Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1908-04-16
CalnnaSe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmaee, D. d.

New York. April 12--In this SER
mon the preacher refers to the wonder
full Providence which 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 1t came
to pass that they escaped all safe to
land"
What an awful catastrophe is threat
ening the AleXandrian corn ship on
which Paul. the great apostle is being
carried a prisoner to Rome. You may
picture the hcaving, rocking pillows;
YOU may talk about shrIeking Eurocly-
don; you may illustrate for me the poor
sailors and the frightened soldiers and
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
Of the twentieth verse, And when nei-
Their sun nor stars in many days APP
peared and no small tempest lay on us
all hope that we should be saved was
taken away" 1t is 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
tlirion ceased to give orders to his SOL
dicrs. and the passengers and crew
alike said: what is the use? We are
going to drown anyway 1t does not
matter what we do" When rough
band of soldiers and sailors fall into
that reckless mood one never knows
what excuses they may be guilty of
"And all hope was taken away"
Now, that sentence means even more
to military or a naval man than 1t
does to "A civilian. In the army or
the navy so rigid IS the discipline that
n 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 off Port Arthur. The ship
was under the command Of Captain
Ishibashi OF the 800 men in that
crew only 133 were saved. The cruiser
was steaming along doing patrol duty.
Suddenly the hull grated upon a mine.
The mine exploded and made a 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 wird
was blowing gale. 1t was bitterly
cold The snow was falling heavily
Captain Ishibashi 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
Of those men were sinking into a wa
terry grave the sailors stood silently al
their posts of duty, martyrs to the ma
val discipline Of Japan.
All Hope Gone.
But here on this Alexandran corr
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 encouragement
Then it was that he said, And now
exhort you to be Of good cheer. 70
there shall be no loss of any man.
life, but of the ship" Then, as a full
fllment Of this prophecy, we read tn
cheering words Of the chapter, And s.
1t came to pass that they escaped al
eafe to land" 1t was a wonderful
escape from destruction that SCENE,
inevitable. l wonder if they all fel
thankful to God when they stood SAT
on dry land. Would they remenbe
their deiverance and their obligation
to him during their later lives o
would they live as carelessly and wick
eddy as before? How do men act gen
orally? Or, to come closer, how hav
we acted when God has interposed t
save us from calamity or death?
Is a strange fact that. though we feI
grateful to God at the time OF tn
rescue vet we seem to have forgotte
our obligation afterward. l want
refresh your memories in reference
these past dangers and renew you
gratitude to God for his loving an
tender care. How often have we, lik
the passengers and crew who wer
with ST. Paul in the Alexandrian cor
ship, escaped safe to land:
We have had. in the first place, ma
row physical escapes. oh, how man
there have been. The crew and tt
passengers and the soldiers of II
AleXandrian corn ship struggling
he surf were not in any greater ply
lcal danger than some Of us have bee
ut times. People have often said
me, at is an outrage that so mar
human lives are sacrificed every We;
by accidents" My answer Is alwa,
this. "The wonder Of wonders to me
not that we have as many acciden
as we do, but that each year tho
Fand times more men are not killed
railroads and steamboats, and cyclon
and earthquakes and in fires than a
killed at the present time"
Must Be on Time.
Just consider what II means to GRO
the North American continent u
buy your ticket in the Grand Cent?
Of 1tt Va CT in