Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-12-19

lAAeDOat anu tue long bOolf tue hntElu
and the auetioreer try to help him OF;
they can't help him of, he must 20
down-no Christ in the ship. Your life
will be made up of sunshine and
shadows. There may be in it Arctic
blasts or tropical tornadoes; know not
what is before you, but 1 know if you
have Christ with you all shall be we'll.
You may seem 10 get along without the
religion of Christ while everything goes
smoothly, but after awhile, when sorrow
hoyers over the soul, when the waves of
trial dash clear over the hurricane deck,
aud the decks are crowded with piratical
disasters-oh, what would you do then
without Christ in the ship2 Take God
! for your portion, God for your guide,
God for your help; then all is we'll; all
| is we'll for time, all shall be we'll for
ever. Blessed is that man who puts in
the Lord his trust. He shall never be
con founded.
But my subject also impresses me
with the fact that when people start to
follow Christ they must not expect
smooth sailing.
These disciples got into the small
boats, and have no doubt they said:
What beautiful day this is! What
smooth seal What bright sky this is!
. nOW ohllluB III LAlb OOdbs
And as for the waves under the keel of
! the boat, why they only make the mo
ton of our little boat the more delight
full" But when the winds swept down
and the sea was tossed into wrath, then
they found that following Christ was
not smooth sailing. So you have found
it; so 1 have found. Did you ever notice
the end of the life of the apostles of
Jesus Christ? You would say, if ever
men ought to have had smooth life,
smooth departure, then those men, the
disciples of Jesus Christ, ought to have
had such departure and such life.
st. james lost his head. st. Philip was
hung to death on pillar, st. Matthew
| had his life dashed out with halbert.
st. Mark was dragged to death through
the street. st. James the Less was
beaten to death with fuller's club. st.
Thomas was struck through with spear.
They did not find following Christ
smooth sailing. Oh, how they were all
tossed in the tempest! John Huss in
the fire; Hugh McKail in the hour of
martyrdom; the Albigenses, the Wald-
enses, the Scotch Covenanters-did they
find it smooth sailing? But why 60 into
history when we can draw from our own
memory illustrations of the truth of
what 1 say? Some young man in a store
trying to serve God, while his employer
SCOTS at Christianity; the young men in
the same store, antagonistic to the
Christian religion, teasing him, tor
menting him about his religion, trying
to get him mad. They succeed in get
ting him mad, saying, You're a pretty
Christian!" Does that young man find
it smooth sailing when he tries to fol-
low Christ? Or you remember Chris
tian girl. Her father despises the
Christian religion; her mother despises
the Christian religion; her brothers and
sisters scotf at the Christian religion;
she can hardly find quiet place in
which to say her prayers. Did she find
it smooth sailing when she tried to fol-
low Jesus Christ? Oh, no! All who
would live the life of the Christian re-
ligion must suffer persecution; if you do
not find it in one way, you will get it
in another way. The question was
asked: "Who are those nearest the
throne?" And the answer came back:
"These are they who came up out of
great tribulation-great failing, as the
original has it; great failing, great
pounding-and had their robes washed
and made white in the blood of the
lamb" Oh, do not be disheartened!
Take courage. You are in glorious
companionship. God will see you
, through all trials and He will deliver
you. My subject also impresses me with
, the fact that good people sometimes gel
/ very much frightened.
In the tones of these disciples as they
rushed into the back part of the boat,
, find they are frightened almost to death.
, They say: Master, carest thou not that
hoJ TO he
frightened, for Christ was in the boat
, suppose if we had been there we would
have been Just as much atfrighted. Per-
haps more. In all agesvery good peo-
, pie get very much ntfrighted. 1t is often
, so in our day, and men say: why, look
at the bad lectures look at the various
errors going over the church of God; we
are going to founder; the church is 60
. ing to perish; she is going down." oh,
3 how many good people are atfrighted
by inquity in our day, and think the
. Churcn of Jesus Christ is going to be
overthrown, and are Just as much af-
a frighted as were the disciples of my
text. Don't worry, don't fret, as though
i iniquity were going to triumph ovel
a Righteousness. A lion goes into cav
q ern to sleep. He lies down, with his
. shaggy name covering the paws. Mean.
i while the spiders spin web across the
Q mouth of the cavern and say, I'VE have
captured him." Gossamer thread after
a gossamer thread, until the whole from
Of the cavern is covered with thu
!, spiders web, and the spiders say: "Tht
o lion is done; the lion is fast" After {
i while the lion has got through sleeping
!. he rouses himself, he shakes his name
/ he walks out into the sunlight; he doe
q not even know the spiders web is spun
0 and with his voice he shakes
t the mountain. So men COM
Q spinning their sophistries ant
. skepticism about Jesus Christ
: He seems to be sleeping. They say
o "We have captured the Lord; He will
g never come forth again upon the nation
8 Christ is captured forever. His religion
r will never make any conquest among
!. men," But after o while the Lion of tn,
i: tribe of Judah will rouse himself ant
come forth to shake nightly the ma
e tions. What's spiders web to tn
aroused lion? Give truth and error
$ fair grapple and truth will come OF
! victor.
g But there are IL great many good peo
/ pie who get affrighted in other re
e spects; they are atfrighted in our da,
: about revivals. They say: "Oh! this i
!, strong religious gale; we are afrait
@ the church Of God is going to be upset