Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1894-03-15

/ li'H VI Nlhdll luluES. Detnlencln munger
pulling on star in the eastern sky. One
book i'll adrenched sailors mouth the evan
gelization Of a multitude One bcGt Of
papyrus on the Nile freighted with events
for all ages. The fate of Christendom in a
basket let down from "A window on the wall.
/ What you do, do well. If you make a rope,
make it strong and true, for you know not
how much may depend on your workman
ship. II you fashion a boat, let it be wa
terprool, for you know not who may sail
in it.
Ii you put Bible in the trunk Of your
boy as he goes from home. let il be heard in
your prayers, for it may have a mission as
iarrcachng a. the book which the sailor
carried in his teeth to the Pitcairn beach.
The plainest mans life is an island be.
tween two eterniticS-e tcruity past ripping
against his shoulders, eternity 70 come
touching his brow. The casual. the acct
dental, that which merely happened so. are
parts of great plan, and the rope chat lets
the fugitive apostle from the Damascus
wall is the cable that holds to its 1nuoring
the ship Of the church in tine northeast
storm Of the centuries.
Again, notice unrecogniztd and unreCord-
ed services. Who spun that rOpeY v hp
/ tied it TO the baskets Who steadiel the
iIustrious preacher as he stepped into IT,
Who relaxed not a MUSCLE Of the arm or
dismissed al anxious look from his face
until the basket touched the grDu 8d and
discharged its magnificent Cargof Nos one
Of their names has come TO US, but there
was no work done that day 10 Damascus or
in all the earth compared with the inpOr
lance Of their work. What if they had "A
their agitation tied a kuot that could slif2
What if the sound of the mob at the door
hoo 1oI q t.I.
OF himself. and we will take care Of our
selves?" No, no, They hello the rope. and
in doing so did more foe the Christian
church than any thousand of us will ever
accomplish. But God knows and has made
eternal record of their undertaking. And
they know.
How eXultant they must have felt wber
they read his letters to the Romans to the
Corinthians to the Galatians, to the Ephe-
slams to the Philippians, to the Colossaus
to the Ihes,alonians. to Timothy, to Titus
to Philemon, 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 AleXandriau
Cornship when the sailors were nearly scared
to death, and preached Il sermon that near
ly shook Felix off his judgment seat hear
the men and women who helped him down
ing in private over the matter and saying:
How glad ! am that we effected that res
cue! 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 he rope
1--WE HELD THE ROPE"
There are said to be about $1,000 minis
tiers OF religion i'll this country. About 90
600, ! warrant, came from early homes
which had TO struggle for the nece-Saries of
life. The sons of rich bankers and mer
chants generally become bankers and mer-
chants. The most of those who become
ministers are the sons of those who had ter
rife struggle to get their everyday bread
The collegiate and theological education of
that son took every luxury from the paren-
tai table for eight years. The other children
were more scantily appareled. The son at
college every little while got "a bundle from
home. In it were the socks that mot her
had knit, sitting up late at night her sight
not good as once it was. And there also
were some delicacies from ne sisters hand
for the voracious appetite OF u hungry stu
dent.
The years go by, and the son has been Or
dained and is preaching the glorious gos
pei, and great revival comes, and soul,
hy scores and hundreds accept the gospel
from the lips of that young preacher, and
father and mother, quite Old now. are visit
ing the son at tile village parsonage, and at
the close of Il sabbath of mighty BLESSING
father aud mother retire To their room the
son lighting the way and asking them if he
can do anything 10 make them more COM
Portable, saying il they want anything in
the night just to knock on the wall
Ana then AL alone father and mother
talk over the gracious influences OF the day
and say: "Well. il was worth al we went
through to educate thar boy. 1t wa, a hard
pull but we held on till the work was Gone
The world may not know il; but. mother,
we held the rope, didn't We And the
voice, tremulous with joyful emotion, re
spends Yes, father; we held the rope.
teel my work i done. Now. Lord, lettest
thou thy servant depart in peace for mine
eyes have seen thy salvation" "Pshaw,"
sa, IS the father Il never felt 50 much like
living in my IItc as now ! want to SET
what that fellow i going on TO do, he mas
begun SO WE'LL
HIDDEN FROM THE WORLD.
Oh, men and women here assembled you
braR sometimes how you have fought voIl'
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 sceY Does
there not reach TO you from among the New
England hills, or from western praiues, or
from southern plantation, or from English
or Scottish or Irish nome, a cord of intiu-
euce that has kept you right when You
would have gone astray, and which. after
you had made crooked track, recalled
you? The rule may he AS long as 80 years
or 500 mile, .Oug or 5000 miles long but
hands that went out OF mortal sight LONG
ago still hold the rope
You want very swift horse, ana you
need TO rowe! HIM with oharpest spurs. and
10 let the reins lie loose upon the neck, and
10 give "a shout to racer, if you are going
20 ride ont OF reach of your mothers pray
ers. Why, ship crossing the Atlantic in
seven days can't sail away from them. 4
sailor finds them OF he lookout rs he axes
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