the mast, and the vessel
pitches SO far "abeams end" there is q
fear she will not be righted. The cap
tain answers few questions, and orders
the throwing out of boxes and bundles
and of SO much of the cargo as they can
get at The captain at last confesses
there is but little hope and tells the
passengers that they had better go to
praying 1t is seldom that a sea captain
is an atheist. He knows that there is q
God, for he has seen him at every point
of latitude between Sandy Hook and
Queenstown. Captain Moody, command
ing the Cuba of the Cunard line, at Sun
day service led the music and sang like
q Methodist. The captain of this Medi-
terranean craft, having set the passen-
gers to praying, goes around examining
the vessel at every point. He descends
into the cabin to see whether in the
strong wrestling Of the waves the vessel
had sprung aleak and he finds Jonah
asleep. Jonah had had wearisome
tramp and had spent many sleepless
nights about questions Of duty, and he
is so sound asleep that all the thunder
of the storm and the screaming Of the
captain lays hold of him and begins to
shake him out of his unconsciousness
with the cry: "Dont you see that we
are all going to the bottom? Wake up
and go to praying if you have any God
to go to. What meanest thou, o sleep
er? Arise, call upon thy God, if so be
that God will think upon us, that we
perish not" The rest of the story will
not rehearse, for you know it we'll. TIC
appease the sea they threw Jonah over
board.
Learn that the devil takes mans
money and then sets him down in poor
landing place. The Bible says he pait
his fare to Tarshish. But see him gel
out The sailors bring him to the side
of the ship, lift him over the guards ant
let him drop with a loud splash into the
waves. He paid his fare all the way t.
Tarshish, but did not get the worth 0.
his money. Neither does any one whc
turns his back ON his duty and does tina
which is not right
The Rewards of Dissipation.
There is young man who during tn,
past year has spent a large part of hi
salary in carousal. What has he gained
by it? A soiled reputation, half starry
ed purse, dissipated look, a petulan
temper, disturbed conscience. TIL
manacles of one or two bad habits tina
are pressing tighter and tighter will
keep on until they wear to the bone
Y on paid your fare to Tarshish but yol
have been set down in the midst of
sea Of disquietude and perplexity.
One hundred dollars for Sunday hors
hire
One hundred dollars for wine suppers
One hundred dollars for cigars
One hundred dollars for frolics tina
shall be nameless
Making four hundred dollars for hi
damnation
Instead of being in Tarshish now h
is in the middle Of the Mediterranean.
Here is literary man tired of tn
faith of his fathers who resolves I
launch out into what is called freethinb
ing He buys Theodore Parker's work
for $12, Remains Life of Christ" fo
$1.50, Andrew Jackson Davis work
for $50. Goes to hear infidels talk at tn
clubs and to see spiritualism at the tabl
rapping. Talks glibly of David, tn
psalmist as an old libertine, of Paul q
wild enthusiast and of Christ as q dc
cent kind Of q man, little weak j
some respects, but almost as good q
himself. Talks smilingly Of Sunday q
a good day to put little extra blackin
on ones boots and of Christians as, fc
the most part, hypocrites and Of eternit
as "the great to be, the everlastin
now" or "the infinite what is it.
Some day he gets his feet very wet an
finds himself that night chilly; til