Milford chronicle., 1901-08-30

tiful truth; text, II Corinthians xi, So,
Through window in basket was let
down by the wall"
Sermons on Paul in Jail, Paul on Mars
hill. Paul in the shipwreck, Paul before
the sanhedrin, Paul before Felix, are
plentiful, but in my text we have Paul in
basket
Damascus is a city Of white and glis-
tening architecture. sometimes called 'the
eye Of the east" sometimes called "a
pearl surrounded by emeralds," at one
time distinguished for swords Of the best
material, called Damascus blades, and
upholstery Of richest fabric called dam
ask. A horseman Of the name Of Saul,
riding toward this city, had been thrown
from the saddle The horse had dropped
under fash from the sky, which at the
same time was so bright it blinded the
rider for many days and, think, so per-
manenty injured his eyesight that this
defect of vision became the thorn in the
! flesh he afterward speaks Of He start
cd for Damascus to butcher Christians,
but after that hard fall from his horse he
was a changed man and preached Christ
in Damascus till the city was shaken to
its foundation.
The mayor gives authority for his ar
rest. and the popular cry is: xiii him!
! Kill himw The city is surrounded by
high wall and the gates are watched by
/ the police lest the Ciician preacher es-
cape Many Of the houses are built on
the wall, and their balconies projected
clear over and lowered above the gardens
outside. 1t was customary to lower
baskets out of these balconies and pull up
fruits and flowers from the gardens. 10
I Al IL.
Mount Sinai are lifted and let down in
baskets. Detectives prowled around from
house to house looking for Paul, but his
friends hid him, now in one place, now
in another He is no coward, as 80 Incl
dents in his life demonstrate, but he feels
his work is not done yet and so he eyades
assassination. as that preacher hereY
the foaming mob shout at one house door.
''ls that fanatic hereY" the police shout
at another house door, Sometimes on the
street ncognito he passes through a cloud
Of clinched fists and sometimes he Sc
cretes himself on the house top.
Paul's PrOvidentlal Escape.
At last the infuriatc populace get on
sure track of him. They have positive
evidence that he is in the house of one
Of the Christians the balcony of whose
home reaches over the wall. Here he isl
Here he is" The moderation and bias
phemy and bowling of the pursuers
nre Mt the front door. They break in,
"Fctch out that gospelizer and let us hang
his head on the city gate. Where is hey
/ The emergency was terrible. PrOviden
TALLY there was a good stout basket IN
+ The house Paul's fFiends fasten a rope
to the basket. Paul steps into it. The
basket is lifted to the edge of the bal
cony on the wall. and then while
Paul holds the rope with both hands his
friends lower away, carefully and eau
tiously, slowly but surely, farther down
and farther down. until the basket strikes
the earth and the apostle steps out an6
afoOt and alone starts on that famous
missionary tour the story of which ha
. astonished earth and heaven. ApprO
.Riiate entry in Paul's diary of travels
"ThrOugh a window in a basket was
lot down by the wall"
] observe first on what n slender tenur,
- great results hang. The rOpemaker VIII
twisted that cord fastened to that lower
}, ing basket never knew how much wOulI
depend upon the strength of it. How i
it had been broken and the apostles lif
had been dashed out? What would hav
become of the Christian church? Al
that magnificent missionary work i
Pamphylia, Cappadocia, GOlatia, Mace
q donia would never have been accom-
plishcd. All his writings that make u
, SO Indispensable and enchanting Il pan
Of the New Testament would never hav
. been written. The story of resurrectio
Of would never have been so gloriously tol
e as he told it. That example of heroic an
y triumphant endurance at Philippi, in Ii
d, Mediterranean Euroclydon, under fiai
citation, and at his beheading, would n,
have kindled the courage of 10000 ma
= tyrdoms. But that rope holding that ba
ket, how much depended on it! So agai
! and again great results have hung Q
slender circumstances.
6 Did ever ship Of many thousand tor
rossng the sea have such an impOrtal
passenger as had once a boat Of leave
= from taffrail to stern only three or fol
feet, the vessel made waterproof by
coat Of bitumen and floating on the Nj
VI with the infant lawgiver of the Jews {
We board? What il some crocodile shOU
y crunch It? What if some Of the catt
wading in for a drink should sink
Vessels of war sometimes carry 40 gu
looking through the portfolios ready
open battle. but the tiny craft on t
ME seems 10 uc uiiAtu WIN AL tAC 3
of thunder that bombarded Sinai at t
lawgiving. On how fragile craft sail
~ how much of historical Importance!
John Wesley Was Saved.
DIV The parsonage at Epworth, England,
on fire in the night, and the father rush
through the hallway for the rescue of
children. Seven children are out a
safe on the ground. but one remains
NJ
and. finding his bed on fire and the bui
ing crumbling, comes to the window, a
nd two peasants make ladder of their b
nm les, one peasant standing on the shoul,
of the other, and down the human lad
ute the boy descends-John Wesley. If !
hav would know how much depended ON Il
laddpr of Deasants. ask the millions