Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-10-02
REV. DR.. Ta[uaGE.
The Brooklyn Divine's Sunday
Sermon.


Subject: "Rough Sailing."
TEXT: "And there were also with Him
other little ships, and there arose a great
storm Of wind.'-Mark iv., Sc. 81.
Tiberias, Galilee and Gennesaret were
three names for the same lake. 1t lay in n
scene of great luyuriance. The surrounding
hills, high, terraced. sloping, gorged, were
SO many hanging gardens of beauty. The
streams tumbled down through rocks of gray
and red limestone, ard flashing from the
hillside bounded to the sea. In the time OF
our Lord the valleys, headlands and ridges
were covered thickly with vegetation. and so
great was the variety of climate that the
palm tree of the torrid and the walnut tree
Of rigorous climate were only little way
apart. Men in vineyards and olive gardens
were gathering up the riches for the oil
press. The hills and valleys were starred
and crimsoned with flowers. from which
Christ took Histext, and the disciples learned
lessons Of patience and trust. 1t seemed as
II God had dashed a wave of beauty on all
the scene until it hung dripping from the
rocks, the hills, the oleanders. On the back
of the Lebanon range the glory ofthe earthly
scene was carried up as if to set it in range
with the hills OF heaven.
No other gem ever had so exquisite n set
ting as beautiful Gennesaret. The waters were
clear and sweet and thickly inhabited, tempt
ing innumerabe nets and affording liveli-
hood for great populations. Bethsaida, Choir
azin and Capernaum stood on the bank roar
ing with wheels of traffic and flashing with
splendid equipages, and shooting their ves-
sells across the lake. bringing merchandise
for Damascus and passing great cargoes of
wealthy product. Pleasure boats of Roman
gentlemen and fishing smacks of the coun-
try people, who had come down to cast a net
| there, passed each other with nod and shout
and welcome, or side by side swung idly at
the moorin :. Palace and luxuriant bath
and vineyard, tower and shadowy arbor,
looking off upon the calm sweet scene as this
evening shadows began TO drop, and Her.
mon. with its head covered with perpetual
| snow, in the glow of the setting sun looked
like white bearded prophet ready to ascend
| in a chariot OF fire. think we shall have a
| quiet night! Not leaf winks in the air or
ripple disturbs the surface of GenneSaret.
The shadows of the great headlands stalk
clear across the water. The voices of
| eveningtide, how drowsily they strike
the ear-the splash of the boatman's oar and
the humping OF the captured fish on the
! boats bottom, and those indescribable
sounds which fill the air at nightfall. You
| hasten up the beach of the lake a little way.
| and there YOU find an excitement az of an
| embarkation. A fotilla is pushing out from
| the western shore of the lake--not a squad
| ron with deadly armament. not a clipper to
| ply with valuable merchandise, not piratic
| vessels with graphing hook to hug to death
| whatever they could seize. but fiotilla
| laden with messengers of light and mercy
and peace. Jesus is in the front ship. His
| friends and admirers are in the small boats
| following after. Christ, by the rocking OF
the boat and the fatiSues of the preaching
exercises of the day. is induced to slumber,
! and see Him in the stern of the boat. with
| a pillow perhaps eStemporized out OF fish
| erman's coat, sound asleep. The breezes of
| the lake run their fingers through the locks of
| the wornout sleeper. and on its surface there
riseih and falleth the light ship. like a child
on the bosom Of its sleeping motheri Calm
night: Starry night. Beautiful night. Run
| up all the sails, and ply all the oars and let
the boats-the big boat and the small boats
\ go gliding over gentle Gennesaret.
| The sailors prophesy change in the
weather. Clouds begin to travel up the sky
and congregate. After awhile. even the
passengers hear the moan of the storm,
| which comes on with rapid strides and with
all the terrors of hurricane and darkness.
