Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1893-02-17

the night OF bankruptcy" or it would De,
ut was during that time when ] was down
with that awful sickness, AMI it was the nignt
of physical suffering" or it would be, lit
was that time when SANDER took after me,
and was malgned and abu ied, and it was
the night OF persecution" All, my hearers,
that is the time for you to go after souls,
when night of trouble is on them. Miss
not that opportunity to save soul, for IL IS
the best of all opportunities.
Go up along the Mohawk. or the Juniata,
or the Delaware, or the Tombigbea, or thu
st. Lawrence right after a rain, and you
will find the fisherman all up and down the
lakes9 Why Because good time to angle
Is right after the rain, and that is a good
time to catch souls, right after shower OF
misfortune right after floods of disaster.
And as a pool overshadowe1 with trees is
grand place for making fine haul of fish,
so when the soul is uu Ter the long dark
shadows Of anxiety and distress it is COOL
time to make a spiritual haul. People in
the bright sunshine Of prosperity are not 50
easily taken.
But be sure before you start out to the
gospel fisheries to get the right kind OF bait.
"But how" you say, "am l to get III? My
answer is dig for it," "Where shall |
dig for itT' I'm the ricl Bible grounds"
We boys brought up in the country had 10
dig for bait before we started for the banks
Of the Raritau. We put the sharp edge OF
the spade against the ground and then put
our foot on the spade, and with one tremen-.
dous plunge of our strength OF body and
will we drove it in up to the hardle and then
turned over the sod.
We had never read Walton's complete
Angler" or Charles Cotton's instructions
How to Angle for G'aving in a Clear
Stream" We knew nothing about the mod
ern red haokle or the fly OF orange colored
mohair, but vie got the right kin1 OF bait.
No use trying to angle for fish or angle for
souls unless yon have the right kind OF bait,
and there is plenty OF it in the promises, the
parallels, the miracles, the crucitxion, the
heaven of the grand old gospel
Yes not only must you dig for bait, but
use ONLY fresh bait. You cannot do any
thing down at the pond with old angle.
worms. 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 up your mind as to whether you VIII
take the hint Of Habukkuk and Isaiah and
Job and use hook and line, or take the hint
of Matthew and Luxe and Christ and fish
with net
think many lose their tina by wanting
10 fsh with net, and tdey never get place
TO swing the net, In other words, they want
to do gospel work on big scale or they Will
not do ID at all. see feeble minded Chris
tan men going around with Bagster's
Bible under their arm, hoping TO do the work
Of an evangelist and use che net, while they
might be better contsnt with hook and line
AMI take one soul at time. They are bad
failures as evangelists. They would be
mighty successes as private Christians. Ii
YOU catch only ons soul for God, that will be
enough to Gil your eternity with celebration.
all nall the fisherman with hook and line!
[ nave seen a man in rou CHEST corduroy
outfit coma back from the woods loaded
down with string OF funny treasures hung
over his shoulder aud his gamebas filled,
ania dog VITA his teeth carrying the b1skes
Hlle with tn, surplus OF au afternoons
angling, AMI it was all thu result or nook
and line, and "a the eternal worl1 there VIII
ba many a man and m my woman tnat
was never heard of outside of village Sum
day.scaool or a prayer nesting buriet In
church basement who will come before tns
throne OF Col with multitude OF souls
ransouei through his or her lnstru'
mentality. aud yet thu worx all done
through personal interview, one oy one,
one by one.
You do not know who that one soul may
be. Staupitz helped one soul into the light,
but 1t was Martin Luther. Thomas bllney
brought salvation to ons soul, but It was
Hugh Latimer. An edge tool maker was
the means OF saving one soul, but it was
John Summerfeld. Oar blessed Lord healed
one blind eye at time, one paralyze1 arm
at time, one dropsical patient at time,
and raised from the dead one girl at time,
one young man at tiWs. Admire the net
that takes in great many at once, but do
not despise the hook and line.
God help US anti the gospel fisheries,
whether we employ hook or net, for the day
coneth when we SHALL see how much de-
pended on our fidelity Christ Himself de-
clarei: 1.-THE kingdom of heaven is like unto
a net that was cast into the sea and gathered
Of every kin !, which, whsn it was full, they
drew to shore and sat down and gathered
the good in the vessels, but cast thu bad
away. So shall it be at the end OF the
world--the angels shall CONS forth ana
separate the wicked from thu just"
Yes, the fishermen think it bsst to keep
the useful and worthless of the haul In the
same net until it is drawn upon thu beach,
and then the division takes place, AMI ii it is
on Long Islani coast the mossbanSers are
thrown out an the bluedsh an shad pre-
served, or if it is on the shore OF Galilee thu
fish classified as siluroiis are hurlei bacs
into the water or thro:yn MP on the bank as
unclean, while the porch an the carp and
the barbel are put into pals to be carried
home for use.
50 in the church on EARTH the saints and
the hypocrites, the generous AMI the mean,
the coaste and the unclean, are kept In the
same membership, bu5 at death the division
will be made, and the good will be gathered
to heaven and the bad, however many holy
commuuions they may have celebrated, aud
however many rhetorical prayers they may
have offered, aud however many years their
names may have been on the church rolls,
will be cast away. Col forbid
that any of us should be among
the least away" But may we do our
work, whether small or great, as thoroughly
as di 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 plied
1t all the year, and who the rest OF his tims
gloriously preached Christ in pulpit only
fifteen minutes from where | now stand, and
ordering for his own obsequies: ''Put on me
my pulpit gown and bands, with my owl
pocket Bible in my right hand. Bury mi
with my mother, my father and my granb
mother. Sing also my own hymn:
"Jesus, Thou prince OF lifcl
Thnr hos nnf dio.