The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1889-09-11

Drifting In regard to all their future.
No God, no Christ no settled anticf.
coming nearer and nearer to 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, financial
troubles, domestic troubles, social troubles;
but they never pray for comfort. With an
aggrayation Of sin they pray for no pardon.
They do not steer for the lightship that dances
in gladness at the mouth of heavens
| harbor; reckless as to where they
come out, drifting further from God, further
from early religious influences further from
happiness; and what Is the worst thing about
It is, they are taking their families along
with them, and the way one goes, the proba-
bility is they will all go. Yet no anxiety. As
unconscious Of danger as the passengers
aboard the Arctic one moment before the
Vesta crashed into her. Wrapped up in the
business Of the store, not remembering that
soon they must quit all their earthly pos
sessions. Absorbed in their social po-
have attended the last levee and whirled In
the last schottishe. They do not deliberately
choose to beruined; neither did the French
trigate Medusa aim for the Arguin banks,
but there it went to pieces. I wish I could
wake you up. The perils are so augmented,
you will die just as certainly as you sit there
unless you bestir yourself. Are you willing
to become castawayi You throw out no
oar. You take no surroundings. You watch
bearings while the wind Is abaft,
and yonder Is long line Of foam
bounding ths horizon, and you will
be pushed on toward it, and thou
sands have perished there, and you are driv-
ing in the same direction. Ready abouti
Down helml Hard downI Man the life boatl
Pull, my lads, pull! "He that being often
reproved hardeneth his neck, shall be sud
denly destroyed and that without remedy"
ssSes sps WSa e 0S Ra II do Bo S5 pos TSy
my brother, do what any ship does when
it is in trouble. Lift distress signal. On
the sea there is a flash and a boom.
You listen and you look. A vessel is
in trouble. The distress gun is sounded,
or rocket is sent up, or q blanket
is lifted, or bundle Of rags-any
thing to catch the eye Of the passing
craft. So if you want to be taken of
the wreck Of your sin, you must lift dis
tress signal. The publican lifted the dis
tress signal when he cried: "God, be
merciful to me sinnerp Peter lifted the
distress signal when he said: 'Lord, save
me, perishp The blind man lifted the
distress signal when he said: s'Lord, that my
eyes may be opened" The jailer lifted the
distress signal when he said: what must I
do to be saveds' And help will never come
to your soul until you lift some signal. You
must make some demonstration, give some
sign, make some heayen-piercing outcry for
help, lifting the distress signal for the
churehs prayer, lifting the distress signal
voice Of the Lord now Sounds in your ears:
I'm Me is thy help Too proud to raise
such signal, too proud to he saved.
There was an old sailor humping about in
q small boat in tempest The larger vessel
had gone down. He felt he must die The
surf was breaking over the boat, and he said:
II took Off my life belt that it might soon be
over, and thought somewhat indistinctly
about my friends on shore and then bid
them good-by like and I was about sinking
back aud giving it up, when 1 saw q bright
star The clouds were breaking away, and
there that blessed star shone down on me-
and it seemed to take right hold on me; and
somehow, cannot tell how it was, but some
how, while was trying to watch that star,
it seemed to help me and seemed to lift me-"
0, sinking soul, see you not the glimmer be-
tween the riffs Of the storm clouds That is
the star of hope. .e..... w
Deathstruck, ceased the tide to stem, ,
When suddenly Q star arose, IT,
If there are any here who consider them
selves castaways, let me say God is doing
everything to save you. Did you ever hear
Of Lionel Iuken? He was the inventor Of the
insubmergible life boat. All honor Is due to
his memory by seafaring men, as well as by
landsmen. How many lives he saved by his
invention. In after days that invention was
improved, and one day there was q perfect
life boat, the Northumberland, ready at
Ramsgato. The life boat being ready, to test
it the crew came out and leaped on the gun.
upset; it was impossible to upset
it, Then amid the huzZas Of ex-
cited thousands, that boat was launched, and
it has gone and come, picking up great
MANY Of the shipwrecked. But have to tell
you now of O grander launching, and from
the dry docks of heaven. Word came up
that world was beating on the rocks. In
the presence of the potentates Of heaven the
life boat Of the worlds redemption was
launched. 1t showed off the golden sands
amid angelic hosannns. The surges Of dark
and it comes in sight Of US this hour. 1t
comes for you it comes for me- Soul! soul!
get into it. Make one leap for heaven. Let
the boat go past and your opportunity Is
gono.
am expecting that there will be whole
families hero who will get into that ife boat.
In 1888, the Isabella came ashore of Hast
ings England Tho air was filed with
sounds-the hoarse sea trumpet the crash OF
the axes and the believing Of the tornado.
A boat from the shore came under the stern
of the disabled vessel. There were women
and children on board that vessel. Some oi
the sailors jumped into the small boat and
said: "Now give US the children" A father
who stood on deck took his first born
and threw him to the boat. The sailors
caught him safely, and the next, and tho
next, to the last. Still the sea rocking, the
storm bowling. ''Now," said the sailors,
''now tho mother" and she leaped, and was
saved. The boat went to the shore; but be-
fore it got to the shore the landsmen were so
impatient to help the suffering people that
they waded clear down into the surf with
blankets and garments, and promises of help
who are going to be saved, and saved alto
gether.. Give us that child for Christ,
that other child, that other. Give us
the mother, give us the father, the
whole family. They must all come in. All
heaven wades in to help you. claim this
whole audience for God. I pick not out one
man here nor one man there; Iclaim you all. =
There are some of you who, thirty years ago.
were consecrated to Christ by your parents
In DQptlSm. certainly 1 aln nOI stepping
over the right bound when I claim you for
Jesus. Then there are many here who have 4
been seeking God for q good WHILE and am
not right in claiming you for Jesus? Then
there are some here who have been
further away, and you drink, and
you swear, and you bring up
your families without any God to take care
Of them when you are dead. And claim
you, my brother; claim all of you. You
will have to pray sometime; why not begin
now, while all the ripe and purple cluster Of
divine promise bond over into your, cup,