The Penn's Grove record., 1889-09-07

your soul, ana that you, taking hold OF
its potent wing, might live and live for
ever.
l want to persuade you to lay hold of
this strong swimmer. NO." you say;
cit is always disastrous for o drowning
man to lay hold of a swimmer" There
is not a river or lake but has a calamity
resultant from the fact that when o
strong swimmer went out to save asink-
ing man, the drowning man clutched
him, threw his arms around him, pin
Toned his arms, and they both went
down together. When you are saving
a man in the water you do not want to
como up by his face; you want to come
up by his back. You do not want him
to hold you while you
TAKE HOLD OF HIM.
But, blessed be Godl Jesus Christ ia so
strong a swimmer He comes not to u
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 hat plank of good works. Do
not trust that shivered plank of your
own righteousness. Christ only can
give you transportation, Turn your
face upon Him as the dying 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 all the way back
again, taking yapr redeemed spirit.
l have sometimes thought what q
spectacle the ocean bed will present
when in the last day all the water is
drawn off. 1t will be a line of wrecks
from beach to beach. There is wherethe
harpooners went down. There is where
the line-of-battle ships went down.
There is where the merchantmen went
down. There is where the steamers
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 solemnif 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 catastrophe, putting out for their
souls, spreading forth His hands as a
swimmer ~spreadeth forth his hands to
SWIM" but they thrust H.a ia the sore
heart, and they umotehis fair cheek and
the storm and darkness swallowed them
up. I ask you to lay hold of this Christ
and lay hold of Him now,
YOU WILL SINK WITHOUT HIM.
From horlzen to horizon not one sail in
sight. Only one strong swimmer, with
head flung back and arms outspread. l
hear a great many in the audience say
ing: DWELL, 1 would like to be a Christ
ian. l am going to work to become a
Christian" My brother, you begin
wrong. When q man is drowning. and
q strong swimmer comes out to help
him, he says to him: CHOW be quiet,
Put your arm on nay arm or ON my
shoulder, but don't struggle, don't try
to help yourself, and I'll take you
ashore. The more you struggle and the
more you try to help yourself, the more
you impede me. Now bequiet, andIil
take you ashore" When Christ, the
strong swimmer, oomss out to save a
soul, tine sinner says: ''That's right.
l am glad to see Christ, and l am going
to help Him in the work of my redemp-
ton. l am going to pray more, and
that will help Him; and ] am going to
weep e~xtrsvagsntly over my 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 aninch, in 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
E JESUS CHRIST BEGIN
and complete the work of their redemp-
ton. why" you say, 'then there is
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 sal
| vation, and achieve it all. do not
| know whether 1 make the matter plain
or not. 1 simply want to show you that
a man cannot save himself, but that the
| Almighty Son of God can do it, and will
do if you ask Him. Oh, fling your two
arms-the arms of your trustand love-
around this omnipotept swimmer OF the
Gross.
Joy OVEN H RESCUED.
That is the 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 breath again! and when al
last he takes one full inhalation, and
opens his eyes upon the bystanders,
shout of Joy rings up and down the
beach. There is joy because a life has
been saved. Oh ye who have been
swamped in the seas OF trouble and sin.
we gather around you. Would that
this might be the hour when you begin
to live. The Lord Jesus Christ steps
down, He gets on His knees, He puts
His lip to your lip, and would breathe
pardon and life and heaven into your
immortal soul. God grant that this
hour there may be thousands of souls
resuscitated! | stand on the deck d
the old gospel ship amid a crowd ofpas
senSers, all of them hoping that the las
man overheard may be saved. Maytht
living Christ this hour put out for youi
safety, spreading His hands in tn.
midst of you, as a swimmer spreadetf
his hands to swim!