Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-06-13

and driven In the tempest, and AT tbs
elme We want help the iEtidei comes and
hs takes hold Of the only compass and
ne tries 10 pitch II overheard Ii is con-
s~nptible beyond everything that is con-
temptible. Rave you any better hight,
Bring il on II you have. Have you any
better comfort 10 give u.s. Bring 1t on
if you have Have you any better hopes
bring il On II yea have. and then you
may have this Bible and l shall never
want il again.
LEAN on TIE STAFF OF THE GOSPEL
Bur can think Of ameaner thing than
that. and that is an old man going along
on the mountains with stat in one hand
and lantern III the other. Darkness
has come on suddenly. He is very cid,
just able 70 pick his way out amid the
rocks aud preeipiees. leaning Gu his staff
with one hand and guiding himself with
the light IN the other. You come up and
say; Father, you seom 70 be lost. You
are q long way from home" Yes" no
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 should 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, II you have better stan. give il 10
him Ii you have better light. give 1t
10 him.
When God has put the staff of the
Gospel in our bands and the lamp Of
Gods Word to light our feet, are you
going to take from US our only sup
port and our only illumination? love
the sting Of the wasp and the rattlesnake
better than do the man who wants 10
clutch the Word Of God from my grasp.
There are people here who have been
reading it a good while. 1t is precious
book to their souls. 1t has been SO in
times of darkness and troyble. There
was a soldier who fell in battle, and after
he had fallen he said in feeble voice to
his conrade, Give me a drop" His
comrade replied, "There is not particle
of water in my canteen." "Oh," he said,
II didn't mean that. Look in my KNAPP
sack and You viii find Bible there.
Get out that old Bible and just give me a
drop out of that" And his comrade
found the Bible and read few passages.
The dying soldier said, "Oh, George,
there is nothing like that, is there, for a
dying soldhar"
Cling to your Bible! II this Bible
should be destroyed, if all the Bibles
that have ever been printed should be
destroyed, we could make up q 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 Bible
You see, my friends, have not tried
to hide the fact that have large expec-
tation 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. An
other man leading the song. Others car.
rying around tho aims boxes of the
church. All changed. Thirty years
have gone and look into the faces Of
the people, and say: "Why, it seems to
me / have seen these people somewhere,
but cannos exactly say where. Oh, yes,
now begin to think. These were the
converts in 1892 and 1890. Why, how
you have changedw
"Oh, yes" they say. "of course we
have changed. Thirty years makes q
great change" ! say, 'sHow many
wrinkles there are IN your faces" "Oh,
yes" they say, thirty years make q
great many wrinkles" "Have you kept
the faith?" Eyes, we have kept the
faith" Where are those people who
used to sit in the pew with your "All
gone" Then I say, well, I feel
lonely; come, let as sing one of the old
hymns we used to sing thirty years ago,
In 1899, on communion day. Any of You
know tho old tune: Some one hum it.
Yes, that's it, that's it. Now, altogether,
let us sing, just as we did in 1892:
There Is . fountain filled with blood.
Drawn from fmmsnuels veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that dooA
Lose all their guilty stains.
THE dying thief rs5oiced to 50
That fountain In his day:
And there may I. though vile a. he.
Wash all my sins away" a..