Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1894-03-22

full homes and highest style Of religion
! and civilization For fifty years no
| missionary and no Christian influence
| had landed there. Why TINS oasis Of
light amid n desert OF aeathendoy8?
Sixty years before q ship had met dis
aste-. ard oue Of the sailors. unable
10 save anything else, went TO his trunk
| and took out z Bible which his mother
lad placed there. and swan ashore,
The Bible held in his teeth The book
WAS read on ell sides until The rough
ind vic5c1s population were -Sanga-
lEe1, and d church was started. and In
e~2IlSatenszi coEnDonwealth established,
and the worlds history has no more
brilliant page than that which tells Of
the transformation OF q Dau01 By one
book II did o seem Of rouca import.
zne whether the sailor continued -
bod the book in his teeth or lot II
fall in the breakers, but upon what
small Circumstance depended what
mighty results.
Practical inference: There are 10 In
sgaifcSnces in our lives The minutest
thing Is part Of 4 magnitude. In1nity
Is made up Of mint simaIs. Great
q a. &A E@A GAAgA VA rAAAAA ~
Bethlehem mangef pulling on a star
In the eastern sky. One book in q
drenched sailors mouth the eyangeiiza-
ton OF q multitude. One boat Of papy-
rus on the Nile freightsd with events
for all ages The fate Of C~hrIstendom
In a basket let down from a window
on the wall. What you do, do wei.
IL you make a rope make il strong aDd
true, for you know not how much
may depend on your workmanship. II
you fashion a boat let ii be water
proof, for you know not who may sail
in IL II you put q Bible in the trunk
Of your boy al he goes from home,
let Ii be heard in your prayers, for ii
may have a mission as Threading
as the book which the sailor carried in
his teeth to the Pitcairn beach The
plainest mans life is an island between
two eternities-eternity past ripping
against his shoulders, eternity 10 come
touching his brow. The casual, the
accidental, that which merely happened
80. are parts Of a great plan, and the
rope that lets the fugitive apostle from
the Damascus wall is the cable that
holds to its nooring the ship Of the
church in the northeast storm Of the
centuries.
Again, 1otice unrecoynized and unre-
corded services. Who spun that rope?
Who tied il 10 the basket? Who stead
fed the illustrious preacher as he step
ped into il: Who relaxed not a muscle
Of the arm or dismissed an anxious look
from his face until the basket touched
the ground and discharged its magnif-
cent cargos Not one Of their name
has come TO us, but there was no work
done tia. day In Damascus nor in al
the earth compared with the import
ance Of their work What if they had
In their agitation tied a knot that could
slipg What IL the sound Of the mob
at the door had led them TO say: Paul
must take care of himself, and we will
take care Of ourselves" No, no. They
held the rope, and in doing so did more
for the Christian church than any
thousand of US viii ever accomplish
But God knows and has made eternal
record OF their undertakings. And they
know. How exrltant they must have
felt when they read his letters to the
Romans, to the Corinthians. to the Ca
latians. TO the Ephesians. 10 the Phil
ippians. 10 the Colossians. TO the Thcs-
salorians. 10 Timothy, to Titus. TO Phil
emoT, TO the Hebrews, and when they
heard how he walked out CT phison
with the earthquake Unlocking tic door
for him. and took command Of the
Aiexandrian corn-ship when the sail
ors were nearly scared to death. and
preached a sermon that nearly shook
Felix of his judgment seat. / hear the
men and women who helped h,n down
through the window and over the wall
talking in private over the matter,
and saying: How glad I am that we
effected that rescued In Coming times
others may get the glory Of Pauls
work, but no one shall rob US of the
satisfaction of knowing that we held
the rope"
There are said TO be about $1,000
ministers Of religion in this country.
About 10000 i warrant came from
early homes which lid to struggle for
the -necessaries Of life. The sons of
rich bankers and merchants generally
become bankers and merchants. The
most Of these who become ministers are
the sons OF those who had terrific strug-
gle 10 get their everyday bread. The
collegiate and theological education Of
that son took every luxury from the
parental table for eight years. The
other children were more scantiiy ap-
parelled. The son ar college every little
while got a bundle from home. In IL
Were the socks that mother had knit,
! sitting up late ar night, her sight not
rs good as once il a And there also
We're some delieacies from the sisters
hand for the voracious appetite Of a
hungry student
The years 90 by and the son has been
ordained and is preaching IL glorious
gospel, and a great revival comes, and
souls by scores and hundreds accept
The gospel from the lips OF the young
| preacher. and father and mother. quite
old now, are visiting the son az the vii
lase parsonage. and al the close Of q
Sabbath of mighty blessing father and
mother retire TO their room. the son
lighting the way and asking them If
b. can do anything TO make them more
comfortable, saying il they want any
thing In the night just to knock on the
wall And then all alone father and
mother talk over the gracious inGn-
ences of the day and say: We'll, liz was
worth all W. went through 10 educate
that boy, Ii was n hard pull, but we
held on till the work was done. The
world may not know IL. but, mother,