Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1895-10-04

| Jesus did not always make SmOOtn salllnR.
| So YOU have found out, and so 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
Won ever noticed how they got out OF tho
world? ST. James lost his head; st. Philip
was hung TO death against n pillar; St.
| Matthew was struck to death by "A halbarl;
| 81 Mari, was dragged to death through the
| vtreets. ST. James the Less had his brains
| dashed out with fulIer's club; st. Matthias
| was stoned to death; st. Thomas WAS struck
| through with n spear, John Huss in the
| FIRE, the Albigenses, the Waldenses, the
Scotch Covenanters- they always fnl
smooth sailing? Why 90 so far?
There is young man in stora in Now
| Yor; who has q hard time to maintain his
| Christian character All the clerks laugh
ut him. the employers in that store laugh at
him. and when he loses his patience they
saw. "You are pretty Christian. Not SO
Easy is it for that young man to follow
Chris. If the Lord dill not help hlm hour
| by hour. he would fail. There are scores OF
| Young men today who would be willing to
| testify that in following Christ one does not
| always find smooth sailing. There Is q
| Christian girl. In her home they do not
| ike Christ She has hari work to get silent
| place in which to say her prayers. rather
| opposed to religions mother opposed TO re-
| lgion; brothers and sisters opposed to retIg-
| ion 1he Christian girl does not always IND
| it smooth sailing when she tries to follow
| Jesus. But be of good heart. AS sSalarers
when winds are dead ahead, by setting the
| shin on starboard tack and bracing the yards
make the winds that oppose the course pro
| pei the ship forward, SO oppos NC troubles
| through Christ veering around the Dowsprlt
| OF faith, will wait you to heaven when, 1.-THE
winds had been abaft, they might have
rocked and sung you to Sleep and while
dreaming of the destined port Of heaven you
could not have heard the cry of warning and
would have gone crashing into the breakers.
Again. my subject teaches ME that Good
people sometimes get very much frlghtene'.
| From the tone and manner OF these disciples
as they rushed into the stern OF the vessel
AMI woke Christ up, you know that they are
fearfully scared. And 50 it is now that you
often find good people wildly agtated
"Ohi' says some Christian man, "the infidel
magazines the bad newspapers, the spir /
ualistic societies. the importation OF 50 many
foreign errors, the church Of God is going to
be lost. the ship is goinc to founder! The
ship is going down. What are you fright
ened about? An old lion goes into his cav
d
his shaggy name covers his paws. Mean
while the spiders outside begin to spin webs
overt the mouth of his cavern and say. "That
lion cannot break out through this web,
and they keep on spinning tho Soss1mer
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
with his voice he shakes the mountain. Let
the inAdels and the skeptics of this day 90
on spinning their webs, spinning their inf
del gossamer theories, spinning them all
over the place where Christ seems to be
sleeping. They say: "Carist can never
again come out The work is done. He
can never get through this logical web we
have been spinning" The day will CONF
when the Lion of Judah's tribe will rouse
himself and ccH1o forth an | shake nightly
the Nations. What then all your gOssamer
threads? What is spiders web to an
aroused lion? Do not fret, then, about tho
worlds going backward. 1t is going for
ward.
You stand on the banks Of the sea when
the tide is rising. The almanac says the
tide is rising. but the wave comes up to
certain point and then it reco les "Why.
not. Thenext wave comes upa little higher.
and it goes back. Again you say the tide Is
going out. And the next time the wave
comes to a higher point, aud then to higher
point, Notwithstanding all these rece5sions
at last all the shipping of the world knows it
is high tide. SO it Is with the cause OF Cir,st
in the world. One year it comes up to one
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
higher point and falls back, and next year it
comes TO still higher point and falls back,
but all the time 1t is advancing until 1t snail
be full tide, "and 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 go
into the back part of that boa, and [ LOOK
on Christ's sleeping face and seein that face
the story of sorrow and WEAKNESS, and
deeper shadow comes over His face, and L
think He must be dreaming of the cross thai
is to come. AS stand Oh the back part OF
the boat looking on His face | say: HE is u
mani He is man." But when | 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 1 want pity and sympa-
thy, 60 into the back part OF this boat, AMI
look at Him. an [ say: 80 Lord Jesus,
Thou weary One, Thou suffering Ole, have
mercy on me-" "Ecce homo" Behold ths
man! But when I want courage for the con-
flict of life, when l want some one to beat
down my enemies, when want faith for the
great future, then [ come to the front OF the
boat and see Christ standing there In all
His omnipotence, and say, 80 Christ, Thou
who couldst hush the Storm can husl all my
SORROWS, all my temptations. all my lears!'
"Ecce Deus" Behold the God!
l learn also from this subject that Christ
can hush tho tempest So ne or you. my
hearers. have heavy load OF troubles.
Some Of you have wept until you can WEEP
n more. Perhaps Go TOOK the swsetes;
Chill out of your house, the enc that asksl
the most curious questions, tho ons that
hun, aroual you with greatest fo1 lness.
The gravedigger's spade cut down throug
your bleeding heart. Or perhaps it was the
only one that You hal an1 your s)1l haI
ever since been like desolate castle, where
the birds OF the nia hit boot anil the fallin;
towers and along the crumoling stairway.
Or perhaps il was an aGel mother that WAS
called away. You used to send for her whe1
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 oil
hand will never do any more Kindness
for you, and the lock OF white hair that you
keep so well in the casSet OF the lo;ket does
not look so we'll as it did on the day when
she moved it back from the wrinklel fore
head under the old fashionel bonnet i'll thu
church in the country. Or perhaps your
,,,.orar.,, bac oone You said F'rhere. [
have so much in bank stock, so much have
=. L. ,,,,,.,l, I hn, In securitiee :.