The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1889-08-26

often hear the old story: II haln I seen my
friend in a great many wears. We were
very glad to meet. He aid 1 must drink
and be took RE by the arm and pressed me
alonr. ana filed he cIp til the bubbles
ran over the edge, and in an evil moment
all nv good res buttons were s"ept away.
and to the outraging Of God and my own
soul. l fell Or the story is: Il had hard
work 10 support my family. thought that
bv one false try, by one dec 'puon, by
one enbezzlement, might spriag out free
from all my Il, uole; and the temptation
came upon me so fiercely | could not delib-
crate. I did wrong and having
done wrong once, could not STOP Q, il
is the first step that costs; the second Is
easier, and the third; and on 10 the last.
Once having broken loose from the anchor,
it is not so easv to lie the arted strands.
How often is it that men are ruined for the
reason that tie temptation comes from
some unexpected c larter. As vessels lie il
Margate roads, fe from southwest wind !;
but the wind changing to the nor heast.
they are driven helpless Il go down. y,
that Col would nave mercy upon those
upon whom there comes the sud len swoop
of temptation, lest they perlsc, becoming
castawaySl castawaysl
By talking with sea captains have found
out also that some veiSe come to this ca
lamity through sheer recke IS ess. There
are three million men VINO follow e So
for a living 1t is a simple fact that tn.
average of human life on the sea is less tina
twelve years. This comes from the f ct
that men by familiarity with danger me
times ecome Teckless-the captain, the
helmsman, the st ker, the man on tn look
out, become reckless. and il nine out OF te
shipwrpcks it is found ont that soma one
was awfully to bla ne. So have TO tell
you that men are morally shipwrecked
through sheer reckle sness. The are
thousands who do not ca e where they are
in spiritual things. They do not know
know which way they are sailing, and the
sea is black with pirat cal hulks that would
grapple them with hooks of steel and blind
fold them, and make them walk the
plank They do not know what the next
moment may bring forth. d fitting in
their theology. Drifting in their
HABITS. Drifting in regard TO all their
future No God, no Christ, no settled a
ticlpations of external felicity; but all the
time coming nearer and nearer to a
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. Many of them
with great troubles, financial troubles, do
mestic troubles. social troubles; but they
never pray tor comfort. With an aggra-
vati n Of sin they pray for no pardo
They do not steer for the lightship that
dances in gladness at the mouth of heavens
harbor; reckless as to where they co ne out,
drifting further from God, furthe fro n
early religious fluences, further from hap
piness; and what is the wor thing about
1t is, they are taking their families along
with them, aud the way one goes, the
probability is tey will all go. Yet no
anxiety. As uncon cious of danger as
the passengers aboard thu Arctic o g
moment before the Vesta crashed into her
Wrapped up in the business Of the store,
not remembering that soon they must quit
all their ear hly possessions. Abs bed il
their social position, not knowing that very
soon they will have attended the last evee,
and Wbirled in the last schottlshe. They
do not deliberately cho Sc TO BE- ruined;
neither did the French frigate Med sa aim
for the Arguin banks, but t it went to
pieces | wish l could wake you up The
perils are so aug nented, you will die Just as
certaiuly as you sit there unless you be tir
yourself. Are you willing to become
a cestnway? You throw out no oar.
You tahe TO surroundings. You
watch no co npass. You are not calculate z
your bearings while the = ind is abaft. and
yonder is long line of foam bounding the
hOrizO2. and you viii be pushed on toward
it, aud ousa dis have persisted there, a d
you are drlvl g in tle sans direction
Ready about Down helm! Hard down.
Man the life boati PIil, my lads, pull
He that being often reproved hardene. b
his neck, shall be sudde ly DESTROYED and
that without remedy" But some of YOU
are saying within yourselves: "Nhat saall
i" Doc Doc Why, my bro her,
do what any ip does when it is
trouble. Lift a ci,tress signI. o.
ha -
You listen aud you look. a vessel IS in
trouble the distress gu is sou lded, or a
rocket Is sent up, or lanket is lif ed, or a
bundle OF rags-anythi to catch the eve
of the passing craft. So if you want to be
taken off tue wreck of your sin, YOU
must lift distress signal. The publ
can lif ed the distress sig al whe he
cried: God, be merciful to me a sin
nerw Peter lifted the dist ass signal
when he said; 'Lor ;, save me, | Per
lshw The blind man lifted the distress
signal when he said: Lord, that my
eyes may be opsned.n Tho iai er lifted thu,
distress signal when e said: What mus
do to be saved| And help will never come
to YOUR soul until you lift some signal You
must make some demonstration, give some
sign, make some heaven piercing ou,cry r
help, lifting the distress 81 nal for the
church's prayer, lifting the distress signal
for heaven's pardon. Pray! Pray! The
voice of the Lo d now sou ds in your oar !:
In me is thy help" Too proud to raise
such signal, too proud to be saved.
There was an old sailor thumpl 9 about
In smal boat in a tempest. The larg r
vessel had gone down. He felt ne
must die. The surf was breaking over the
boat, and he sad: 81 took Off my life bell
that It might on be over and | Thought
somewhat indistinctly about my frie DIS n
shore and then bid the good-by like. and
l was about sinking back and giving it mn.
when l saw bright star. T e ouds serea
breaking away, a d there that blessed star
shone down on ME, and it seemed TO take
right hold OF me; and somehow, cannot
tell how it was, but somehow. while I was
trying to watch that star, it seemed to heir
me and seemed to lift me-" o, sinking
soul, see You not the gliinmer between this
riffs of the storm clold3 That is the star
of hope.
Deathstruck; ceased the tide to stem,
When Suddenly a star arose,
1t was the star of Bethlehem,
If there are any here who consider them
selves castaways, let me say God il dom.
everything TO save you. Did you ever heal
of Lionel Luke 2 He was the We ntor OF
the insub.nergible lifeboat. All honor
is due to his memory by seafarinc
men, as well as by landsmen
How many lives he saved by M,
invention. In after days that invention
was improved, aud one day there was ,
perfect lifeboat. the No thu nberland
ready at Ramsgate. The lifeboat bel Is
ready, to test it the crew came out and
leaped on the gu vale on one side to see if
the boat would upse it was impossible to
upset 1t. lien, amid the huZzas of ex
cited tn usands that hoat 1pas lo,ocho 4