The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1894-10-26

throw you one oar now with which | believe
you can bring him into harbor 1t is the
glorious promise, 81 will be God to thee
and to thy seed after thee" Oh, broken
hearted father and mother, YOU have tried
everything else now make an appeal for
the help and omnipotence of the covenant
keeping God and perhaps Mt your next
family gathering perhaps on Thanksgiving
Day, perhaps next Christmas Day-the
prodlgal may be home, and if YOU crowd
on his plato more Injuries than on any
other plate at the table | am sure the
brothers will not be jealous, but they
will wake up all the music in the house,
"because the dead is alive again and because
the lost is found" Perhaps your prayers
have been answered already The vessel
may he coming homeward, and by the light
OF this nights stars that absent son may be
pacing the deck of the ship, anxious for the
time to come when he can throw his arm
around your neck and ask for forgiveness
for that he has been wringing your old heart
so long. Glorious reunion, that will be too
sacred for outsiders to look upon, but
would just like to look through the window
when you have all got together again and
are seated at the banquet.
Though parents may in covenant b9
And have their h aaven in view,
They are not happy till they see
Again. | remark that the unqvailing effort
OF the Mediterranean oarsmen has coun-
terpart in the effort which we are making to
bring this world back to God, His pardon
and safety. II this world could have been
saved by human effort. it would have been
done long ago. John Howard took hold Of
one oar. aud Careytook hold Of another oar.
and AdoDiram Judson took hold of another
oar, and Luther took hold Of another oar,
and John Knox took hold of another orr and
they pulled until they fell back dead from
the exhaustion. Some dropped in the ashes
OF martyrdom, some on the scaping
knives of sayages and some into the
plague struck room of the lazareto,
and still the chains are not broken,
and still the despotsms are not demolished,
and still the world is unsavei. What then?
Put down the oars and make no effort? [
do not advise that. But want you Chris
tian brethren, TO understand that the church,
and the school and the college, and the mis-
sionary society are only the instrumentall-
ties, and if this work is ever done at all God
must doit, and He will do it in answer to
our prayer. "They rowed nard TO bring it to
the land, but they could not, wherefore they
cried unto the Lord.
Again, the unavailng effort Ofthose Medi-
terranean oarsmen has a counterpart in
every man that is trying TO row his own soul
into safety. When the eternal spirit flashes
upon US our condition, we try to save our
selves. We say, Give me n 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 Il 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 whichto sail. Sin must be thrown
overheard, or we must perish. There
are men who have tried for years to become
! Christians, They believe all | say in regard
to future world. They believe that re-
| ligion is the first the last, the infinite ne
| cessity. They do everything but trust in
! Christ. They make sixty strokes in min
ute They bend forward with all earnest
ness and they lie back until the muscles are
distended, and vet 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 II irqil
| skiff and put it down at the foot of Nj
agara and then head it up toward the
| cburning thunderbolt of waters and eX-
pect to work your way up through the
| lightning Of the foam into calm Lake Erie
rs for you TO try to pull yourself 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 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 rs safe from eternal con-
demnation rs though YOU had been twenty
years in heaven.
But glory be to God that Jesus Christ is
able to take US up out OF our shipwrecSed
and diving condition and put us on the shout
der 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 an black
and inexcusable and outrageous, the very
moment you believe Twill proclaim paricn
quick, full, grand unconditional, uucom'
promising. illimitible, infinite. Oh, the grace
of God [ am overwhelmed when come tc
think otit. GIVEN a thousand ladders, lash
ed fast to each other, that | may scale the
height. Let the line run out with the I'M
ehor until all the cables OF the earth are eX
hausted that we may touch tho depth. b9
the archangel fly in circuit OF eternal ages IL
irving TO sweep around this theme. On, thu
grace of God tits so high 1t is so broad
Ii is so deep. Glory be to my God, tina
where mans oar gives out Gods arm begins
Why will We carry your sins and your sor
rows any longer when Christ offers to tax
|
fears when this moment you might give vi
and be saved? Do you not know that every
thing is ready?
Plenty of room atthe fenst. Jesus has thu
ring of Ills love all ready to put upon YOU
hand. Come now and sit down, ye hungr
ones. at theaanquet. Ye who are in rag
of sin. take the robe OF Christ. Ie who ar
swamped by the breakers around you, cry
TO Christ to pilot you into smooth, still
waters. On account of the peculiar phas
of the subject l have drawn my presen
illustrations, you soc, chiefly IRON IN
water. 1 remember that n vessel went I,
pieces on the Bormuias great many year
ago. 1t had a vast treasure on board
But. the vessel being sunk, no effort Va
made to raise it. After many years ha'
passed a company or adventures wen
out from England. and after a long voy
age they reached the place where the vess'
was said 10 have sunk. They got into