The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-05-29


fast becoming as bad as the world, and
when it gets as bad rs the world it will
be worse than the world by so much, as
it will add Hypocrisy of a most appall-
ing kind to its other defects.
ENTANaLEp WITH OTHER NETS.
Furthermore, many Of our nets are
torn to pieces by being entangled with
other nets 1t is a sad sight to see fish
ermen lighting 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
city like this of more than eight
hundred thousand, there are at least
five hundred thousand not in Sab
bath schools or churches. And in
this land where there are more than
sixty-four million people, there are at
least thirty million not in the Sabbath
schools and churches. And in this
world of more than fourteen hundred
million people 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 fish
ernen and for millions more.
There should be no rivalry between
churches. Each one does work pc
culiar to itself. There should be no
rivalry between ministers, God never
repeats himself, and he never makes
two ministers alike, and each one has
work which no other man in the uni.
verse can accomplish. If fishermen are
wise they will not allow their nets to
entangle; or if they do accidentally get
intertwisted the work of extrication
should be kindly and gently conducted,
What glad spectacle for men and an
day, ministers of all denominations
stood on this platform and wished for
each other widest prosperity and use
fulness. 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 Chris
tendon at this time there lisa great war
going on between fishermen, ministers
against ministers.
YOU CANNOT FISH AND FIGHT.
Now | have noticed man cannot
fish and fight at the same time He
either neglects his net or his lnusket
1t is amazing how much time some OF
| the fishermen have to look after other
fishermen 1t is more than can do to
take care of my own net. You see the
wind is just right and it is such good
time for fishing and the fish are coming
in so rapidly that | have to keep my
eye and hand busy. There are about
two hundred million souls wanting to
get into the kingdom of God, and it
will require all the nets and all the
boats and all the fishermen of Christen-
dom to safely land them
AT East Hampton, Long Island, where
summer, out on the bluffs some morn
ing We see the flags up, and that is the
signal for launching out into the Deep
For mile the water is tinged with that
peculiar color that indicates whole
schools of piscatorial revelry, and the
beach swarns with men with their
coats off and their sea caps on, and
those of us who do not go out on the
wave stand on the beach ready to re-
joice when the boats come back, and
water with our shoes on to help get the
boats up the beach, and we all lay
hold the lines and pull till we are red
in the face, and as the living things of
the deep come tumbling in on the
sand cry out, Captain, how many9"
And he answers, about fifty thou
sand" And we shout to the late
corners, "Hurrah, fifty thousand!" We
must have an enthusiasm something
like that if we are ever to take the hui
man race for God and heaven. Aye,
we ought to have that enthusiasm of
the beach multiplied hundred fold,
and by so much as an immortal soul is
worth more than bluefsh.
Oh, brethren Of ministry Let us spend
our time in fishing instead of fighting.
But if I angrily jerk my net across your
net, and you jerk your net angrily
across mine, we will soon have two
broken nets and no fish. The French
revolution nearly destroyed the French
fisheries, and ecclesiastical war is the
worst thing possible while hauling souls
into the kingdom. l had hoped that
the millennium was about to dawn,
but the lion is yet too fond of lamb
My friends, notice in the text that
James the son of Zebedee and John
his brother were busy, not mending
somebody else's nets, but mending
their own nets, and I rather think that
we who are engaged in Christian work
in this latter part of the Nineteenth
century will require all our spare time
to mend our own nets. God help us in
the important duty.
In this work of reparation we need
to put into the nets more threads o.
common sense. When we can present
religion as great practically we viii
catch hundred souls where now We
catch one Present religion as an in
tellectuality and we will fail. Out il
the fisheries there are set across thu
waters what are called gill nets, anc
the fish put their heads through thu
meshes and then cannot Withdraw
them because they are caught by thu
gills. But gill nets cannot be of an.
service in religious work. Men ar
never caught for the truth by thei
heads; it is by the heart or not at all
No argument ever saved man and n,
keen analysis ever brought a man int,
the kingdom of God Heart work
not head work. Away with your gil
, netsl Sympathy, helpfulness, consola
ton, love, are the names of some O
. the threads that we need to weave il
, our Gospel nets when we are mendin
, them.
THE WORLDS HEART BURSTING WITT
TROUBLE.
Do Won know that the worlds hear