The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1888-04-26

The hahit srows, Yon siart sitb 4 arisii


The habit grows You start with a small
oath, you will come to the large oath. Isaw
man die with an oath between his teeth.
Voltaire only gradually came 10 his trenen-
dous imprecatons; but the habit grew on him
until in the last moment, supposing Christ
stood at the bed, he exclaimed: "Crush that
wretch. Crush that wretch!" Oh, my
brother, you begin te swear and there is
nothing impossible for YOU In the wfofg di-
rection,
Who is this God whose name you are
using in swearingl Who is hea Is he a
tyranti Has he starved you, frozen you,
tyrannizsd over youi Nd. He has loved
you, he has sheltered you, he watched YOU
last night, he will watch you tonight. He
wants to love you, wants to help you, wants
to save you, wants to comfort you. He was
your fathers God and your mothers God.
He has housed them from the blast, and he
want; TO shelter you. VIII you spit in his
face by. an ihtprecatiofi VIII ybu ever
thrust him back by an oathi
Who is this Jesus whose name I heard IN
the imprecation Has he pursued you all
your life long What vie thing has he done
to you that you should so dishonor his name /!
Why, he was the Lamb whose blood sim
idered iii the fires of sacrifice for you. He is
the brother that took off his crown that you
might put it on. He has pursued you all
y
to love him, wants you to serve him He
comes with streaming eyes and broken heart
and blistered feet to save you. On the craft
OF our doomed humanity he pushed out into
the sea to take you off the wreck.
Where is tho hand that will ever be lifted
in imprecation again! Let that hand, now
blood tipped, be lifted that may see it. Not
one. Where is the voice that will ever be
uttered in dishonoring the name of that
Christi Let it speak now Not one. Not
one. Oh, am glad to know that all these
vices of the community, and these crimes of
our city will be gone. Society is going to ho
bettered. The word by the power of Christ's
gospel is going to be saved, and this crime,
this iniquity and all the other iniquities will
vanish before the rising of the sun of right
couSriess upon the nation.
There was one day in New England nemor.
able for storm and darkness. l hardly ever
saw such an evening. The clouds which had
been gathering all day unlimbered their bat
teries. The Housatonic, which flows quietly,
save as the paddles of pleasure parties rattle
the oar locks, was lashed into foam, and
the waves hardly knew where to lay them
selves,
OH what time it vast The hills Jared
under the rumbling of Gods chariot Blind
ing sheets of rain drove the cate to the
bars, or beat against the window pane as
though to dash it in. The grain fields threw
their crowns of gold at the feet of the storm
king When night came in it was double
night. Its mantle was torn with the light
nings, and into its locks were twisted the
leaves of uprooled oaks and the shreds of
canvass torn from the masts of the beached
shipping. 1t was such night as makes you
thank God for shelter, and open the door to
let in the spaniel bowling outside with terror.
We went to sleep under the full blast of
heavens great orchestra, the forests with up
lifted voices. in chorus that filled the noun
tains praising the Lord. We woke not until
Che fingers of the sunny morn touched our
eyelids. We looked out the window and the
Housatonic slept as quiet as an infants
dream. Pillars of cloud set against the sky
looked liked the castles of the blest built for
heavenly hierarchs on the beach of the azure
sea- All the trees sparkled as though there
had been Some great grief in heaven, and
each leaf had been God appointed to catch an
angels tear. 1t seemed as if our Father had
looked upon the earth, His wayward child
and stopped to her tear-wet check and kissed
nNill ttsedarkness of sin and acrims
leave our world before the dawn of the morn,
ing. The light shall gild the city spire and
strike the forests Of Maine and the masts OF
Mobile, and all between. And one end rest
ing on the Atlantic coast and the other rest
ing on the Pacific beach, God will spring a
great rainbow arch of peace. in token of
everlasting covenant CnaC Cn6 WOrlQ SnaH
never more see a deluge of crime.
But" says some one, preaching against
the evils of society will accomplish nothing.
Do you not see that the evils go right ons"
answer, we are not at all discouraged.
1t seemed Insignificant for Moses to stretch
his hand over the Red sea. What power
could that have over the waters! But the
east wind blew all night the waters gath
cred into two glittering palisades on either
side The bil,ows reared as Gods hand
pulled back upon their crystal bits. Wheel
into line, oh Israel! March! March! Pearls
mounting the beach answers the shout OF
hosts mid sea, until, as the last line of the
Israelites have gained the beach, the shield
clang and the cymbals clep, and os the wa
ters whelm the pursuing toe the swift fin
gered winds on the VIII te keys ff the foam
play the grand march of Israel delivered
ard the awful diree of Egyptian overthrow
So we go forth, and stresch ont the Rand oi
prayer and Christian effort over these dark
boiling waters of crime and sin. AHA
Aha" says the deriding world. But wait
The winds of divine help will begin to blow
the way will clear for the great army OF
Christian philanthropists; the glitterins
treasures of the worlds beneficence will line
the path of our feet; and to the other shore
we will be greeted with the clash of all
heavens cYmbals: while those who resist
and deride and pursue us will fall under the
sea, and there will be nothing left of them
but here and there, cast high and dry upon
the beach, the splintered wheel of chariot,
and, thrust out from the surf, the breathless
nostril of riderless charger.