Connecticut western news., 1893-02-09

found to have swallowed man entire. A fisherman on the coast of Turkey found sea monster which contained woman and a purse of gold. I have seen in museums sea monsters large enough to take down a prophet.
 But have better reason for believ- ing the Old Testament account, and that is that Christ said it was true and type of his own resurrection, and I suppose he ought to know. In Matthew xii, 40, Jesus Christ says, "For as Jonas was throe days and three nights in the whales belly, so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth" And that settles it for me and for any man who does not believe Christ dupe and an impostor.
 Notice also how the Old Testament writers drew similitude from the fish cries. Jeremiah uses such imagery to prophecy destruction, Behold, will send for many fishers, saith the Lord, and they shall fish them" Ezekiel uses fish imagery to prophecy prosperity, "It shall come to pass that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even to En- eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be accord ing to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many" the expla- nation of which is that Engedi and En-eglaim stood on the banks of the Dead sea, in the waters of which no fish can live, but the prophet says that the time will come when these waters will be regenerated, and they will be great places for fish. Amos reproves idolatries by saying, "The day shall come upon you when he will take you away with hooks and your posterity with fshhoolzs." Solomon, in Ecclesi- astes, declares that those captured of temptation are as fishes taken in an evil net. Indeed Solomon knew all about the finny tribe and wrote treatise on ichthyology which has been lost.
 THE ANCIENT FISHERMEN
 Furthermore, in order that you may understand the ichthy yology of the Bible, you must know that there were five ways of fishing. One was by fence of reeds and canes, within which the fish were caught. But the Herodic govern ment forbade that on Lake Galilee, lest pleasure boats be wrecked by the stakes driven. Another mode was by spearing, the waters of Galilee so clear good aim could be taken for the transfxing. An other was by hook and line, as where Isaiah says, '"The fishers also shall mourn, and they that cast angle into the brooks shall lament" And Job says, "Canst thou draw out leviathan with hookY' And Habakkuk says, "They take up all of them with the angle."
 Another mode was by casting net o1 that which was flung from the shore; another, by dragnet or that which was thrown from boat and drawn through the. sea as the fishing smack sailed on. EoW wonderful all this is in- wrought into the Bible imagery, and it leads me to ask ill which mode are you and I fishing, for the church is the boat, and the gospel is the net, and the sea ir the world and the fish are the souls, and God addresses us as he did Simon and Andrew, saying, Follow me, and will make you fishers of men," But when is the best time to fish for souls? In the night. Peter, why did you say to Christ, "We have toiled all the night and have taken nothing?" Why did you not fish in the daytime? He replies, "You ought to know that the night is the best time for fishing"
 At Tobyhanna Mills, among the mountains of Pennsylvania, saw friend with high boots and fishing tackle starting out at 9 o'clock at night, and 1 said, "Where are you going" He answered, "Going to fish" What, in the nightw He answered, "Yes, in the night" So the vast majority of souls captured for God are taken In times of revival in the night meetings. They might just as well come at 12 o'clock at noon, but most of them will not. Ask the evangelists of olden times, ask Finney, ask Nettleton, ask Osborn, ask Daniel Baker, and then ask all the modern evangelists which is the best time to gather souls, and they will answer. "The night; by all odds, the night" Not only the natural night, but the night of trouble.
 Suppose 1 go around in this audience and ask these Christians when they were converted to God. One would answer, "It was at the time I lost my child by membranous croup, and it was the night of bereavement, or the answer would be, "It was just after was swim dled out of my property, and it was the night of bankruptcy" or it would be, ''It was during that time when I was down with that awful sickness, and it was the night of physical sufrering," or it would be, ''It was that time when islander took after me. and was maligned and abused, and it was the night of persecution" !" An, my hearers, that is the time for you to go after souls, when night of trou- ble is on them. Miss not that opportu- nifty to save soul, for 1t is the best of all opportunities.
 Go up along the Mohawk, or the Juniata, or the Delaware, or the Tombig- bee, or the St. Lawrence right after rain, and you will find the fishermen all up and down the banks Why? Be- cause good time to angle is right after the rain, and that is good time to catch souls, right after shower of misfortune, right after floods of disaster. And as a pool overshadowed with trees is grand place for making a fine haul of fish, so when the soul is under the long dark shadows of anxiety and distress it is a good time to make spiritual haul. People in the bright sunshine of pros perity are not so easily taken.
 THE BEST FISHERS OF MEN.
 But be sure before you start out to the gospel fisheries to get the right kind of 1os@ D,,4l IT A-- 1L it?" My answer is, Dig for it." Where shall dig for itY' "In the rich Bible grounds" We boys brought up in the country had to dig for bait before we started for the banks of the Raritan. We put the sharp edge of the spade against the ground and then put our