Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1893-10-27
Once on the raging seas ! rowed.
The storm was ! I'D; the night was dar6
The ocean yawned and rudely ol2Mh

he
The ocean yawned and rudely bowl
The winf that tossed my laundering bark.
But got into the gospel lifebout and got
ashore. No religious speculation for me-
These higher criticism fellows do not bother
me bit. You may ask me fifty questions
about the sea. and about the land, and about
The lifeboat that j cannot answer, but one
thing know, an ashore, and am gong 10
STAY ashore. il the Lord by His grace VIII
holp me. l feel under me something so hrh
that | try it with my right foot, and try II
With my left foot and then try it with both
feet. and it is so solid that l think It must De
what the old folks used to call the Rock oil
Ages.
And be nv remaining days on earth many
or few 1 an going TO spend my Time IN
recommending the lifeboat which ietcned mo
here poor sinner saved by grace. ana III
swinging the cutlasses to sever the ropes o.
any unsafe lifeb0at an1 let ner iall on my
nearer. without asking any questions, ger
into the gospel liieboat Room and YET
there is room The biggest boat on eartn Is
the gospel Hfeboat You must remember the
proportion OF things, and that Inc snip
wrecked craft IS the whole earth, and the
Hfeboat must be in proportion.
Won talk about your Campanlas. and your
| Tucaniqs. and your Majestics, and your Oily
of New Yorks but all of them put together
are smaller than an Indians canoe on 9cu
room Lake compared with this gospel hiepoh'
that is large enough 10 take IN an N S
Room for one and room ior all Uo' !"
"How? How?" you ask.
We'll. l know how you feel, for summer
before last on the sea OF Finland had the
| saua experience. The ship In which We
| sailed corld not venture nearer than niue
from shore where stood the Russian palace
of peterof. and We had 10 get into smali
! boat and be rowed ashore. The water was
| rough. and AS we went down the lauueI az
the side of the ship we held firmly on 20 tnS
railing. but in order to get INTO th7 Doa'
had at last TO let go. ,,o,d
How did know that the boat was goOu
orJ thot the oarsmen were sufficient HOW
AID know that the Finland Sea would nor
svrallo,y rs with one opening OF It's crystal
| iaws9 We had to trust and we dld trust
- o,,r trust was we'll rewarded. In the
| same way get into this gospel liieDoat. LEI
col As long as YOU hold on to any o'hei
| hone YOU arc imperiled and you ger no az
vantage from the lifeboat. Let 60 DCeS
some one here say, Il guess VIII noIu ~,
little To nv good works, or to pious parent
ose or n something can do in the way OF
aehievinc my own salvation. No. no, let
col Trust the Captain. who would not put
Won into n rlckety or uncertain craft.
For the sake OF your present and everiasl-
i'm
ING welfare. with all the urgency OF an I'M
mortal addressing immortas. cry rom the
! denths Of my soul and at the top OF my voice,
LET 0oi Last summer the life saving crew
at East Hampton invited me to come up 10
the life station and see the crew practice' io'
twice a week they are drilled IN the llnpoI-
/ tant work assigned them blythe Unlteu o ., ~.
/ Government. and they go through al ,ue
/ routine of saving the shipWrecked. but tuat
M
| have TO do if some midnight next winter, the
wind driving backward. a Vess@l Snou'o s''
! in the grasp OF q hurricane.
See the lights fare from the snip IN ihe
/ breakers. and then responding lShls hfln7
/ from the beach. and hear the rockets puH1 as
they rise. and the lifeboat rumbles OUT an
the gun booms. and the lie Inc ris7S an
| falls across the splintered dccAS' III" /"
/ nav-ser tightens. and the life ear goes 10 ana
fro. carving the exhausted mHriners. and the
ocean. as if angered by the snatching OF the
! human prey from the white teeth Of its SURF
/ end the stroke of its biliowing paw. rises
/ with increased fury to assail the land. 80
nov, am engaged in no light drill, practlc-
inc for what NAV come over some OF your
souls II is with some OF you winiry mid
night. and your hopes for this world ana inc
| next are wrecked.
But seei Seel The lights kindlei on the
beach throw out the life line. Haul IN
hand over band Al, there is liieooat IN
tbe surf. which all the wrath Of earth and he'll
cannot swamp. and its Captain with Scared
hand puts the trumpet TO His lips as he
cries. "Oh. Israel. thou hast destroyed thy
self. but in Ne is thy help But what IS the
use Of all this il you decline to get INTO X;
You might as well have been s'll ,.- on
board that laundering ship OF the MeA-
terranean when the mariners cut the ropes
of the boat and let her fall OF.