The boat, caught in the sudden fury .trembles
| like a deer at bay amid the wild clangor OF
the hounds. Great patches OF foam are
| flung through the air. The loosened sails,
| Tapping in the wind. crack like pistols. The
small boats poised on the white cliff of the
driven sea tremble like ocean petrels, aad
then plunge into the trough with terrific
| swoop until wave strikes them with thun-
\ der crack, and overheard go the cordage,
the tackling and the masts, and the drenched
! disciples rush into the stern of the boat and
| shout amid the hurricane, "Master, carest
Thou not that we perish?" That great per.
sonage lifted his head from the fisherman's
coat and walked out to the prov o
the vessel and looked upon the storm
| On all sides were the small boats tossing
In helplessness, and from them came
the cries of drowning men. BY
| tba Aas sh nf 1iybfpipp I fbn palnppSs nj
the uncovered brow of Jesus and the spray
B, of the sea dripping from His beard. He has
two words of command-one for the wind
the other for the sea. He looks into the tenn
pestuous heavens and He cries 'Peacel" and
ther He looks down into the nfuriate waters
and He says, ''Be stillI' The thunders beat
| a retreat The waves fall fiat on their faces.
The extinguished stars rekindle their torches.
The foam melts. The storm Is dead. Ant
| while the crew are untanghng the cordage
and the cables and baling out the water
from the hold of the ship the disciples stand
wonder struck. now gazing into the calm
sky, now gazing into the calm sea
now gazing into the calm face OF Jesus
and whispering one to another, "What man
ner of man is this. that even the winds and
the sea obey Himp''
learn, first, from this subject that wheH
you are going to take a voyage OF any kind
YOU ought to have Christ in the ship. The
fact is that those boats would all have gone
to the bottom il Christ had not been there
Now, you are about to voyage out into SOM
new enterprise-into some new business re
lation. You are going to plan some grea
matter of profit. hope it is so. II you ar
content to go along in the treadmill cours
and plan nothing new, you are not fulfllin!
your mission. What you can do by the ut
most tension of body, mind and soul thai
you are bound to do. You have no right t.
be colonel of a regiment il God calls you t
l Iox- ffpt,f 20
stoker in a steamer IL God commands you t
be admiral Of the navy. You have n
right to engineer ferryboat from river ban
to river bank II God commands you to en-
gineer Cunarder from New York to Liver
pool. But whatever enterprise you under
take and on whatever voyage you start, b
sure to take Christ in the ship. Here are me-
largely prospered. The seed OF small en-
terprise grew into an accumulated and over
shadowing success. Their cup Of prosper
ity is running over. Every day sees com
mercial or a mechanical triumph. Yet the
are not pulled up. They acknowledge tn
God who grows the harvests and gives ther
that destroys others, they are only heipe
into higher experiences. The coldest wind
that ever blew down from snow capped Her
mon and tossed Gennesaret into foam an
agony could not hurt them: Let tn
winds blow until they crack their cheek.
| A0x IQ0 Dk60k0ID USouA-dh ID "Si
Christ Is in the ship. Here are other mer
the prey Of uncertainties. When they sue
ceed, they strut through the wsrld in gre,
vanity and wipe their feet on the sensitiv,
ness of others. Disaster comes, and the
are utterly down. They are good sailors o
fair day, when the sky is clear and the Sc
is smooth, but they cannot outride a storm
After awhile the packet is tossed abeam
end. and it seems as IL she must go dow
with all the cargo. Push out from the shol
witt. lifeboat, long boat. shallow and pir
mace. You cannot save the crew. The storl
twists Off the masts. The sea rises up to tax
down tho vessel. Down she goes! No Chri
IN that ship.
speak Of young people whose voyage |
life will be a minglfng Of sunshine and
darkness, Of arctic blast and Of tropical to-
nado. You will have many . long, brigf
day Of prosperity. The skies clear. the Sc
| smooth. The crew exhiIarant. The bo,
stanch will bound merrily over the billowi
/ oil kt,eaA nfr hnv In