The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1899-08-25

destruction One man he takes up and
through n spree pitches him Int
eternal darkness. This is a rare case
Very seldom, indeed, can you find q
man who viii be such a fool as that
Satan viii take another man { a
grade, 10 a descent at an angle about
like the Pennsylvania coal shoot or the
Mount Washington rail track, and
shove him of. But that is very rare
When q man goes down TO destruction,
Satan brings him TO a plane. L is al
most q level. The depression is so
light that you al hardly see il. The
man does not actually know that he is
on the down grade, and IL tips only a
little toward darkneSs-just a little.
And the first mile IL is claret, and the
second mile it is sherry. and the third
mile IL Is punch, and the fourth mile
1t is ale, and the fifth mile il is whis-
key, and the sixth mile IL is brandy,
and then il gets sleeper and sleeper
and sleeper until il is impossible TO
stop. Look not thou upon the wine
when it is red, when it giveth its color
in the cup, when il moveth itself
Alright. AT the last it biteth like a SER
| pent and stingeth like an adder"
THE SAFE SHELTER.
Whether o tarry at home-which
| will be quite as safe and perhaps quite
as comfortable-or go into h coun-
| try, arm yourself against temptation.
The grace Of God is the only safe shell
| ter. whether in town or country. There
| are watering places accessible to all of
| us. You cannot open a book of the
| Bible without finding out some such
| watering place. Fountains open for
| sin and u-ncleanness. Wells Of saliva
| ton. Streams from Lebanon. A flood
| struck out of the rock by Moses.
Fountains in the wilderness discover
| ed by Hagar. Water TO drink and Wa
ter to battle in. The river of God,
which is full of water. Water of
which if a man drink he shall never
thirst. Wells of water in the valley
of Baca. Living fountains Of water.
A pure river of water as clear as crys-
tai from under the throne of God.
These are watering places accessible
to all Of US. We do not hav a Iabori-
Gus packing VI before we start-only
the throwing away of our transgres-
sions. No expensive hotel bills to pay,
1t is without money and without
price" No long and dusty travel be-
fore we get there. 1t is only one SteI
away.
In California in five minutes 1 walk
ed around n saw ten fountains al
bubbling Up, and in five minutes I can &C
through this Bible parterre and hno
you so bright, sparkling fountains bub-
bling up into eternal life-healing and
therapeutic. A chemist will go to one
of these summer watering places and
take the water, and analyze it, and tel
you it contains so much of iron, and
so much Of soda. and SC much Of lime
and so much OF magnesia. l come tC
this gospel we'll, this living follrtaiT
and analyze the water, and 1 find THAI
it's ingredients are peace, pardon, for
g~iveness, hope, comfort, life, heaven
"Ho, every one that thirsteth, come e'
ito this watering place! Crowd arount
this Bethesda. Oh, you sick, you lame
you troubled, you dying, crowd arouni
this Bethesda! Step in it, oh, step il
it! The angel of the covenant today
stirs the water. Why do you not steI
in it? Some of you are too weak t.
take a step in that direction. Then W.
take you up in the arms of prayer AND
plunge you clear under the wave, hop
ing that the cure may be as suddeI
and as radical as with Captain Naa'
man, who, blotched and carbuncled
stepped into h Jordan and after tn
seventh dive came up, his skin roseat.
c~omplexioned as the flesh of a LITTLE
child.