The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-10-31

Day. perhaps next Christmas Day-the
prodigal may be home, and II you crowd
on his plate mora iuxuries than on any
other plate at the table I 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 prayers
have been answered already. The vessel
may be coming homeward, 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 arm
around your neck and ask for forgiveness
for that he has been wringing your old heart
30 long. Glorious reunion, that will be too
sacred for outsiders to look upon, but I
would lust like to look through the window
when you have all got together again and
are seated at the banquet.
Though parents may in coveuantbe
Aud have their heaven In view,
They are not happy till they see
This chill iren happy too
Again, remark that the unavaillng effort
OF the Mediterranean oarsmen has a coun-
terpart 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, 1t would have been
done long ago. John Howard took hold Of
one oar, and Carey took hold of another oar.
and Adoniram Judson took hold OF another
oar, and Luther took hold Of another oar,
and John Knox took hold of another oar and
theypulled until they fell back dead from
the exhaustion. Some dropped In the ashes
Of martyrdom, some on the scalping
knives of savages and some into the
plague struck room Of the lazaretto,
and still the chains are not broken,
and still the despotisms are not demolished.
and still the world Is unsaved. What then2
D,.k Iz,- Ia
do not advise that. But I want you, Chris
tian brethren, to understand that the church,
and the school and the college, and the mis-
sionary society are only the instrumentali-
ties, and II this work Is ever done at all God
must doit, and He will do 1t In answer to
our prayer. ''They rowed nard to bring It to
the land, but they could not, wherefore they
cried unto the Lord"
Again, the unavaillng effort ofthose Medi-
terranean oarsmen has counterpart In
every man that Is trying to row his own soul
into safety. When the eternal spirit flashes
upon-us our condition, we try to save our
selves. We say, "Give me stout oar for my
right hand, give me O stout oar for my left
hand and will pull myself into safety" No.
A wave of sin comes and dashes you one way,
and a wave Of temptation comes and dashes
you in another way, and there are plenty OF
rocks on which to founder, but seemingly no
harbor into whichto sail. Sin must be thrown
overheard, or We must perish. There
are men who have tried for years to become
Christians, They believe all say IN regard
to future world. They believe that re-
liglon Is the first, the last, the infinite me-
'cessIty. They do everything but trust In
Christ. They make sixty strokes In min
ute. They bend forward with all earnest
ness, and they lie back until the muscles are
distended, and vet they have not made one
inch in ten years toward heaven. What Is
the reason? That Is not the way to 60 to
work. You might Us we'll take a frail
skiff and put It down at the foot OF NJ
agara and, then head 1t up toward tho
churning thunderbolt Of waters and ex-
pect to work your way up through the
lightning Of the foam into calm Lake Erie
as for you to try to pull yourself through
the surf OF your sin into the hope and pardon
It in that way. Sin Is rough sea, and
longpoat, yawl, pinnace and gondols go
down unless the Lord deliver, but II you
will cry to Christ and lay hold of divine
mercy you are as safe from eternal con-
demnation as though you had been twenty
years In heaven.
But glory be to God that Jesus Christ Is
able to take US up out OF our shlpwrecked
and dying condition and put US on the shoul-
OF His gospel bear us on through all the
Journey Of this life and at last through the
opening gates OF heaven! He Is mighty to
save. Though your sin be long and black
and inexcusable and outrageous, the very
moment you believe will proclaim pardon
quick, full, grand, unconditional, uncom-
promising, illimitible, infinite. Oh, the grace
OF God am overwhelmed when come to
think of it. Give me thousand ladders, LASH
ed fast to each other, that I may scale the
height. Let the line run out with the an
cbor until all the cables of the earth are e1-
hausted, that we may touch the depth. Let
the archangel fly in circuit OF eternal ages In
irving to sweep around this theme. Oh, the
grace of God 1t is 80 high. It Is 80 broad.
II is SO deep. Glory be to my God, that
where mans oar gives out Gods arm begins
Why will ye carry your sins and your sor-
rows any longer when Christ offers to take
them2 Why will you wrestle down your
fears when this moment you might give up
and be saved? Do you not know that every
thing is ready?
Plenty of room at the feast. Jesus has the
ring OF His love all ready to put upon your
hand. Come now and sit down, ye hungry
ones, at the banquet. Ye who are In rags
of sin, take the robe OF Christ. Ye who are
swamped by the breakers around you, cry
to Christ to pilot you into smooth, still
waters. On account OF the peculiar phase
of the subject I have drawn my present
Illustrations, you see, chiefly from the
water. I remember that vessel went to
pieces on the Bermudas great many years
ago, 1t had vast treasure on board.
But, the vessel being sunk, no effort was
made to raise it. After many years had
passed a company Of adventures went
out from England, and after long voy-
age they reached the place where the vessel
was said to have sunk. They got into a
small boat and hovered over the place. Then
the divers went down. and they broke
through what looked like limestone cover
ing, and the treasures rolled out-what was
found atterward to be, in American money,
worth 81 SOC. 900, and the foundation OF
great business house. At that time the
whcio world rejoiced over what was called
the luck Of these adyenturers. o, ye who
have been rowing toward the shore
and have not been able to reach
1t, I,want to tell you tonight that your boat
hovers over infinite treasure! All the riches
of God are at your feet-treasures that
never fail and crowns that never grow dim.
Who will 90 down now and seek them? Who
will dive for the pearl Of great prlce2 Who
will be prepared for life, for death, for
Judgment, for the long eternity? See two
hands OF blood stretched out toward thy
SOUL as Jesus says, "Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and will
give you rest"
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