The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1895-04-26
REV. DIR. TALMAGE
THE NOTED DIvISEs SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subjects ''The Gospel ship"

thou and thy sons and lhy wife aud thy sons
wives with thee. '-denosIs VI, i6
u this day Of the steamships Lucania and
Majestic and tho Paris ] win show you ship
that IN some respects eelipssd them all, and
which sailed out, an ocean underneath and
another ocean falling upon Il. Inndol tolen-
lists ask us t0 believe that IN the formation
Of the earth there have been a half dozen de-
luges, and yet they are not willing 90 be-
lieve the Bible story OF one deluge.
Ia what way the catnstr0phscam we know
not-whother by the stroke OF q comet. or by
flashes OF lightning, changing the air into
water, or by O stroke OF the hand Of God. ike
the stroke Of the Ak between the horns ftho
OK, the earth staggered. 10 meet the catas-
hophe God ordered D great ship built lt
was 20 be without PROV, Tor q was 10 sail %
no shore. ~ was 10 be without helm, FOR no
human hand should guide H. Il was a vast
structure, probably as large as two or three
modorn steamers. IL was the Great Eastern
OF olden time go 1872
The ship Is done. Tho door Is open. The
lizards crawl IN. The cattle walk In. The
grasshoppcr hop in. The birds fy GA. Tho
invitation goes forth TO koaF "Come thou
and all thy house into the ark" Just one
human family embark on the strange voy-
age, and hear the door slam shut great
storm sweeps along tho hills and bends
the cedars until all the branches snap IN the
gale. There Is n moan I'm the wind like
unto the moan OF n dying world. Tho
blaclness Of the heavens Is shattered by
the nare OF lightnings, that look down into
the waters and throw a ghastlness on the
face OF themOuntains. How strange &C l0Olsl
How suuOcatlng the air seemsl The big
drops Of rain begin 20 plash upon the up.
turned faces Of those who are watching the
tempest. crash 20 the rocks in CONFUSION.
Boom! 60 the bursting heavens. TheinhRbl-
tants OF the earth, instead Of flying 30 house
top and mountain top, as men have fancied,
sit down Ia dumb, white horror 10 die. For
when God grinds mountains TO pieces and
lets the ocean slip its cable There Is no place
for men TO fly 10. See the ark pitch and tum.
bio In the surf, while from its windows the
passengers look out upon the shipwreok OF .
race and the carcasses Of dead world. Woe
to the mountains. Woe to the seal
am no alarmist. When on the Goth OF
September, after the wind has for three DAYS
been blowing from the northeast, you proph-
esy thatthe equinOctial storm is coming, you
simply state q fact not to be disputed.
Neither am an alarmist when say that
storm Is coming, compared with which N0ah's
deluge was but anApril shower, and that It Is
wisest and safest for you and for me to get
safely housed for eternity. The invitation
that went forth to Noah sounds in our ears,
"Come thou and all thy house into the ark. 4"
Well, how did Noah and his family como
into the ark2 Did they climb in at the win
dow, or come down the roof2 No; they went
through the door. And Just so, II we get in
to the ark OF Gods mercy, it will be through
Christ the door. The entrance to the ark Of
old must have been very large entrance.
we know that 1t was from the fact that there
were monster animals in the earlier ages.
and in order to get them into the ark, two
and two, according to the Bible statement,
the door must have been very wide and very
high. So the door into the mercy Of God is a
large door. We 60 in, not two and two, but
by hundreds, and by thousands and by mill
ions. Yea, all the Nations OF the earth may
go in, 10, 900, 900 abreast
The door Of the ancient ark was In the
side. So now it is through the side Of Christ
the pierced side, the wide open side, the
heart side-that we enter. Aha, the Roman
soldier, thrusting his spear into the Saviour
side, expected only to let the blood out. but
he opened the way to let all the world in
Oh, what broad gospel 10 preach If a
man Is about to give an entertainment, he
issues 200 or 800 invitations, carefully put up
and directed to the particular persons whom
| he wishes to entertain. But God, our Father
] AAAtAAIo a beAAH0Nb anu bOEb DuL 70 Tic from
door OF heaven and stretches out His hands
over land and sea, and with voice that
! penetrates the Hindoo Jungle, and the Green
land ice castle, and Brazilian grove, and Eng.
fish factory and American home, cries out
! "Come, for all things are now readym II
| is a wide door The old cross has been
taken apart, and its two pieces are stood uI
for the doorposts, so far apart that all the
world can come in. Kings scatter treasures
on days OF great rejoicing. So Christ, oul
King, comes and scatters the jewels ofheaven
Rowland Hill said that he hoped to ge
into heaven through the crevices Of The
door. But he was not obliged thus to 90 in
After having preached the gospel in Surrey
Chapel. going up toward heaven, the gate
keeper cried, Lift up your heads, We ever
lasting gates, and let this man come in!'
The dying thief went in. Richard Baxter
and Robert Newton went in. Europe, Asia
Africa, North and South America may We
go through this wide door without crowd
ing. Hol every one-all conditions, al
ranks, all people! Luther said that thi
truth was worth. carrying on ones knee
from Rome to Jerusalem, but Think it wortl
carrying all around the globe and all arount
the heavens, that "God so loved the Worlt
that He gave His only begotten Son, tina
whosoeyer believeth In Him should no
perish, but have everlasting life " WhosoeYe
will, let him come through the large door
Archimedes wanted fulcrum on which t.
place his lever, and then he said he coul
move une WOrld. calvary IS the fulcrum
and the cross Of Christ is the lever. and b
that power all Nations shall yet be lifted.
Further. it is door that swings bot
ways. l DO not know whether the door {
the ancient ark was lifted or rolled o
hinges, but this door Of Christ opens bot
ways. 1t swings out toward all our woes;
swings in toward the raptures of heaven.
swings in to let US in; it swings out to let OF
mtnistering ones comes out. All are one j
Christ Christians on earth ana saints i
heaven.
One army Of the living God,
At His command we bow.
Part of the host have crossed the food,
And part are crossing now.
Swing in, blessed door, until all IL
earth shall go in and live. Swing out unit
) all the heavens come forth to celebrate IL
, victory.
But further. il is n door with fastening