The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1880-06-10


ored to destroy ii! Ten thousand men
are now warning against the truth of
God. word. What do you think OF
them? | think il ID mean, and will prove
it. | will prove it ia the meanest thing
ever done in all the centuries. Ihere ID
a ship at eea and in trouble. The cap
tain and crew are at their wits end. You
are on board; and are an old seaman.
You come up and give some good coun,
sel. which is kindly taken. That Is all
right. But suppose, instead OF doing
that in the midst of all the trouble, you
pick up the only compass on board INT
pitch i over the t~affraii? Oh, you say,
that is mean, d%astardly. 1t is as mean
as this. There is the vessel of the world
going on with twelve hundred mlIIiors
Sf passe ngers, tossed and driven IN the
tempes and at the time We want help
the in6del comes and takes the only
compass and tries to pitch it overheard.
1t is conte mptible. Have you any BEL
ter ligh,2 Bring it on If you have have
YOU any better comfort to give us? lIet
~ have it. Have you any better hopper
Give it to us. Have you surer proml'
SEES? Give them to us. Then you may
have the Bible. But l can think OF a
meaner thing than that. An old man ls
going along on the mountains with staff
in II hand and a lantern in the Diner
Darkness has come on suddenly. lie Is
very old, just able to pick his way out
amid the rocks and precipices, leaning
Oh his staff with one hand and guiding
himself with the light in the other. You
come up and say, Father you seem to
be lost. You are a long way from your
some" Eyes" he says. Then you take
him by the hand and lead him bone.
Tn t ia very kind of you. But suppose,
instead of that you snatch the staff from
his hand and throw it away, and snatch
the lantern and blow it out? How das'
tardly and contemptible. If you have a
better light and a better staff, give them
to him. When God has put the staff of
the Gospel in our hands, and the light
of His Spirit to IL pa h, are You going
to take our only support and lllumlna'
ton? There are people here who have
been reading the Bible a great while 1t
is precious to them. 1t has been so in
darkness and trouble. Amid all the dis
couragements in lie, the Bible, by its
promises, its counseIs, its warnings, its
~instruc ions, has proved an inCalculabIe
benefit to the world. Its worth cannot
be estimated. Cling to your Bible. II this
Bible should be ~destroyed-if all the BIZ
bles ever printed should be destroyed
we could make up a Bible night out OF
this audience. From that Christian mans
experience l take one cluster of promi.
SEES, and from that Christian woman's
experience another, and put them all
in one book, and | think we have a BIZ
BILE. If the memories of men by some
great calamity should be destroyed, and
they could not recall the Bible, we wO'd
still have a Bible. 1t would be in the
face of some aged mar all ready for the
skies, that | would read pardon for sin
and visions of heaven. You see | have
not tried to hide the fact that have
great expectation of you who have just
entered the Christian life. Do not be
discouraged. Press on toward the prize
God beside you and heaven before
you. Keep your courage up. llcok in
thirty years from now upon this church.
Another u an in the pulpit; other faces
in the pews; another man leading the
singing; another carrying round the
almsboxes; all changed. And [ look into
the faces of the people and say: why,
it seems to ne l have seen these people
somewhere, but / cannot exactly say
when, Oh, yes, now | think. These
we're the converts in 1880. How you
have changed!' "0h, yes, of course we
have changed. Thirty years makes a
great change" they say. l say, How
many wrinkles there are in your faces"
ooh, yes; thirty years makes a great
many wrinkles" they say. l say, then,
"Where are your father and mother2"
They say, "Gone. All gone" "Have
you kept the faitt2" Eyes, we have
kept the faith" where are those who
used to sit in the pew with youP" "All
gone" Then l say: "Well l feel lonely.
Come, let US sing one of the old hymns
we sung thirty years ago, on Communion
day. Any of you know the old tuner
Yes, that's it, Now, altogether, let US
sing Just as we Tic IN 1851"
"There is q fountain filed with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that food,
Lose all their guilty stains.
1.-THE dying thief rejoiced to see
That fountain In his day
And there may I, though vile as he,
Wash all my sins away.
"Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood,
Shall never lose its poweri
Till all the ransOmed church Of God,
BE saved to sin no more
"Then in a nobler, sweeter song,
I'll sing Thy power to save
When this poor, lisping, stammering tongue,
Lies silent in the grave"