The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-06-14
TALMAGE'S SERMON,
Subiect: ''Disabled Hunters
Bringing Down the Most
Gnme,"

TExr-"The lame take the prey."-Isaiah
xxxiii, 2S
The utter demolition of the Assyrian host
should go forth and gather the spoils of con.
quest, but even men crippled Of arm and
crippled Of foot should go out and capture
much that was valuable. Their physical
disadvantages should not hinder their great
enrichment. So it has been in the past, so it
isnow, SO 1t will be in the future. So it is in
all departments. Men labor under seemingly
great disadvantages and amid the most un-
favorable circumstances, yet making grand
achievements, getting great blessing for
themselves, great blessing for the world,
great blessing for the church, and so ''the
lame take the prey"
Do you know that the three great poets of
the world were totally blinds Homer, Os-
sian, John Milton. Do YOU know that Mr..
Prescott, who wrote that enchanting book,
'The Conquest of Mexico" never saw Mex
leo, could not even see the paper on which he
was writinga A framework across the sheet,
between which, up and down, went the pen
immortal. Do you know that Gambassio, the
sculptor, could not see the marble before him
or the chisel with which he cut it into shapes
bewitchings Do you know that Alexander
Pope, whose poems will last as long as the
| English language, was so mnch of an invalid
that he had to be sewed up every morning in
rough canvas in order to stand on his feet
| at all!
Do you know that Stuart, the celebrated
| painter, did much of his wonderful work
under the shadow of the dungeon, where he
had been unjustly imprisoned for debt! Do
| you know that Demosthenes, by almost
| superhuman exertion, first had to conquer
the lisp of his own speech before he con-
| quered assemblages with his eloquences Do
you know that Bacon struggled all
l. =. Il IL
Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott went
| limpng on club feet through all their life,
and that many of the great poets and paint
ers and orators and historians and heroes of
the world had something to keep them back,
and pull them down, and impede their way,
and cripple their physical or their intellectual
movement; and yet they that pushed on and
| worldly success, and amid the huZZa of
nations and centuries, the lame took the
prey"
You know that vast multitude of these
men started under the disadvantage of ob-
scure parentage, Columbus, the son of the
weaver. Ferguson, the astronomer, the son
of the shepherd. America, the prey of the
one; worlds on worlds the prey OF the other.
But what is true in secular directions is more
true in spiritual and religious directions, and
proceed to prove it.
There are in all communities many inva-
lids. They never know well day. They
adhere to their occupations, but they &c
painting along the streets with exhaustions
and at eventime they lie down on the lounge
have tried all prescriptions, they
have, gone through all the cures
which were proclaimed infallible,
and they have come now to surrender
to perpetual ailments. They consider they
are among many disadvantages; and when
l fhaxy hos ,s,lo 1,,Dy o,,t til Lnal
pass by they almost envy their robust
frames and easy respiration.
But | have noticed among that invalid
class those who have the greatest knowledge
of the Bible, who are in nearest intimacy
with Jesus Christ, who have the most glow.
ing. experiences OF the TRUTH who have
had the most remarkable answers tc
prayer, and who have most exhilar
ant anticipations of heaven. The tempta
tions which weary us who are il
robust health they have conquered. They
have divided among them the spoils Of the
conquest. Many who are alert and athletic
and swarthy loiter in the way. Thes,
bert Hall, an invalid; Edward Payson
an invalid; Richard Baxter an invalid
Samuel Rutherford an invalid This morn
ing, when you want to call to mind thos
who are most Christlike, you think of som,
darkened room in your fathers house from
which there went forth an influence potent
for eternity.
A step farther: Through raised letters tn
art Of printing has been brough to the at
tention of the blind
You take up the Bible for the blind, ant
you close your eyes, and you run your fin
gers over the raised letters, and you say
why, never could get any information il
this way. What slow, cumbrous way o
reading! God help the blind"
| uof And <l,ot al o
among the blind, the deaf and the dumb
the most thorough acquaintance with God
word. Shut out from all other sources o
Information, no sooner does their hand touc
the raised letter than they gather prayer
Without eyes, they look off upon the kingdom
Of Gods love. Without hearing they cate
the minstrelsy of the Skies Dumb, yet wit
pencil, or with irradiated countenance, the
declare the glory Of God.
A large audience assembled in New Yorl
at the anniversary of the Deaf and Dunn
asylum, and one of the visitors with chalk o
the blackboard wrote this question to tn
pupils: "Do you not find it very hard to
deaf and dumb2' And one of the pupils too
the chalk and wrote on the blackboard thi
sublime sentence in answer: "When the son
of the angels shall burst upon our enrap
ured ear, we will scarce regret that our ear
were never marred with earthly sounds
Oil the brightest eyes in heaven will b
those that never saw on earth. The eai
most alert in heaven will be those that j
this world heard neither voice of friend, no
thrum OF harp, nor carol of bird, nor doxo
ogy of congregations.
A lad who had been blind from infanc
was cured. The ocuist operated upon til
lad, and then put very heavy bandage owe
the eyes, and after few weeks had gone by
the bandage was removed, and the mothe
said to her child: "Wille, can you seen
coiA iC baay
contrast between the darkness before and til
brightness afterward was overwhelming
And tell you the glories of heaven will
thousandfold brighter for those who neve
saw anything on earth. While many wit
good vision closed their eyes at night, an
many who had good artistic and culture
ear went down into discord, these Athlete
ones cried unto the Lord in their troubl
and he made their sorrows their advantage
and SO "the lame took the prey.n
In the Seventh century there was legen
. of st. Modobert. 1t was said that his motht
was blind, and one day while looking at h
mother he felt SO sympathetic for her bin,
ness that he rushed forward and kissed hi
: blind eyes, and, the legend says, her visio
came Immediately. That was only legen
but it is truth, glorious truth, that XII
of Gods eternal love has brought to many
blind eye eternal illumination.
A step further: There are those in all cor
munltleS VINO tOlI m1gDully LOT u llVeilnOO
They have scant wages. Perhaps they a
diseased, or have physical infirmities, so the
are hindered from doing continuous day
work. A city missionary finds them up Il
dark alley with no fire, with thin clothing, wi
very coarse bread. They never ride in t
: street cars; they cannot afford the five cen
A They never see any pictures save those
the show windows on the street, from whi
= they are often jostled, and looked at by sol
!, one who seems to say in the look: "Move O
. what are you doing here looking at pictures
Yet many Of them live on mountains
TRANSPORTATION At their rough table
who fed the five thousand breaks the brea
. They talk often of the good times that a
coming. This world has no charm for thel
but heaven entrances their spirit. They oft
y divide their scant crust with some forlo
o wretch whoknocks at their door at night, Al
y on the blast of the night wind, as tine do
- opens to let them in, is heard the voice
= him who said: Il was hungry and We I
"a me-" No cohort of heaven will be too brig
d. to transport them. By Gods help tn ey ha
ID vanqulshed the Assyrian host They ha
ar divided among them the spoils. Lame. Ian
:. yet they took the prey
. was riding along the country road q
y day, and l saw a nan on crutches. oy
u took him. He was very old. He was goi
- very slowly. At that rate it wor
have taken him two hours to go
mile / said: "Wouldnt you like