The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1894-01-22
LESSONS FROM THE WRECK.


s. Riddle Last Night.
Rev. Arney S. Biddle, at the Summit
Avenue United Presbyterian Church last
night, preached ON lessons to be Learned
from the Late Wreck" Among other
things he said: &
SIN this disaster we learn
81. The Importance of small things; IN
fact, it seems that the cause of the disaster
was SO small that it is hard at present to TX
the blame. The person WIKI was alpointeo
to flag the train immediately behind dia
not, or could not, attend to his business.
And yet, had that been done, the accident
would never have happened. SO 1t has ever
been: small things lead to great results.
SO. The Importance of every man attend
ing carefully to his duty. The success OF an
enterprise may depend just as much upon a
man who holds an inferior position as upon
the leader. The engineers, conductors ana
iremen might have all been faithful, pat
their faithfulness was OF no proht II tne
man in the lowest position did not attend TO
his duty. So in church work and every
thing else. Do your work well. whatever
may be your position.
IS. Importance of being ready for death.
Surely that was a poor time to prepare 10
die. Tt is your duty to have your temporal
affairs ready. A man dies and his family
knows nothing of his financial affairs ana
suffers loss. know a brother who had the
management of an estate involving thou
sands of dollars. He was suddenly cut
down, and those near to him were brought
to the very verge of bankruptcy, because
they did not understand the condition OF
affairs. We should have our spiritual condl-
ton made secure. Only a second of time In
which to get ready for eternity. Altogether
too short. A man has been advised to at
tend to these matters, but puts 1t of, Just as
some of you have done; is taken i'll, sends for
the minister, who is away from home; on
his return he goes to the house to lind the
crepe on the door or to learn that the maj
called again and again for him ere ne
passed into eternity. Prepare to meet thy
God now.
81. Duty of showing love to dear ones at
home. Sometimes we part IN anger from
those we love never to see them again. Ina
recent railroad wreck a man thrust his
head from the car, but could get no further,
and as the flames leaped upon him he cried,
ssTell my wife that" but smoke and flame
never allowed him to complete that SEN
tence.
-. How completely we are in the hands
of Providence. We lay our plans. but they
may be utterly blasted by unforeseen cir
c~umstances.
&c. The great responsibility resting upon
men for the lives or the souls of their fellow
men. 1t is not known exactly who is re-
sponsible for this wreck, but someone must
be to blame. Men are going forward with
more than railroad speed to a future OF
eternal Joy or misery. Their future condl-
ton may depend ON what we do OF say. A
Sabbath school superintendent, by being
found at a place Of questionable resort,
turned a family who were interested in re-
ligion away from all serious consideration of
the same. A minister, by his frivolous con-
duct after a sermon of great power, led one
person to think that religion was not a mat
ter of much Importance.
SIT is a terrible thing to be responsible for
the loss of life at this railroad wreck, but it
is a more fearful thing to be responsible for
the destruction of an immortal soul"