The watchman and southron. [volume] (Sumter, S.C.) 1881-1930, 1894-03-21

that you nave never IUilS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
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
hills, or from western prairies, or from
southern plantation, or from English or
Scottish or Irish home, a cord of influ-
ence that has kept you right when you
would have gone astray, and which, aft
er you had made a crooked track, re-
called you? The rope may be as long as
30 years, or SEQ miles long or 5000 miles
long, but 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 reins lie loose upon the
neck, and to give a shout to a racer it
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! A sailor finds
them on the lookout as he takes his
place, and finds them on the mast as ne
climbs the ratlines to disentangle q rope
in the tempest, and finds them swinging
on the hammock when he turns in. Why
not be frank and acknowledge it? The
most Of us would long ago have been
dashed to pieces had not gracious and
loving hands steadily and lovingly and
nightly held the rope.
A TINE OF PERIL.
But there must come time when we
shall find out who these Damascenes
were who lowered Paul in the basket
and greet them and all those who have
rendered to God and the world unrecog-
nized and unrecorded services. That is
going to be one of the glad excitements
of neayen-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 10 centuries,
and this is probably the first sermon ever
recognizing the services of the people in
that Damascus balcony. Charles G. Fin
ney said to a 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 Damas-
Gene peril.
Once for SO hours we expected every
moment to go to the bottom Of the ocean.
The waves struck through the skylights,
and rushed down into the hold of the
ship, and Kissed against the boilers. It
was an awful time, but by the blessing
of God and the faithfulness OF the men
in charge we came out of the cyclone,
and we arrived at home. Each one, be
fore leaving the ship, thanked Captain
Andrews. I do not think there was a
man or woman that went off that ship
without thanking Captain Andrews, and
when years after I heard Of his death !
was impelled to write a letter Of condo
lence to his familyin Liverpool.
Everybody recognized the goodness,
the courage. the kindness of Captain An
drews, 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 continu-
ance, and his fidelity, and there will be
just as high reward for the engineer who
worked out Of sight as the captain who
stood on the bridge Of the ship in the
midst of the bowling tempest.
ALL POINTED OUT.
A Christian woman was seen going
along the edge of a wood every eventide,
and the neighbors in the country did not
understand how 81 mother with so many
cares and anxieties should waste so
much time as to he idly sauntering ont
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 numbering care
And spend the hours OF setting day
In humble, grateful prayer.
Shall there be no reward for such un-
nretendinp vet everlasting service?