The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1885-09-21


| ! did wrong, and having done wrong once.
| could not stop" Oh it is the first step that
costs; the second is easier, and the third, and so
on to the last Once having broken loose from
| the anchor, it is not so easy to tie the parted
strands. How often it is that men perish tor
the reason that the temptation comes from some
unexpected quarter-as vessels lie In Margate
roads, safe from southwest winds, but the wind
changing to the northeast, they are driven help
| less, and go down. Oh, that God would have
| mercy upon those upon whom there comes the
sudden swoop of temptation, that they perish
not, becoming for this world and the world TO
come, cast away! cast awayl
LOST THROUGH RECKLEssNEss.
| BY talking with sailors have found out, also,
that some vessels come to this calamity through
sheer reckessness. There are 5000, 900 men
who follow the sea for living 1t is simple
fact that the average of human life on the sea is
| less than twelve years This comes from the
fact that men, by familiarity with danger, some
times become reckless-the captain, the helms
man, the stoker, the man on the lookout ne
come reckless, and in nine out of ten shipwrecks
| it is found out that some one was awfully to
| blame. So / have to tell you that men lose
their souls through sheer recklessness There
are thousands of my friends in this house
tonight who do not care where they are in
| spiritual things. They do not know whether
and the sea is black with piratical hulks that
| would grappe them with hooks of steel. and
blindfoid them, aud make them ''wak the
| plank" They do not know what the next mo-
| ment may bring forth Drifting in their
| theology; drifting in their habits; drift
| ing in regard to all the future.
| No God, no Christ no settled auticpa-
tions of eternal felicity; but all the time coming
| nearer and nearer to dangerous coast. Some
| of them are fire with evil habit, and they
shall burn on the sea- the charred hulk tossed up
| on the barren beach of the lost world. Many of
| them with great troubles, financial troubles,
domestic troubles, social troubles; but they
| pray for comfort. With an aggravation of sin
that stirs up the ire of God, they pray for par
don. They do not steer for the lightshlp that
| dances in gladness at the mouth of heavens har-
bor reckless as to where they come out, drifting
further from God. further from early religious in
| fuences, further from their present happiness.
| further from heaven. And what is the worst
| thing about it is that they are taking their fam
| lies along with them; and If one perish, per-
haps they will all perish, and the way goes,
| the probability is they will all go. Yet. no
anxiety. AS unconscious of danger as the pas
| sengers on board the Arctic one moment before
| the Vesta crashed into her. Wrapped up in the
| business of the store, not remembering that
| soon they must quit all their earthly posses
| sions. Absorbed in their social position, not
| knowing that very soon they will have attended
the last levee, and whirled in the last schot-
tische They do not deliberately choose to be
ruin ed; neither did the French frgate Medusa
aim for the Argun tanks, but there it went to
pieces 0. We reckless souls! / wish that
tonight l could wake you up with some
great perturbation. The perils are so augmented.
the chances of escape are few; you will
die just as certainly as you sit there, unless
| you bestir yourself. fear. my brother, you are
J becoming castaway. You making no
| effort You are putting forth exertion for es-
| cape. You throw out no oar. You take no
soundings. You watch no compass. You are
not calculating your bearings while the wind is
q a q d
ing the horizon, and you will be pushed on
| toward it, and thousands have persisted there
and you are driving in the same direction.
| Ready about! Down helm! Hard down, or in
! the next five minutes, four minutes or three
minutes. or two minutes, minute, you
may be a castaway
O, unforeiven SOUL if you could see your peril
before Goa to night on account of your lifetime
sin and transgression, there would be fifty men
who would rush through this aisle
crying for mercy, and there would
be fifty who would rush through
that aisle crying for mercy, and they would be
as men are when they rush across the deck of a
laundering Ship and there would be thousands
of arms tossed up from the galleries. and as
these Christian men rose up to help them it
would be as when vessel drives on the rocks
| and on the shore, the command is 'Man the life
boat! Man the lfeboat! Pull, my lads. pull
| steamer. with two hundred on board making
| the last punge!" Why does your cheek turn
| pale and your heart pound until, listening you
| you hear its 1t is because. my dear brother you
reaize that owing to your lifetime sin and rejec-
ton of Gods mercy, you are in PERIL and
| really believe there are thousands of people in
| this house this moment saying within
| themselves what shall l dog" Do? Do?
Why, my brother. do what any ship does when
| it is in trouble Lift distress signal There is
| a flash and boom. You listen, and you look
| A vessel is in trouble. The distress gun is
sounded, or rocket is sent up, or blanket is
| lifted. or bundle of rags-anything to catch
the eye of the passing craft. So, if you want to
| be taken off the wreck of your SIM you must
| lift distress signal. Rise. Lift your hand.
| Cry out for mercy. The publican lifted the dis
| tress signal when he cried God. be merciful
to me sinner" Peter lifted the distress signal
when he said: Lord save mel persist" The
blind lifted the distress signal when he
said Lord that my eyes may be opened"
The jailor lifted the distress signal when he said:
What must do to be savedp And help will
never come to your soul until you lift such a sig
nal that, You must make some demonstra-
ton. give some sign, make some heaven piercing
cutlery for help lifting the distress signal for the
church's prayer, lifting the distress signal for
heavens pardon. Pray! pray! The voice of the
Lord tonight sounds in your ears, I'm me is
thy help" Too proud to raise such signal too
proud to be saved
THE GL1MMER OF HOPES STAR
There was an old sailor thu mping about in a
| small boat in tempest. The large vessel had
gone down. He felt he must die The surf
was breaking over the boat, and he said: 81
took off my life belt that it might soon be over.
and thong ht somewhat indistinctly about my
friends on shore, and then bid them go cd bye
like, and was about sinking back an giving it
up, when saw bright star. The clouds we re
breaking away, and there that blessed star shone
down ON me. and it seemed to take right hold of
me; and somehow can not tell how it was
but somehow, while was trying to watch that
star, it seemed to help me and seemed to lift
me-" o, drowning soul, you not the glim-
mer between the riffs of the storm cloudl Would
to God that that light might lay hold of you to-
night
''Death-struck ceased the tide to STEM
When suddenly star arose.
1t was the Star of Bethlehem ~