The free press., 1895-10-10

aheadl But suppose thai sickness puts it.
bitter cup to your lips; suppose that death
| overshaduws your heart; suppose misfoT-
tune, with some quick turn OF the wheel
| hurs Won backward; suppose that the wave
| of trial strikes you athwart ships, and bow
spirit shivered, and halyards swept into the
sea. and gangway crowded with piratical dis.
asters. and the wave beneath. and the sky
| above and the darkness around are filled
with the clamor of voices OF destruction.
Oh, then you will want Christ in the ship!
learn, in the next place. that people VINO
! follow Christ must not always expect smooth
sailing When thess disciples got into the
small boats. they said: "What II delightful
thing this is! Who would not be Il follower
of Christ when he can ride in one of these
! small boats after the ship in which Jesus is
| sailIng?" But when the storm came down
| these disciples found out that following
Jesus did not always make smooth sailing.
| So Won have found out, and so L have found
| out, If there are any people who you would
think ought to have had good time in get
ting out Of this world. the apostles OF Jesus
Christ ought to have been the men. Have
YOU ever noticed how they got out OF the
world? st. James lost his head; st. Philip
was hung to death against pillar; St.
Matthew was struck to death by % halberd
St. Mark was dragged to death through tho
streAts: ST. James the Less had his brains
=
was stoned to death; st. Thomas was struck
through with spear. John Huss in tho
fire, the Abigenses, the Waldenses, the
Scotch Covenanters-did they always find
smooth sailing? Why go so far?
Again. my subject teaches me that good
people sometimes get very much frightened.
From the tone and manner OF these disciples
as they rushed into the stern OF the vessel
and woke Christ up, you know that they are
fearfully scared. And so it is now that you
often find good people wildly aStated.
"Oh!' says some Christian man. ''the infidel
magazines. the bad newspapers, the spirit.
ualistic societies, the importation OF so many
foreign errors. the church OF God is going to
be lost the ship is going to founder! The
ship is going down. What are you fright
ened about? An old lion goes into his cav
ern to take sleep, aud he lies down until
his shaggy name covers his paws. Mean
while the spiders outside begin to spin webs
over the mouth of his cavern and say. That
lion cannot break out through this web,
and they keep on spinning the Sossamer
threads until they get the mouth of the
cavern covered over. Now they say,
.'the lions done. the lions done" After
awhile the lion awakes and shakes himself,
and he walks out from the cavern never
knowing there were any spiders webs, and
with his voice he shakes tho mountain. Let
the inhdels and the skeptics of this day 90
on spinning their webs, spinning their int
del gossamer theories, spinning them all
over tho place where Christ seems to be
sleeping. They say: "Christ can never
again come out. The work is done. Ha
can never get through this logical web we
have been SPINNING" The day wilt como
when the Lion of Judahs tribe will rouse
himself and come forth anl shake nightly
the Nations. What then all your gossamer
threads? What is spiders web to an
aroused lion? Do not fret, then, about the
worlds going backward. 1t is going for-
ward.
You stand on the banks OF tho sea when
the tide is rising. The almanac says the
tide is rising. but the wave comes up to u
certain point and then it recedes. "Why,"
YOU say "the tide is going back" No. it is
not. The next wave comes upa little higher,
and it goes back. Again you say the lido is
going out. And the next time the wave
comes to higher point, and then to higher
point. Notwithstanding all these recessions
at last all the shipping of the world knows it
is high tide. So it is with the cause OF Christ
in the world. One year it comes up to ono
point, and we are greatly encouraged. Then
it seems to go back next year. We say tho
tide is going out. Next year it comes to a
higher point and fails back. and next year it
comes to a still higher point and falls back,
but all the time 1t is advancing, until it shalt
be full tide, "aud the earth shall be full OF
the knowledge Of God as the waters fill the
sea"
Again, learn from this subject that Christ
is God and man in the Same person. L 90
into the back part of that boat, and L look
on Christ's sleeping face and see in that face
the story of sorrow and WEAKNESS, and
deeper shadow comes over His face, and
think He must be dreaming OF the cross that
is to come. AS [ stand on tho back part OF
the boat looking on His face [ say: "He isa
man! He is n mani" But when L see Him
come to the PROV OF the boat, and the sea
kneels in His presence, and the winds fold
their wings at His command, say; He is
God! He is God!" The hand that set
up the stormy pillars Of the universe
wiping away the tears OF an or
phan! When ] want pity and sympa-
thy l go into the back part OF this boat. and
look at Him, AMI [ say: 30 Lord jesus,
Thou weary One. Thou suffering Oae, havo
mercy on me!' "Ecce homo.' Behold the
man! But when l want courage for the con-
flict of life. when L want some one to beat
down my enemies, when | want faith for tho
great future, then L come to the front OF tho
boat and I see Christ standing there in all
His omnipotence. and | say, so Christ, Thou
who couldst hush the storm eau hush all nv
sorrows, all my temptations, all my ieirs"
"Ecce Deus!" Behold the God!
learn also from tnlS SUBJECT lnat CnrSc
can hush the tempest. Some of you, my
hearers. have a heavy load OF troubles.
Some of you have wept until you can weep
no more. Perhaps Col took the sweetest
child out of your house, the one that asked
the most curious questions, the ono that
hung around you with greatest fondness.
The gravedigger's spade cut down through
your bleeding heart. Or perhaps it was the
only one that you had. and your soul has
ever since been like desoiatei castle, where
the birds of the niL hit hoot amid tho Ealing
towers and along the crumbling stairway.
Or perhaps it was an aged mother that was
called away. You used to send for her when
you had any kind OF trouble. She was
in your home to welcome your children
into life, when they died she was there
to pity you. You know that the old
hand will never do any more Kindness
for you, and the lock OF white hair that you
keep so we'll in the casket Of the lo:ket does
not look SO well as it did on the day waen
she moved it back from the wrnkled fore
head under the old fashioned bonnet in tho
church in the country. Or perhaps your
property has gone. You said, "rnere, /
| have so much in bank stock, so much | have
in lands, 50 much L have in securities. y
! Suddenly it is all gone. Alas. for the nau
| who once had plenty OF money, but who has
hardly enough now for the morning market