The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1894-02-03

II the SDlllt OF illS sermon le llNcs now
cousoed you ought to feel about memhs
Of your families that went earlyl Taken
from the evil to come this book says
What fortunate escape they hadl How
glad we ought to feel that they will never
have to go through the struggles which We
have had to 80 Thought The, had just
time enough to get out of the cradle and
run up the springtme hills of this world
and see how it looked, and then they start
ed for IA better stopping place. They were
like ships that put in at st. Helena, stay
ing there long enough to let passengers 30
up and see the barracks of NapOleon's cap
tivity and then hoist sail for the port Of
their own native land. They only took this
world "in transitu." 1t is hard for us, but
it is blessed for them.
MANY MILES NEARER HOME
And if the spirit of this sermon is true,
then we ought not to go around signing and
grooming because another year has gone,
but we ought to 90 down on one knee by
| the milestone aud see the letters and thank
| God that we are 800 miles nearer home.
! We ought not to 20 around with morbid
! feelings about our health or about antici-
! pated demise. We ought to be living not
/ according to that old maxim which used
to hear in my boyhood, that you must live
as though every day were the last You
must live as though you were to live for
ever, for you will. Donot be nervous lest
you have to move out of shanty into an
Alhambra.
One Christmas morning, one of my neigh
bors, an old sea captain, died. After life
had departed Ills face was illuminated as
though he was just going into harbur. The
fact was he had already got through the
"Narrows.' In the adjoining room were
the Christmas presents waiting for his dis
trbution. Long ago, one night when he
had narrowly escaped with his ship from
being run down 10y great ocean steamer,
he had made his peace with God, and a
kinder ueighbor or better man you would
not find this side Of heaven. Without a
moments warning, the pilot of the heaven
ly harbor had met him just off the light
ship
The captain often talked to me of the
goodness of God, and especially of time
when he was about to 20 into New York
harbor with his shipf from Liverpool, and he
was suddenly impressed that he ought to
put back to sea Under the protest of the
crew and under their very threat he put
back to sea, fearing at the same time
he was losing his mind, for it did seem so
unreasonable that when they could getinto
harbor that night, they should put back to
sea. But they put back to sea, and the cap
tain said to his mate, '"NOu call me at 1O
O'Clock at night
At II o'clock at night the captain was
aroused and said; what does this meant
/ thought told you to call me at iOo'Clock
and mere it is Il" why" said the mate
II did call you at 10 o'clock and you got
up, looked around and told me to keer
right on the same course for two hours, and
then to call you AT IL o'clock" Said the
captain; rs it possibley have no remem
brance of that"
A HUNDRED SOULS SAVED.
At Il O'Clock the captain went on deck
and through the rift of the cloud the moon
light fell upon the sea and showed him q
shipwreck with 100 struggling passengers
He helped them off Had he been any ear
lier or any later at that point of the sea, hl
would have been Of no service to thost
drowning people. On board the captains
vessel they began to band together as tC
what they should pay for the rescue auG
what they should pay for the provisions
"Ah," says the captain, "my lads, you
can't pay me anything. All / have on board
is yours. | feel too greatly honored of Goo
in having saved you to take any pay Just
like him. He never got any pay except that
of his own applauding conscience.
On, that the old sea captains God ght
be my God and yours. Amid the stormy
seas of this life may we have always somt
one as tender!y to take care of us as tn,
captain took care of the drowning crew and
the passengers. And may we come into
the harbor with rs little physical pain and
with as bright IA hope as he had, and il il
should happen to be Il Christmas morning
when the presents are. being distributed
and we Gre celebrating the birth of hin
who came to save our shipwrecl ed world
all the better for what grander, brighte
Christmas present could we have thai
heaven?