Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-29

swift feet on the ratlines, and the cry is:
way, haul away therel' But before
thew can square the booms and tarpauIin
the hatchWays the vessel is groaning and
creaking in the grip of a tornado, and
falls over INTO the trough of the sea, and
broadside 1t rolls on to the beach and
keels over, leaving the crew to struggle
in the merciless surf Castawavl Cast
away! And so l have to tell you that
there are thousands of men DESTROYED
through the sudden swoop of tempta-
tions. Some great inducement to world
illness or to sensuality or to high temper
or TO some form of dissipation, comes
upon them. If they had time to
examine their Bible, if they had
time to consult with their friends,
if they had time to deliberate,
they could stand it; but the temptation
came so suddenly-an euroclydon on the
Mediterranean, a whirlwind of the Car
ibbean. One awful surge of temptation
and they perish. And so we often hear
the old story: ''I hadn't seen my friend
in great many years. We were very
glad to meet. he said I must drink,
and he took me by the arm and pressed
me along, and filed the cup until the
bubbles ran over the edge, and in an evil
moment all my good resolutions were
swept away, and, to the Outraging of
God and my own soul, fell" Or the
story is: 81 had hard work to support
my family. though that by one false
entry, by one deception, by one embez-
Element, l might spring out free
from all my trouble; and the temptation
came upon me so fierceIy [ could not de-
liberate. did wrong, and having done
wrong once I could not STOP O, 1t is
the first step that costs; the second is
easier, and the third; and on to the last.
Once having broken loose from the
anchor, it is not so easy to tie the parted
strands. How often it is that men are
ruined for the reason that the temptation
comes from some unexpected quarter.
As vessels lie in Margate Roads, safe
from southwest winds; but the wind
changing to the northeast, they are
driven helpless and go down. o that
God would have mercy upon those upon
whom there comes the sudden swoop Of
temptation, lest they perish, becoming
castaways! eastaways!
FATAL CARELESSNEss.
By talking with sea captains I have
found out also that some vessels come
to this calamity through sheer reckless
ness. There are 8, 900 900 men who fol-
Il Il
fact that the average of human life on
the sea is less than twelve years This
comes from the fact that men by fam
iliarty with danger sometimes become
reckless-the captain, the helmsman,
the stoker, the man on the lookout, be-
come reckless, and in nine out of ten
shipwrecks it is found out that someone
was awfully to blame. So I have to
tell you that men are morally ship
wrecked through sheer recklessness.
There are thousands who do not care
where they are in spiritual things. They
do not know which way they are
sailing, and the sea is black with pratt
cal hulks that would grappIe them with
hooks Of steal and blindfold them and
make them ''walk the plank. - They
do not know what the next moment may
bring forth. Drifting in their theology.
Drifting in their habits Drifting IN re-
gard to all their future. No God, no
Christ, no settled anticipations of eternal
but all the time coming nearer
and nearer TO a dangerous coast. Some
of them are on 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, finan-
cIal troubles, domestic troubles, social |
but they never pray
for comfort. With an ag-
of sin they pray for no
pardon. They do not steer for the light |
ship that dances in gladness at the mouth |
of heaven s harbor; reckless as to where |
they come out, drifting further from |
God, further from early religious in |
fuences, further from happiness; and |
what is the worst thing about it is, they |
them, and the way one goes the proba-
Oility is they will all go. Yet no anxiety.
As unconscious of danger as the passen-
gers on board the Arctic one moment be-
lore the Vesta crashed into her
up in the business of the store, |
lot remembering that soon they must
Iuit all their earthly possessions. Alb
orbed in their social position, not know
ng that very soon they will have at
ended the last levee and WhiTl in the
asst shottische. They do not deliber-
ltely choose to be ruined; neither did the
french frigate Medusa aim for the Ar
III banks, but there it went to pieces.
wish I could wake you up. The perils
ire so augmented, you will die just as
as you sit there unless you be-
tir yourself. Are you willing to become
castaway? You throw out no oar. You
axe no soundings. You watch no COM
,ass. You are not calculating your bear
ngs while the wind is abaft, and yonder
s long line of foam bounding the hori-
on, and you will be pushed on toward
t and thousands have persisted there,
nd you are driving in the
anne direction. Ready about!
Down helm Hard down! Man the
ife boat! Pull, my lads, pull! ''He
hat being often Teproved hardeneth his
eek, shall be suddenly destroyed and
hat without remedy. - But some of
on are saying within yourselves: "What
hall 1 do?'' Do? Do? Why, my
do what any ship does when it is
i trouble. Lift distress signal. On
he sea there is flash and boom. You
sten and you look. A vessel is in
rouble. The distress gun is sounded, or
rocket is sent up, or blanket is lifted,
r bundle of rags-anything to catch
he eye of the passing craft. So if you
ant to be taken off the wreck of your
IN, you must lift distress signal. The
ublican lifted the distress signal
hen he cried: Good be merciful to
le a sinner!' Peter lifted the dis
'ess signal when he said: lord, save
n |