News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-10-18
hot, wherefore they cried unto the

No Self Salvation.
Again. the unavailing effort Of thos6
Mediterranean oarsmen has counter
part in every man that is trying to row
his own soul into safety. V hen the
eternal spirit flashes upon us our condi-
ton, we try to save ourselves. We say,
give me a stout oar for my right hand,
give me stout oar for my left hand,
and will pull myself into safety. "
No. A wave of sin comes and dashes
you one way, and wave of temptation
comes and dashes you in another way,
and there are plenty Of rocks on which
TO founder, but seemingly no harbor
into which to sail. Sin must be thrown
overheard, or we must perish. There
are men who have tried for years to be-
come Christians. They believe all l say
in regard to a future world. They be-
lieve that religion is the first, the last,
the infinite necessity. They do every
thing but trust in Christ. They make
60 strokes in a minute. They bend for
ward with all earnestness, and they lie
back until the muscles are distended,
and yet they have not made one inch in
ten years toward heaven. What is the
reason? That is not the way to go to
work. You might as well take a frail
skiff and put it down at the foot of Nj
agara and then head it up toward the
churning thunderbolt of waters and ex-
pect to work your way up through the
lightning of the foam into calm Lake
Erin fnt. no 1-xy N mil NTOnrCnlf
through the surf of your sin into the
hope and pardon and placidity of the
gospel You cannot do it in that way.
Sin is a rough sea, and longboat, yawl,
pinnace and gondola go down unless the
Lord deliver, but if you will cry to
Christ and lay hold of divine mercy
you are as safe from eternal condemna-
ton as though you had been 20 years in
heaven.
wish could put before my unpar-
doned readers their own helplessness.
No human arm was ever strong enough
to unlock the door of heaven. No foot
was ever mighty enough to break the
shackle of sin, no oarsman swarthy
enough to row himself into God S harbor.
The wind is against you. The tide is
against you. The law is against you.
Ten thousand corrupting influences are
against you. Helpless and undone. Not
so helpless a sailor ON plank, mid-At-
lantic. Not so helpless traveller girded
by 20 miles of prairie on fire. Prove it,
you say. l will prove it, John vi, Al,
'.No man can come to me except the
Father which hath sent me draw him. "
The Willingness of Christ.
But while l have shown your help
lessness l want to put by the side Of it
the power and willingness of Christ to
save you. l think it was in 1856 YES
sci was bound for Portugal but it was
driven to pieces on an unfriendly coast
The captain had his son with him, and
with the crew they wandered up the
beach and started on long journey to
find relief. After awhile the son faint
ed by reason of hunger and the length
Of the way. The captain said to the
crew, Garry my boy for me on your
shoulders. They carried him on, but
the journey was so long that after
awhile the crew tainted from hunger
and from WEAKNESS and could carry him
no longer. Then the father rallied his
almost wasted energy and took up his
own boy and put him on his shoulder
and carried him ON mile after mile
mile after mile, until, overcome himself
by hunger and WEAKNESS, he, too, faint
ed by the way. The boy lay down and
died, and the father, just at the time
rescue came to him, also persisted, liv-
ing only long enough to tell the story
sad story indeed!
But glory be to God that Jesus Christ
is able to take US up out of our ship
wrecked and dying condition and put
us Oh the shoulder of his strength, and
by the omnipotence Of his gospel bear
us on through all the journey of this
life and at last through the opening
gates of heaven! He is mighty to save
Though your sin be long and black and
inexcusable and outrageous, the very
moment you believe l will proclaim
pardon-quick, full, grand, uncondi-
tional, uncompromising illimitible, in
finite. Oh, the grace of God! am over
wheInIed when | come to think of it,
Give me thousand ladders, dashed fast
to each Other, that | may scale the
height Let the line run out with the
anchor until all the cables Of earth are
exhausted, that we may touch the depth
Let the archangel fly in circuit of eter-
nal ages in trying to sweep around this
theme. Oh, the grace of God 1t is so
high. 1t is so broad 1t is SO deep. Clio
ry be to my God, that where mans oar
gives out Gods arm begins! Why will
ye carry your sins and your SORROWS any
longer when Christ offers to take them?
Why will you wrestle down your fears
when this moment you might give up
and be saved? Do you not know that ev-
erything is ready?
Room For All.
Plenty of room at the feast Jesus has
the ring OF his love all ready to put up.
on your hand Come now and sit down,
ye hungry ones, at the banquet Yewho
are in rags of sin, take the robe OF
Christ Ye who are swamped by the
breakers around you, cry to Christ to
pilot you into smooth, still waters. On
account of the peculiar phase of the sub
ject | have drawn my present illustra-
lions, you see, chiefly from the water. /
remember that a vessel went to pieces
on the Bermudas great many years
/ 4