THE steamer landed at the pier of B. on a lovely summer morning, and a party of young people left the steamer and proceeded along the pebbly beach to enjoy themselves for the day, amidst the hills and valleys of A.
“Remember, the boat will return and leave at five-fifty prompt, boys,” said the captain, as he pointed them the way to reach the places of interest and beauty.
“All right, sir, we’ll be there,” they replied with a cheer.
They were entranced by the beauty of the scenery, and the party went much further than they had expected, and to their great surprise, they found on pulling out their watches that the time upon which they had fixed to begin the return journey had been exceeded by half-an-hour.
“O, it’s all right,” said one, “the clocks here are always late. We’ll be there, you’ll see, a good while before the boat comes.”
“And the boat will be behind time,” said another, “she was half an hour late the last day I sailed with her.”
The probabilities of the boat being late, and of the clocks being slow, had the effect of quieting the fears of the party; so after a very enjoyable walk they arrived at the pier, but alas, just half-an-hour too late; the boat had sailed at “five-fifty prompt,” as the captain said, and they were left behind. The clocks were right and the steamer sailed on the minute given.
As they walked along the shore, the shades of night falling upon them, one said to another, “It will be some time before I trust to the clocks of A. being slow, and the steamer being late again, I tell you. I’ll go according to the ‘Time Table’ after this. It’s just like this for eternity, Jim, with many. They neglect to go by God’s ‘Time Table’ which says, ‘Now is the day of salvation,’ and prop themselves up by the vain hope that God’s clock will go slow, and that the day of vengeance will come late. I tell you I see as I never saw before, the importance of going exactly by the Book,” said one of the boys.
“The lesson will not be lost, if we use it aright,” said another.
The young tourist was right. “Time and tide wait for no man.” God’s time for salvation is now, and the now is quickly passing away.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.” 2 Peter 3:9, 109The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. 10But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. (2 Peter 3:9‑10).
ML-05/23/1920