Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1888-06-06

The subject of the eloquent Doctors dis
course was: sDisabled Hunters bringing
Down the Most Game" His text was from
Isaiah, chapter 33, verse 23-s'The lame take
the prey" Following is the sermon:
The utter demolition of the Assyrian host
was here predicted. Not only robust men
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 valua BILE. Their physical
disadvantages should not hinder their great
enrichment. So it has been in the past, 81
it is now, SO it will be in the future. So il
is in all departments. Men labor undel
seemingly great disadvantages, and annie
the most unfavorable circumstances, ye
making grand achievements, getting grea
blessings for themselves, great blessings fol
the world, great blessings for the church
and SO "the lame take the prey"
| Do you know that the three great poets
of the world were totally blind? Homer
Ossiap, John Milton. Do you know tina
Mr.. Prescott, who wrote that enchanting
book. ''The Conquest of Mexico" never
saw Mexico, could not see the paper or
which he was writing? A framework
across the sheet, between which up and
down, went the pen immortal. Do you
know that Gambassio, the sculptor, coulc
not see the marble before him, or the chise
with which he cut it into shapes bewitch
| ing? Do you know that Alexander Pope
whose poems will last as long as the Eng.
| lish language, was SO much 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 ht
| had been unjustly imprisoned for debt? ? Dt
YOU know that Demosthenes by almost su
perhnman exertion first had to conquer tht
the lisp of his own speech before he con
quered assemblages with his eloquence
| Do YOU know that Bacon struggled al
through innumerable sicknesses, and tina
Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott wen
limping on clubfoot through all their life
and that many of the great poets and pain
ters and orators and historians and heroe
of the world had something to keep then
back, and pull them down, and impede thei
way, and cripple their physical or their in
teliectual movement, and yet that the.
pushed on and pushed up until they reach
ed the spoils of worldly success, and amiC
the huzza of nations and centuries, 9Th
lame took the prey?"
You know that vast multitude of thes
men started under the disadvantage of oh
scure parentage. Columbus the son of tn
weaver. Ferguson, the astronomer, th
son of the shepherd. America the prey o
the one; worlds on worlds the prey of tn
other But what is true in secular direc
tions is more true in spiritual and religion
directions, and 1 proceed to prove it.
There are in all communities many inva
lids. They never know a we'll day. The
adhere to their occupations, but they g
painting along the streets with exhaustions
and at eventime they lie down on the loung
with achings beyond all medicament. The
have tried all prescriptions, they have gon
through all the cures which were proclaim
ed infallible, and they have come now t
surrender to perpetual ailments. They cor
slider they are among many disadvantages
and when they see those who are buoyan
in health pass by, they almost envy thei
robust frames and easy respiration.
But have noticed among that invali
| class those who have the greatest knowl
edge of the Bible, who are in nearest int
macy with Jesus Christ, who have the mos
glowing experiences of the truth, who hav
had the most remarkable answers to pray
err. and who have most exhilarant anticip;
tions of heaven. The temptations whic
weary us who are in robust health they hav
CONQUERED. They have divided anon
them the spoils of the conquest. Many VIII
are alert and athletic and swarthy loiter
the way. These are the lame that take th
prey Robert Hail an invalid, Edward Pa!
son an invalid, Richard Baxter an invalit
Samuel Rutherford an invalid. This morl
ing. when you want to call to mind thos
who are most Christianlike, you think {
some dsrkened room in your fathers hous
from which there went forth an influent
potent for eternity.
A step further: Through raised lettel
the art of printing has been brought to tt
attention of the blind.
You take up the Bible for the blind, an
!, YOU close your eyes, and you run your fiji
gers oversthe raised letters, and you sa.
1sWhy, never could get any information
this way. What slow, lumbrous way
reading God help the blind"