Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1894-03-23

They held the rope. and in doing so die
more for the Christian Church than an
thousand of US will ever accomplish. Bu
God knows and has made eternal record o
their undertaking. And they know.
How e3ultant they must have felt wheI
they read his letters to the Romans, to tht
Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the Ephe
slams TO the Philippians, to the Colossians
to the Thessalonlans. to Timothy. to Titus
10 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 Aiexandrian corn shiE
when the sailors were nearly scared to deatt
and preached & sermon that nearly shooI
Felix off his Judgment seat / hearthe mer
and women who helped him down through
the window and over the wall talking in
private over the matter. and saying, "HoW
glad | am that we effected that rescue! In
coming times others may get the glory oi
PauIs work, but no one shall rob US of the
satisfaction OF knowing that we held the
rope"
There are said to be about SO, 900 ministers
of religion in this country. About so, 900, l
warrant, came from early homes. which had
to struggle for the necessaries of life. The
sons Of rich bankers and merchants gener-
ally become bankers and merchants. 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 scant-
lily appareed. The son at college every lit
tie while got bundle from home. In it
were the socks that mother had knit, sitting
IN late at night, her sight not as good as
once it was, and there also were sOme de-
licacies from the sisters hand for the vora-
cIous appetite of a hungry student
The years go by and the son has been or
In ITaI Il in
and great revival comes, and souls by
scores and hundreds accept the gospel frc m
tue lips of that young preacher, and father
and mother, quite old now. are visiting the
son at the village parsonage, and at the close
of a Sabbath of mighty blessing father and
mother retire to their room, the son lighting
the way and asking them If he can do any
thing to make them more comfortable, say
ing 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 day an|
say 'Well, it was worth all we 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 we?" And the voice, tremu-
lous with joyful emotion, responds eyes,
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
SdlNdlIOu. ISndW says the Idtner- II
never felt so much like living in my life as
now. 1 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 I think there have
been helpful influences that you have never
fully 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 among the New England
NILS or from western prairies. or from south
ern plantation, or from English or Scottish
or Irish homes, a cord of innuer ce that has
kept you right when you would have gone
astray, and which, after you had made a
crooked track, recalled you? The rope may
have been as long thirty years or 500
miles long or 5000 miles long, bat hands that
went out of mortal sight long ago still hold
the rope.
You want a very swift horse, and you need
to rowel him with sharpest spurs, and to let
the relns lie loose upon the neck and to givea
shout to racer if you are going to ride out
of reach of your mothers prayers. Why. a
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 rat
lines to disentange rope in the tempest.
and finds them swinging on the hammock
when he turns in. Why not be frank and ac-
knowledge it? The most of US would long
ago have been dashed to pieces had not
gracious and loving hands steadily and low
ingly and nightly held the rope.
But there must come a time when we shall
find out who these DamasceneS were who
lowered Paul il the basket and greet them
and all those who have rendered to God and
the world unrecOgnzed and unrecOrdnd
services. That is going to be one of the glad
eXcitements of heaven-the hunting up and
picking out of those VINO did great good on
~, 4
church has been going on nineteen CEN
turies, and this is probably the first sermon
ever recognizing the services Of the people in
that Damascus balcony. Charles G.. FInney
said to dying Christian, ''Give my love to
st. Paul when you meet him" When you
and [ meet him. as we will, [ shall ask him
to Introduce me to those people who got him
out of the Damascene peril.
Once for thirty-six hours we expected
every moment to so to the bottom of the
ocean. The waves struck through the sky
lights. and rushed down into the hold of the
ship, and Kissed against the boilers. 1t was
an awful time, bat by the blessing of God
and the faithfulness of the men i'll charge we
came out of the cyclone, and we arrived at
home. Each one, before leaving the snip,
thanked Captain Andrews. [ do not think
there was a man or woman that went Off
that ship without thanking Captain Andrews
and when years after [ heard of his death |
to his family in Liverpool.
Everybody recognized the goodness, the
courage, the kindness of Captain Andrews,
but it occurs to me now that we never
thanked the engineer. He stood away down
in the darkness amid the Kissing furnaces
doing his whole duty. Nobody THANKED the
engineer, but God recognized his herOism,
and his continuance, and his fidelity. and
there will be just as high reward for the en-
gineer who worked out of sight as the cap
tain who stood on the bridge of the ship in
the midst of the bowling tempest.
A Christian woman was seen going along
the edge of a wood every eventide, and the
neighbors in the country did not understand
how a mother with so many cares and ankle
ties should waste SC much time as to be idly
sauntering out evening by evening. 1t was
found out afterward that she went there to
pray for her household and while there one
evening she wrote that beautiful hymn,
famous in all ages for cheering Christian
hearts:
love to steal awhile away
From every cumbering care
And spead the hours of setting day
In humble, grateful prayer.
Shall there be no reward for such nnpre,
tending yet everlasting service?
We go into long sermon to prove that we
will be able to recognize people in heaven,
and that is better than alt-God will intro