Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1908-04-17
Calrnase
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talnsse, ID. D.

&aA AAOfAdChNC preserves men
amid countless dangers on every side
and shows us that it Is Gods way OF
admonishing US to better lives and
greater activity In his service. The
text Is Acts xvii, A, "And so IL came
to pass that they escaped all safe to
land"
What an awful catastrophe is threat.
ening the Alexandrian corn shin on
which Paul, the great apostle, is being
carried prisoner to Rome! You NAV
picture the heaying, rocking pillows;
you may talk about shrieking Eurocly-
don; you may illustrate for me the poor
sailors and the frightened soldiers ana
the terrified passengers for many days
in the darkness of the tornado and In
the blackness of the night tossed about
upon these Mediterranean waters with
ont compass and without guide. But
after all, the most impressive part of
this chapter, which proves to me the
horror OF this cyclone, is the latter part
or the twentieth verse, "And when nei-
Their sun nor stars in many days ap-
peared and no small tempest lay on us
all hope that we should be saved was
taken away" 1t Is a serious matter
for all on board when officers and
crew lose hope. / suppose that In such
circumstances the captain ceased to
give orders to his sailors, and the CEN
turion ceased to give orders to his sol
diers, and the passengers and crew
alike said: what is the user We are
going to drown anyway 1t does not
matter what we do" When a rough
0f
that reckless mood one never knows
what excuses they may be guilty OF.
"And ell hope was taken away"
Now. that sentence means even more
to military or a naval man than ii
does to civilian. In the army or
the navy so rigid is the discipline that
soldier or a sailor is not supposed to
stop and think, but TO do simply as his
commanding officers bid him. He is
capable of heroic conduct so long as
discipline Is maintained.
Perhaps you have read the story of
the sinking OF the Japanese cruiser
Takasago of Port Arthur. The ship
was under the command of Captain
Ishibashi OF the 500 men IN that
crew only 1913 were saved. The cruiser
was steaming along doing patrol duty.
Suddenly the hull grated upon a mine.
The mine exploded and made q hole
In the ships bottom about six feet in
diameter under the water line. The
crew tried to stop the inflowing of the
water. 1t was impossible. The wind
was blowing a gale. 1t was bitterly
cold. The snow was falling heavily.
Captain lshibashi called the men to
him and said: Sailors, no man must
leave the ship until she sinks. We
will together share the fate Of the yes
sell" So every sailor grimly stood at
his post. Then they raised rousing
banzai for their emperor and began to
sing the national air OF Gallant Sail
or" And while scores and hundreds
OK those men were sinking into a wa
terry grave the sailors stood silently at
their posts of duty, martyrs to the ma
val discipline OF Japan.
All Hope Gone.
But here on this Alexandrian corn
ship all is confusion. All hope Is gone.
Then 1T was in the darkest hours OF
their voyage that Paul stepped forward
and uttered words of announcement.
1890 - vas NhoA StsAl, Anu HOW L
exhort you to be OF good cheer. for
there shall be no loss OF any mans
life. but Of the ship" Then, as a full
nilment or this prophecy, we read the
cheering words OF the chapter, "And SO
IL came TO pass that they escaped all
safe to land" 1t was a wonderful
escape from destruction that seemed
inevitable. l wonder If they all felt
thankful TO God when they stood safe
ON dry land. Would they remember
their deliverance and their obligations
10 him during their later lives or
would they live as carelessly and wick
edly as before? How do men act gen
erallyf Or, TO come closer, how have
We acted when God has interposed TO
save us from calamity or deaths? Lit
Is strange fact that, though we felt
grateful 10 God at the time of the
rescue, yet we seem 10 have forgotten
our obligation afterward. l want to
refresh your memories In reference TO !
these past dangers and renew your I
gratitude to God for his loving ana l
tender care. How often have we. like |
the passengers and crew who were /
With St Paul in the Alexandrian corn 1
ship, escaped safe to land?
We have had, in the first place. mar
row physical escapes. Oh, how many .
there have beenl The crew and the
passengers and the soldiers of the
AieXandrian corn ship struggling In
the SURF were not in any greater phys
icai danger than some OF us have been
at times. People have often said to
NE, 1T Is an outrage that SO MANY
human lives are sacrificed every wear
Dy accidents" My answer Is ALWAYS
this, The wonder OF wonders TO me- "a
not that We have as many accidents
as we do, but that each year a thou
sand times more men are not killed in
railroads and steamboats, and cyclones
ana earthquakes and in fires than are
killed at the present time"
Must Be on Time.
just consider what 1t means to cross
the North American continent. You
buy your ticket in the Grand Central
depot Of New York city. You step into
the train. The conductor calls: GAN
aboard! All aboardr' He holds hix
warcn In mis- nand, ana at the very
second the door is slammed shut and
the train starts. What is the mat
teri" you ask the conductor. why
are you In such hurry to be OFF," He
says: I'VE must go through the tunnel
on the very minute of the schedule.
There are hundreds OF trains passing
over these tracks every day. The varia-
ZION or few minutes In passing might