The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-11-03
The Peril of Failure and the Peril of Success.

Christians who have to light their way
through the world, against temptations many
and great, are exposed on both sides, wheth-
er they succeed or fail. They are tempted
to pride on the one hand, and TO doubt and
dependency on the other. This double
danger, which attends all Christian effort,
was well presented, not long since, in SER
mon of Rev. Dr. Magee, Dean of Cork, at
convention held in Dublin, of the clergy
of the Established Church of Ireland. The
text was Nuke v:7:) "Aud they beckoned
unto their partners, which were in the other
ship, that they should come and help them"
The preacher said: "The Church of
Christ, in this prophetic picture of her fu-
ture, is seen passing through those two great
trials that beset the whole of her life on
earth-the trial of failure and the trial Of
success. AS the first scene of the miracle
opens upon us, we see the disciples, spent
with a fruitless night of toll, and we hear
them tell how they have labored all night
through-the most favorable time for their
work-and yet they have caught nothing
AS the second scene of the miracles close
we see the same disciples embarrassed with
a great and unlooked-for success-a success
so great and sudden that it threatens to
break their net, and they call on their part
ners for help.
How often, in the history of Christ's
Church, have we seen those two scenes re-
peating themselves; how often has there
been heard from the fishers of men, spenl
and worn with what seems their fruitless toll
the all but despairing cry, eve have toiled
all night, aud have caught nothing;" and
thel how often have we seen their faith and
perseverance rewarded by some vast success
embarrassing from its very greatness and
from the suddeness of the demand it make
upon their strength and skill
But there is second fact in the history
of the Church that is foreshadowed in ths
miracle, and that is, that the peril Of the lat
ter trial is greater than that of the former.
The danger of the former is obvious enough;
it is the desertion of their work by the work
ers-that the disciples, weared with fruitless
toll, may cease to cast the net But the
danger of the morning of success is differ
emit is the danger of the net itself. In
the former case the net remained unbroken
but in the latter they were threatened with
the destruction of their whole work and the
means of renewing it.
This, again, we know to be true in the his
tory of the Church. There is no student Of
Church history, no earnest worker of Church
work, who does not know that the perils Of
success are often sorer than those of failure
that it is harder for the Church to bear sue
cess than adversely, and that the Church,
like an individual, has every right to put
forth the prayer, "In all time of tribulation
good Lord deliver us. So far, then, you
see the lessons of this miracle lie on the sur
face-they are the two lessons of warning
against dependency and presumption tha
all Scripture and history are ever teaching
the lessons which, in some way or other
Christ is ever saying to His Church-"My
grace is sufficient for thee, and "What
say unto you, say unto all: watch"
But there is third lesson in the miracle
not SO apparent, but still deeply important
and it is this: that if the hour of success bt
often the hour of greatest peril, so, too, the
hour of greatest seeming peril may ofttime'
be the hour of greatest success. The con
trast between the two dangers, in the nara
tive, is very striking in this respect. Th'
danger of the night of failure is solely anC
exclusively the temptation to cease work.
They can avoid it, they need not cease tt
cast the net unless they choose; but the dan
ger of the morning of success does not res
with them-it arises from the fact of thei
very success, and is inseparable from it. l
is just one of those dangers that, if the,