The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-01-15


who are very generous in the distribu.
tion OF Gods judgments, and II sailing
party on the Lords day drown them
selves, religious critics Immediately take
the responsibility Of announcing the dis
aster as consequences of the infraction
of the holy hours. Now, l have no pa.
tience with that style of Inoralizing; l
would like to drive it out of our Sunday
school libraries. While believe in the
strict observance Of the Christian Sab-
bath, l think the Lords thunderbolts
are too heavy for us to handle. l don't
know what necessity may have started
the travellers on that Sabbath journey. II
your child, or husband or father were
sick or dying far away, how long would
it take you, this morning, to get to rail
train? From the way these religious
critics argue, l should conclude that
Sabbath travel is praiseworthy because
of all the rail trains In both hemi-
spheres, travelling that day with tens OF
thousands OF passengers, this train was
the only one that perished, and as out
Of every thousand Of the travellers that
Sabbath nine hundred and ninety nine
got home safely. Ergo Sabbath travel
ing is Commendable. You see their ar.
gument is unfounded. The Lord knows
that If we, safe and happy to day, had
received our just deserts there would
have been broken. bridges enough to
take US all down. Pushing aside this
unhealthy moralization of Sabbath Ca
tastrophe, want to take broad, COM
mon sense and Christian view Of this
event, which drops one, two, three, four,
five, six seven rail cars into watery sep.
ulcher. Look, LOOK at the flashing
lights as they go down.
Again, let my subject teach you that a
bridge is Of no use unless IL reaches clear
across. The stability of the abutment
on the Fifeshire side that night only
tempted the train to cross the Tay. If
that abutment had been missing, the
train would not have attempted the riv-
er that night. Alas, that is the way with
many of the bridges constructed for the
immortal soul. They do pretty we'll for
this side. They are made out Of good
morals and high responsibilities, and
good neighborhood, but as to taking us
in safety clear across the river of death,
and landing US amid the mountains of
myrrh, they never have done it and they
never can do it. say give us complete
bridge, or none at all. Because things
may 90 smooth ia this life, we are not to
conclude they will 90 smooth forever.
God has, by His grace, constructed
complete bridge. Both abutments were
blasted out of the Rock of Ages; the
timbers are from Calvary. They are
fastened together with the nails and
spikes of the Cross. Get fairly started
on this sids, and you are pretty sure to
reach the other side, "kept by the power
of God through faith unto salvation"
The floods cannot wash it away, the
winds cannot blow it down. And the
rains descended and the foods came, and
the winds blew and beat upon that
bridge, but 1t fell not, for 1t was founded
on rock. / warrant you there were
SCotchmen on that train who did not 20
down amid the shower of sparks and
Cinders, They crossed right over to
meet their Countrymen, John Knox and
Chalmers and John Brown, the |
martyred Ayrshire carrier, and James |
RenwiCk and the victims Of Dunotter |
Castle, and tho Christian souls which |
bloody Mackenzie and Lord Claverhouse |
FASTENED into glory. Not much disap.
pointment for the Christian who died |
that night. No accident for them. In.
stead Of landing in Dundee they landed |
IL heaven, God has more children than
We recognize. Many of them make no
'uss about the 7 religion, and have none
Of the display Of those Christians who
have more CAB than grace. 1t does not
AXE the Lord half minute to pick them
)ut of the debris of railroad crash. II
was written by Robert Burns, or in re-
gard to him, have forgotten which:
"If there Is another world, he lives In bliss:
II there Is none, he made the most ofthis."
Blessed be God, our religion makes
he best of this world and takes all the
lext, and that is good religion to have,
whether on the Tay or on the Hudson.
From this ruin at the Tay Bridge I
earn, first, that God is mightier than
human invention, and that it becomes
cience to be reverential and worshipful
This Tay bridge was considered tri
lmph of engineering. Thomas Bouch,
he famous architect, backed by 81 $50.
90, thought he had built something
o stand the winds, and the foods and
he rail trains. l hold in my hand
'amphlet which purchased on the Tay
lver that summer morning, which says,
What will hel p to extend and perpetu-
to the Importance Of this locality, is the
rection of the Tay bridge, which ex.
ibite triumph Of science and mechan.
cal skill, showing the rapid progress of
hysical science in our age. Fifty years
go such bridge could not have been
uilt, the mechanical appliances not be.
lg then available" Gen. Hutchinson.
Inspector of Railroads for Scotland pro.
ounced the bridge strong beyond ne
essity, but by one blast of The breath of
Tod's nostrils, last Sabbath night, two
1oueand feet of 1t are gone. All suc-
ess to human invention, all honor to
oientifiC achievements, but higher than
ne grandest arch Of the strongest bridge
the throne of God, and the stoutest
simmer and the mightiest pulley, and
ne most skillful quadrant and longest
lnge telescope had better be put down
His feet. Science says it can do any.
hing. In our day it rejects the Bible,
isputes with God for the throne of the
inverse, proves the creator superhuity,
nee all things were made by the fOrtu-
GUS concoHrBe OF atoms, throws away
10 archangels trumpet which wakes
le dead, 80 that there will be no resur,
'ction. Yes, it proposes to build q |
ridge out Of human reasoning, on
hich we may safely cross over into the
ext life. The spans, arches and girders
! this philosophic bridge are said 10 be
eautiful and strong, and on It men start
ith their long train Of hopes, but mid.
ay God blows upon II, and they are de.
royed without remedy. Now let hu.
an invention and science do their best
'an wide rivers, scale highest heights,
thom deepest depths, start longest
aims into Bwiftest veloCitles, but let It
the same same time be Yeverentisl
i'd adoring to the God whom Isaac