Catoctin clarion. [volume] (Mechanicstown, Md.) 1871-1940, 1902-08-07
"HE PAID HIS FARE"
Sunday Discourse By DR.. Chapman, the
Noted PastOr-Evangelist.
The Bible Is But a History Of Every Human
Life-Sins are Bought Dear

man. Inc SUBJECT or tine DISCOURSE iS llo
Paid His Fare" and it was preached from
the text, $50 he paid his fare" Jonah
l:3. -,
Whatever else men may say about the
| Bible at least this is true that it contains
| the history of every human life, and when
| we see Jonah fleeing away from Joppa
seeking to get to Tarshsh instead of Nine
| veh, we have q vision of our own past eX'
| perience, when God commanded and we
| disobeyed, and we believe the Bible not be-
cause it is an old book, for there are other
| old books, but we believe it because it
| speaks to our deepest and truest hearts
| experience 1t is a perfect revelation to lis
| of ourselves. The Mediterranean Sea is in
| teresting.
First, because of it's sunsets, and sec.
| ondly because it is tidcless, but also for
| the reason that it is visited by frequent
| storms which are beyond description.
| Eight hundred and sixty-two years before
| Christ the passengers boat piled upon the
| of these was pushed out from Joppa when
an excited passenger hurried on board,
| looked into the faces of all he met as II he
| feared detection, paid his fare and went
! down into the bottom of the boat that he
might get away from the sight of men. a
| terrific storm overtakes them as soon as
they leave the port, but we have not so
much to do with the storm as with the cX.
| cited passenger. The boat had crossed and
| rccrossed the sea many times III safety,
! but this is to be an exception, for the
| wind bowls and the waves beat against
| the bark, but as | say we are not to study
! the storm but the frightened man in tho
vessel. The word of the Lord came to
| him to say, Jonah, go to Nmeveh," and
instead of obeying he set sail for Tarshish.
1t was an expensive trip, and brought HIM
neither pleasure or escape; is like the jour.
neys that the most of us have made. The
J text must appeal to every one; you never
i committed SIN, you never have INDUCED
in appetite, you certainly never have oh.
! tanned success and never have met with
! defeat but you have been obliged to pay
q fare. There are but two lines to travel in
this world: one is the line of duty per-
| formed and the other the line of duty dis.
regarded.
There may be different modes of travel,
| but two great divisions; those who have
| known their duty and followed it, and on
| the other hand those who have shirkcd re.
sponsibiity; the one company is bound to
| the Nincvch of duty done, the other for
Tarshsh of duty shirked, but in every case
we pay fare.
Men must pay a price for attainments in
| this world always. 1t is the price of cXer
ton. of earnest continual effort, of severe
discipline.
Two men in Philadelphia years ago were
workmen in the same shop. One of them
! used his noon hour to teach little dog to
play tricks, and the other occupied his
time in perfccting an invention which has
astonished the world and made him mil
honairc many times over.
l.
There are some things that impress our
minds as we study the text and read this
story. 4
First, it is vain to try to dcfraud God.
Men some times think they are succeeding,
and they laugh at the puritanical ideas of
the Christian, but YOU may sin month after
month and apparently prosper, and at last
when you least expect it You will be dis
! covered \ man cleaning out a well on one
: of the farms in our State came across
skeleton the other day. lie reported to
the authorities and "A murderer guilty OF
sin twenty five years ago was apprchcnded
and sent to his punishment. Jonah found
that that was true; that God could not he
Knocked The storm was against him, the
sailors against him, God Himself sought
him out. "3e not deceived, God is not
Knocked; whatsoever a man soweth that
shall he also reap"
Second, as soon as we go contrary to
God everything is against us. God said,
eco to Nincveh" aud Jonah started for
Tarshish, and the sea roars, and the winds
blow, and the ship rocks, and no man ever
gets to Tarshish in comfort when God
commands him to go to Nineveh The mo.
mcnt YOU turn away from Him there is
conflict, and you cannot hide from God
either by day or by night, There is one
text which ought to be written in letters
of fire for all men to read, Thou God
seest me"
| If we could only make men understand
| the eternal cost of sin many a man would
| forsake sin. The word of God has stated
| plainly, "Ihe wages of sin Is death" and
| the cost is an infinite price. There Is dan
| ger, however of being deceived because sin
| hatters and fascnatcs. At the time OF the
| lnqusition there was punishment known
| as the Virgins Kiss The one to suier
was pushed forward and made to kiss the
| lips of the Virgin and instantly the arms
Of iron were about him and hidden dag
gers pressed their way to every part OF his
body. How like this is to our experiences
in sin, and in tins world sin does not pay,
for conscience disturbs us and the rcmorsc
brushes us, while in the world to come
! there is weeping and waiing and crashing
of teeth 1t is an awful thing to be with
| out God here, but who can describe being
| without God there. 1T is true that no sue
| cess was ever achieved without paying a
| price, but it is here where the devil comes
in to say, "Iou can escape all this drudg-
cry and take a cross cut to success There
Is an innate desire in the human heart TO
get the most for the least effort, and he
takes advantage of this.
Let me give you an illustration OF a
young man of thirty years OF age who has
work to do and great end to attain,
! bat he must have a long ministry of agony
and suffering and conflict. The devil
meets HIM to say, "Al these things viii
give you if You will fall down and worship
me" and he might in an instant have had
worldly power, but he had the courage to
say, Get thee behind me, Satan" With
the temptations that come to all of us at
times, we want success; he promises it; we
seek happlness he deceivcs us when he
says that he can give it us; we are after
peace and he would lead us to think that
he can bestow it upon us, but let it be re-
membercd that there is a law which always
holds, that no man has real success in this
world without paying the price for it, and
ii we yield in the least to Satan in the mat
ter of an impure thought, an unholy occu-
patton, a sinful alliance, instead of paying
the price for success we are paying it for
failure. MAY it please the court" said a
young man who was asked how he came to
sin. Il had good mother and a good
father, but bad company has been my
ruin" No man can ever be Christian if
he holds on to one sinful alliance, or keeps
step with one sinful companion.
Ill
Let it be remembered, therefore that you
will he obliged to pay first for every sin
INDUCED. Look back over your past life,
the youth you have wasted the opportuni-
| ties you have lost, the strength that has
gone, you will have to pay for.
| How many times we have heard men
say, eff | could only go back to the days
of my youth" but you cannot, they are
gone, and although sins may be pardoned
manhood is affected, character weakened,
the soul Scared that is the price of the
sins of our youth. 81 would give my right
Va