The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-03-14

l
make a rope. make it strong. and true.
for you know not how much may de-
pend on your workmanship. If you
fashion a boat. let it he waterproof. for
/ you know not who may. sail i'm il.
II you put a bible in the trunk of
your boy as he goes from home. let it
| be heard in your prayers. for il may
have mission as farreaching as the
| book which the sailor carried in his teeth
| to the Pitcairn beach. The plainest
mans life is an island between two
| eternities-eternity 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
lets the fugitive apostle from the Damas-
Gus wall is the cable that holds to its
| moOring the ship Of the church in the
northeast storm of the centuries
Again, notice unrecognized and unre-
corded services. Who spun that rope?
Who tied Il to the basket? Who stead
| led the illustrious preacher as he stepped
| into it? Who relaxed not a muscle or
| the arm or dismissed an anxious look
| from his face until the basket touched
! the ground and discharged it's magnif-
cent 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 compared with the Importance of
their work. What if they had i'm their
agitation tied "A knot that could slip2
| What if the sound of the mob at the
| door and led them to say. Paul must
take care of himself. and we will take
! care Of ourselves? - No no. They held
| the rope, and I'm doing so did more for
! the Christian church than any thousand
of us viii ever accomplish. 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 10 the Ru-
mans, II the Corinthians, to the Gala
! tanS. 10 the Ephcsians, To the Phi
1 6pUianS. u the COloSSianS To the
| TheSsalonians. 30 the 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 AleNaudrian cOrnshjp when the
| sailors We're nearly scared To death. and
preached a sermon that nearly shook
| Felix off his judgment seat ! hear
| the men and women VINO helped him
| down through tho window and over the
/ wall talking i'm private over the matter
| and saying. How glad 7 am that we
! effected that rescue, IN coming times
| others may get the glory OF Plul's work,
/ bur no one shall rob us of The satisfac-
/ ton Of knowing that We held the rope"
We Held the Rope"
There are said to b. about sixty-nine
I thousand ministers of religion i'm this
| country. About fifty thousand. ] war
! rant came from early homes which had
| To struggle FOR the neeessares of life.
| The sops If rich bankers and merchants
| generally become bankers and mer-
| chants. The most Of those who become
ministers are the sons Of those who had
! terrific struggle To get their everyday
! bread. The collegiate and theological
| education of that son took every luxury
| from the parental table for eight years.
| The other children were more scantily
| appareled. The son at college every
| little while got bundle from home. In it
| We're the socks that mother had knit,
| sitting up late at night. her sight not as
| good rs once it was. And there also
| We're some dele3cies from the sisters
| hand for the VcTacious appetite of hun
| CRY student.
| The years gu by. and the son has been
| ordained and is preaching the glorious
| gospel. and 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 a
| Sabbath of mighty blessing father and
| mother retire 10 their room. the son light
/ ing the way and asking them if he can
| do anything 10 make them more COM
| Portable. saying if they want anything in
/ the night just To knock Oh the wall.
| And then all alone father and mother
I -
| day and say: We'll. il was worth all
/ we went through To educate that boy.
| II 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' { We And the voice tremuIouS
| with joyful emotion. responds: Yes.
| father. 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" "Psha " -
/
| like living in my life as now. I want
10 see what that fellow is going on 20
| do, he has begun So we'll"
Hidden from the World.
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 full 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 the among the New En-
| gland hills, or from western prairies.
! or from southern plantations. or from
| English or Scottish or Irish home, cord
| Of influence that has kept YOU right
! when you would have gone astray. and
| which, after YOU had made a crooked
/ track. recalled you2 The rope may be
| as long as thirty years 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 suprs,
/ and 10 let the reins lie loose upon the
| neck, and To give a shout to Il racer.
1 II 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 them, 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 ft2 The
/ most Of US would long ago have been
/ dashed 10 pieces had not gracious and
| loving hands steadily and lovingly and
/ nightly held the rope.
! But there must come a time when we
| shall find out who these Damascenes
We're who lowered Paul in the basket.
| and greet them and all those who have
| rendered to God and the world unrec-
| ognized and unrecorded services That
/ Is going to be one of the glad excitements
| of heaven-the 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 nineteen CEN
| turtles, and this is probably the first SER
| mon ever recognizing the services of the
I people in that Damascus balcony
! Charles q. Finney said to a dying Chris
| tan. Give my love to St. Paul when