The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1891-05-28


half the Gospel nets with which we
have been scooping the sea have had
such wide meshes that they have
been all torn to pieces by the
RUSHING OUT INTO THE WORLD
OF those whom q tighter net would
have kept in. The only use OF q net is
to keep the fish from going back to
where they were before and taking
them where they could not have been
taken by any other means. Alas,
that the words of Christ are so little
needed when he said: 'sWhosoever
doth not bear his cross and come
after me cannot be my disciple" The
church is fast becoming as bad as the
world, and when it gets as bad as the
world it will be worse than the world
by 50 much as it will add hypocrisy
OF a most appalling kind to it's other
defects.
Furthermore, many of our nets are
torn to pieces by being entangled with
other nets. It is a sad sight to see
fishermen fighting about sea room and
pulling in opposite directions, each to
get his net, both nets damaged by the
struggle and losing all the fish. In a
city like this of more than eight hum
dred thousand not in Sabbath schools
or churches. And in this land where
there are more than sixty-four million
people, there are at least thirty mil
lion not in the Sabbath schools and
churches. And in this world of more
than fourteen hundred million, there
are at least eight hundred million not
in schools and churches In such an
Atlantic ocean of opportunity, there
is room for all the nets and all the
boats and all the fishermen and for
millions more. There should be no
rivalry between churches. Each one
does q work peculiar to itself. There
should be no rivalry between minis
tiers. God never repeats Himself,
and He never makes two ministers
alike, and each one has q work which
no other man in the universe can &C.
complish. II fishermen are wise, they
will not allow their nets to entangle;
or if they do accidentally get inter
twisted, the work ofextrication should
be kindly and gently conducted. What
a glad spectacle for men and angels
when on our recent dedication day
ministers OF all denominations stood
on this platform and wished for each
other.
WIDEST PROSPERITY AND USEFULNESS.
But there are cities in this country
where there is now going on an awful
ripping and rending and tearing of
fishing nets. Indeed, all over christen-
dom at this time there is great war
going on between fishermen, ministers,
against ministers.
Now l have noticed a man cannot
fish and fight at the same time. He
either neglects his net or his musket.
1t is amazing how much time some of
the fishermen have to look after other
fishermen. Is is more than I can do
to take care of my own net. You see
the wind is just ri ht and it is such a.
good time for fishing and the fish are
coming in SO rapidly that I have to
keep my eye and hand busy. There
are about 2OO,OOO,OOO souls wanting
to get into the kingdom Of God and it
will require all nets and all the boats
and all the fishermen Of christendom
to safely land them. At East Hamp-
ton, Long Island, where I summer,
out on the bluffs some morning we see
the flags up; and that is the signal for
launching out into the deep. For a.
while the water is tinged with that
peculiar color that indicates whole
schools OF piscatorial revelry and the
beach swarms with men with their
coats off and their seacap on and
those OF us who do not 60 out on the
wave stand on the beach ready to
rejoice when the boats come back and
IN our excitement we rush into the
water with our shoes on to help get
the boats up the beach and we all Law
hold the lines and pull till we are red
III the face and as the living things Of
the deep come tumbling in onthe sand,
L cry out, Captain, how many?'
And he answers, "About fifty thous-.
and.' And we shout to the late
corners, "Hurrah, fifty thousand"
We must have an enthusiasm some
thing like that if we are ever to take
the
, HUMAN RACE FOR GOD AND HEAVEN.
When you are mending your net for
this wide, deep sea of humanity, take
out that wire thread OF criticism and
that-horse-hair thread of harshness
and put IN a soft silken thread of
Christian sympathy. Yea, when you
are mendlng your nets tear out those
ola threads OF gruffness and weave in
afew threads OF politeness and genial
lty. In the house of God let all the
Christian faces beam
WITH LOOK THAT MEANS WELCOME.
Say 'good morning" to the stranger
as ne enters your pew and at the
close shake hands with him and saw
chow do youlike the music?" Why,
you would be to that man a panel OF
the door OF heaven; you would be to
him a note Of the doxology that SER
apis sing when new soul enters.
That man is a thousand miles from
home and he has just heard by tele-
graph that his child is sick with scar
let fever and his boy at college has got
into disgrace and he has had business
troubles and is homesick he can hard
ly keep from crying. Just one word
OF brotherly kindness from you would
lit him into a small-heaven, have in
other days entered a pew in church
and the woman at the other end of
the. pew looked at me as much as to
say: GLOW dare you? This is nv