Democratic messenger., 1893-02-11


because they cannot understand the in
gulfmcnt of the recreant Jonah in sea
monster might have saved their souls
by studying little natural history.
oh, says some one. THAT story of .Jo-
nah was only fable" Say others, 1T
was interpolated by some writer of later
1 times" Others say. 1T was a rcproduc-
ton of the story of Hercules devoured
and then restored from the monster :
But my reply is that history tells us that
there were monsters large enough TO
whelm ships
The extinct ichthyosaurus If other
/ ages was 10 feet long, and as late as the
sixth century of the Christian era up and
down the Mediterranean there fiOatel
monsters compared with which mod
ern whale was Il sardine or n herring.
Tho shark has again and again been
found To have swallowed man entire.
A fisherman on the coast of Turkey
found sea monster which contained n
woman and purse of gold. | have
seen i'll museums sea monsters large
enough To take down prophet.
But have better reason for bclicv-
ing the Old Testament account, and that
is that Christ said il was true and type
of his own resurrection, and suppose
he ought to know. In Matthew xii, 40,
Jesus Christ SAYS. For rs Jonas was
thee days and three nights in the
whales belly, so shall the Son of Man
be three days and three nights III the
heart of the earth" And that settles il
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
prophesy destruction. Behold. | will
send for many fishers, saith the Lord,
and they shall fish them" Ezekiel uses
fish imagery to prophesy prosperity, lit
shall come to pass that the fishers shall
stand upon it from En-gedi even to En-
eglaim; they shall be place to spread
forth nets; their fish shall DO accord
ing TO their kinds, as the frh of the
great sea. exceeding many tho expla-
| nation of which is tn E.gedi and
En-eglaim stood Cn tie banks of
the Dead sea. i'll the waters of which
no fish can live. but the prophet says
that the tiiae will come when these
waters will be rcgcncratet. and they will
se great places for fish. Amos rcproves
idolatries by saying. The day shall
come upon you when he will take YOU
away with hooks and Your posterity
with fishhooks." Solomon, i'll Ecclesi-
astes. declares that those captured of
temptation are a, fishes taken III 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 Won NAV
understand the ichthyology of the Bible
Won must know that there were five
ways of fishing. One was hy fence Of
reeds and canes. within which the fish
We're caught. But the Iicrodic govern
ment forbade that on Lake Galilee. lest
pleasure boats he wrecked by the stakes
driven. Another mode was by spearing,
the waters Of Galilee so clear good aim
could be taken for the transfixing 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 ont lcviathan with a
hook" And Habakkuk says. They take
up all of them with the angle"
Another mode was by casting net oi
that which was flung from the shore;
another. by a dragnct or that which
was thrown from boat and drawn
through the SEA ;,s Tie fishing smack
sailed on. How wondcrfhl Ill this is in
wrought into the Bible imagery. and it
leads me to ask in which mode are YOU
and fishing, for the church is the boat,
and the gospel Is the net. and the sea il
the worl l. and the fish ar. the souls, and
God addresses us rs he did Simon and
Andrew. saving, 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 10 Christ,
I'VE have toiled all the night and have
taken nothing? Why did you not fish
III 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 n
friend with high boots and fishing tackle
starting ont at o o'clock at night, and
said. Where are you going" He
ans.er,.,l. Coin. te FISH" What. il
tho night" Ee answered. "Yes. in the
night" So the vast majority Of souls
captured for God are taken in times of
revival in tho night meetings. They
might just us well como ct - o'clock at
noon. but most Of them will not. Ask
the evangeiists Of olden times. ask
Finney. ask Nettleton. ask Osborn. esil
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 ! 20 around in this audience
and ask these Christians when they Were
converted to God. One would answer.
1T was ut the time lost my child by
membranors Group. and it WAS the
night of bereavement" or the answer
would be. 1T was just after was swim
died out of my property, and it was the
night of bankruptcy. or it would be. 1T
was during that time when was down
with that awful sickness, and it was the
night of physical suffering" or it would
he. 1T was that time when SANDER took
after me and was maligned and abused.
and it was the night Of persecution. ="
All. my hearers. that is the time for Won
to 90 after souls. when night of trou-
BILE is ON them Miss not that opportu-
nifty to save soul, for it is the best of all
opportunities.
Go up along the Mohawk. or the
Juniata, or the Delaware. or the TombiS
bee. or the ~. Lawrence right after Il
rain, and yon 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 10 catch
souls. right after Il shower of misfortune
right after floods of disaster And as a
pool uvcrshahowcl with trees is IA grand