Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1889-04-03

j.
old of him and destroying him and at the
nd of three DAYS the monster would natur
lily be sick enough to regurgitate Jonah.
Beside that, my friends, there is one word
shich explains the whole thing. 1t says,
The Lord prepared q great fish," If a
nip carpenter prepare vessel to carry
Texan beeves to Glasgow. I suppose it can
AIRY Texan beeves; il q ship carpenter
prepare vessel to carry coal to one of the
orthern ports, suppose it can carry coal;
{ a ship carpenter prepare q vessel to carry
5sssengers to Liverpool, l suppose it can
AIRY passengers to Liverpool; aud if the
Lord prepared fish to carry one passenger,
suppose it could carry passenger and the
7entilation have bsen all right
50 all the strange things in the Bible can
~ explained if you wish {, have them ex-
,iained And you can build them into
,eauLifal and healthtul fire for your hearth,
.r You can with them put your Immortal
aserests into coDhagfat,nn. But you had
after decida aonur the veracisy of the
bic very soes. want this morning to
.ution you against putting off making Up
snr mind ab6nt this book. Ever since
t772 there has been great discussion as to
Who was the author of Juuius' Letters,
anse letters so full of sarcasm and vituper
zion aud power The whole Eaglish nation
TIRED up with it. More than hundred
nlumes written to discuss that question::
who was Juuius?" "Who wrote the let
ers of Junius?" Well, it is en- interesting
question to discuss, but still, after all, it
nakes but little practical difference to you
nd to me who Juuius was, whether Sir
Pnilip Francis, or Lord Chatham, or John
Horne Tooke, or Horace Walpoie, or Henry
:trattan, or any one of the forty four men
sho w-re seriously charged with the au-
ehorship. But it is an absorbing question,
t is o practical question, 1t is an over
xhelming question to you aud to me, the
authorship of this Holy Bible-whether the
Lord God of heaven and earth or pack Of
iupes, scouudrels or impostoTs. We can
not afford to adjourn that question a week
IT day Or an hour, any more than sea
captain can afford to say: swell, this is a
very dark night. / have really lost my
bearings; there is light out there. | don't
know whether it is a lighthouse or false
light on the shore, don't know what it is;
hut I'll just go to sleep and in the morniog
I'll find out Ia the morning the vessel
night be on the rocks and tie beach strewn
With the white faces of the dead crew. The
ime for that sea captain to find out about
he lighthouse ia before he goes to sleep.
Oh, my friends, want you to understand
hat III our deliberations about this Bible
so are not at CAIN anchorage. but we are
apldiy coming to~ard the coast, coming
with all the furnaces aOlazs, coming at 5ne
rate of seventy besrt thrO5S minute, and
must know whsther it is going to be harbor
| 1r shipwreck.
was so glad to read in the papers of the
facs that the steamship Elan had ocms
| safely iuto harbor. 4 week before the Per
| ian Monarch, blowing its wa7 toward the
Narrows, hundred mites out, Sal signals
| IF distress, bnre down upon the vessel, aud
found It was the steamship Edam. She had
lost her propsller. She had two hundred
passengers on board. The merciful captain
# the Persian Monarch eudeayored to bring
| her 10, but the tow iine broke. lie fastonsd
| it again. but the sea was rough aud the tow
line broke again. Then the night came on,
and the merciful captain of the Persian
Mouarch clay to. thinking iu the morning
Do could givo rescue to the passengers Ths
morning came but during the night, the
steamship Edam had disappeared, and the
captain OF the persisn Monasch brought hi;
vessel Into harbor saying how sad he feli
because be could not give complete rescue
to that lost ship. l am glad that after ward
|
to safety. But when | saw the s5ory oi
Ghas staamship Edamr drifting, driftiRg.
drifting, | d. DOT know WDere. bat with nc
rudder, na lighthouse. no harbor. no help,
[ said, THAT is skeptic, that Ia an ind
del, drifting, drifting, drifting, not know:
ing where be drifts" Aud then, when
thought CT this Persi&n Monarch anchored
in hsrbor, l said, "Tba5 is Caristiau, thai
is a man who does all be can on the say
crossiag ths sea to help others, com ng per
haps through a vsgy rough voyage Into lbs
hai nor, there safe aud safe forever
Would God taat thare Giign5 be some one
eoday who would 60 forth Gnd bring IL
tasss eonis that arc drifting Ia this as
mbiage how ,aany score snail say, o.
!. hundred, OK d tbuusaud?-no5 q1ite cer
tain about the truth of the Bible, rot Ger
tain about anything. Drifting, drifting
drifting. Oh, how l would like TO tow then
10. | thros you this cable. Lay hold o
hat cable OF tho Gospel. Lay hold of it.
invite you all in. TIE har5or Is 1id'
enough, large enough fer ali the shippiue
Come in, oh, yoa wanderers on the dsep
Drift no more, drift no more. Come int
! the hsrhor, See the glorious lighthouse
the Gospel. sPeace on earth, good will t.
men," Oume into The harbor. God grau
that it may be said Of all Of you who az
now drifting in your uubelief as it niga
have been said of the passengers of tn
steamship Edam, and as it was said cen
turies ago of the wrecked corn ship OF AleI
audris, 1T came to pass that they all o.
capped safe to land"