Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1883-08-17

arc saved and not to DO saved. Before paul's
conversion he never did the slightest work
for God On the contrary his hands were
red with the blood OF Christian men when he
saw the divine vision. During the war
Southern man, tried convicted and con
demned to die, was confined in Northern
prison. lie cursed Abraham Lincoln, and
with ccaseless tongue applied to him epithets
40 vile and no innumorablo that IL seemed as
though be must have laid awake nights to
think Of them. So bitterly abusive was he
that the soldiers would have thrust him
through or let him starye had they not been
under military discipline. One day he was
led forth, as he supposed, to his execution,
but instead he was handed a pardon signed
by Lincoln and told that he was free man.
At fifst he could not believe it, but when ut
last the truth dawned on him his heart was
melted and won. From that day forth no
man might speak i'll of Abraham Lincoln in
his presence. Just 80 il is with the grace OF
God II is an absolutely free gift if you will
only take it, It would be the greatest thing
that ever happened in Vermont If this grace
Of God could sweep over Brattleboro, win
ming every heart viii you not accept this
grace?
Secondly, Mr.. Moody said. in the words Of
the text, the grace Of God, if 1t Is real and
genuine thing with US, much teach us to de-
ny ungodliness and worldly lusts and must
make us live Boberly, righteously and cody
in this present world. He believed the grace
of God was hindered more by professed
Christians whose hearts were cold and dead,
aud who belied their professions, than by
any other thing in the world He had no
fear of atheists who wont up aud down in
the world declaring their unbelief, but he did
fear the influence Of so. called Christians who
are dead at heart and whom the world knows
are not true to their professions. Our eyes
must be opened and we must be raised mp to
a higher plane. George Fox used 10 say
that every Quaker ought to shake the ground
for ten miles around him, and that is just
what every Christian ought to do. If you
have not got grace enough in your heart to
make you keep your temper, to make you
kind and gentle at home, to make you tell
the truth, to make you honest in your bust
ness, to make you sell horse and not cheat
in the bargain, you had better keep your
mouth shut. The less you say about Chris
tian work the better. II you want your chill
dren saved. let them see you live a life at
home which shows that the grace of God
dwells in your heart Let rs adorn our pro
fession aud lift our lives TO the plane they
ought to occupy.
Under his third and last heading Mr. Moody
said that Christian people, Looking for that
blessed hope" must be Jealous in good
works II Nicodemus's heart had been full
I
not have weakly staid three years in the
Sanhedrim before going to Jesus. The wom-
an at the well so filed and convinced
that she stirred the whole town. The speak
err had no sympathy with those people who
believe that Pentecost was only for one day,
for one occasion. We may have day Of
Pentecost every day from Maine to the Pa
cifc coast if we only will. What we want is
higher and more earnest type Of Christian.
ity. II our pulpits preach science, philoso-
ply and cold negatives they will empty the
churches, and with good reason. Six days
in the week the people have enough Of that
sort of thing, and on Sunday they want
something to warm and stir the heart II
the angel Gabriel himself should preach for
one full hour to a great congregation and not
have the spirit Of God in him he would not
produce particle of effect We need to re-
alze that God may choose the smallest in
strument to do His work with. When He
called the slaves up out of Egypt be did not
send great army or even a man of eloquence
to fetch them. He sent an old man of 80
years who had an impeachment in his speech,
and Gods only weapon was the little reed in
Mosess hand. When he wanted the flies, or
the locusts, or the midnight darkness, or to
stay the waters, he had only to say, "What is
that in thine hand stretch forth the reed"
and the work was done. What ridicule would
he have excited had Moses met Boston phil
osopher on the way The thing we want
most of all is to believe that God 3cHls US to
do His work. Don't let Satan get the ad-
vantage of you by making you believe that
you can't do anything for Coo because you
haven't got any more talents. Take what
talents you have got and go to work with
them. What is required of you is to work
with what talents you have got and not with
what you haven't. The smallest instrument
may do the greatest work. In the old time
it was said that lone shall chase a thousand" /
and it proved true But now, SO dead and
timorous have Christians grown, it takes a
thousand to chase one. II would be a grand
day for the church if we could have great
sitting and sift out the cold lifeless material,
and then take that which * warm and vital
and go to work with ii. When Gideon was /
sent out to fight against the host OF INDIAN he /
thought his army of 32 600 men was all too
small, but God sifted the army thrice over
till only 900 men were left, and these 300 /
took just what they. had in their hands-ouly
a few empty pitchers-and they were so full |
Of zeal, and of confidence in the might of
their cause, that they were invncible and the |
host Of the enemy could not stand against /
them. 1t seemed like small thing like a
ridiculous thing, when God used a few rams .
horns to bring down the walls of Jericho,
but in His hands they did the work When
We get down 20 small and humble that we
take Us and use US. We have been COCO
years in learning that God delights in small /
things. Let us learn to call nothing small /
that God elects to use. In every teachers
Sunday school class there may be a John
Knox, Wesley, a Cavu-thero may even
be Martin Luther. One boy saved may
convert nation. Mary's box Of alabaster
was a small thing, but it built for her a mon
ument in the hearts of the Christian world .
greater than any potentRte has ever had Had
some reporter for H Jerusalem newspaper
been prying about the city to find something
of note or interest to put in his paper. he
might probably have recorded that some rich ,
man had put into the box 800 or 5000 from
his abundance, but he would have taken no
note of the two mites which the poor widow
put in. Those two mites have brought mill.
ions of money into Gods treasury, and will
bring in many more notwithstanding so many
mean rich men have hid behind them. Let
your motto and your earnest endeavor be to
do all the good you can, in all the WAYS
you can, to al! the peoble you can"
Mr.. Moody closed with a few earnest and
direct words urging the people of Brattle.
boro to take hold and give the Young Mems
Christian Association a cordial and willing
support in the good work which its members
have undertaken to do. Let each one, he
said, emphasizing the central thought of his
discourse, resolve to take hold and do what
he can, no matter how small thing il is. In
few words of prayer he asked the blessing
Of God on the Associations work. Mr.. and
Mrs, stebtia5 sang ',rhe Three Calls" aud
the meeting was dismissed with the benedic.
ton by Rev. Mr.. Tower The services closed
at 9:l5, the attention of the large audience
having been close and unAaggng through
out
West BrattIebOrO
Rev. VIM. T. Eustis, D. D., of Spring
field, Mass, will preach in the Congregation