The other day, when the Oxford and Cambridge men were contesting for the
mastery, the Oxford boat was behind, but the crew were not willing to
admit they were beaten, and were making great efforts to gain the day,
when, all at once, the oar of the best man in the boat broke in two,
consequently all hope of winning was gone. All the rest of the way there
were only seven oars, and the weight of the eighth man to carry as well.
In musing over this, it struck us that there were several lessons to be
learned--lessons which the eye that used to scan the race-ground would
have made use of, if he were writing an epistle in these days.
Is it not true that the dead weight in the boat hinders the progress of
the Church of God? Up and down the country we hear of those who hinder
the work--members of society, and sometimes office-bearers, who if they
were in heaven would help more, or, at least, hinder less than they do
now. If this book should fall into the hands of any of these men, we
wish they would lay to heart the lesson, that if from any cause they are
not working, we have their weight to carry in addition, and that we could
get on better if they were not. As we write we are thinking of one of
these hinderers--smooth of tongue, and sanctimonious in phraseology, who
is helping the enemy of God by hindering his servants.
This becomes all the more painful when these unfaithful men are persons
of power and influence. Some of them were once very useful, and have
wielded an influence for good that was of immense use; but, alas! in an
evil hour they turned aside, and now retard the progress of what they
once loved to assist. We appeal to such of our readers as are doing good
service, that they pray to be kept from backsliding in heart, lest their
oars be broken, and they become a dead weight in the boat.
Some of those who are with us, and yet not of us, are accumulating
wealth. We appeal to them to bear in mind that their money makes them
greater difficulties than ever, and that the more their balance at the
bankers' grows the greater their dead weight in the boat. If we could
only get rid of these people, how lightly the boat would spring forward!
Sometimes we are ready to wish that these men could lose their money,
they would then become manageable.
What is to be done? We cannot but think of Circuit after Circuit where
men of talent and influence are keeping the Church of God from coming to
the front. What a loss life is to them! How much better if they had
died in their useful days! If they do not repent, what a hell awaits
them! How could such people enjoy heaven if they were sent there? For
them to behold the other part of the crew, who did their duty, crowned
for their faithfulness, must, as a matter of course, make them reflect
that their chances were the same, but that they ceased to toil, and
hindered those who would have accomplished much for God but for their
baneful presence.
There are other lessons we learned from this same boat-race, to which we
will refer at some other time. Suffice it that for the present we pray,