The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-03-16

thing Is part OK u magnitude. milnity
Is made UP Of infnitesimals; great things
an aggregation of small things. Bethlo.
hem Manager pulling ON star in the east
ern sky. One book In drenched sailors
mouth the evangelization of multitude.
One boat of papyrus on the Nile freight
ed~with events for all ages. The fate Of
| Chiistendom in basket let down from
n 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 workmanship. II
you fashion boat, let it be waterproof,
for you know not who may sail in it,
If you put Bible in the trunk of your
boy as he goes from home, let it be heard
in your prayers, for it may have amis-
sion as farreaching as the book which
the sailor carried in his teeth to the Pit
cairn beach, The plainest mans life is
an island between two eternities-eter-
nifty past ripping against his shoulders,
eternity to come touching his brow. The
casual, the accidental, that which merely
happened so, parts of 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
turtles.
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 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
knot that could slip? What if 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 ac-
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 Phile-
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 We're
nearly scared to death and preached a
sermon that nearly shook Felix off his
Judgment seat! l 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 l 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 $4,000 min
listers of religion in this country. About
| 10000 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 were moro
scantily appareled. The son at college
every little while got bundle frcin
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 were some delicacies from the
sisters hand for the voracious appetite
of a hungry student
"A HARD PULL.
The years 60 by, and the son has been
ordained and is preaching the glorious
gospel, ard a great revival comes, and
souls 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 vii
| 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-
bic, saying if they want anything in the
night Just to knock on the wall.
And then all alone father and mother
talk over the gracious influences of the
| SsyNa11 p,.<1 al
went through to educate that boy! 1t
was 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: "Yes, 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" "Pshaww says
the father. 81 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 nd1 been some influence in
your early OF present home that the
world cannot see? Does there not reach
10 you from among the New England
hills, or from western prairies, or from
southern plantation, or from English OF
Scottish or Irish home, cord of infu.
tnce that has Kept you right when you
would have gonasstray, and which, aft
er you had made crooked track, re-
called you? The rope may be as long az
80 years, or 500 miles long or 5000 miles
long, but hands that went ont of morta,
sight long ago still hold the rope.
You want very swift horse, and yor
need to rowel him with sharpest spurs
and to let the reins lie loose upon the
neck, and to give shout to racer il
you are going to ride out of reach o.
your mothers prayers. Why, shil
crossing the Atlantic in seven days cam
sail away from them! A sailor fndi
them on the lookout as he takes hi