The Penn's Grove record., 1893-02-10

l
all tie modern evangslists which IL the best
time to gather souls and they will answer,
"rne night; by all oi1s, the night Not
onlv ths natural night, but the night OF
trouble.
Suppose I go aroun | In this audience and
ask these G lristians whsn they were convert
ed to God. One would auswe 81 was at the
time lost my Guild by msmbranous Group,
ant 1t was the night OF bersavem ,nt,r or
tie answer would bs, '.It was just AFTER I
was swinilei outot my property. and It was
the night OF b~ankNiptcv,r or 1t wouli be,
at was during that tims when I was dowr
with that awful sickness, and IL was the might
OF physical u ffsring." or it would be, III
was that time when SANDER took after me
aud | was maligne1 and abu 81, AMI it was
the night OF persecution" All, my hearers
that is the tims for YOU to go after souls
when a night OF trouble is IN them. Mis-
not that opportunity to savs asoul, for 1t d
tue best of all opportunities.
Go up along the Mohiwx, or the Juniata.
or the Delaware, or the Tonbigbse, or the
st. lawrence right after q raiu, and you
will ind the fishermsu all up and down the
lskesf Whyl Because q good time to angle
Is right after the raip, n that Is go1d
time to catch souls. right after . shower Of
misfortune, right after f1ois OF disaster.
AMI as a pool o~versnadows1 with trees Is .
= wv = A0c .&&A hShy
so when the soul is un Ter the long dark
sha lows OF anxiety and distress 1t Is q good
time to make a spiritual haul. People Ia
the bright sunshine Of prosperity are not %
easily taken.
But be sure before you start out TO the
gospel fisheries to get the right KIM OF bait
SHUT how" you say, lam I to get itr' My
answer is, "Diz for it." "Where shall l
dig for its' "in the rich Bible grounds"
W. 1890, .z..~ - q. 81 ~z..-kr H.I e.
dig for blit before we startef for the banks
OF the r iritau. We put the sharp edge OF
the spa Is against the ground and then put
oar foot on the spade, and with one tremen-
dOui plunge OF our strength OF body and
viii we drove it in up to the handle and then
turnei over the sol.
We had never read Walton's "Complete
Angler" or Charles Cotton's instructions
How to Angle for Crawling In q Clear
Stream" We knew nothing about the mod
ern red hackle or the ay of orange colored
No use trying to angle for fish or angle for
souls unless yon have the right kind of bait
and thers is plenty OF IL in the promises the
parables the miracles the c~rucidxion, the
de4v IN Of the grand old gospel.
Yes not only must you dig for bait, but
use oniy fresh nait. You cannot do any.
thing down at the pond With old angle
WOrlQss NeW NiSW3 VI Eubus NGW vtOW1
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 will
take the hint Of Habukkuk and Isaiah and
Job and use hook and line, or take the hint
of Matthew n Luxe and Christ and hsh
With a net.
/ think many lose their time by wanting
to fish with a net, aud they never get a place
to swing the net. In other worts they want
to do gospel work on a big scale or they will
not do it at all. l see feeble minded Chris
tan men going around with q Bsgsters
Bible under their arm, hoping to do the work
of an evangelist and use the net, while they
might be better content with hook and line
and take one soul at q time. They are bad
failures as e~vangelists. They would b
mighty successes as private Christians. II
you catch only one soul for God, that will be
enough to fill your eternity with celebration.
All hail the fisherman with hook and Incl
/ have seen . man in toughest cordAroy
outfis co ne bacx from rrs WOODS ioaaea
dowa with a string OF fnuy treasures hung
over his shoulder and hts gamebay filled,
and a dog with nj teeth carrying the basket
fliel with the surplus Of an afternoons
angling, and 1t was all the result OF u hook
and line, and ia the eternal world there will
bs many a man and many . woman tnat
was never heard OF outside of a village SUD-
lay-3cQOOl OF . pEdyoE noobth9 oat
church asensn who will come before the
throne OF God with a Multitude OF souls
ransoned through his or her tnstru-
mentality, and yet the work oil done
through personal interview, oae by one,
,ne by one.
You do not know who that one soul may
oe. Staupits helped ons soul into the light,
nut it was Martin Luther. Tho mas Biiney
brought salvation to one soal, but it was
Hugh Latinsr. An edge tool ms ker was
the means OF saving one soul, but it was
John Summerfeld. Our blessed Lord healed
one blind eye at a time, one paralyzet arm
ar a time, one dropsicst patient &C a time,
and raised from the dead one girl at q time,
,ns Young man AT q thus. Admire the net
that takes in a great many at once, but do
,ot despise the hook and line.
God help Us amid the gospel fisheries
whether we employ hook or net for the day
D ended on our fidelity. Christ Himself de-
.larel: ..The kingdom OF heaven is like unto
q net that was cast into the sea and gathered
OF every kin /, which, when it was full, they
drew to snore and sat down n gathered
the rood in the vessels but cast tina bad
So shall it be at the end Of the
worid-the angels shall come forth n
separate the wicket fro n the Just"
Yes, the fishermen think it bast to keeE
che useful ant worthless OF the maui in the
net until it is drawn upon tbs beach,
and then the division takes place. ami il 1t Is
an Long Island coast the m~ossbankers are
thrown out an 1 the blueish an / snad pre-
served, or il it Is on the snors OF Gaiilee the
Ash classified as siluroiis are hurlei back
into the water or thrown up on the bank as
while the psrch AMI the carp and
the uarbel are put into pals to be carried
ZONE for use.
So in the church on earth the saints and
the hypocritsS the generous an ! che mead,
the cIaste aud the unclean. are kept In the
same membership. bus at death the division
will be made, and the good will be gathered
to savsu and the bad, however many holy
communions they may have celebrated, and
however many rhetorical prayers they may
nave offered, and however many Years their
names may have been on the church rolls
will be cast away. Col forbid
that any of as should b among
the east away" Sui may we do u
work, whether small or great a. thoroughly
as di that reno wnsd fisherman, George W.
Bethune, who spent his sumuer restangliny
Ia toe waters around the Thousand Isles and
beating at their own craft those who piled
it ali the year, aud who the rest OF his time
ploricusly preached Christ in q pulpit only
tireen minutes from where 1 nos stand, and
ordering for his own obsequies: "Put on me
pulpit gown and bznis, with my W
pocket Bible in my right hant. Bury me
with nv mother, my father q my grand
mother. Sing also my " hymn;
sJesus, Thou prince of iifsi
w. AA.uAa AIAa