The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1893-10-24

shipwrecked crawled up on the beach to die
unless some one happened to walk along
or some tisherman's hut might be near.
But after the ship Ayrshire was wrecked
at Squan beach, and the Powhatan left her
800 dead strewn along our coast, and
another vessel went on the rocks 400 lives
persisted, the United States government
woke UP and made an appropriation OF
$2OOOOO for life-saving stations, and life
lines from faklng-bOX are shot over the
wild surf and hawsers are stretched from
wreck to shore, and what with Lyle's gun
and six-Oared surf-boat, with cork at the
sides to make it unsuitable, and patrolmen
all night long walking the beach until they
meet each other and exchange metal
tickets, SO as to show the entire beach has
been traversed. and the Coston light flashes
hope from shore to sufferer, and surfmen,
encased in Merriman life-saving dress, and
life-car rolling on the ropes, there are many
probabilities of rescue for the unfortunate
of the sea. But the government or the
united heavens has made better provision
for the rescue of our souls. SO close by
that this moment we can put our hand on
its top and swing into it, is this gospel lie
boat. 1t will not take you more than
second to get into it.
Rut while in my text we stand watching
the mariners with their cutlasses, preparing
to sever the ropes of the lifeboat ana let
her fail off, notice the poor equipment;
Only one lfeboat. Two hundred ana
seventy-six passengers. as iaul counted
them. and only one lifeboat. My text uses
The singular and not the plural. 'Cut Off
the roDes of the boat" l do not suppose
Il would have held more than thirty people
though loaded to the waters euge' L l ,l
by marine law all our modern vesseis nay
enough lifcboats to hold all the ere" anu
ali the passengers in case of emergency
hm+ tho marines of my text We're standing
nv tho only boat, and that Il small boat, az
vet o76 passengers But what thrills
me through and through is the TACT
that though we, arc wrecked on, by a H1n
AMI trouble. and there Is ,,n ~ hold
al Who are willing to get into it. The Cos
pel hymn expresses 1t:
All NAV come whoever Will, w
This Man receives poor sinners s'ii'
Rpt must haul in that statement ilt1ie.
Room for all in that liteboat, WIN Jua' o,o
Int there is one exception. Ihere nave
bnor eases where in trouble and the cap
t,iu got all passengers and crew mo we
Efehoats but there was not Ioolh ~ ny
captain. He, through the sea tr a e'
shontpd: ''Shove off now and pun !or NE
Reach. Goodby.' and then the captain WIN
D,thntir and sublime self-sacrlfcc went
9nwn with the ship. So the captain OF our
solvnt;on. Christ the Lord launches the
cospel lifeboat and tells us Fii 70 70, ~ ~
but 10 i L
snffcr." Was it not so, .yfe,. who wi Ht.,
His ogonizing expiration? Simon or Cyrehe,
woe II not so? Cavalry troops, whose horses
nawed the dust ut the cruc1lXloll, was ~ !.
NOT so? Ye Marys who swooned aMu! VIZ, 4
The sun of the midday heavens. WIS WA, J; Do Do
III III death we i've. BY His sinking IN the ne
deem sea of suffering we get OH III Il , tarr
)fohoat. Yes, we must put mo ,Il' ~
- little of our own personality. we n1u =
ride in that very llfeDoat 1roin
era # to solid shore mo,
once on the raging seas roWeu, ,,,
irhe storm was loud the night was uaih
The ocean yawned and rldely piowcu bor,y
The wind that tossed my 1ouhuerins o'i !"
Rut | cot into the gospel liieboat anu l.
pnt ashore. No religious specula'ioh ~.
me. These higher criticism leilo"o "" 80,
Questions about the sea and about the 1"lo
anI oho,,t the lifeboat that =! cannot an
Swer hut one thing / know L am ASHORE
and / am going TO stay ashore IL ,nG t'o ,i,
by His grace will help me. 1eti uii ;t -,
Something so firm that l. try IL WIN NY
right foot. and try it with my lcit !o"''
nnJ tlru trv if with both feet. and II is so
rrI;d th,t | think it must be Wnat INC
|Jb folks used to call the Rock OF Ages.
Ard he my remaining days Oh, earln n'"i !,
or few, am gong f 10 spe', D', i fetched
mo here. IL poor sinner saved d! sIaIt'
inu IN Swinging the cutasses to sever ,he
rones of any unsafe llfe3o:t ana act nv,
fail off My nearer, without Iskiiii anS
i,,nst;nus get into the gospel llcnoal
H., nn1 vet there is room. The biggest
l,nnt ON earth is the gospel lliepoat; loi
mist remember the proportion Oh 'li.i LI
and thot the shipWrecked craft Is 'ne Nlo
rarth and the lfeboat must De III p,opp na
ton. You talk about your Sa in;pStirS and
vour Imcanias, and your MaJestics' i h"t
l,;tv of New OH, 'u'
your Of o''S them put together are
Smaller than an Indian canoe on ,.s't
lake compared with the gospel ilI ~ az
and that is large enough an TO , roou for ALL
G 1;oils in, How? How you ask W t
i tnnw how YOU feel. for summer before
lat an the sea of Finland, had the same
nxrerirnce. The ship i'll winch we si a'
rnuld not venture nearer thali II liiiic iiole
shnra where stood the Russian palace OF
nntn,hof and we had to get into small
hoot ana be rowed ashore. The water Was
ro,,,,h and as we went down the lauder
,t thc side of the ship, we ileio nini'y on
tn the railing, but i'll order To Set iii.o ' I1
hoot we had at last TO let 60. no" ''u
know that the boat was $1ou any 'ii'i ,', 'v
o,rs,ueu were sufficient: How dld kno"
thnt the Finland Sea would not sWatloW
~, With one opening of its crystal Jaws
We mad TO trust. and we dld trust ana
orr trust was we'll rewarded. In the same
WAY get into this GoSpe4 lllepoat. -" -
As long as You hold Oh to any other rope
YOU are impcriled and You get no ADVANTAGE
frnm thp Glrhoat. Let 20. Does some one
here SAY. u guess VIII hold on Il little 10
nv good works. or 20 Il plouS plrenla&e: or
TO something cam DO III the WAY y CIV
in" mv own salvation. 40, no, l't 90.
Trust the captain, who would nor pHl you
;ufo = rickety or unc ar;a.n crafI.
For the sake of your present ana ever
lasting welfare, with all the urgency OF
an immortal addressing immortals. | cry
from the depths of my Soul ana at tue
top of my voice, Let go! Last summer
the Hfe-Saying crew at East Hampton
invited me to come UP to the HE station
and see the crew practice, for tNlce a
week they are drilled in the important
work assigned them by the United States
government and they go thr0hSn I'll ne
routine of saving tn" sh:pwrerkcd but
that would give little idea OF what 1heE
Would have to 20 i some midnight next
winter tie sind driyiag baarhN'd'i YES
sci should yet IN the grasp OF II hurrl""ne-
See the light fla - from the ship III !hc
breakers. and thea rASpordiu" i-hts 15riiS
from the beach and hear the roC,;-is buzz
as they rise. and the lifeboat rumbes out,
and the gun booms. and the lifeline rises
and falls across the spllnIered derk'. and
the hawser .i-ntrHs. and The lilccar goes
10 and fro. carrying the exhausted mari
ncrS. and the Ccel1, us Of Ingered by The
snatching Of the human prey
from the white teeth of its
surf and the stroke of its biHOwing