Democratic messenger., 1893-02-11


right kind Of bait No use trying 10 an
have the right kind Of bait. and there is
plenty Of it in the promises. the para
bles, the miracles. the crucifixion, the
heaven Of the grand old gospel.
Yes, not only must you dig for bait,
but use only fresh bait You cannot do
anything down at the pond with old
anglewnrms. New views Of truth.
New views of God. New views of the
soul. There are all the good books to
help you dig. But make mp your mind
rs 10 whether you will take the hint of
Habukkuk and Isaiah and job and use
hook and line or take the hint Of Mat
thew and Luke and Christ and fish with
net
think many lose their time by want
ing To fish with net. and they never get
place to swing the net In other words,
they want to do gospel work on big
scale or they will not do it at all. see
feeble minded Christian men going
around with BagStcr's Bible under
their arm, hoping to do the work of an
evangelist and use the net, while they
might be better content with hook and
line and take one soul at time. They
are bad failures as evangelists. They
would be mighty successes AS private
Christians. If You catch only one soul
for God, that will be enough To fill Your
eternity with celebration. All hail the
fisherman with hook and line.
have seen man i'll roughest cordu-
roy outfit come back from the woods
loaded down with string of finny treas
ures hung over his shoulder and his
gaihebag filled. and dog with his teeth
carrying the basket filled with the sur
plus of an afternoons angling, and it
was all the result of Il hook and line, and
in the eternal world there will he many
a man and many woman that was
never heard of outside of village Sun
day school or a PRAYER meeting buried in
IA church basement who will come be
fore the throne of God with n multitude
of souls ransomcd through his or her in
strumentality. and yet the work all done
through personal interview. one by one.
one by one.
You do not know who that one soul
may be. Staupitz helped one soul into
the light. but it was Martin Luther.
Thomas Bilney brought salvation to one
soul. but il was Hugh Latimer. An
edge tool maker was the means of saving
one soul. but it was John Summerfield
Our blessed Lord healed one blind eve
at Il time, one paralyZcd arm ut time
one dropsical patient at time. and
raised from the dead one girl at time,
one young man at time. Admire the
net that takes in great many at once.
but do not despise the hook and line.
TIE APPLICATION To CHRISTIANITY.
God help Us amid the gospel fisheries.
whether we employ hook or net. for the
day cometh when we shall see how much
depended on our fidelity. Christ himself
declared: The kingdom of heaven is like
unto net that was cast into the sea and
gathered of every kind. which. when il
was full. they drew to shore and sat
down and gathered the good in the YES
sells. but cast the had away So shall it
be at the end of the world-the angels
shall come forth and separate the wicked
from the just
Yes, the fishermen think il best to
keep the useful and worthless of the
haul in the same net until il is drawn
upon the beach. and then the division
takes place. and if it is on Long Island
coast the mossbankers are thrown out
and the bluefish and shad preserved, or
if it is on the Shore Of Galilee the fish
classified as siluroids are hurled back
into the water or thrown up on the bank
as unclean. while the perch and the carp
and the barbel are put into pals to be
carried home for use.
So in the church on earth the saints
and the hypocrites. the generous and the
mean, tho chaste and the unclean, are
kept in tho same membership, but mt
death the division will be made, and the
good will be gathered into Heaven. and
the bad, however many holy commun-
ions they may have celebrated. and
may have offered. and however many
years their names may have been on the
church rolls. will be cast away. God
forbid that any of us should be among
the least away" But may we do our
work. whether small or great. as thor
oughly as did that renowned fisherman.
George W. Bethune. who spent his
summer rest angling in the waters
around the Thousand Isles and beating
at their own craft those who piled it all
the year. and who TIE rest of his time
gloriously preached Christ i'll a pulpit
only Is minutes from where | now
stand. and ordering for his own obse-
quies: Put on me my pulpit gown and
bands. with my own pocket I;ible in my
right hand. Bury me with my mother.
my father and my grandmother. Sing
also my own hymn:
'.Icsus. thou prince ~ life.
Thy Cacsen cannot die:
Like thee. they conquer in the strife.