Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1899-10-26


then. but perpetually. The Bible de-
clares it. Hark 1t thunders two claps:
"The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked" 1.-THE soul that
sinnetb, II shall die" What the Bible
says our own conscience aflirms.
After Judge Morgan had sentenced In
dy Jane Grey to death his conscience
troubled him so much for the deed that
he became insane, and all through his in
sanity he kept saying: Take her away
from me- Lady Jane Grey! Take her
away Lady Jane Grey" 1t was the
voice of conscience. And no man ever
does anything wrong, however great or
small but his conscience brings that mat
ter before him, and at every step of his
misbehavior it says, Wrong, wrong"
Sin is leprosy; sin is paralysis; Sin is
consumption; sin Is pollution; sin is
death. Give it fair chance, and it will
swamp you and M, body, mind and soul,
forever. In this world it only gives
faint intimation of its virulence. You
see patient in the first stages of ty-
phoid fever. The cheek is somewhat
flushed, the hands somewhat hot, preced-
ed by slight chill. why" you say,
typhoid fever does not seem to be much
has been six weeks under it, and all his
energies have been wrung out, and he is
too weak to lift his little finger, and his
intellect gone, then you see the full havoc
of the disease. Now, sin in this werld
Is an ailtrout Which is only in its first
stages, but let 1t get under full way and
It is an all consuming typhoid. Oh, if we
could see our unpardoned sins as God
sees them, our teeth would chatter and
our knees would knock together, and our
respiration would be choked. and our
heart would break. II your sins are I'M
forgiven, they are bearing down on you
and you are sinking-sinking away from
happiness, sinking away from God, sink
ing away from everything that Is good
and blessed.
Then what 10 we want? A swimmer
a strong swimmer, swift swimmer!
And, blessed he God in my text we have
him announced. He shall spread forth
his hands in the midst of them, as he
that swimmeth stretched forth his hands
10 swim" You have noticed that when
swimmer goes to rescue any one he
puts off his heavy apparel. he must not
have any such impediment about him il
he is going to do this great deed. And
when Christ stepped forth to save us he
shook off the sandals of heaven, and his
feet were free, and then he stepped down
into the wave of our transgressions, and
ii came up over his wounded feet, and it
came above the spear stab i'll his side
aye, it dashed to the lacerated temple,
the high water mark of his anguish.
Then rising above the flood, ''he stretch
ed forth his hands in the midst of them,
as he that swimmeth spreadeth forth his
hands to swim"
All Faculties In Play.
If you have ever watched a swimmer,
you notice that his whole body is brought
into play. The arms are texed, the
hands drive the water back, the knees are
active, the head is thrown back to escape
strangulation, the whole body is in pro-
pulsion. And when Christ sprang into
the deep to save us he threw his entire
nature into it-all his godhead, his omnis-
cience, his goodness, his love, his omnp-
otence, head, heart, eyes, hands, feet. We
were far out on the sea and so deep down
in the waves and so far out from the shore
that nothing short Of an entire God could
save us. Christ leaped out for our res
cue, saying, "Lo, / come to do thy will.'
and all the surges of human and satanic
hate beat against him, and those who
watched him from the gates of heaven
feared he would go down under the wave
and instead of saving others would HIM
self perish, but putting his breast to the
foam and shaking the surf from his locks,
he came on and on until he is now within
the reach of every one here, eye omnis-
cicnt, heart infinite, arm omnipotent
mighty to save, even unto the uttermost.
Oh, it was not half a God that tram
pied down believing Gennesaret; it was
not Il quarter of a God that mastered the
demons of Gadara it was not two-thirds
of God that lifted up Lazarus into the
arms of his overioyed sisters; it was not
fragment of God who offered pardon
and peace to all the race. No. This
mighty swimmer threw his grandeur his
glory, his might, his wisdom, his omnipo
tence and his eternity into this one act
1t took both hands of God to save us
both feet. How do | prove it? On the
cross were not both hands nailed? On
the cross were not both feet spiked? His
entire nature involved in our redemption
If you have lived much by the water
you notice also that if any one is goin.
out to the rescue of the drowning ht
must be independent self reliant, able t.
go alone. There may be a time when h
must spring out TO save one, anu he Gun
not get a ifeboat and if he goes out anC
has not strength enough to bear himsel
up and bear another up he will sink, anC
instead of dragging one corpse out of thu
pillows you will have two to drag out
When Christ sprang out into the sea t
deliver us, he had no life buoy. Hi
Father did not help him. Alone in tn,
wine press, alone in the pang, alone il
the darkness, alone on the mountain
alone in the sea. Oh, if he saves us, h
shall have all the credit, for there wa
none to help" No oar, no wing, no lad
der! When Nathaniel Lyon fell in tn
battle charge in front of his troops, h
had whole army to cheer him. Whcl
Marshal Ney sprang into the contes
and plunged in the spurs till the horse
: TANKS spurted blood all France applaud
ed him. But Jesus alone. "Of the PEG
pie there was none to help" "All fol
sock him and fled" Oh, it was not
hotilla that sailed down and saved us
1t was not cluster of gondolas tina
came over the wave. 1t was one person
independent and alone, spreading on
, his hands among us as swimme
spreadeth forth his hands to swim"
Christ the Rescuer.
Behold, then, the spectacle of drown
/ ing soul and Christ the swimmer! j be
. lieve it was in 1913 when there were 81
= English soldiers of the Fifth fusileer
= who were hanging to a capsized boat
boat that had been upset by squa