The commercial. (Union City, Tenn.) 190?-193?, 1921-05-27
TRAINING SCHOOL
commencement
Week of Exercises and Graduating
Class Night.

The week of commencement fo
the Union City Training School be
gan last Sunday with the baccalaure
ate sermon at the Methodist Churc
by the. pastor, Rev. E. M. Mathi:
There were no services at the othe
churches in the city, and every sea
in the large auditorium and con
Meeting rooms was filed. The clas
and the facunlty were seated in tn
front pews. Special music for tn
occasion was rendered.
The text of the sermon came from
Psalm 104:26: 'oThere go the ships.
Rev. Mathis took one of the mos
impressive objects in the great cos
mopolitan ebb and flow of human
life, the launching Of vessel on thu
bosom of the ocean, it's mystery
beauty and grandeur, and compared
it to the launching of tho human
craft, with it's life lines and infinitely
greater glories and possibilities. How
much more important then our salu
tations to the young people who &C
out from our schools to enter the
broad way of life.
The minister emphasized the three
essentials of the voyage-the port
the chart and the pilot. Every ves-
sci has it's port. So must every bark
have its aim in life. That aim should
be high. You will never go above
your ideals. This is not the day of
Benedict Arnold nor Aaron Burr,
who have disgraced American an
mails, but it is a time when the lives
of Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Ad-
ans, Patrick Henry, Thomas Jeffer-
son, George Washington should be
our inspiration. Our sailing orders
should come from God and Gods
hand should direct our course. Hitch
your wagon to that Star which is the
Light of the World, and He will car
yOu OdAVly W POl &uOOh ~
toria, the greatest and wisest SOW
ereign among men since the days of
Jesus Christ, when told that she was
queen, fell on her knees and acked
God to guide her ship of state. The
explorer, Livingston, sought his port
in the dark continent, carrying civ
ilization to the savage. Saint Paul's
prize was the High calling of God
in Christ Jesus" The port isNreached
over the high seas Of perseverance,
which discovered America, cleared
the forest, tunneled the mountains,
built the skyscraper, harnessed the
and sailed thru space.
Commodore Maury chartered the
lanes of ocean travel, and every ves-
vel carries the chart. Gods book is
The chart of life's voyage. Many a
life ship has never returned because
he chart was left behind. Ulysses
wooded the rocks where the sailors
leard the song of the sirens by stop
,ing their ears. Then he played on
lis harp and stirred the air with his
melodies while men passed in safety.
Young people, If your life is to be
,lessed, you must give to the world
useful something worth
yhilcand remember that you are
afe only when garrisoned by the
vord of God. A very little thing will
omctimes cause the vessel to veer
rom its course. In a case of this
ind a sunken vessel was raised and
n its compass was found small
iece of steel, broken from the knife
lade of the sailor who cleaned it.
his bit of steel DETECTED the course
the vessel and wrecked it. Stay
y the chart No one was ever lost
n the sea Of life who did that. When
|eneral Lee lay dying in Lexington
e had his we'll worn Bible, which
ad been his pride and comfort in
efeat as well as victory, placed near
i'm that it might light his path thru
ae last shadow of his life The
reat Titanic, which taxed the in
enuity of man in it's construction,
'ent to the bottom uncharted with
le word of God. This was the last
ord in ship building, steel-armored {
nd secure. above tho water and the !
aves. But an iceberg pierced it's
de and down with its cargo Of idle
ch joy riders it sank to the bottom {
the deep And then when the ves-
il was raised not Bible, not a L
ace of tho word of God was to be ii
'und. The world worshiper has no !
lart. Education with God and the 6
'ligion Of Christ left out will be as !,
as this vessel on its
alden trip. k
The pilot was tho last point of the c
rmon. No vessel is allowed to leave +
ew york Harbor without a IL d
ased pilot. oatward bound they t