St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1889-03-21


Jewish altar attract souls weary on
the wing and painting in their eXhaus-
ton, and the cross with its burden
of winning glory be no attraction
to imperiled souls? Not so. Myr-
lads upon myriads of souls have fled
to this mountain of defence. They
have found the secret place of the
Most High, they have entered it,
they have made it their home. They
fear no evil for their enemies with
draw from them accounting their
security a stone of stumbling and
rock of offence.
They tell us of a bird in Peru to
which, on account of its melancholy
cry, the natives have given the sig
nifcant name of Alma Pcrdita, the
lost soul, and Paul Pastnor has ia
vored us with the following version
of its pathetic song:
when DER the fair Peruvian vale
The shades of evening hover,
And f1ocks are gathered in the dale.
And shepherd cares are over,
Harkl from the gloomy wooded height
A birds voice fills the dreamy night
Complaining with its mournful dole
Seek, seek-Oh seek-a lost, lost soul!
The stars shine out amid the sky,
The focks have ceased their bleating'
And all Is silence, save that cry
Repeating and repeating
Its doleful cadence of despair
Upon the soft responsive air.
oh listen J like church bells toll
Seek, seek-Oh seek-a lost, lost soul'
The soul of man wandering from
his place is an Alma Perd1ta, and III
the consciousness of his lost cOndi-
ton his agonizing cry for help is
heard in his idol-wOrship, in his pill
grimages, in his self-inflictiOns. AS
from the deck of q wrecked vessel go
ing down among the breakers, there
goes up from the bosom of humanity
a volume of agonizing prayer smlt-
ing the sweet heavens for divine in
tervention and relief-the prayer
none the less effective because it is an
inarticuIate wall What is the re-
spouse? Let me not tell you, ans
wer for me and say: The Son of God
on the cross. You are correct, such
was the response, and coming on the
cross to seek and to save that which
was lost. Come unto me, all We
weary, baffled souls, faltering, flut-
tering and breatEless on the wing
come We SparrOWS, come we swallows,
build your houses and your nests in
you rest" Now by q spectacle SO
marvellous, by an invitation SO cor
dial, souls without number have been
focking to this crimson and radiant
centre of life. That spirit whose first
and only visible presentation OF HIM
self to us was i'll the form of a bird
the dove-in our Lords baptism, is
himself out abroad among men wan
dering as birds; persuading, striving
with, warning them, nor does he Ia
Dor in vain for men are coming won
by the entreaties of the dove, III null
titudeS like doves to their windows.
They build houses and find nests for
themselves in the altar of the cross.
| The retreat is so secret, the place is
so secure, that the black angel and
birds of prey pass them by, there are
| none to modest or make them afraid.
You have seen hOney-bees swarm
ing in the garden upon q shrub or
| the branch of q tree? Thus do hu-
man souls find the cross the centre of
attraction Cannot some of you re-
member to have seen your father,
wears gone bv-aS | remember to have
seen mine-gO to such q limb, laden
with its SOnOrOuS burden, and care
! fully sever it from the tree and then
carry it away and lay it down by the
side of the hive and thus to decoy
them within it? In your father car
rying that limb heavy with its living
| burden, | have before me a symbol of
what our Redcemer is accomplishing.
Differ as much as his followers may
in many particulars, they are all one
in singing Simply to thy cross |
cling" Like the Psalmist they all
build their nests in it. 1t matters not
are there. Gathering through all time
from all lands, the one hundred and
| forty and four thousand find there
| the place of their rest; and we can
see the Redeemer taking the cross
with all it's burden of souls and bear
ing it away with him through the
skies by the way of the stars and the
paths of light into heaven. That in
finite father who loves birds nests
and who legislated for their protec-
ton, gives to his people thus trans
ported an everlasting security within
the rocky ramparts of his own Eter-
nal Home And now let me conclude
by a natural inference: If you can
not 90 out in the fields in summer
and find a birds nest without an
emotion of delight, neither can the
angels behold human souls rearing
their houses and building their nests
in the altar of the cross and resting
there where they are hid with Christ
in God, without an emotion of de
II II
such an act there is JOY in heaven
over one sinner that repenteth and
finds there his retreat.
1t was almost a year ago that the
members of this church were gathered
together in a service preparatory to
the communion when they heard at
their gates a noise, which gave to
some of us, as we recall it, sense OF
wings. They opened the gates and
to their delight, there stood with her
mother our deceased friend. She had
been i'll of a cruel fever, but was SC
far recovered and in blooming health
as to give promise of long and use
full life. In brief but well chosen
words she told JUS how she had been
out on the wing, but wearied and
faltering, had found her resting-place
in the cross, and she asked the priv
lege of making her VOWS public in the
hearing of all her friends by coming
with us to our altar of communion
We babe her welcome and on the first
Sabbath in March, 1888. she came
To her it was a memorable Sabbath
on its own account, but was made
more so by being her last in the sane
tuary Her first communion with
the Lords people on earth was hel
final one That disease which comes
In It's veluet SINNERS with cnnSu1nn