The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1894-10-24

tempeSG ana DrlnS INC snip IN SAFETY TO
the port. tell you, my friends, that
there has got to be good deal of pray
ing before our families are brought to
Christ. All! it is an awful thing TO
have half household on one side the
line. and the other part of the house
hold on the other side of the line! Two
vessels part on the ocean of eternity,
one going to the right and the other to
the left-farther apart, and farther
apart-until the signals cease to be
recognized, and there are only two
specks on the horizon, and then they
are lost to sight forever
have to tell you that the unvailing
efforts of these Mediterranean oarsmcn
have counterpart in the efforts some
of us are making to bring our children
to the shore of safety. There never
were so many temptations for young
people as there are are now. The lit
erary and the social influences seem to
be against their spiritual interests.
Christ seems to be driven almost en-
tirely from the school and the pleas
urable concourse, yet God knows
how anxious we are for children.
We eau not think of going into
Heaven without them. We do not want
to leave this life while they are tossing
on the waves of temptation and away
from God. From which of them could
we consent to be eternally separated?
Would it be the son? Would it be the
daughter? Would it be the eldest.
Would it be the youngest? Would it
be the one that is we'll and stout, or
the one that is sick? Oh, I hear
some parent saying tonight: 81
have tried my best to bring my
children to Christ. I have laid hold
of the oars until they bent in my
grasp, and have braced myself against
the ribs of the boat, and have pulled
for their eternal rescue; but can't get
them to Christ" Then I ask you to
initiate the men of the text and cry
nightly unto God. We want more i'm
Fortunate praying for children, such
as the father indulged in when he had
tried to bring his six sons to Christ, and
they had wandered off into dissipation.
Then he got down in his prayers
and said: 20, God! take away my
life, if through that means my sons
may repent and be brought to Christ;"
and the Lord startingly answered the
prayer, and in few weeks the father
was taken away, and through the SOL
emnity the six sons fed unto God. Oh,
that father could afford to die for the
eternal welfare of his children! He
rowed hard to bring them to the land,
but could not, and then he cried unto
the Lord.
There are parents who are almost
discouraged about their children.
Where is your son tonight? He has
wandered off, perhaps, to the ends of
the earth. 1t seems as if he can not
get far enough away from your Chris
tian counsel. What does he care about
the burrows that come to your brow;
about the quick whitening of the hair;
about the fact that your back begins to
stoop with the burdens? Why,
he would not care much if he
heard you were dead! The black
edged letter that brought the It'd
ings he would put in tn e same package
with other letters telling the story of
his shame. What are you going to do?
Both paddles broken at the middle of
the blade, how can you pull him ashore?
I throw you oar now with which I be-
lieve you can bring him into the har-
Dor. It is the glorious promise: twill
be God to thee, and to thy seed after
thee" Oh, broken-hearted father and
mother, you have tried everything else,
now make an appeal for the help and
omnipotence of the covenant-making
God! and perhaps at your next family
gathering-perhaps on Thanksgiving
day, perhaps next Christmas day-the
prodigal may be home; and if you
crowd on his plate more luXuries than
on any other plate at the table, 1 am
sure the brothers will not be jealous,
but they will wake up all the music in
the house, because the dead is
alive again, and because the lost
is found" Perhaps your pray
ers have been answered already.
Lie VtSSel ludy pc SoihAuS AoihS-
ward, and by the light of this nights
stars that absent son may be pacing the
deck of the ship, anxious for the time
to come when he can throw his arms
around your neck and ask for forgive
ness for that he has been wringing
your old heart SO long. Glorious re-
union! that will be too sacred for out
siders to look upon; but I would just
like to look through the windows
when you have all together again, and
are seated at the banquet
Again, remark that the unavailing
effort of the Mediterranean oarsmen
has counterpart in the effort which
we are making to bring this world back
to God, His pardon, and safety. If this
world could have been saved by human
effort, it would have been done
long ago. John Howard took hold
of one oar, and Carey took hold
of another oar, and Adoniram Judson