Milford chronicle., 1888-08-31

b
is an island between two eternities-eternity
! past ripping against his shoulders, eternity
20 come touching his brow The casual, the
accidental, that which merely happens so, are
/ parts Of a great plan, and the rope that
lets the fugitive apostle from the Damascus
wall is the cable that holds TO its mooring
the ship of the Church in the northeast
storm Of the centuries.
Again, notice unrecognized and unrecorded
services. Who spun the rope! Who tied it
20 the basket Who steadied tho illustrious
preacher as he stepped into itl Who relaxed
not a muscle Of the arm or dismissed an
anxious look from hiss face until the basket
touched the ground and discharged its mag
nihcent cargo. Not one of their names has
come to us, but there was no work done that
day in Damascus or in all the earth compared
with the Importance Of their work. What if
they had in the agitation tied a knot that
could slip. What ii the sound of mob at the
door had led them to say: Paul must take
care Of himself, and we viii take
care Of ourselves No, mol They held
the rope, and in doing so did more
for the Christian church than any thousand
of us viii ever accomplish. But God knows
and has made eternal record OF their under
taking. And they know. How cxultant
they must have felt when they read his let
ters to the Romans, to the Corinthians. to
the Galatians, to the Ephesians, to the Phil
ippians, to the COlossians, 10 the Thessalo-
nians 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 70 k COM
Inand Of the Alexandrian cornship when the
sailors were nearly scared to death, and
Off 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 l
am that We effected that rescued In coming
times others may get the glory Of PauTs
work, but no one shall rob us Of tee satisfac-
tion Of knowing that we held the rope.n
There are said to be about 90, 900 ministers
Of religion in this country. About 5O,e0O 1
warrant 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
aud theological education Of that son took
every luxury from the parental table for
eight years. The other children were more
scantily appareled. The son at college every
little while got a bundle from home. In it
were the socks that mother had knit, sitting
up late at night, her sight not as good as once
it was.
And there also We're some delicacies from
the sisters hand for the voracious appetite of
a hungry student The father swung the
heavy cradle through the wheat, the sweat
rolling from his chin believing every step Of
the way, and then sitting down under the
cherry tree at noon thinking to himself: Il
am fearfUlly tired, but it viii pay if 1 can
once see that boy through college, and il 1
can know that he will be preaching the Cos
pei after I am deadn 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 or
dained and is preaching tho 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 village parsonage and ct the close
of 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 more comfortable, say
ing if they want anything 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 to educate
that boy. It was a hard pull, but we held
ON till tho work was done. The world may
not know it, but, mother, VIC held the rope,
didn't we" And the voice, tre:nulous with
joyful emotion responds: Eyes, 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 saliva
ton" "Pshaw" says the father, Il never
felt so much like living in my life as ROW. 1
want to see Y hat that fellow is going ON to
do, he has begun so we'll"
Something occurs to me quite personal. I
was the youngest of large family Of chill
dren My parents were neither rich nor
poor; four of the sons wanted collegiate edu-
cation, and four obtained it, but not without
great homo struggle. Wo never heard the
Old people say once that they were 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 Somnerville cemetery.
Mother would sit down in the evening aud
4
feel so tiredln Father would fall immedi-
ately to sleep, seated by the evening stand,
overcome with theday's fatigues One of the
four brothers after preaching the Gospel for
about fifty years entered upon his heavenly
rest. Another of the four is now ON the
other side the earth, missionary Of the
cross. Two Of US are in this land in the holy
ministry, and 1 think all Of US arc willing to
acknowledge our obligation to the old folks
at home. About twenty two years ago the
one, and about twenty-four years ago tho
other, put down the burdens Of this life, but
they still hold the rope.
. men and women here assembled, You
brag sometimes how you have fought your
way in the world, but 1 think there have
been helpful influences that you have never
fully acknowledged. Has there not been
some influence in your early or present home
that the world cannot seel Docs there not
reach TO you from among the Canadian hills,
or western prairie, or from southern plan
tation, or from English or Scottish or Irish
home a cord of influence that has kept you
right when you would have gone astray, and
which, after you had made a crooked track,
recalled youl The rope may be as long as
thirty years or five hundred miles
long or three thousand miles long, but hands
that went out of mortsl 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 q shout to a racer, if you
are going 60 ride out Of reach Of your
mothers prayers. Why, a SHIP crossing tho
Atlantic in seven days can't sail away from
that A sailor finds them on the lookout as
he takes Ills place, and finds them on the mast
as he climbs the ratlines to disentangle a
rope in the tempost, and finds them swing
ing on the hammock when he turns in. Why
not be frank and acknowledge little most
Of us would long ago have been dashed TO
pieces had not gracious aud loving hands
steadily and lovingly and nightly held the
rope.
But there must come a time when we shall
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