The Hattiesburg news. (Hattiesburg, Miss.) 1908-1917, 1911-07-08
MA1 0JkeHIxLn 1VAuAA 3
SERMONS
,W2lsS BY
e REWSAMUEL
WpURVISDl
PAYING YOUR FARE.

world. Literary correspondence schools
should note it. " is begun and finish
ed in forty-eight verses. Wealth Of
incident, progression of movement, va
riety of detail, dialogue and narrative,
are wonderfully balanced. Its con
densation is model Only ten verses
in the second chapter of this f9scinat
ing book, yet they form a paragon of
worship, prayer and praise. Neverthe-
less no Bible book has received half
the cannonading that Jonah has. The
world has had much to say by way of
pleasantly concerning Jonah and the
whale. It's been the laughingstock of
infidel and the victim of higher critic.
With caricature and ridicule, with ig-
nOrance and learning, they've attacked
1t. They've gloated wildly over the
size of the whales throat. Shrieks of
merriment have accompanied their
measurement of the whales intestines.
The Bible says the Lord prepared"
great fish. If he prepared the fish
would suppose he made the dimensions
to suit the case. However, the world
wags on. No less a scholar than the
former president of the greatest uni
versity of the west questions the story,
and no less a person than Christ him
self thought 1t worthy to quote as be-
ing correct. prefer TO range myself
with the latter. But the story of that
faroff day doesn't have to be true. It's
happening In your town today.
The Runaway Sailor
Indeed. Jonah is a type of Lany peo-
pie in many ages. There may be some
In your town, in your house, possibly
one in your shoes. I've had some on
the passenger list of my church. If
they'd only jump overheard! But, no;
they think, the captain and the crew
and all the other passengers ought to
be thrown overheard. They want to
stay and steer the ship. Oh, they've
good stuff in them, I'm sure, but they
raise storms and nearly sink the yes.
sell You see, the man who's running
away from God-that's what Jonah
was foolishly trying to do-always is
an unhappy fellow. Did you ever try
to hide yourself from God by excuses
or company or lies or loud laughter?
God said to Jonah, "Go to Nineveh"-
that was eastward by land. Jonah
started to Tarshish, westward, by wa
ter With his bundle on his back he
slips away from his little home town
In, Txx,n do lot rs oil,
ing through the narrow streets and
busy wharfs of the seaport town of
Joppa. To those heather sailors he's
a queer looking fish in strange waters
But he has found an easy way out Of
hard task-he has eluded God. poor Jo-
nah! He has not yet learned the les
son that there's no place in all the uni
verse, in the world that now is or that
which Is to come. for u man running
away from God. Duty's never done
by lodging it.
Jonah steps aboard the rough craft
pays his fare gangplank Is hauled in,
anchor Is weighed, sails are hoisted
Soon the rigging is rafting in the
strong breeze of the Mediterranean.
Jonah smiles craftily; has the air Of
man who's secretly done smart thing.
He has oveireached Cod Ever feel
that way, neighbor? Soon he's in the
hold asleep. Hank. Was that laugh
ter? No: twas the mutter of thunder
and fash of lightning. Snap goes rig
ging. crash goes the mast. The YES
sells pitching "a-beam's end" The su-
perstltious sailors are hunting the
cause. They cast lots. Jonah's the
man. He ConfCH-ca Thcy bring him
to the side of the ship. lift him over
the guard rail and drop him into the
angry waters below. He paid his fare
to Tarshish, but he never got there.
Neither does any enc who runs away
from God and duty. 1t was an ex-
pensive trip for Jonah He lost money,
time. approval of conscience and smile
Of God would have lost life and soul
but for Gods mercy. Sin in the soul
is like Jonah in the ship-the smooth
est water is turned into tempestuous
sea.
1.-THE DEVILS Dice Are Loaded"
goods and doesn't refund. He takes
your money and puts you off at poor
landing place. He promises to take
you from Joppa to Tarshish and throws
you over before you are halfway. Only
one thing is certain-he never fails to
collect the fare. Dealing with the
devil Is like playing with gambler at
his own game-when you are surest
he has you. My scoffing friend bought
stack of infidel books. How he used
to sneer! He paid $40 for his ticket to
Tarshish when he bought the books.
He landed in perdition. You pay your
price. The beautiful Chicago heiress
married the young lord with handsome
face and rotten character. Have you
read her heartbroken letters? She's
paying the price. That woman who
got the extra pair Of silk hosiery