The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-03-16

evangelical, and church was
started, and an enlightened
commonwealth established, and
the worlds history has no more bril-
liant page than that which tells of the
book. 1t did not seem of much import
ance whether the sailor continued to
hold the book in his teeth or let it fall
in the breakers, but upon what small
circumstance depended what mighty
results.
Practical inference: There are nc
insignifcances in our lives. The
minutest thing is part of a magnitude.
Infinity is made up of infinitesimals.
Great things an aggregation of small
things Bethlehem manger pulling on
star in the eastern sky. One book in
drenched sailors mouth the evangeli-
zation of multitude. One boat OF
papyrus on the Nile freighted with
events for all ages The fate OF
| Christendom in basket let down from
a window on the wall What you do,
do we'll If you make a rope make
it strong and true, for you know not
how much may depend on your work
manship.
Again, notice unrecognized and unre-
corded services. Who spun that rope?
| Who tied it to the basket? Who
steadied the illustrious preacher as he
stepped into it? Who relaxed not a
muscle of the arm or dismissed an
anxious look from his face until the
basket touched the ground and dis
charged its magnificent cargo? Not
one of their names has come to us, but
| there was no work done that day in
Damascus nor in all the earth COM
pared with the Importance of their
work. What if they had in their agi-
tation tied knot that could slip?
| What if the sound of the mob at the
door had led them to say: paul must
take care of himself, and we will
take care of ourselves" No, no!
They held the rope, and in do
ing so did more for the Christian
| church than any thousand of us will
ever accomplish. But God knows and
has made eternal record of their under
taking. And they know. How exult-
ant they must have felt when they
read his letters to the Romans, to the
Corinthians, to the Galatians, to the
Ephesians, to the Philippians, to the
| Colossians, to the Thessalonians, to
Timothy, to Titus, to Philemon, to the
Hebrews, and when they heard how he
walked out of prison with the earth
quake unlocking the door for him, and
20 80 4
ship when the sailors were nearly
scared to death, and preached sermon
that nearly shook Felix off his judg-
ment seat. / hear men 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 of Paurs work, but no one shall
rob us of the satisfaction of knowing
that we held the rope"
There are said to be about GO, 600 min
isters of religion in this country.
About so, 900 / warrant came from early
homes which had to struggle for the
necessaries of life The sons of rich
| bankers and merchants generally be-
come bankers and merchants. The
most of those who become ministers
are the sons of those who had terrific
struggle to get their daily 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 APP
| parelled. The son at college every
little while got bundle from home
| In it were the socks that mother had
knit, sitting up late at night, her sight
not as good as once it was And there
also were some delicacies from the Sis
ter's hand for the voracious appetite of
a hungry student
o.. men and women here assembled,
you brag sometimes how you have
fought your way in the world, but 1
think there have been helpful infiu-
ences 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 hills or from western
prairies, or from southern plantation,
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 have
made a crooked track, recalled you?
The rope may be as long as thirty
years, or 500 miles long or 5000 miles
long. but hands that went out of NOR
tai sight long ago still hold the rope.
You want very swift horse, and
you need to rowel him with the sharp
est spurs, and to let the reins lie loose
upon the neck, and to give shout to
a racer. if 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! A
sailor finds them on the lookout as he
takes his place, and finds them on the
mast as he climbs the ratlines to dis
entangle rope in the tempest, and
finds them swinging on the hammock
when he turns in. Why not be frank
and acknowledge 1.-THE most of us
would long ago have been dashed to
pieces had not gracious and loving
hands steadily and lovingly and might
lily held the rope.
But there must come a 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 excite
ments 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 centuries. and this is probably
the first sermon ever recognizing the