Milford chronicle., 1908-04-17

good night he left tear on your lips
You remember during that night you
did not sleep a wink. Aye, she had an
awfully close CALI If she had died
where would you be mentally. spirit
ually and physically today? Yes. your
Christian mothers life hung on the
balance that night; it was spared to
you by the narrowest Of margins.
Have you been thankful for that es-
cape? Today we should not only thank
God for saving our own lives. but also
for saving the lives of those upon
| whom our early mental and spiritual
development was dependent. And
"they escaped all safe to land"
The Right Fraternity.
But, after we left the old homestead
and started out to make our own way
IN the world, then again we had mar
row moral and spiritual escapes. As
we look back at those escapes today
we shudder in horror. As we weigh
carefully the conditions then we know
that we escaped our spiritual deaths,
as it we're, by the narrOwest margin.
Oh, how close we were to being wreck
ed on the rocks of temptation and sin!
We were as close as were the inmates
Of the Alexandrian corn ship on the
day she went to pieces on the shoals.
Perhaps that narrow moral and spirit
ual escape occurred on the day you left
home for college. The goOdbys had
been said. You were out of your moth
er's sight and beyond the sound of your
fathers voice for the first time. You
had to choose your associates. This
and that college fraternity were open
to you. The classes were pretty clear
ly defined. One fraternity was com
posed of drinking, dissOlute young men.
Another was composed of steady, stu
dious. moral students. With which
would you associate yourself? While
you were hesitating some old school
friend came to you and warned you
against the fast set and persuaded you
to unite with the cody men. As you
look back upon your past life, before
God you can say that next to your
mothers prayers that advice Of your
old school friend was the most impOr-
tant talk of your life. Your whole
spiritual future was affected by the de-
cislOn you made on that night when
under his influence you decided the
fraternity fellowship question.
Or perhaps your moral and spiritual
escape was like that Of the man who |
some years ago was addressing
great religious meeting in the city Of
Boston. 1T was a dark night" said
the speaker. when three young men
were passing down the street Of an
eastern city. Their steps quickened as
they came near to a house Of evil re-
sort. When the doOrbell was rung one
Of these young men hestated. He
turned and said: Boys, l am not going
In. l am going back Scared, are
you? said his two companions. Yes
answered the young man, I am scared
The two companions tried to persuade
the faltering one to go in. He almost
yielded. He went even to the thresh
old; then he turned and broke away
and ran back to his boarding house
and threw himself on his knees and
thanked God for saving him from fall
ng." Then the speaker, addressing his
audience, said: Friends, two of these
-Oung men entered the house of evil
'esort that night. Those two young
mems bodies now lie in dishOnOred
lrunkards' graves. The third young
nan. who almost entered that evil
louise and turned and ran away that
light, gave his heart TO God and en-
cred the gospel ministry and is now
you" Oh, We men and wO-
men, have your moral and spiritual
scapes been so narrow as that? Thank
iod today that, like the passengers on
he Alexandrian corn ship. you have
Again and again you have
lorally and spiritually escaped safe to
md.
The lnsratitude of the Sailors.
But there are two other facts to
-hich | wish to call your attention in
to these soldiers and sailors
scaping from the wrecked Alexandrian
1rn ship. The first was the behavior
( the soldiers and sailors toward Paul
hen the ship was in its greatest dan
ar. Cannot you see the faces of the
zen and the women brighten and smile
Paul utters his words Of cheer and
But did the men who
stoned to Paul so thankfully in times
danger befriend him when safety
as in sight? Nay. Both the sailors
Id the soldiers were equally migrate
Il. No sooner did the ship come to
lchor than the sailors said to each
her, Come, men, let's save ourselves
Id let all the others look out for them
Ives" Then they started for the
'eboat to pile into it and shove of,
Id only through Paul's warning to
e soldiers were they prevented de-
rting the ship. But were the soldiers
~ better? Nay. When their safety
as in sight they drew their swords
Id said, Come, let US kill Paul, for
we get to shore he may escape, and
en- we will have to answer to Caesar
itb o11r Iivas for his pScapp 4" Put the