The Russellville Democrat., 1888-09-06
Its mo0rlng Inc ship ot tho Church in the


 northeast storm of the centuries. 1 Again, notice unrecognizcd and un-
 recorded services. Who spun the roper Who tied it to the basketY Who steadied the ilIustrious preacher as he stepped into itf Who relaxed not a muscle of the arm or dismissed an anxious look
 from his face until the basket touched
 the ground and discharged its magnificent cargof Not one of their names has come to us, but there was no work done that day in Damascus or in all the earth com- I pared with the importance of their work.
 What if they had in the agitation tied a
 knot that could slipf What If the sound of a mob at the door had led them to says
 Paul must take care of himself. and we will take care of ourselves" No, mol
 They held the rope, and in doing so did
 moro for the Christian Church than any thousand of us will ever accomplish. But | God knows and has made eternal record of their undertaking. And they know. l How exultant they must have felt when they read his letters to the Rom ans, to
 the Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the Colossians, to the Thessalonians, | to Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the Hebrews, and when they heard how he | walked out of prison with the earthquake unlocking the door for him and took com
 mand of the Alexandrian corn ship when
 the sailors were nearly scared to death, l and preached a sermon that nearly shook Felix of his judgment seat hear the
 men and women who helped him down through the window and over the wall talking in private over the matter, and
 saying:
 "How glad I am that we effected that
 rescue! In coming times others may get
 the glory of Paul's work, but no one | should rob us of the satisfaction of know ing that we held the rope.n
 There are said to be about sixty mine thousand ministers of religion in thls
 country. About Atty thousand warrant l came from early homes which had to struggle for the necessaries of life. The sons of rich bankers and merchants
 generally become bankers and merchants. The most of those who become ministers
 are the sons of those who had terrific struggle to get their everyday bread.
 The collegiate and theological education of that son took every luxury from the
 parental table for eight years. The other children were more scautily appareled. The son at college every little while got Q bundle from home. In 1t were the socks that mother had knit sitting up late at night her sight not so good as once it was.
 And there also were some delicacies from the sisters hand for the voracious appetite of hungry student The father swung the heavy cradle through tho wheat the sweat rolling from his chin, bedewing every step of the way, and then sitting down under the cherry tree at noon thinking to himself:
 'T am fearfully tired, but 1t will pay If can once see that boy through college, and if can know that he will be preach-
 ing the Gospel after am dead" The younger children want to know why they can't have this and that as others do, and the mother says: "Be patient my children, until your brother graduates, and then you shall have more luxuries, but we must see that boy through"
 The years go by, and the son has been ordained, and is preaching the glorious Gospel, and great revival comes, and souls by scores and hundreds accept the Gospel from the lips of that young preacher, and father and mother, quite old now, are visiting the son at the vil- lage parsonage. and at the close of a
 Sabbath of mighty blessing, father and mother retire to their room, the son lighting the way and asking them If he could do any thing to make them moro l comfortable, saying if they want any thing in the night just to knock on the wall. And then all alone father and mother talk over the gracious influences of the day, and say:
 "well, it was worth all we went through ( -I~ ow1 ,.rtl1 but we held on till the work was done. The world may not know it. but mothe r, | we held the rope, didn't weW
 And the voice, tremulous with joyful emotions, responded:
 | "Yes, father, we held the rope; feel my work is done. Now. Lord, lettest Thou Thy servant depart in peace, for mine eyes have seen Thy salvation" "Pshawv says tho father. "I never felt so much like living in my life as now. I want to see what that fellow is going on to do, he has begun so we'll"
 Something occurs to me quite personal.
 was the youngest of large family of children. My parents were neither rich nor poor; four of the sons wanted col | legiate education, and four obtained 1t, but not without great home struggle. We
 never heard the old people say once that they wore denying themselves to effect
 this, but remember now that my parents always looked tired. don't think that
 they ever got rested until they lay down In the Sommerville Cemetery. Mother
 would sit down in the evening and say:
 "Well, don't know what makes me
 feel SO tiredi"
 Father would fall immediately to sleep,
 seated by the evening stand, overcome
 with the days fatigues. One of the four brothers, after preaching the Gospel for about fifty years, entered upon his Heav- eniy rest. Another of the four is nov on the other side of the earth, missionary of the cross. Two of us are in this land in the holy ministry, and I think all of us are willing to acknowledge our obli- gation 10 the old folks at home. About twenty-tw two years ago the one, and about twenty-four years ago the other, put down the burdens of this life. but they still hold the rope.
 o, men and women here assembled, you brag sometimes how you have fought | your way in the world, but think there
 have been helpful influences that you never fully acknowledged. Has there not
 been some influence in your early or present home that the world can not seef Does there not reach to you from among | the Canadian hills, or Western prairie, l or from Southern plantation, or from En- glish or Scottish or Irish home, cord of
 influence that has kept you right when | you would have gone astray, and which, after you had made crooked track, re- called your The rope may be as long as thirty years or i've hundred miles long or
 three thousand miles long, but hands | that went out of mortal sight long ago still hold the rope. You want a very
 swift horse, and you need to rowel him
 with sharpest spurs, and to let the reins | lie loose upon the neck, and to give a
 shout to racer, If you are going to ride out of reach of your mothers prayers. Why, a ship crossing the Atlantic in seven days can't sail away from that aailor finds them on