Hutchinson gazette. [volume] (Hutchinson, Kan.) 1895-1902, 1897-08-26


bottom Of the ship. When, the vessel d
capsized they had no means of escape. 4
Thu captain took his penRnife andcdug
away through the planks untib his \
knife broke. Then an old nailew
found, with which they attemptsd>do
scrape their. way up out Of the dark d
ness, each one working until hfslhand
was well-nigh paralyzed, and he sank
back faint and slckg After long land
tedious work, the light bBoke Through
the bottom of the ship. A handker4 4
chief wast hoisted nHelp came. 9dHhey .
were taken ona board the ,Tesseilsand
saved. ibid ever. mem come so nearoa
watery grave without dropplng:intojitE
How narrowly theyt escaped--fseaped &.
only with the skin Of their teeth
There are menIwho have been capsl2ed .
pfqevil passionsy and capsisedn mid
ocean, and they are a thousand miles
away from any shore .ofuhelp. They
have for years been trying to dig their
way out. They have been digging
away, and digging away, hat theyocan
never be deliVeredunless now they Will
hoist some signal of distress. However
weak and feeble it may be, Christ VIII
see 1t, and bear. down,upOn the helpless
craft, and take. them -on board; ana
twill be known ON earth and IN heay-
en- how narrowly theyo escaped "es-
capped as with the skin Of their teeth.Y
There are others who In attempting
to come to God, must run between "a
great many business ,perpleXities. If
man go over to business at ten o'clock
in the morning, and come away at
three o'clock in the afternoon, he has
some time for religion; but how shall
you find time for religious eontempla-
ton when you are driven from sunrise
to sunset, and have been for five years
going behind in business, and are fre-
quently dunned by creditors whom you
cannot pay. and when FROM Monday
morning until Saturday night, you are
lodging bills that you, cannot meet?
You walk day by day in uncertainties
that. have, kept your brain on fire for
| the past three years. Some with less
business troubles than you have gone
crazy. The clerk has, heard q noise in
the back counting-room and gone in,
and found the chief man of the firm a
raving manaic; or the wife has heard
the, bang Of a pistol in the back parlor.
and gone in, stumbling over the dead
body Of her husband--a suicide. There
are men pursued. harrassed, trodden
down, and scalped Of business perplexi-
ties, and which way to turn next they
do not know Now God win not be
hard on you. He knows what obstacles
are in the way of your being Chris
tlan, and your first effort in the right
direction he will crown with success,
Do not let Satan, with cotton bales,
and kegs, and hogsheads, and counters,
and stocks, of unSaTable goods, block
up your way to heaven. Gather up all
your energies. Tighten the girdle
about your loins. Take an agonlzlng
look into the face Of God, and then
say, "4ere goes one grand effort for
life eternal" and then bound away for
heaven, escaping "as with the skin Of
your teeth" i'rN w -' 81 q .-
This world is poor portion FOR your
soul, oh. business man! An Eastern
king had craven on his tomb two fin
gers, represented as sounding on each
other with a snap and under them the
motto, "All Is not worth that" Apt
cius Coellus hanged himself because
his steward informed him that he had
only eighty thousand pounds sterling
left. All Of this worlds riches make
but a small inheritance for a soul.
Robesplerre attempted to win the APP
plause of the world but when he was
dying, a woman came rushing through
the crowd, crying to him, Murderer Of
my kindred, descend to hell, covered
with the curses of every mother In
France!" Many who have expected
the plaudlts of the world have died un-
der its Anathema Maranatha. ..
| oh, find your peace in God. Make
one strong pull for heaven. No half
way work will do It. There sometimes
comes a time on shipboard when every
thing must be sacrificed to save the
passengers. The cargo is nothing, the
rigging nothing. The captain puts the
trumpet to his lip and shouts, "Cut
away the mast" Some of you have
been tossed and driven, and you have,
in ycur' efforts to keep the world we'll
night lost your soul. Until you have
decided this matter, let everything else
20. Overheard with all those other
anxieties and burdens. You win have
to drop the sails of your pride, and
cut away the mast. with one earnest
cry for help, put your cause into the
hand of him who helped Paul out Of
the breakers Of Melita, and who, above
the shrill blast Of the wrathiest tenn
pest that ever blackened the sky or
shook the ocean, can hear the faintest
importation for mercy.
shall close this sermon feeling that
some OF you, who have considered
your case as hopeless, will take heart
again, and that with a blood-red ear
nestness, such as you have never ex-
perienced before, you will start for the
good land of the Gospel-at last to
look back, saying, What a great risk
l ran! Almost lost. but saved! Just
got through, and no more! Escaped
by the skin Of my teeth"
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