Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1897-02-26

him say: " 1 won't 90 IN ON any OF these
planks until know in what part Of the
ship they belong. When l can get the
windlass in the right place, and the sails
set and that keel piece where il belongs
and that floor timber night, and these
ropes untangled, will go ashore am
an old soldier, and know all about ships
for 40 years, and as soon az l can get
the vessel afoat in good shape | will
,ome in. " \ man drifting by on piece
Of wood overhears him and says: lyon
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 / cannot swim q stroke. but / am
going ashore on this shiycred timber" "
The man in the ofling, while trying TO
mend his ship, goes down. The man
who trusted TO the plank is saved. Oh.
my brother let your smashed up system
Of theology 90 10 the bottom, while you
come in on a splinfrod sparl "Some
on broken pieces of the ship.
The Victorious Banner.
You may get all your difficulties set
tied as Garibaldi, the magnetic Italian,
got his gardens made When the war
between Austria and Sardinia broke ont
he was living at Caprera, very rough
and uncultured island home. But he
went forth with his sword 20 achieve the
liberation Of Naples and Sicily, and
gave 5000. 600 people free government
under Victor Emmanuel Garbaldi.
after being absent two years from Ca
prcra. returned. and when he approach
Ell it he found that his home had, by
Victor Emmanuel, as a surprise. been
Edenized. Trimmed shrubbcry had
taken the place Of thorny thickcts, gar
dcns the place Of barrenncss, and the
old rool,cry in which he once lived had
given way to a pictured mansion. And
| tell you if you viii come and enlist
under the banner of our Victor Emman-
uel and follow him through thick and
thin and fight his battles and endure
his sacrifices You Will find after awhile
that he has changed your heart from
Jungle Of thomy skepricism into gar
den all abloom with luXuriant joy that
you have never dreamed of-trom a
tangled Caprera Of sadness into para
disc of God.
1 do not know how your theological
system went to pieces. 1t may be- that
your parents started You with only one
plank, and you believe liulo or Moth
ing Or they may have been too iigid
and severe in religious discipline and
cracked you over the head with psalm
book. 1t may be- that some partner III
business who was a member ot ana evan
pclical church played on you "a trick
that disgusted You with religion Ii
NAV be that You have associates who
have talked against Christianity in your
presence until you are 'all at sea- ~ and
YOU dwell more on things that you do
not believe than on things you do be-
leve. You are in one inspect like Lord
Nelson. when a signal was lifted that
he wished 10 disregard and hc put ms
sea glass to his blind eye and said, u
really do not see the signal Oh. my
hearer. put this ficldrlass ol tao gospel
no longer to your blind lTc. and say.
cannot see, but put it to your other eye
the eye Of faith. and youWiA ,ee Christ
and he is all you need o. s,e.
If YOU can believe nothing elrc you
certainly believe in yicarious suffering
for YOU see it almost every day in some
shape. The steamship Kuickerbocker Of
the Cromwell line, running between
New Orleans and New York was IN
great storms. and the captain and crew
saw the schooner Mary d. Cranmer Of
| philadelphia in distress. The weather
cold. the waves mountain high. the first
officer Of the steamship and four men
nut out in lifeboat to save the crew OF
the schooner. and reached the vessel and
towed it out Of danger, the wind shift
ing so that the schooner was saved. But
the five men Of che steamship coming
back. their boat capSized, yet rlghted
again and came on, the sailors coated
with ice. The boat capsized again, ana
three times upset and was righted' and
a line was thrown the poor fellows but
their hands were frozen so they could
not grasp it, and a great wave rolled
over them, and they went down, never
TO rise again till the sea gives up us
dead. Appreciate that heroism and seh
tacrifce of the brave fellows all VINO
can. and can we not appreciate the
Christ who put out into a more bltlng
cold and into a more Overwhelming
surge to bring US out Of infinite peril
into everlasting safety: The wayeo OF hu-
man 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 and tho thunder Of
the tempest into which Christ plunged
for our rescuel
Cling To the Gross.
Come in on one narrow beam Of the
cross. Let all else 90 and cling to that;
mt that under You, and with the ear
nestness of a swimmer struggling for his
life put out for shore. There Is a great
! warm fire of welcome already built
and already many, who were as far out
as you are, are standing IN Its genlaI
and heavenly glow. The angels OF God ;
rescue are wading out into the surf to
clutch your hand and they know how
exhausted you are, and all the redeemed
prodigals Of heaven are on the beach
with new white robes TO clothe all those
who come in on broken pieces Of the
: ship.
Ny sympathies are for such all th'
more because was naturally skeptical
. disposed TO question everything abou
this life and the next, and was in dan
/ ger Of being farther out to sea than an!
+, of the 276 in the Mediterranean break
err, and Twas sometimes the,annoyanc
Of my theological professor because
. asked so many questions. But cam
in on plank knew Chris was tn
Saviour Of sinners and that was SIN
J., ner, and 1 got ashore, and l DO not pre-
pose to 90 out on that sea again hav
I, not for 80 minutes discussed the contrc
= verted points of theology in 30 years
: and during the rest Of my life do nC