Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-02-06


have been strengthened by the promises {
God, and the people VINO have been fed b
the ravens when other resources gave or,
and the men and women who going into th
battle. armed only with nee1le or saw, or al
or yardstick or pen or type or shovel q
shoelast, have gained a victory that mad
the heavens resound. With all the resource
OF God promised for every exigency no on
need be left in the lurch
like the faith displayed years ago in
Drury Lane, London. in a humble HON
where every particle of food had given out
and kindly soul entered with tea and othe
table supplies, and found kettle on the fir
ready for the tea. The benevolent lady said
How is 1t that you have the kettle ready for
the tea when you had no tea in the hoi1sep'
And the daughter in the home said: Moth
er would have me put the kettle on the fire.
and when l said What is the use of doing
| so, when we have nothing in the houseg she
said My child. God viii provide. Thirty
years He has already provided for me
through all my pain and helplessness, and
! be Will not leave me to starve at last He
will send us help, though we do not sea how
! We have been waiting all the day for some
| thing to coma but until vou wa
| knew not how it was to come" Such things
! jhe world may call cOincidences but l call
them almighty deliveranceS and though
you do not hear of them, they are occurring
every hour of every day and i'll all parts of
Christendom.
But the word 'Come" applied to those who
need solace will amount to nothing unless it
be uttered by some one who has experienced
chat solace That spreads the responsibility
of giving this Gospel call among a great
many. Those who have lost property and
been consoled by religion in that trial are the
ones to invite those who have failed in busi-
ness Those who have lost their health and
been consoled by religion are the ones to in
vite those who arc in poor health Those
who have had bereavements and been con-
soled in those bereavements are the ones 70
SympathlZe with those who have lost father
or mother or companion or child or friend
What multltudes of us are alive to-day. and
IN good health, and buoyant in this life, who
would have been broken down or dead long
ago but for the sustaining and cheering help
of our holy religion! So we say Gomez
The we'll is not dry. The buckets are not
empty. The supply Is not exhausted. There
is just as much mercy and coincidence and
soothing power in God as before the first
grave was dug or the first tear started. Oh
the first heart broken, or the first accident
happened, or the first fortune vanished.
Those Of us who have felt the consolatory
power OF religion have right to speak out
OF our own experiences, and say Gomez
What dismal work Of coincidence the
world makes when it attempts to condole!
The plaster they spread does not stick. The
broken bones under their bandage do not
knit A farmer was lost in the snow storm
on, and after he was almost frantic from not
knowing which way to go, his sleigh struck
a rut Of another sleigh, and he said, II will
follow this rut and it will take me out to
safety" He fastened on until he heard the
bells of the preceding horses but, coming up
he found that that was also lost, and, as
IS Une tendency OF those who are thus con
FUSED In the forest or on the moors they
were both moving in circle and the runner
OF the one lost sleigh was following the run
ner OF tne other lost sleigh round and round
Atlas 1t occurred to them to look at the
north star, which was peeping through the
night and by the direction of that star thew
got nome again. Those who follow the ad-
vice OF TINS world in time of perplexity are
IN a fearful round; for it is one bewiidere6
soul following another bewildered soul and
only those who have in such time got their
eye on the morning star of our Christian |
1alIh can find their way out, or be strong |
enough to lead others with an all persuasive !
invitation.
But" says some one. ''you Christian peo-
pie keep telling us to Come vet YOU do not |
tell us how to come" That charge shall NOT |
be true on this occasion. Come believingI
come repenting! Come praying! After all
that God has been dOin~ Tor six thousand
Years, sometimes through Datriarchs and
'oLneCImes through prophets, and at last
through the elimination OF all tragedies on
FoigoGha' can any one think that God will
loJ welcome your coming? Will a father at
vast outlay construct mansion for his son
IND lay out parks white with statues and
green with foliage, and all a-sparkle with
ountalns, and then not allow his son to live
Il the mouse or walk in the parks? Has God
1uuI this house of Gospel mercy and will He
men refuse entrance to His children? Will
government at great expense build life saw.
ng stations all along the coast, and boats that
an mover unhurt like petrol over the wild
st surge, and then when the lifeboat has
eached the wreck Of ship in the offing not
llOW the drowning to seize the IifeEpa or fob
ne BOAT tor the shore IL safety? Shall God
provide at the cost of His only Sons assas-
lnatlon escape for sinking world, and then
urn deaf ear to the cry that comes up from
he breakers?
But" you say, ''there are so MANY tb;nos
nave 70 be1eve, and SO many things in the
hape OF creed that l have to adopt, that T
m kept back" No no! You need believe
ut two things-namely, that Jesus Christ
anne into the world to save sinners, and that
elieve both of those thingsm Do YOU really
elleve them with all your heart? ..YesH
V ny, then, you have passed from death into
ie. why, then, you are a son or a daughter
the Lord Almighty. Why, then. YOU are
heir or an heiress of an inheritance that
u III oeclare dividends from now until long
tier the stars are dead Halleluiah, Prince
God, why do you not come and take your
oronet? Princess OF the Lord Almighty
ny do you not mount your throne? Pass
p into the light. Your boat is anchored
ny do you not go ashore? Just plant you1.
eC hard down, and you will feel under them
lie Rock of Ages.
L cnaIenge the universe for one instance in
Inch man in the right spirit appealed for
lie salvation of the Gospel and did not get
. Man alive! are you going to let all the
ears OF your life go away with you without
Dur having this great peace, this glorious
ope, this bright expectancy? Are You 90
g to let the pearl of great price lie in the