Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1895-04-01
THE STORY OF A SHIP
IT HAD NO PROV OR SAIL OR STEAM
OR HELM.

pei Invitation.
NEW YORK, March 31.-AIthougl
his oratory is at times magnetic ant
eloquent there is one theme will
which, whenever he makes it til.
groundwork of his sermon, Dr. Talmagt
never fails to communicate to his audi
tors the enthusiasm he himself feels
That theme is the gospel Invitation,
and when this afternoon he took for his
subject 1.-The Gospel Ship the great
audience that crowded the Academy
was in full sympathy. The text selected
was Genesis vi, IS, .fThou shalt come
into the ark, thou and thy sons and thy
wife and thy sons wives with thee -
In this day of the steamships Lucania
and Majestic and the Paris I will show
you ship that in some respects eclipsed
them all, and which sailed out, an ocean
underneath and another ocean falling
upon it. Infidel scientists ask us to be-
lieye that in the formation of the earth
there have been a half DOZEN deluges,
and yet they are not willing % believe
the Bible story of one deluge
In what way the catastrophe came we
know not-whether by the stroke of
comet or by flashes of lightning, chang
ing the air into water, or by q stroke Of
the hand of God, like the stroke of the
Ak between the horns Of the OK, the
earth staggered To meet the catas-
trophe God ordered great ship built
1t was to be without PROV, for it was to
sail to no shore. 1t was to be without
I'll, Jo
it. 1t was a vast structure, probably as
large as two or three modern steamers.
It was the Great Eastern of oIden time.
The ship is DONE The door is open.
The lizards crawl i'll. The cattle walk
in The grasshoppers hop in. The birds
fly in. The invitation goes forth to
Noah, Come thou and all thy house
into the ark. - Just one human family
embark on the strange voyage, and I
hear the door slam shut. A great storm
sweeps along the hills and bends the
cedars until all the branches snap in the
gale. There is a moan in the wind like
unto the moan of dying world The
blackness of the heavens is shattered by
the flare of the ightnings, that look
down into the waters and throw a
ghastliness on the face Of the noun
tains. How strange it looks! How suf-
locating the air seems The big drops
Of rain begin to plash upon the upturned
faces of those who are watching the
tempest. Crash! go the rocks in con-
Tulsion. Boom! go the bursting heav-
ms. The inhabitants of the earth, in
tead of flying to house top and noun
ain top, as men have fancied, sit down
II dumb, white horror to die. For when
sod grinds mountains to pieces and lets
he ocean slip it's cable there is no place
,or men to fly to- See the ark pitch and
tumble in the surf, while from its win
lows the passengers look out upon the
hipWreck of a race and the carcasses
If dead world. Woe to the noun
ainsl Woe to the sea!
a Terrible Storm.
I am no alarmist When on the 20tI;
# September, after the wind has for
hree days been blowing from the north
.ast, you prophesy that the equinoctial
torn is coming, you simply state a
act not to be disputed. Neither am I an
llarmist when say that storm is COM
ng, compared with which Noah's del
lge was but an April shower. and that
t is wisest and safest for you and for
ne to get safely housed for eternity.
The invitation that went forth to Noah
ounds in our ears, Come thou and all
by house into the ark. +"
Well, how did Noah and his family
ONE into the ark? Did they climb in
t the window, or come down the roof?
10; they went through the door. And
ust SO, if we get into the ark of Gods
mercy, it will be through Christ, the
oor The entrance to the ark of old
must have been a very large entrance.
We know that it was from the fact that
here were monster animals in the
arIier ages, and in order to get them
nto the ark, two and two, according to
he Bible statement, the door must have
cen very wide and very high. So the
DOR into the mercy of God is large
oor We go in, not two and two, but
y hundreds, and by thousands and by
billions. Yea, all the nations of the
arth may go in, 10, 900, 900 abreast!
The door Of the ancient ark was in
he side. So now it is through the side
f Christ-the pierced side, the wide
pen side, the heart side-that we en-
en- Aha, the Roman soldier, thrusting
is spear into the Saviour's side, ex-
,ected only TO let the blood out, but he
pened the way to let all the world inl
)h, what broad gospel to preach! If
man is about to give an entertain
aent, he issues 200 or 800 invitations,
arefully put up and directed to the
articular persons whom he wishes to
ntertain. But God, our father, makes
banquet and goes out to the front
DOR of heaven and stretches out his
lands over land and sea, and with a
dice that Penetrates the Hindoo jun
lie, and the Greenland ice castle, and |
Brazilian grove, and English factory,
nd American home, cries out, Come,