News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1889-08-29

w men Nathamel Lyon fell In the battle
charge In front of his troops, he had whole
army to cheer him. When Marshal Ney
sprang into the contest and plunged in
the spurs till the horses TANKS spurted blood
all France applauded him. But Jesus alone
of the people there was none to help"
"All forsook him and fed" o, it was not a
fotilla that sailed down and saved u.s. II
was not cluster of gondolas that came over
the wave. 1t was one person, independent
and alone, spreading out His hands among
us as swimmer spreadeth forth his hands
to swim"
Behold then, to-day, the spectacle of a
drowning soul and Christ, the swimmer.
believe 1t was in 1S4S, when there were six
English soldiers of the Fifth Fusiliers who
were hanging to the bottom of a capsized
boat-a boat that had been upset by a sauall
three miles from shore. 1t was i'll the night
but one man swan nightly for the beach,
guided by the dark mountains that lifted their
top through the night He came to the beach.
lie found shore man that consented to go
with him and save the other men, and they
put out. 1t was some time before they could
find the place where the men were, but after
awhile they heard their cry: Help! Help!'
and they bore down to them and they saved
them, and brought them to shore. Oh, that
this moment our cry might be lifted long,
loud and shrill till Christ the swimmer shall
come and take us lest we drop a thousand
fathoms down.
If you have beS much by water, you
know very well thJ when ono is in peril
help must come vers quickly, or 1t will be OF
no use. One minute may decide everything
Immediate help the man wants or no help at
all. Now, that is just the kind of relief we
want. The case is urgent imminent, instan-
taneous. See that soul sinking. Son of
God, lay hold of him Be quick! be quick
oh, wish you all understood how urgent
this Gospel is There was man in the
ot ho bal hann CavaralU yyhinnn6
for bad behavior, sand he was maddened
by it, and he lealSd into the sea, and no
sooner had he leape&sinto the sea than, quick
as lightning an albtsross swooped upon him.
The drowning mar& brought to his senses.
seized hold of the aIfatross and held on. The
huttering of the biz kept him on the wave
until relief could COME Would now the dove
of Gods convictinG converting and saving
spirit might fa-esx she throne upon your
soul, and that you taking hold of its potent
wing, might live and live forever.
want to persuade you to lay hold of this
ways disastrous for a drowning man to lay
hold of a swimmer" There is not river or
lake but has q calamity resultant from the
fact that when strong swimmer went out
to save sinking man. tho drowning man
clutched him, threw his arms around him,
pinioned his arms, and they both went down
together. When you are saving man In the
water you do not want to come up by
his face; you want to come up by his back.
You do not want him to take hold of you
while you take hold of him But, blessed be
God, Jesus Christ is so strong swimmer, lie
comes not to our back, but to our face, and
He asks us to throw around Him the arms of
our love, and then promises to take us to the
beach, and He will do it, Do not trust that
plank of good works. Do not trust that
shivered spar of your own Righteousness.
Christ only can give you transportation.
r., 60 HI Iyi,n
martyr did in olden days when
he cried out: None but Christi None but
Christi Jesus has taken millions to the
land, and He is willing to take you there.
Oh, what hardness to shove Him back when
He has been swimming all the way from the
throne of God to where you are now, and is
ready to swim allthe way back again, taking
your redeemed spirit | have sometimes
thought what spectacle the ocean bed will
present when in the last day the water
is all drawn off. 1t will be a line of
wrecks from beach to beach. There is
where the harpoons went down.
There is where the line of battle ships
went down. There is where the merchant
men went down. There is where the steam
ers went down, a long line of wrecks from
beach to beach. What a spectacle in the
last day when the water is drawn off But
oh, how much more solemn if we had an eye
to see the spiritual wrecks and the places
where they foundered. You would find
thousands along our roads and streets
Christ came down in their awful catas-
trophe, putting out for their souls, spreading
forth His hands as a swimmer spreadeth
forth his hands to swim;n but they thrust
Him in the sore heart and they smote His
fair cheek, and the storm and darkness
swallowed them up. 1 ask you to lay hold
of this Christ and lay hold of Him
now. You will sink without
Him. From horizon to horizon not
one sail in sight. Only one strong swimmer,
with head flung back and arms outspread.
hear great many in the audience saying:
''Well, l would like to be Christian. 1 am
brother, you begin wrong. When man is
drowning, and a strong swimmer comes out
to help him, he says to him. "Now be quiet
Put your arm on my arm or on my shoulder,
but don't struggle, don't try to help your
self, and I'll take you ashore. The more you
struggle and the more you try to help your
self, the more you impede me. Now be
quiet and I'll tSie< you ashore" When
Christ the strong swimmer, comes out to
save soul, the sinner says: ''Thats right.
am glad to see Christ, and l am going to
help Him in the work Of my redemption.
l am going to pray more and that will help
Him; aud | am going to weep extrayagantly
over nv sins and that will help Him" No
my brother, 1t Will not. Stop your doing.
Christ will do all or none. You cannot lift
an ounce you cannot move an lnch, III this
matter of your redemption.
This is the difficulty which keeps thousands
of souls out of the kingdom of heaven. 1t is
because they cannot consent to let Jesus
Christ begin and complete the work of their
why" you say, 'then is
there nothing for me to do?' Only one
thing have you to do and that is to
lay hold of Christ and let Him achieve
your salvation and achieve it ALL L
do not know whether make the matter plain
or not. simply want to show you that
man cannot save himself but that the AL
mighty Son of God can do it, and will do it, if
you ask Him. o, fling your two arms, the
arms of your trust and love, around this
swimmer of the cross.
That is a thrilling time when some one
swamped in the surf is brought ashore and
being resuscitated. How the people watch
for the moment when he begins to breathe
again, and when at last he takes one full in
halation, and opens his eyes upon the by
ISLANDERS. shout of ioV rings up and down
the beach. There is joy because a life has
been saved o, We who have been swamped
in the seas of trouble and sinl we gather
around you. Would that this might be the
hour when you begin to hive. The Lord Je-
sus Christ steps down, He gets on His knees,
He puts His lip to your lip, and would
your immortal soul. God grant that this
hour there may be thousands of souls resusci-
lated l stand on the deck of the old Gospel
ship amid a crowd of passengers, all of them
hoping that the last man overheard may be
saved. May the living Christ this hour put
out for your safety, spreading forth His
hands in the midst of you, as a swimmer
Spreadeth forth his hands to swim"