The Caucasian. (Clinton, N.C.) 188?-1913, 1891-05-21

ana Keeping the body under, and about
walking the narrow way and entering
the strait gate and about carrying the
cross' Is there to be no way of telling
whether man is Christian except by
his taking the communion chalice on
sacraInentaI day2 May a man be as
reckless about his thoughts, about his
words, about his temper, about his
amusements, about his dealings after
o',rersion as before conversion2 One
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 tighter
net would have kept in.
The only use of net is to keep the
fish from going back to where they were
before, and 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 SO much, as
it will add hypocrisy of most appaIl-
ing kind to its other defects.
ENTANGLED WITH OTHER NETS.
Furthermore, many of our nets are
torn to pieces by being entangled with
other nets. It is a sad sight to see fish
ermen 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
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
ermen 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 a
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 a glad spectacle for men and an
gels when, on our recent dedication
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 Isl great war
going on between fishermen, ministers
against ministers.
YOU CANNOT FISH AND FIGHT.
Now I 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. It is more than can do to
take care of my own net. You see the
wind is just right 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 abou,
two hundred million souls wanting to
get into the kingdom of God, and il
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
Isummer, out on the bluffs some morn
ing we see the flags up, and that is the
signal for launching out into the deep.
For a mile the water is tinged with that
peculiar color that indicates whole
schools of piscatorial rcvelry, and the
beach swarms with men with theil
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, anc
in our excitement we rush into the
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 rec
in the face, and as the living things o.
the deep come tumbling in on the
sand cry out, Captain, how many3'
And he answers, ''About fifty thou
sand And we shout to the latt
corners. "Hurrah, fifty thousandl" W.
must have an enthusiasm something
like that if we are ever to take the hu
man race for God and heaven. Aye
we ought to have that enthusiasm O
the beach multiplied a hundred fold
and by SO much as an immortal soul i
worth more than blueish.
Oh, brethren of ministry Let us spent
our time in fishing instead of fighting
But if angrily jerk my net across you
net, and you jerk your net angril!
across mine, we will soon have two
broken nets and no fish The French
revolution nearly destroyed the French
| fisheries, and ecclesiastical war is th'
worst thing possible while hauling soul
into the kingdom. had hoped tha
| the millennium was about to dawn
but the lion is yet too fond of lamb
| My friends. notice in the text tina
James the son of Zebedee and JohI
his brother were busy, not mendin:
somebody else's nets, but mendins
their own nets, and rather think tha
we who are engaged in Christian wori
in this latter part of the Nineteenth
century will require all our spare TIM
to mend our.own nets God help Us il
the important duty.
In this work of ruparation we nee
TO put into the nets more threads Q
common sense When we can presen
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