The Birmingham age-herald., 1903-07-26

| on Q sailing snip you VIII get head winds as well as those from the stern Then you. as a sailing master, will have to tack and bent up against those head winds. You will have but one purpose always working ahead toward the har- bor, always pressing toward the one des- tination to which you wish to go. The voyage of the Christians life Is very sim liar to a sailing ships journey across tho | seas.
 The Lone Navlgator's Friend.
 Similarly in reference to it's solitari- ness. When We start out we have plenty l of friends. But if we determine to do right. if We are set in our purpose to fol- low the course which Christ has laid out | for us we shall find that our friends will often leave us, one by one. We shall | be as much alone as for many years Christopher Columbus was alone in his attempts to prove the cireumnaYigation of the globe; as William Harvey, the great London physician. physiologist and anatomist, was alone in believing in the circulation of the blood. As George Whitefield was alone, when. as pull piteer, he was looked upon as mounte- | bank and an ecclesiastical clown; as Paul was alone when he had to flee for his life over the Damascus wall. and as Jesus Christ was alone when seoffed and spit upon, he was hurried up the rocky | tween two thieves.
 Similarly in reference to the head winds and side currents which have to be fought against It would not be so bad if in the voyage of life the human ves- | sel had to make it's journey alone, and | that was all. But no sooner do our l friends begin to leave our sides than the hurricanes of abuse and the undercur- rents of islander begin to work against us. When noted reformer at the end of his life was given a great popular demon | stration of approval and presented with a beautiful gold watch he stood looking | at 1t with embarrassment. Then he said. with a smile Friends if it had been brickbat or a bad egg hurled at me would know what to do, but this beauti- full watch in my hand absolutely takes away my breath" An, my Christian l brethren, with such loneliness which must be endured and with such hurri- 1 canes of abuse which must be fought against, no human craft trying to follow the right course is safe unless Jesus Christ, as the divine captain is guiding it and treading upon It's quarter deck. No human ship can ever be sailed safely over the troubled sea of time Into harbor of a blessed eternity unless it has the magnetic needle of the cross for a compass and the great harbor of peace for its destination. Do you wonder that ueclared every human vessel should be under the dominion of Jesus Christ?
 The passing ship is like the Christians life in the close of its voyage. The har. bor of peace will be entered gladly as | soon as the earthly journey is ended. Have you ever taken long trip away from home? Have you been gone three, five. ten months or a year? Have you ever been so far away that if cable gram was sent you that one of your loved 14Ftta T not reach the bedside of the sufferer, or even see her face again after she was dead? Well, l have I pray God you may never know what such separation means.
 End of the Voyage.
 Then, after a long journey of many months, have you ever felt in head and heart, in all parts of your being, mental, | physical and spiritual, the exultant joy of heading toward home? Oh, then the bliss and yet the long drawn out impa- tience as the journey comes nearer to it's | close! The old ships propeller will not revolve fast enough You hang around the chart which is daily posted in the | ships cabin to tell you how many miles the ship is sailing. You bother the cap l tain every time you meet him. saying, Captain, will we be able to get in by Friday night2' Then if the ship Is de-
 
 fog just outside of New York harbor, oh, how the time does dragi I never 1 slept wink that last night on my jour- ney around the world. I walked up and down the deck, up and down. l wondered if the telegram had been flashed to my folks from Barnegat lighthouse that the Etruria had been sighted I won dered if they would be down at the docks to greet me. And, though it was stormy day when we vert up the Mar rows, I stood out near the bow. I was | alone. entirely alone, with put klth or kin for a travelling companions yet when saw my dear ones upon the dock, l nudged the man nearest me and cried out: There they are! There are my folksl There are father and my sisters! Yes, there they all are" And the tears 1 joy rolled down my cheeks. That is the way the Christian voyager shall enter the | harbor of peace. The physical ship Tn which he sails may be bruised and bat 1 tered by many a storm. but that will amount to nothing. Then all our loved ones will come down to meet us. Oh, how many many. many dear ones arc therel They shall all come down to the banks. wonder if we shall know them at once. I wonder if they will cry when we wave back The Bible says there are no tears in heaven. but I do not think that statement is literally true. l do not | believe We can see our own dear ones | for the first time without crying just a little. But, mark you, in that great vel come they will only be tears of joy and not tears of sorrow
 | Thus my dear friends, as voyagers upon the great sea of life, today l greet | you. I signal you with the warmest feelings of Christian joy stirring my heart. I feel that it is due to the provi- dence of God that we have been brought | together for a Christian purpose. The sea of life is 80 wide that many of US only meet each other this once before we sail Into the harbor of peace. When a vessel becomes a wreck and floats about upon the seas as a derelict 1t sometimes takes months and even years for lt to be found and destroyed. It may take may be hunting for 1t. Therefore, what l am to say to you I must say quickly. Human vessels voyaglng iver the sea of life, never allow any sinful current to l turn your prov from your Christly des- | tination Never allow your sails to he stretched for a popular wind. Never al- low your reckoning to be made from any star but that which once gleamed oynr | the Bethlehem mauger. And never feel. | Christian yoyager, that the storm cf | persecution will founder you If you hava l Christ in the hinder part of the ship. Christian voyager. if we should never | meet again this side of the harbor of | peace. l send you my Christian saluia- | ton and love-"Hail and farewell!'
 
 WEALTHY IROOUOIS CHIEFS.