The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1899-10-27

4
shal Ney sprang into the contest and
plunged in the spurs till the horses
hanks spurted blood, all France ap-
plauded him. But Jesus alone! "Of
the people there was none to help"
"All forsook Him and fed" Oh, it was
not c flotilla that sailed down and saved
us. It was not a cluster of gondolas
that came over the wave. 1t was one
person, independent and alone, spread
ing out His hands among us as swim
mer spreadeth forth his hands to
swim!"
want to persuade you to lay hold of
this strong swimmer. NO." you say;
cit is always disastrous for drowning
man to lay hold of a swimmer" There
is not a river or lake but has calamity
resultant from the fact that when a
strong swimmer went out to save sink
ing man the drowning man clutched
him, threw his arms around him, pin
toned his arms, and they both went
down together. When you are saving a
man in the water you do not want to
come up by his face. You want to come
up by his back. You do not want him
to hold you while you take hold of him.
| But, blessed be God, Jesus Christ is so
strong a swimmer He comes not to our
back, but to our face, and He asks us to
throw around Him the arms of our love
and then promises to take us to the
beach, and He will do it. Do not trust
! that plank of good works. Do not trust
that shivered spar of your own right
eousness. Christ only can give you safe
! transportation. Turn your face upon
Him, as the dying martyr did in olden
times when he cried out: "None but
| Christ! None but Christi" Jesus has
! taken millions to the land, and He is
willing to take you there. Oh, what
hardness to thrust Him back when He
has been swimming all the way from
the throne of God, where you are now,
and is ready to swim all the way back
again, taking your redeemed spirit!
l have sometimes thought what a
spectacle the ocean bed will present
when in the last day the water is all
drawn off. 1t will be a line of wrecks
from beach to beach. There is where
the harpOoners went down. There is
where the line of battleships went
down. There is where the merchant
men went down. There is where the
steamers went down, a long line of
wrecks from beach to beach. What a
spectacle in the last day, when the wa
ter is drawn off! But, oh, how much
more solemn if we had an eye to see the
spiritual wrecks and the places where
they foundered! You would find thou
sands along our roads and streets.
Christ came down in their awful catas-
trophe, putting out for their souls,
spreading out His hands as a swimmer
spTeadeth forth his hands to swim,'' but
they thrust Him in the sore heart, and
they smote His fair cheek, and the
storm and darkness swallowed them
up. l ask you to lay hold of this Christ
and lay hold of Him now. You will sink
without Him. From horizon to horizon
not one sail in sight, only one strong
swimmer, with head flung back and
arms outspread.
1 hear many saying: "Well, would |
like to be a Christian. I am going to |
work to become Christian" My broth |
er, you begin wrong. When a man is |
drowning, and strong swimmer comes |
out to help him, he says to him: Nov
be quiet. Put your arm on my arm or
on my shoulder, but don't struggle, |
don't try to help yourself, and III take
you ashore. The more you struggle and
the more you try to help yourself the
more you impede me. Now, be quiet,
and I'll take YOU ashore" When Christ,
the strong swimmer, comes out to save
a soul, the sinner says: THAT'S right. /
am glad to see Christ, and 1 am going to
help Him in the work of my redemp-
tion. | am going to pray more, and that
will help Him, and I am going to weep
over my sins, and that
will help Him." No, it will not. Stop
your doing. Christ will do all or none.
You cannot lift an ounce, you cannot
move an inch, in this matter of your re-
demption.
This is the difficulty which keeps
thousands of souls out of the Kingdom
of Heaven. 1t is because they cannot
TO let Jesus Christ begin and
the work of their redemption.
Why" you say, "then is there nothing
for me to do?" Only one thing have
you to do, and that is to lay hold of
Christ and let Him achieve your saliva
ton and achieve it all. | do not know
1 make the matter plain or not.
simply want to show you that man
save himself, but that the Al
mighty Son of God can do it and will do
it if you ask Him. Oh, fling your two
arms, the arm of your trust and the arm
Of your love, around this omnipotent
swimmer of the cross!
Have you ever stood by and seen some
one under process of resuscitatiOn after
ong submergence? The strong swim
ner has put him on the beach after a
struggle in the waters. TO excite
breathing in the almost lifeless body
what manipulation, what friction of the
,old limbs, what artificial movement of
he lungs, what breath of the rescuer
blown into the mouth of the rescued! | {
md when breathing begins, and after
awhile the slight respiration becomes
he deep sigh, and the eyes open, and
he blue lips take on a smile, what re-
oicing, what clapping of hands all up
md down the beach, what congratula- !
ion for the strong swimmer and for all .
Who helped in the restoration, what
houting of ''He lives, he lives!" Like
his is the gladness when a soul that has
een submerged in sin and sorrow is
coming to-" What desire on the part
# all to help, and. when under the
reath of God and under the manipu- q
alton by the wounded hands of Christ. '
he life eternal of the soul begins fc /
how itself, all through the ranks OF a
pectators. terrestrial and celestial, t