The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1889-01-31

the Sabbath. You may think TO shirk re-
sponsibilty In the matter, and send your
child 10 the Sabbath. school and the house OF
God; that will not relieve the matter. I
want to tell you, In the name OF Christ, my
Maker and my Judge, that your example
will be more potential than any instruction
thoy get elsewhere; and II you disregard the
Lords day yourself, or in any wise throw
contempt upon II, You are blasting your
children with an infinite curse 10 Is a
rough truth, know, told In a rough way;
but 1t is Gods truth, nevertheless Your
child may go on to seventy or eighty years
of ago, but that child will never get over the
awful disadvantage OF having had Sab
bath breaking father or 4 misunderstanding
mother, II is the joy OF many OF us that we
ran look back to an early home where God
was honored, and when the Sabbath came IL
was day OF great conservation and joy,
We remember the old faces around the table
that Sabbath morning. Our hearts melt
when we think OF those blessed associations.
and we may have been Off and committed
many indiscretions and done many wrong
things; but the day will never come when
we forget the early home in which Gods day
was regarded, and father and mother told
us to keep holy the Sabbath
There is another way in which we can war
against the Sabbath-breaking usages OF the
country at this time, and that is by making
our houses Of worship attractive and the re.
ligious services inspiring, plead not for
gorgeous audience chamber; plead not for
groined rafters or magnificent fresco; but
do plead for comfortable churches, home-like
churches-places where the church-going
population behave as they ought to. Make
the church welcome TO all, however poorly
clad they may be- or whatever may have
heen their past history: for I think the
Jnurch OF uod is not so much made FOR you
who could have churches in your own house,
but for the vast population of our great
cities who are treading on toward death
with no voice of mercy to arrest them
Ali when the prodigal comes into
the church, do not stare at him as
though he had no right to come. Give
him the best seat you can find for him.
Sometimes man wakes up from his sin, and
he says: "rll go to the house of God" Per-
haps he comes from one motive, perhaps
from another. He finds the church dark
and the Christian people frigid land there
are no people on earth who can be more
frigid than Christian people when they try,
and the music is dull, and he never comes
again. Suppose one of these men enters
the church. As he comes in he hears song
which his mother sang when he was boy;
he remembers it, He sits down, and some
one hands him book, open at
"Jerusalem, my happy home,
Name ever dear to me-"
eyes," he says shave heard that many
timesn He sees cheerful Christian people
there, every mans face psalm of thanksgiv-
ing to God He says: "Do you have this so
every Sunday? have heard that the house
of God was do!eful place, and Christians
were lugubrious and repellingl lhave really
enjoyed myselfm The next Sabbath the man
is again in the same place, Tears OF re-
pentance start down his cheek; he begins to
w
spread he sits at it,and some one reaches over
and says: 81 am surprised to find you here.
thought you didn't believe in such things !"
"Ahi" he says, 81 have been captured.
came in one day, and found you were all SO
loving and cheerful here that l concluded
would come among you, Where thou goes5
/ will go: thy people shall be my people, and
thy God my God. Where thou diest will |
die, and there will be buried"
All. you can't drive men out of their sins,
but you can coax them out-you can charm
them out.
would TO God that we could all come to
higher appreciation of this Sabbath heri-
tage! We can not count the treasures Of
one Christian Sabbath 1t spreads out over
us the two wings of the archangel of mercy.
Oh, blessed Sabbath! blessed Sabbath They
scoff great deal about the old Puritanic
Sa Sbaths, and there is wonderful amount
of wit expended upon that subject now-the
Sabbaths they used to have in New England.
never lived in New England but / would
rather trust the old Puritanic Sabbath, with
all its faults, than this modern Sabbath,
which is fast becoming no Sabbath at all. If
our modern Sabhatism shall produce as stall
wart Christian character as the old New
Englan Puritanic Sabbatism, / shall be
satisfied, and shall be surprised.
Oh, blessed day. blessed day! l should
like to die some Sabbath morning when the
air is full of church music and the bells are
ringing. Leaving my home group with a
dying blessing, should like to look off upon
some Christian assemblage chanting the
praises of God as went up to join the one
hundred and forty and four thousand and
the thousands of thousands standing around
the throne of Jesus. Hark! hear the bell
of the old kirk on the hill side of heaven. 1t
Is wedding bell, for behold the Bridegroom
cometh. 1t is victor's bel, for we are more
than conquerors through Him who hath
owed us. 1t is a Sabbath-bell. for it calls
the nations Of earth and heaven to everIasr-
Ing repose.
..Oh when. thou city Of my God,
Shall thy courts ascend?
Where congregations ne'er break up,
And Sabbaths have no end"