Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1897-09-03
TALMAGES SERMON.
INTERESTING THEME BY The WASH.
UNcToN PREACHER.

there was great calm. Marx iN'' %.
Tiberias. Galilee, Genuesaret - three
names for the same lake. No other gem
ever had so beautiful a setting. IL Law In
scene Of great luNuriance-the surround
ing hills high, terracel, sloped, groyed, so
many hanging gardens ot beauty; the wa
ter rumbling down between rocks Of gray
and red limestone, flashing from the hills
and bounding into the sea. ON the shore
were castles, armed towers, Roman baths.
everything attractive and beautiful, all
styles Of vegetation in shorter space than
in almost any other space mail the world,
from the palm tree Of the forest to the
tree OF rigorous climate.
II seemed rs if the Lord had launched
one wave Of beauty on all the scene, and ii
hung and swung from rock TO rock and hill
and Oleander. Roman gentlemen in pleas
ure boats sailing the lake and cOuntrymen
in fish smacks coming down to drop their
nets, pass each other with nod and shout
and laughter or singing idly at their moor
ings. On, what a wonderful, what beau
tiful lake!
1t seems rs il we shall have quiet night
Not leaf winked in the air, not ripple
disturbed the face of Gennesaret, but
there seems to be a little excitement up the
beach, and We hasten to see what it is, and
We find it an cmbarkatiOn.
From the western shore flotilla pushing
out, not squadron or deadly armament,
nor clipper with valuable merchandise, nor
pirate vessels ready TO destroy everything
they could seize but fiotilla bearing mes
sengers of life and light and peace. Christ
is in the front of the boat His disciples
are In smaller boat. Jesus, weary with
much speaking to large multitudes, is put
into somnolence by the rocking of the
waves. Ii there was any motion at all,
the ship was easily righted; if the wind
passed from one side, from the starboardto
the larboard or from the larboard to the
starboard, the boat would rock and by the
gentleness of the motion putting the Mas
ter asleep. And they eNtempOriZed pill
low made out of a fsherman's coat.
think no sooner is Christ PROSTATE and His
head touching the pillow than He is sound
asleep. The breezes of the lake run their
fingers through the locks of the worn sleep
er, and the boat rises ana falls ike sleep
ing child on the bosom OF a -.eeping moth
or.
Calm night, starry night, beautiful
night. Run up all the sails, ply all
the oars, and let the large boat and the
small boat glide over gentle Gennesaret.
But the sailors say there Is going to be a
change Of weather And even the passen-
gers can hear the moaning Of the storm as
1t comes on with long stride, with all the
large boat trembes like Il deer ut bay
trembling among the clangor cf the hounds;
great patches of foam are flung into the
air; the sails of the vessels loosen, and the
sharp winds crack like pistols; the smaller
boats like petrels poise on the cliff of the
Wages and then plunge. Overheard go
cargo, tackling and masts, and the
| drcnched disciples rush into the back part
of the boat and lay hold of Christ and say
] MT i'm, tb..,, e l,at
we perish?' That great parsonage lifts
his head from the pillow of the ilsherman's
coat, walks to the front of the vessel and
| looks out into the storm. All around him
are the smaller boats, driven in the temp
est, and through it comes the cry Of drown
ing men. BY the flash of the lightning !
see the calm 'brOw of Christ as the spray
! dropped from His beard. He has one word
! for the sky and another word forthc wPvcs.
| Looking upward He cries, Peace Look
! ing downward, He says, DO still"
The waves fall fiat on their faces. the
foam me!ts, the eXtinguishcd stars rclight
! their torches, the tempest falls dead, and
| Christ stands with His foot on the neck of
| the storm. And while the sailors are bail
ing out the boats and while they are trying
to untangle the cordage the disciples stand
in amazement, now looking into the calm
sea- then into the calm sky, then into the
NuliI VI INC NdNlOuT > tOUultuulft, ana
! they cry out, 'What manner of man is this
that even the winds and thcsea obey Him?'
The subject in the first place impresSes
me with the fact that it is very important
to have Christ in the ship, for all those
! boats would have gone to the bottom Of
Genncsaret if Christ had not been present
| Oh, what a lesson for you and for me to
learn. Whatever voyage we undertake, in
to whatever enterprise we start, let us al
| Ia = 4.
In these days of revived commerce. are
starting out in new financial enterprises.
bid YOU good cheer. Do all you can do.
Do it on AS high plane as possible. You
have no right to be u stOker in the shin if
you can be an admiral of the navy. You
have no right to be a colonel of Il regiment
If yOu can command a brigade; you have
no right to be engineer of Il boat on river
banks or near the coast if you can take the
ocean steamer from New York to Liver
pool. All you can do with utmost tension
of body, mind and soul. you are bound to
do; but, oh, have Christ in the enterprise
Christ in every voyage, Christ in every
ship
There are men who ask God to help them
at the start of great enterprises. lie has
been with them in the past. No trouble
can overthrow them. The storms might
come down from the top of Mount Iermon
and lash Gennesaret into foam and into
agony, but it could not hurt them. But
here is another man who starts out in
worldly enterprise, and he depends Upon
the uncertainties of this life. He has no
God to help him. After awhile the storm
comes and losses off the masts of the ship
He puts out his lifeboat. The sheriff and
the auctiOneer try TO help him off. They
cant help him off. He must go down-no
Christ in the ship. Here are young men
just starting out in life Your life will be
made up of sunshine and shadow. There
may be in it arctic blasts or tropical lorna
does. I know not what is before YOU, but |
| know if you have Christ with You all shall
be we'll
You may seem to get along without the
religion of Christ while everything goes
smoothly, but after awhile, when sorrow
hovers over the soul, when the waves of
trial dash clear over the hurricane deck
and the bOwsprit is shivured and the hal
yards are swept into the sea and the gang
way is crowded with piratical disasters
oh, what would you then do without
Christ in the ship? Young man. take God
for your portion, God for your guide, God
for your help, then all is well.-all is well
for time, all shall be we'll forever. Blessed
is that man who puts in the Lord his trust
He shall never be cOnfOundCd.
But my subject also impresscs me with
the fact that when peoples start to follow
Christ they must not expect smooth sailing
These disciples got into the small boats
and / have no doubt they said: "What
beautiful day this Is! What smooth sea
What Il bright sky this is, How delightful
is sailing in this boat, And as for til
waves under the keel of the boat, why
they only make the motion of our littl
boat the more delightful" But when til
winds swept down and the sea was tOsSp