The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1899-10-27

whole army to cheer him. When Mar
shall Ney sprang into the contest and
plunged in the spurs till the horses
tanks spurted blood, all France APP
plauGed him. But Jesus alone! "Of
the people there was none to help"
"All forsook Him and fed" Oh, it was
not fiotilla that sailed down and saved
us. 1t was not 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 s.; rong swimmer. NO" you say;
sit is ways disastrous for drowning
man to lay Lold of swimmer" There
is not river or lake but has calamity
resultant from the fact that when
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!
/ 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
spreadeth 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
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.
hear many saying: "Well, l would
like to be Christian. l am going to
work to become Christian" NY broth
err, you begin wrong. When man is
drowning, and strong swimmer comes
out to help him, he says to him: "Now
be quiet. Put your arm on my arm or
on my shoulder, but don't struggle,
don't try to help yourself, and I'll 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. I
am glad to see Christ, and am going to
help Him in the work of my redemp-
ton. / am going to pray more, and that
will help Him, and 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 aninch, in this matter of your re-
This is the difficulty which keeps
thousands of souls out of the Kingdom
of Heaven. 1t is because they cannot
consent to let Jesus Christ begin and
complete the work of their redemption.
why" you sayy' 'thenis 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 {
lion and achieve it all. l do not know =
make the matter plain or not
simply want 70 show you that a man ;
save himself, but that the AL }
mighty Son of. God can. do il. and will do q
Il if you ask Him. Oh. fling your two a
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
me under process of resuscitation after
ong submergence? The strong swim t
ner has put him on the beach after a n
struggle in the waters.s TO excite I
'reathing in the almost lifeless body T
what manipulation, whatfriction of the
old limbs, what artificial movement of
he lungs, what breath of the rescuer l.
,lown into the mouth of the rescueil q
md when breathing begins, and after S