he
may do well. We are keeping the whole matter a profound secret to save
the life of a good man. He was taken back to Abraham Funk's, where he
is at this time receiving treatment in secret from me.

SUNDAY, April 19. Meeting at our meetinghouse. Epistle of Jude is
read. Abraham Glick is with us, and likewise Solomon Sherfey, of
Tennessee. Go to Abraham Funk's. George Sellers is doing well.

SUNDAY, April 26. Meeting at the Elk meetinghouse, in Page County,
Virginia. I speak from Heb. 2:3. TEXT.--_"How shall we escape if we
neglect so great salvation?"_

I always feel embarrassed when I attempt to speak from this text. The
subject is so vast, and the matter so important, that my best efforts
fall far below the just demands of my theme. Nothing can properly be
said to be saved which has never been lost or in danger of being lost.
And in every case where anything is saved, the greatness of the
salvation depends upon the value of the thing saved, together with the
measure of effort and sacrifice required to effect it. Some years ago
a very destructive fire was raging in the city of Pittsburg. A
gentleman, who claimed to have been an eyewitness of the fire, related
the following incident to me. He said the firemen had just rescued a
family from a burning building, and thought they had all out, when one
of the rescued ladies looking around screamed out, "O, save my
Bessie!" "Where is she?" was cried out. "In the north room up stairs!"
A noble-hearted fireman, almost exhausted, risked his life to rescue
what he of course supposed to be a child; but what was his indignant
surprise on reaching the room, to find that the missing "Bessie" was
only a pet cat! The enraged fireman kicked the cat and cursed its
mistress. But his feelings would have been different had Bessie been a
little child softly sleeping in its cradle. This incident may help us
to realize the truth contained in the statement already made, that the
_greatness_ of any salvation depends upon the _value_ of the thing
saved as well as upon the effort and sacrifice made to save it.

It is plain that man's salvation is the subject of the text. But is
man lost? And if lost, in what sense is he lost? We read in Matt.
18:11, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." It is
man's _life_ that is lost--natural or bodily life, and supernatural or
spiritual life. But is man's bodily life lost? It is, "for death hath
passed upon all men." The sentence of bod