The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1897-03-10

teenth night, when they threw the grain
overheard, but saw there was mercy fcr
sinner, and that plank took, and have
been warming myself by the bright IRE on
the shore ever since.
While am talking to another man about
his soul he tells me, ~ do not become
Christian because do not believe there Is
people Of all beliefs and no belief at all, OF
good morals and bad morals go straight to
happy heaven? Do the holy and the de-
bauched have the same destination? At mid
night, In hallway, the owner OF
house and burglar meet. They potn
fire, and both are wounded, but the
burglar dies in five minutes and the owner
Of the house lives week after. Will the
burglar be at the gate OF heaven, Waltlng,
when the house owner comes inp VIII tne
debauchee and the libertine 90 right In
among the families OF heaven? wonder ~
Herod Is playing on the banks OF the river
wonder II Charles Guiteau and John wilkes
Booth are up there shooting at mark. l
do not now controyert It. although must
say that for such n miserable heaven
have no admiration. But the Bible does not
say, "Bslieve In perdition and be saved. -
Because your theory OF light Is diHerentt
from others do not refuse to open your eyes. !:
Because your theory OF air is different you
do not refuse to breathe. Because your
theory about the stellar system Is different
you do not refuse 10 acknowledge the north
star. Why should the fact that your theolo-
giral theories are different hinder you from
not whole ship fastened In the theological
drydocks to bring you to wharfage, You have
at least plank. "Some on broken pieces
Of the ship" ,t II
"But don't believe in revlvals!" Then
goto your room, and oil alone, with your.
door locked, give your heart to God, and
join some church where the thermometer
never gets higher than fifty in the shade. 3
"But do not believe iii baptism!' Come
in without It and settle that matter afterA
ward. "But there are 80 maay tr-
consistent Christians!" Then come
in and show them by a good exampisi
believe in the Old TestaInent!" !" Then
come in on the New. GBuf don't like the
book of Romans" Then come In on Mat
thew or Luke. Refusing to come to Christ,
whom you admit to be the Saviour OF the,
lost, because you cannot admit other things.
you are like man out there In that Medtter-,
ranesn tempest and tossed In the Me!ita
breakers, refusing to come ashore until he,
can mend the pieces Of the broken ship.
hear him say: "I wont go in on any OF these
planks until I know In what part OF the
ship they belong. When can get the wind1
lass In tie right place, and the sails set, and
tuat keel piece where 1t belongs, and that
floor timber right, and the ropes untangled,
I will 90 ashore. I am an old sailor, and
know all about ships for forty years, and as
soon as can get the vessel afloat In good.
shape will come In" man drifting by on
apiece Of wood overhears him and says: YOU
will drown before you get that ship re-
constructed. Better do as am doing.
know nothing about ships, and never saw
one before came on board this, and I cam
not swim stroke, but am going ashore on.
this shivered timber" The man IN the
ofang, while trying. 10 menI his ship, goes
down. The man who trusted to the plank.
is saved. Oh, my brother, let your smashed
up system OF theology 90 to the bottom
while you come In on a splintered sparl
"Some on broken pieces Of the ship" s
II you can believe nothing else, you cer-i
tainly believe In vlcauous suffering, for you
gee 1t almost every day In some shape. The
steamship Knickerbocker, Of the CromweilI
line. running between New Orleans and New
York, was in great storms. and the captain
and crew saw the schooner Mary D. CraI-
mer, Of Philadelphia, in distress. The
weather cold, the waves mountain high, the
first officer Of the steamship and four meLtI
put out In lifeboat to save the crew OF the
schooner, anil reached the vessel anF
towel it out Of danger, the wind shifting sS
that the schooner was saved. But the i've
men OF the steamship coming back, thei1
bo GU sized, yet righted again and came
on, the sailors coated with Ice. The boaS
capsized again, and three times upset and
was rlghted, and line was thro wn the poor
fellows. but their hands were frozen 80 they
L. n,,l aua r0I
over therI, aud they went down, never
to rise again till the sen gives up its
dead. Appreciate that heroism and sell
sacrifice Of the brave fellows all who cam
and can we not appreciate the Christ who
put out into more biting cold and into
more overwhelming surge to bring us out OK
infinite peril into everlasting safety The
wave ot human hate rolled over him from
one side and the wave OF hellish fury rolled
over him on the other side. Oh. the thick
ness OF the night .nnh the thunder OF the
tempest into which Christ plunged for our
rescue!
Como in on the narrow beam Of the cross
Let al! else 20 and cling to that; put tnar
under you. and with the earnestness Oh
swimmer struggling for his life put out for
come already built, and already many,
who were as far ont as you are,
are standing in its genial and
heavenly glow. The angels of Gods
rescue are wadin- ont into the surf to clutch
your hand, and they know how exhausted
YOU are, and all the redeemed prodtSais OF
heaven are on the beach with new white
robes to clothe all those who come IN on
broken pieces OF the siip.
NV sympathies are for such all the
more because I was naturally skeptica'.
disposed to question everything aoout
this life and the next, and was in dam
ger OF being farther out to sea than any
OF the 27G In the Mediterranean break
ers, and 7 was sometimes the annoyance
Of my theological professor because
asked so many questions. But l came
in on plank. KNEW Christ was the Saviour
Of sinners and that was sinner, and gop
ashore, and do not propose to go OUT on
that sea again. have not for thirty minutes
discussed the controverteh points OF theology
in thirty years, and during the rest OF my
life do not propose to discuss them ZOE
thirty seconds
would rather in a mud scow try to
weather the worst cyclone that ever swept
up from the Caribbean, than risk my imnos-
,al soul in useless and perilous discussions
III which some OF my brethren in the minis
try are indulging. They remind mo OF
company of sailors standing on the Rams-
gate pier head. from which the lifeboats are,
usually launched, aud coolly discussing the
different styles OF oarloc!is aud how
deep boat ought to set in the water while q
hurricane is il full blast and there are three
steamers crowded with passengers going to
pieces in the offing. An old tar, the muscles
Of his face working with nervous excitement,
cries out: "This is no time to discuss SUCH
thugs. Man the lifeboat. Who will volun-
teer? Out with her into the su1i! Pull, my
lads; pull for the wreck! Ha, ha! Now
we have them. Lift them in and lay them
down on the bottom Of the boat. Jack, you
try to bring them to. Put these hannsls
around their heads and fee', and will Duli
for the shore. God help me! There! Landedl