Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-29
A Multitude Of Souls Ruined by
False Lights on the Shore.
Thrown on the Shore Helpless-Driven
Before the Wrecked for
Two Worlds.
Put Out Gods Great Ocean Lamp, the Gospel
and Woe to Those Who Swing
False Lanterns.
DO NOT BE A cAsTAwAY.


took for his text Cor. tx, 81: "Lest
that by any means 1 Myself should be
cast away The preacher said:
In the presence of you who live on the
Pacific coast, I who live on the Atlantic
coast may appropriately speak on this
marine alluslon of the text, for all who
know about the sea know about the cast
away. The text implies that ministers
of religion may help others into heaven
and yet miss it themselves. The carpen-
tiers that built Noah's ark did not get into
it themselves. Gown and surplIce,
and diplomas, and canonicals
are no security Cardinal VOL
sey after having been petted
by kings, and having entertained foreign
ambassadors at Hampton court, died in
darkness. One of the most eminent
ministers of religion that this country
has ever known. plunged into sin and
died; his heart by post norton exami-
nation, found to have been, not figura-
lively, but literally, broken. We may
have hands OF ordination on the head and
address cOnsecrated assemblages, but
that is no reason why we shall necessa-
rily reach the realm celestial. The cler-
gyman must go through the same gate of
pardon as the layman. There have been
cases of shipwreck where all on board es-
capped excepting the captain. Alas! if
having 'preached to others [ myself
should be q castaway. God forbid it.
l have examined some of the commen-
taries to see what they thought about this
word ''castaway - and l find that they
differ in regard to the figure used, while
they agree in regard to the meaning. So
[ shall make my own selection, and take
it in nautical and seafaring sense, and
show you that men may become spiritual
castaways, and how finally they drift
into that calamity.
BREAKERS AHEAD!
You and l live in seabOard cities. You
have all stood on the beach. Many OF
you have crossed the ocean. Some of
you have managed vessels in great stress
of weather There is a sea captain, and
there is another, and yonder Is another,
and there are a goodly number of you
who, though once you did not know the
difference between a brig and bark land
between a diamond knot and a spirit sheet
sail knot, and although you could
not point out the weather crossjack
brace, and though you could not man the
lar with q ship as you are with your right
hand, and if it were necessary you could
take vessel clear across to the mouth of
the MeTsey without the loss of a single
SAIL. Well, there is q dark night in your
memory of the sea. The vessel became
unmanageable. You saw 1t was scudding
towards the shore. You heard the cry:
Breakers ahead! Land on the lee
bow!' The vessel struck the rock, and
you felt the deck breaking UP under
your feet, and you were a castaway, as
when the Hercules drove OF the coast of
Caffraria, as when the Portuguese brig
went staving, splitting, grinding, crash
ing on the Goodwins. But whether
you have followed the sea or not, you all
understand the figure when L tell you
that three are men who, by their sins and
temptations, are thrown helplesf! Driven
before the gale! Wrecked for two
worlds! Castaways! Castaways!
WATCH FOR THE TRUE LIGHT.
By talking with some sea captains I
have found out that there are three or
four causes for such a calamity to a yes
sci. l have been told that it sometimes
comes from creating false lights on the !
beach. This was often so in olden times. |
It is not many years ago, indeed, that |
vagabOnds used to wander up and down |
the beach, getting vessels ashore in the |
night, throwing up false lights in their |
presence and deceiving them, that they |
mihgt dtspon and ransack them. |
All kinds Of Internal arts |
were used to accomplish this. And |
one night on the Corning coast. when the |
sea was coming in fearfully, some Williams |
took lantern and tied it to a horse, and |
ho to
lantern swaying to the motion of the
horse, and a sea captain in the offing saw
It and made up his mind that he was not
anywhere hear the shore, for he said:
There S a vessel-that must be vessel, |
for it has a movable light, - and he had
40 apprehension until he heard the rocks
grating on the ships bottom, and it went
to pieces, and the Williams on shore gath
cred up the packages and treasures that
we're washed to the land. And [ have to
ell yon that there are a multitude of
souls ruined by false lights on the beach.
n the dark night of man S dan
ger, false religion goes up and !
Down the shore, shaking its lantern, and
men look off and take that fiickering and
expiring wick as the signal of safety and
he cry is, "Heave the main topsail to
he mastl All is welIi'' when sudden
destruction cometh upon them, and they
hall not escape. So there are all kinds
# lanterns swung on the beach-philo-
optical lanterns, educational lanterns,
lanters. Men look at them
md are deceived, when there is nothing
,ut Gods eternal lighthouse of the Cos
,el that can keep them from becoming
astaways Once, on Wolf Crag hight
ouse, they tried to build copper figure
+ wolf with its mouth open, so that
he storms beating into it, the wolf
you'd howl forth the danger to
mariners that might be coming anywhere
ear the coast. OF course it was a fail
re- And so all new inventions for the
aying of man s soul are unavailing
What the human race wants is a light
ursting forth from the cross standing an
lie great headlands-the light of pardon,
he light of comfort, the light of heaven.
-Ou might better go tonight and destroy
II the lighthouses on the dangerous
oasts-the Barnegat lighthouse, the
'astnet Rock lighthouse, the Sherryvore
clubhouse, the Longship's lighthouse,
he Hollyhead ighthouse-than to put
ut God IS great ocean lamp, the gospel
Voc to those who swing false lanterns on
he beach till men crash into ruin. Cast