Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1899-10-27


shore. 1t was in the night. but one
man swan nightly for the beach,
guided by the dark mountains that
lifted their top through the night. lie
came to the beach. He found a shore
man that consented to go with him
and save the other men, and they put
out 1t was some time before they
could find the place where the men
were, but after awhile they heard their
cry, Help, helpw and they bore down
to them. and they saved them and
brought them to shore. Oh, that this
moment our cry might be lifted long,
loud and shrill till Christ. the swim.
mer, shall come and take us lest we
drop a thousand fathoms under!
The Gospel Urgent.
If you have been much by the water
you know very well that when one is
in peril help must come very quickly,
or it will be of no use. One minute
may decide everything. Immediate
help the nan wants or no help at all.
Now, that is just the kind of relief we
|
instantaneous. See that soul sinking!
Son Of God, lay hold of him. BE quick,
be quick Oh, | wish you all under
stood how urgent this gospel is.
There was a man in the navy at sea
who had been severely whipped for
bad behavior, and he was maddened
by 1t and leaped into the sea. and no
sooner had he leaped into the sea
than, quick as lightning, an albatross
swooped upon him. The drowning
man, brought to his senses. seized hold
! Of the albatross and held on. The Hut
tering Of the bird kept him on the
wave until relief could come Would
now that the dove OF Gods convict
ing converting and saving spirit might
fash from the throne upon your soul
and that you, taking hold Of its potent
wing, might live and live forever.
The world has had strong swimmers
besides the one of the text perhaps the
greatest among them Matthew Webb
Of the British mercantile marine sery-
ice He leaped from the deck Of the
the life Of a sailor who had fallen over
board. No wonder the passengers sub
scribed for him large reward and the
Royal Humane Society OF London dec
Grated him with honors. A mighty
swimmer was he, by the strength of his
own arm and foot pushing through the
waters from Blackwell pier to Graves
end pier, IS miles. and from Dover to
Calais. 80 miles. where he crossed. yet
he was drowned at last In our NJ
agara's whirlpool But the strong
swimmer Of my text put out alone TO
swim a wrathier sea and for vaster
distance. even from world to world, to
save US who were swamped in guilt
and woe. and brought us to the shore
Of safety. although he at last went
down into the whirlpool OF human and
satanic rage. lie descended into hell"'
Not New Invention.
New modes have been invented for !
rescuing a drowning body, but there |
has been no new invention for rescuing
n drowning soul. In 17S5 Lionel Lukin.
n London coach builder. fitted up a |
Norway yawI as lifeboat and called |
it the Interchangeable. and that has |
been improved upon until from all the |
coasts Of the round world perfect life
boats are ready to put out for the relief |
of marine disasters. In lG years the |
French Society For Saving Life From |
Shipwreck. by their lifeboats and gun |
apparatus saved .. 100 lives. The Ger |
man Association For the Rescue OF |
Life From ShipWreck. the Royal Ma |
tional Lifeboat institution and our |
United States life saving service |
have done work beyond the power |
Of statistics 10 commemorate. What |
rocket lines r.nd sling life buoys and |
tally boards and mortars and ham
mocks and cork mattresses and life
saving stations filed with machinery |
for savlnS the bodies OF the drowning. |
But let me here and now make II plain |
that there has been no new way in
vented ser the moral and eternal res
cue Of struggling soul. Five hundred
attempts Fl such cOntrivance have been
made. but all OF them dead failures
Hear isi There is none other name
under hcaren given among men where
by we must be saved" than the name
OF JeSua The mighty swimmer OF my
text cOmes down or the beach OF heav-
en- and through the breakers. comes
buffeted end bruised. and. reddening
the waves from his own laceratiOns. he
cries: Toy hold OF my arm! Put your
head on p'y shoulder! Hear the beating
Of my lov'ng heart. BE ye saved, for !
am God. Und there is no other"
want tn persuade you to lay hold
OF this strang swimmer NO" you
say: lit lF always disastrous for a
drowning mzp to lay hold OF swim
mer." There 10 not a river or lake but
has calamity resultant from the fact
that when n strong swimmer went out
TO save n sinking man the drowning
man clu'rhed him. threw his arms
around him. piniOned his arms. and
.hov hoth went down together. When
you are saving a man In the wac,
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 1t. Do not
trust that plank of good works. Do not
trust that shivcred spar Of your own
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 Christ"
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 re-
deemed spirit
Don't Struggle.
| have sometimes thought what n