News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1894-03-15

cairn beach. The plainest mans HE Is
en- island between two eternltles-eter-
nifty past ripping against his shoulders,
eternity to come touching his brow. The
casual, the accidental, that which merely
happened so, are parts of a great plan,
and the rope that let's the fugitive apostle
from the Damascus wall is the cable that
holds to its mooring the ship OF the
church in the northeast storm OF the CEN
'"A1o'' THEY HELD THE ROPE.
Again, notice unrecognized and unre-
corded services. Who spun that rope?
Who tied it to the basket? Who steadied
the illustrious preacher as he stepped in
to it? 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 magnificent
cargo? Not one of their names has come
TO us. but there was no work done that
day in Damascus or in all the earth COM
pared with the Importance OF their work.
What if they had in their agitation tied
a knot that could slip? What it the
sound of the mob at the door had led
them to say, paul must take care OF him.
self. and we will take care of ourselves"
No, no! They held the rope, and in do
ing so did more for the Christian church
than any thousand of us will ever &C
complish. But God knows and has made
eternal record of their undertaking. And
they know.
How exultant they must have felt
when they read his letters to the Ro-
mans, to the Corinthians, to the Gala
tians. to the Ephesians, to the Philip
plans. to the Colossians, to the Thessa-
lonians, to Timothy, to Titus, to Ph!le-
mon, to the Hebrews, and when they
heard how he walked out of prison with
the earthquake unlocking the door for
him and took command of the Alexan-
drian corn ship when the sailors were
nearly scared to death and preached
sermon that nearly shook Felix off his
Judgment seatl 1 hear the men and
women who helped him down through
the window and over the wall talking
in private over the matter, and saying:
How glad | am that we effected that
rescue! In coming times others may
get the glory Of Paul's work, but no one
shall rob us of the satisfaction of know
ing that we held the rope"
There are said to be about 6S, 900 min
isters of religion in this country. About
80 900, I Warrant, came from early homes,
which had to struggle for the necessaries
of life The sons of rich bankers and
merchants generally become bankers and
merchants. The most of those who be-
come ministers are the sons of those who
had terrific struggle to get their every
day bread. The collegiate and theolog-
ical education of that son took every
luxury from the parental table for eight
years. The other children We're more
scantily appareled. The son at college
every little while got a bundle from
home In it were the socks that mother
had knit, sitting up late at night, her
sight not as good as once it was, and
there also We're some deicacies from the
sisters hand for the yoracious appetite
of hungry student.
HARD PULL.
The years go by, and the son has been
ordained and is preaching the glorious
gospel, and a great revival comes, and
scnls by scores and hundreds accept the
gospel from the lips of that young
preacher. and father and mother, quite
old now, are visiting the son at the viii
lage parsonage, and at the close of Sab
bath of mighty blessing father and moth
or retire to their room, the son lighting
the way and asking them if he can do
anything to make them more comforta-
BILE, saying if they want anything in the
night just to knock on the wall.
And then all alone father and mother
- inf nf hn
day and say: ''Well, it was worth all we
went through to educate that boy! 1t
was a hard pull, but we held on till the
work was done. The world may not
know it; but, mother, we held the rope,
didn't WEI" And the voice, tremulouS
with joyful emotion, responds: eyes, ia
Their; we held the rope. [ feel my work
is done. Now, Lord, lettest thou thy
servant depart in peace, for mine eyes
have seen thy salvation" ''Pshawv says
the father. II never felt so much like
living in my life as now. want to see
what that fellow is going on to do, he
has begun SO we'll"
Oh, men and women here assembled,
you brag sometimes how you have
fought your way in the world, but |
think there have been helpful influences
that you have never fully acknowledged.
Has there not been some influence In
your early or present home that the
world cannot see? Does there not reach
to you from among the New England
hills, or from western prairies, or from
southern plantation, or from English or
| Scottish or Irish home, cord of infu
snce that has kept you right when you
| would have gone astray, and which, aft
\ er you had made crooked track, re-
called you? The rope may be as long IS
80 years, or 500 miles long or 5000 miles
| long, but hands that went out of mortal
sight long ago still hold the rope.
You want very swift horse, and you
need to rowel him with sharpest spurs,
| and to let the reins lie loose upon the
neck, and to give a shout to a racer if
you are going to ride out of reach OF
your mothers prayers. Why, ship
crossing the Atlantic in seven days can't
sail away from theml A sailor finds
them ON the lookout as he takes his
| place, and finds them on the mast as he
climbs the ratlines to disentangle a rope
in the tempest, and finds them swinging
| on the hammock when he turns in. Why
not be frank and acknowledge it? The
most of us would long ago have been
dashed TO pieces had not gracious ard
loving hands steadily and lovingly and
nightly held the rope.
A TIME OF PERIL.
But there must come time when we
shall find out who these Damascenes
were who lowered Paul in the basket
and greet them and all those who have
rendered to God and the world unrecog-
nized and unrecorded services. That is
going to be one of the glad excitements
of heayen-tlIe hunting up and picking
out of those who did great good ON earth
and got no credit for it. Here the
church has been going on 10 centuries,
and this is probably the first sermon ever
recognizing the services of the people in
that Damascus balcony. Charles G.. Fin
ney said to dying Christian, "Give my
love to st. Paul when you meet him. "
When you and 1 meet him, as we will, ]
shall ask him to introduce me to those
people who got him out of the Damas-
Gene peril.
Once for 36 hours we expected every
moment TO go to the bottom of the ocean.
The waves struck through the skylights,
and rushed down into the hold of the
, ship, and Missed against the boilers. 1t
was an awful time, but by the blessing
} of God and the faithfulness of the men
in charge we came out of the cyclone,
and we arrived at home. Each one, be-
fore leaving the ship, thanked Captain
: Andrews. | do not think there was a
man or woman that went off that ship