The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-09-01

tfxl3ti amid desert of bsatheldomf Sixty years befdre . ship had met dis aster. and one q the sailors. unable to
 save anything else. weRt to his trunk and took out Bible which his mother ! had placed there, and swain ashore. the Bible held in his teeth. The book was read on all sides until the roJiKn and | vicious population were evangelized, l and church was started, and an en- frightened commonwealth established, I the the worlds history has no more | brilliant page than that which tells of | the transformation of Q nation by one l book. It did not seem of much impor- tance whether the sailor continued to | hold the book in his teeth or let 1t fall | in the breakers. but upon what small circumstances depended what mighty results!
 Practicai inference: There are no in- significances in life. The minutest thing Is part of magnitude. Infinity Iis made up of infinitesirnais; great things an aggregation of small things. | Bethlehem manager pulling on star in l the eastern sky. One book in drench- ! cd sailors mouth the evangelization Of a multitude. One boat of papyrus on l the Nile freighted with events for all ares. The fate of Christendom in q basket let down from window on the wall What you do. do well. If you make a rope, make it strong and true | for you know not how much may de- pend on your workmanship. If you fashion boat. let 1t be waterproof. for you know not who may rail in it. If you put Bible In the trunk or your boy as he goes from home, let 1t ta re- membered in your prayers. for 1t may have a mission as far-reaching AS the book which the sailor carried in his teeth to the Pitcairn beach. The plain- est mans life is an island between two eternities = eternit-- past rippiing against his shoulde. eternity to come
 touching his brow. The casual. the ac-
 cidental, that which merely happens so.
 are parts of a great plan. and the rope
 that let's the fugitive apostle from the
 Damascus wall is the cable that holds
 to its moorings the ship of the church
 in the storm of centuries.
 Again. notice unrecognized and unre- corded service. Who spun that rope? Who tied 1t to the basket? Who stead led the iIlustrious preacher as he step ped into 1t? Who relaxed not muscle of the arm or dismissed an anxious look from his face until the basket touched the ground and discharged its magnificent cargo? Not one of their names has come to us. but there was no work done that day in Dana scus or in all earth compared with the iinpor- tance of their work. What If they had In their agitation tied knot that could slip? What if the sound of the mob at the door had led them to say: Paul must take care of himself. and we will take care of ourselves?" No, no. They held the rope and in doing so did more for the Christian church than any thousand of us will ever accomplish. nn..t f~ a. A. 4 of their undertakings. And they know.
 Cause for Exultation.
 How exuitant they must have felt when they read his letters to the Ro- mans. to the Corinthians. to the Gala Hans. to the Ephesians. to the Philip plans. to the Colossians, to the Thessa- .onians. and when they heard how he walked out of prison. with the earth quake unlocking the door for him. and took command of the Alexandrian corn ship when the sailors were nearly scared to death and preached q sermon that nearly shook Felix off his judg- ment seat! 1 hear the men and women who helped him down through the window and over the wall talking in private over the matter. and saying: sH0w glad I am that we effected that
 
 set the glory of Paurs work. but no vhA shall rob us of the satisfaction et knowing that we held the rope"
 Once for 36 hours we expected every moment to go to the bottom of the ocean. The waves struck through the skylights and rushed down into the nold or the ship and hissed against the boilers. It was an awful time, but by the blessing of God and the faithful ness of the men in charge. we came out of the cyclone and we arrived at home Each one before leaving the ship thanked Captain Andrews. I do not think there was a man or woman that went on that ship without thanking Captain Andrews. and when years aft CT heard of his death 1 was impelled to write letter of condolence to hts family in Liverpool. Everybody recog- nixed the goodness, the courage, the Kindness. of Captain Andrews, but 1t occurs to me now that we never thank ed the engineer. He stood away down in the darkness. amid the missing fur naces. doing his whole duty. Nobody thanked the engineer. but God recog- nized his heroism and his continua nee and his fidelity. and there will be just as high reward for the engineer, who worked out of sight as for the captain, who stood on the bridge of the ship in the midst of the bowling tempest.
 There are said to be about 150.00O ministers of religion in this country. About S0.000, I warrant, came from early homes which had to struggle for the necessarfes of life. The sons of rien bankers and merchants generally be- come bankers and merchants. The most of those who become ministers are the sons of those who had terrific struggle to. get their everyday bread. The collegiate and theological educa ton of that son took every luxury from the parental table for eight years. The other children were more scantily ap- pareled. The son at college every little while got 8 bundle from home. In Il were the socks that mother had knit sitting up late at night. her sight nos as good as once 1t was. And there also were some delicacies from the sister hand for the voracious appetite. of hungry student. The father swung the heavy cradle through the wheat, the sweat rolling from his chin bedewins every step of the way. and then sitting down under the cherry tree at noon, thinking to himself; T am fearfulIy tired. but it will pay If can once see that boy through college and if l can know that he will be preaching the gos- pei after l am dead" The younger children want to xnow why they can't have this and that 2s others do, and the mother says: Be patient, children, until your brother graduates, and then you shall have more luxurIes, but we must see that boy through
 Good Reason for Rejoicing.
 The vaarS 0o hu and the aon ..-