Democratic messenger. [volume] (Snow Hill, Md.) 1869-1973, 1895-04-06
THE STORY OF A SHIP
" HAD NO PROV OR SAIL OR STEAM
OR HELM.

Hut Rev. DIR. Taimage Says It EciIpsed
All Modern steamships-An Eloquent
Sermon by the Great Divine on the Cos
pei Invitation.
NEW YORK, March 3l.-Although
his oratory is at times magnetic and
eloquent there is one theme with
which, whenever he makes it the
groundwork of his sermon, DIR. Talmage
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 THE Gospel Ship" the great
audience that crowded the Academy
was in full sympathy The text selected
was Genesis vi, rs, Thou 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
aud Majestic and the Paris i will show
you a 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-
lieve that in the formation Of the earth
there have been a half dozen deluges.
and yet they are not willing TO believe
the Bible story Of one deluge
In what way the catastrophe came we
know not-whether by the stroke Of a
comet. or by flashes Of lightning, chang
ing the air into water. or by stroke Of
the hand of God. like the stroke of the
f.aS~w l.a Arrra Of kA n
earth staggered To meet the catas-
trophe God ordered a great ship built
It was TO be without prov, for it was TO
sail TO no shore Il was TO be without
helm, for no human hand should guide
it, It was vast structure. probably rs
large as two or three modern steamers
IL was the Great Eastern Of olden time
The ship is done Tho door is open.
The lizards crawl in. 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
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 moan in the wind like
unto the moan Of dying world The
blackness of the heavens is shattered by
the fare of the lightnings. that look
down into the waters and throw n
ghastliness on the face Of the noun
tains. How strange il looksi How suf-
locating the air seemsl The big drops
of rain begin TO plash upon the upturned
faces of those who are watching the
tempest. Crashi go the rocks in con-
vulsion. Boomi go the bursting heav-
ems The inhabitants Of the earth, in
stead Of flying to house top and noun
tain top. as men have fancied, sit down
in dumb, white horror to die For when
God grinds mountains TO pieces and lets
the ocean slip its cable there is no place
for men to fly to- See the ark pitch and
tumble in the surf. while from its win
dows the passengers look out upon the
shipwreck Of race and the carcasses
Of a dead world Woe 20 the noun
tainsi Woe to the seal
A Terrible Storm.
am no alarmist When on the goth
Of September, after the wind has for
three days been blowing from the north
east. you prophecy that the equinoctial
storm is coming, you simply state
fact not TO DO disputed. Neither am an
alarmist when say that storm is COM
ing, compared with which Noah's del
uge was but an April 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. 3"
Well, how did Noah and his family
come into the ark? Did they climb in
at the window, or come down the roof?
No; they went through the door. And
just so. il we get into the ark Of Gods
mercy. il will be through Christ, the
door, The entrance to the ark Of old
must have been very large entrance
We know that il 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 large
door. We go in. not two and two, but
by hundreds. and by thousands and by
millions. Yea. all the nations Of the
earth may go in. 10. 900. 900 abreasti
The door of the ancient ark was in
the side So now it is through the side
Of Christ-the pierced side. the wide
oper side, the heart side-that we en-
ter. Aha. the Roman soldier. thrusting
his spear into the Saviour's side, ex-
pected only to let the blood out, but he
opened the way to let all the world inl
On. what broad gospel to preachi II
man is about to give an entertain
ment, he issues 200 or 800 invitations.
carefully put up and directed 10 the
particular persons whom he wishes to
entertain. But God, our father, makes
banquet and goes out TO the front
door Of heaven and stretches out his
hands over land and sea, and with
voice that penetrates the Hindoo jun
gle, and the Greenland ice castle, and
Brazilian grove. and English factory.
and American home. cries out. Come.
for all things are now readyF' Ii is
wide doorl The old cross has been taken
apart, and its two pieces arc stood up
for the doorposts. so far apart that all
the world can como in. Kings scatter
treasures ON days Of great rejoicing. So
Christ, our king. comes and scatters the
jewels of heaven.
Rowland Hill said that he hoped TO
get into heaven through the crevices Of
the door But he was not obliged thus TO
go in. After having preached the gospel
in Surrey chapel. going up toward heav-
en-. the gatekeeper cried. Lift up your
heads, ye everlasting gates. and let this
man come inl" The dying thief went
in. Richard Baxter and Robert Newton
went in Europe. Asia, Africa, North
and South America may yet go through
this wide door without crowding Hoi
very one-all conditions, all ranks. all
people, Luther said that this truth was
worth carrying ON ones knees from
Rome TO Jerusalem. but | think il
worth carrying all around the globe
and all around the heavens. that God
20 loved the world that he gave his only
begotten Son. that whatsoever believeth
i'm him should not perish, but have ev-
erlastiDg life. " whatsoever will. let him
come through the large door. Archi-
medes wanted a fulcrum ON which 70
place his lever, and then he said no could