St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1899-11-25

might be lifted long, loud and shrill I'll
Christ, the swimmer, shall come an
take us lest we drop a thousand faith
oms under!
If you have been much by the water
you know very well that when one is il
peril help must come very quickly, or j
viii be of no use. One minute may dc
eide everything. Immediate heip tn,
man wants or no help at all. Now, tha
is just the kind o. relief we want. Tn,
caseis urgent. ima inent, instantaneous
See that soul sinking. Son of God, lay
hold Of him. Be quick, be quick! Oh,
wish you all understood how urgen,
this Gospel is! There was man in the
navy at sea who had been sevefeIy
whipped for bad behavior, and he was
maddened by it and leaped into the sea
and no sooner had he leaped into the
sea than. quick as lightning, an albat-
ross swooped upon him. The drowning
man, brought to his senses, seized hold
of the nlbatross and held on. The fut-
tering of the bird kept him on the wave
until relief could come. Would now
that the dove of Gods convicting, con-
verting 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.
want to persuade you to lay hold of
this strong swimmer. '.No." you say;
1T is always disastrous for drowning
man to lay hold Of a swimmer" There
is not q river or lake but has a calamity
resultant from the fact that when q
strong swimmer went out to save a sink.
ing man the drowning man clutched
him, threw his arms around him, PIN
ioned his arms, and they both went
down together. When you are saving
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
spectacle the ocean bed will present
when in the last day the water is all
drawn of. 1t will be 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 merchants
men went down. There N wnerr the
steamers went down, long line of
wrecks from beach to beach. What
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 swimmer
Epreadeth 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. ask you to lay hold of this Christ
md 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.
hear many saying: swell, would
ike to be Christian. am going to
york to become a Christian" My broth
r, you begin wrong. When a man is
and strong swimmer comes
nut to help him, he says to him: 'Now
'e quiet. Put your arm on my arm or
N my shoulder, but don't struggle,
ont try to help yourself, and I'll take
'ou ashore. The more you struggle and
he more you try to help yourself the
nore you impede me. Now, be quiet,
nd I'll take You ashore" When Christ,
he strong swimmer, comes out to save
soul. the sinner says: That's right. /
m glad to see Christ, and am going to
elp Him in the work of my redemp-
ion. am going to pray more. and that
Fill help Him, and am going to weep
over my sins. and that
rill help Him." No, it will not. Stop
our doing. Christ will do all or none.
'ou cannot lift an ounce, you cannot
move an inch, in this matter of your re-
emption.
This is the difficulty which keeps
of souls out of the Kingdom
4 Heaven. 1t is because they cannot
onsent to let Jesus Christ begin and
the work of their redemption.
Why" you say. ''then is there nothing
Dr. me to do?- Only one thing have
ou to do, and that is to lay hold OF
hrist and let Him achieve your saliva
oD and achieve it all. + do not know
'hether make the matter plain or not.
simply want to show you that man
,nnot save himself, but that the Al
lightly Son of God can do it and willdo
if you ask Him. Oh, fling your two
rms. the arm of your trust and the arm
your love, around this omnipoteit
winner of the cross.
Have You ever stood by and seen some
,e under process Of resuscitation after
ng submergence? The strong swim
er has put him on the beach after
ruggle in the waters. To excite
'eathing in the almost lifelcss BODY
hat manipulation. what friction of the
I'D limbs. what artificial movement Of
le lungs. what breath of the rescuer
own into the mouth of the rescuedi
nd when breathing begins, and after
while the slight respiration becomes
'e deep sigh, and the eyes open, and
le blue lips take on a smile. what re-
icing, what clapping of hands all up
Id down the beach, what congratuIa-
on for the strong swimmer and for all
no helped in the restoration, what
louting of He lives. he lives!" Like
us is the gladness when a soul that las
ZEN submerged in sin anG spr,.nw ia