The Yale expositor., 1895-08-09

dll lbC CdDlldl 1Ou may pay AhAA
TO some sinful success. but you VIII
never get TO Tarshish
Learn how soundly men will sleep In
the midst Of danger. The worst SIN
ner on shipboard, considering the light
he had, was Jonah. He was member
OF the Church, while they were heather.
The sailors were engaged in their law
full calling. following the sea. The mer-
chants on board, 1 suppose. were going
down to Tarshlsh TO barter; but Jonah,
Notwithstanding his Christian profess
sion, was flying from duty. He was
sound asleep in the cabin. He has been
motionless for hours-his arms ana
feet in the same posture as when he
lay down-his breast heaving with deep
respiration. Oh! how could he sleep!
What IL the ship struck a rock! what
If IL sprang a leakl what II the clumsy
Oriental craft should capslze! What
would become Of Jonah?
SO men sleep soundly now amid perils
infinite. In almost every place, l sup
pose, the Mediterranean might be
sounded, but no line is long enough to
fathom the profound beneath every i'm
penitent man. Plunging thousand
fathoms down, you cannot touch bot
tom. Eternity beneath him, around
himl Rocks close by, and whlrlpools.
and hot-breathed Levanters; yet sound
sleep! We try TO wake him up, but fail.
The great surges Of warning break over
the hurricane-deck-the gong Of warn
ing sounds through the cabin-the bell
rings. Awake cry a hundred voices;
yet sound asleep in the cabin.
In the year 1915, the captain OF a
Greenland whaling vessel found himself
at night surrounded by icebergs, and
"lay-to" until morning, expecting every
moment 10 be ground TO pieces. In the
morning he looked about, and saw a
ship near by. He hailed 1t. No answer.
Getting into a boat with some Of the
! crew, he pushed out for the mysterious
craft. Getting near by, he saw through
| the port-hole a man at stand, as
though keeping a log-book. He hailed
| him. No answer. He went on board
the vessel, and found the man sitting
at the log-book frozen to death. The
log-book was dated 1862, showing that
the vessel had been wandering for
thirteen years among the ice. The
sailors were found frozen among the
hammocks, and others In the cabin.
| For thirteen years this ship had been
carrying it's burden of corpses
So from this Gospel craft today, I
descry voyagers for eternity. 1 cry,
ship ahoy! ship ahoy!" No answer.
They float about, tossed and ground by
the icebergs of sin, holsting no sail for
heaven. / go on board. / find al
asleep. 1t Is frozen sleep. o that my
Lord Jesus would come aboard and lay
hold of the wheel. and steer the craft
down into the warm Gulf Stream of his
mercy! Awake, thou that sleepest
| Arise from the dead, and Christ shall
give thee life.
Again: Notice that men are aroused
by the most unexpected means. Il
Jonah had been told one year before
that heather sea-captain would evel
awaken him TO a sense of danger. HI
would have scoffed at the idea; but here
IL is done. SO now, men in stranges
ways are aroused from spiritual stupor
A profane man is brought TO conviction
by the shocking blasphemy Of a com
rade. A man attending church, anC
hearing a sermon from the text, 9TH,
OK knoweth his owner" etc, goes hom
unimpressed; but, crossing his barn
yard, an OK comes up and licks hi
hand, and he, says. There it is now
the OK knoweth his owner, and the as
his masters crib but 1 do not know
Cod" The careless remark of
teamster has led man TO thoughtful
ness and heaven. The child's remark
Father, they have prayers at Uncle
house-why don't we have them?" ha
brought salvation 10 the dwelling.
BY strangest way and in the most un
expected manner men are awakened
The gardener of the Countess of Hun;
ingdon was convicted of sin by hearini
. tho nnnnGita cfHa a
. the walk talk about Jesus. John Hard
! oak was aroused by a dream in whic
/ he saw the last day, and the judge sit
ting, and heard his own name callc
! with terrible emphasis: John Hard
I oak, come TO Judgment The Lord ha
| a thousand ways Of waking up JONAH
2 Would that the messengers Of mere
{ might now find their way down int
the sides Of the ship, and that man
!, who are unconsciously rocking in tn
awful tempest of their sin might hea
- the warning, What meanest thou,
sleeper? Arise, and call upon thy God!
I Again: Learn that a man may wax
up too late. If. instead of sleepinl
$ Jonah had been on his knees confessin
his sins from the time he went on boar
Q the craft, think God would have save
. him from being thrown overheard. Bu
q he woke up too late. The tempest is i
n full blast, and the sea, in convulsion,
lashing itself. and nothing will stop
@ now but the overthrow Of Jonah.
e SO men sometimes wake up too lat
!: The last hour has come. The man ha
r no more idea of dying than l have (
$ dropping down this moment. The ril
: glng is all white with the foam of deatl
y How chill the night is! II must die,
: he says, yet not ready. / must pus
d out upon this awful sea, but have noti
= ing with which to pay my fare. TIL
/ white caps! The darkness! The hurr
i cane! How long have 1 been sleeping
{ Whole days, and months, and year
!; l am quite awake now. / see ever!
/, thing. but 1t is too late" Invisib
{ hands take him up He struggles
g get loose. In vain. They bring h
$ soul to the verge They let 1t down ov'
( the side. The winds howl. The sc
a opens its frothing jaws TO swallow. 4
s has gone forever. And while the cal
e vas cracked and the yards ratified ar
J. the ropes thumpe1, the sea took up II
e funeral drge. playing with ope
q diapason of midnight storm, "Becau'
e 1 have called. and ye refused; 1 hay
e stretched out my hand and no man r
| parded. bi1t We have set at nauoht q