The Portland daily press., 1892-06-18

and was inspired by the very powers OF
darkness Tossing that all the time
he was writing he did not have the
Bible anywhere near him. How many
powerful intellects have endeavored to
destroy it. Hume, Bollngoroke, Vol
taire have been after 1t. len thousand
men are now warning against the
truth of Gods word. What do you
think of them? 1 think it is mean,
and will prove it. ! will prove it
is the neanest thing that has
ever been done in all the centuries,
There is ship at sea and in trouble.
The captain and their crew are at their
wits end. You are on board. You are
an old seaman. You come up and give
some good counsel, which is kindly
taken. That is all right But suppose,
instead of doing that, in the midst of
all the trouble you pick up the only
compass that is on board and pitch it
over the taffrail. o, you say. that is
! zdastardly. But is. it as mean as this?
Here is the vessel Of the world going on
with sixteen hundred millions of pas
sengers, tossed and driven In the tenn
pest, and at the time we want help the
infidel comes and he takes hold of the
only compass and he tries to pitch it
overheard. It is contemplate beyond
anything that is contemplate. Have
you any better light? Bring it on If
you have. Have you any better COM
fort to give us? Bring it on if you have.
Have you any better hope? Bring 1t on
if you have, and then you may have
this Bible and 1 shall never want it
| again.
But I can think of a meaner thing
than that, and that is an old man going
along on the mountains with staff in
one hand and lantern in the other.
Darkness has come on suddenly. He is
very old, just able to pick his way out
amid the rocks and precipices, leaning
on his staff with one hand and guiding
himself with the light III the other.
You come up and say, Father, you
seem to be lost You are long way
from home" eyes," he replies, and
then you take him by the hand and
lead him home. That is very kind OF
you. But suppose instead of that you
snatch the staff from his hands and
hurl it over the rocks, and snatch the
lantern and blow it out? That would
be dastardly, contemplate until there
is no depth of contempt beneath it. If
you have a better staff give it to him.
If you have better light give it to him.
When God has put the staff of the
gospel in our hands and the lamp OF
Gods word to light our feet, are you
going to take from us our only support
and our only illumination? love the
sting of the wasp and the rattlesnake
better than do the man who wants to
clutch the word of God from my grasp.
There are people here who have been
reading it good while. 1t is precious
book to their souls. 1t has been so
in times Of darkness and trouble.
There was soldier who fell in
battle, and after he had fallen he said
in feeble voice to his comrade, .Ci;ve
me a drop" His comrade replied,
'"There is not particle of water in my
canteen." &c." he said, 81 didn't mean
that. Look in my knapsack and you
will find Bible there. Get out that old
Bible and just give me a drop out of that. :"
And his cof1rade found the Bible and
read few passages. The dying soldier
said: so, George, there is nothing like
that,is there, for dying soldier?'
Cling tA your Bible! If this Bible
should be destroyed, we could make up
Bible right out of this audience. From
that Christian mans experience take
one cluster of promises, and from that
old Christian'mans experience another;
put them all together, and I think
would have a Bible.
You see, my friends, have not tried
to hide the fact that have large ex-
pectation of you who have entered the
Christian life. Do not be discouraged.
Press on toward the prize; God beside
you and Heaven before you. Keep your
courage up. Look in thirty years from
now upon this church. Another man
in the pulpit. Other faces in the pews.
Another man leading the song.
Others carrying around the alms-boxes
of the church. All changed. Thirty
years have gone and 1 look into the
faces of the people and say, 'Why, it
seems to me have seen these people
somewhere, but cannot exactly say
where. o, yes, now I begin to think.
These were the converts in 1892 and
1890. Why, how you have changedp' 20,
yes" they say, "of course we have
changed. Thirty years make a great
change" I say, "How many wrinkles
there are in your faces" 20, yes" they
say, thirty years make a great many
wrinkles" "Have you kept the faith?"
"Yes, we have kept the faith 'Where
are those people who used to sit in the
pew with you?" "All gone" ''Then,"
say, "well, feel lonely; come, let US
sing one Of the old hymns we used to
sing thirty years ago in 1899 on COM
munion day. Any of you know the old
tune? some one hum it. Yes, that's it,
that's 1t. Now, altogether, let us sing,
just as we did in 1892"
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel's veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that Hood
81 Lose all their guilty stains. =
The dying thief rejoiced to see
| That fountain in his day:
And there may I, though vile as hes
| al uip