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

I u.
tho hinges OF the unfastened store window,
the quiet OF the commercial warehouse seem
to say; This is the day the lord hath
made" Rest for the sewing woman, with
weary hands, and aching side, and sick heart
Rest for the overtasked workman In the
mine. or out on the wall, or in the sweter-
Ing factory, Hang up the plane, drop the
adze, slip the band from the wheel, put out
the fire. Rest for the body, for the mind,
and for the soul,
"Welcome, sweet day OF rest;
That saw the Lord arise,
Welcome to this revlvlng breast,
And these rejoicing eyes"
Again remark, we ought to have In the
Sabbath the Joy OF domestic reunion and
conservation. There are some very good pa
rents who have the faculty Of mailing tina
Sabbath great gloom, Their children run
up against the wall of parental lugnbrious-
ness on that day. They are sorry when Sun
day comes, and glad when II goes away.
| They think of everything bad on that day.
II is the worst day to them, really, in all the
week. There are persons whn because they
were brought up in Christian families where
there wero wrong notions about the Sab
bath, have gone out into dissipa-l
tion and will be lost. man said to me; ~
have perfect disgust for the Sabbath day.
never saw my father smile on Sunday. ~
was such dreadful day to me when was
boy, never got over il, and never wilL",
Those parents did not "call the Sabbath a
delight" they made it a gloom But there
are houses represented here this morning
where the children say through the week: ~
wonder when Sunday will comew They are
anxious to have it come ! hear their ho-
sauna in the house, hear their hosanna in
the school, God intended the Sabbath to be
especially day for the father The mother
| ID home all the week. Sabbath day comes
and God says to the father, who has been
busy from Monday morning to Saturday
night at the store, or away from home: "This
Is your day. See what you can do in this
little flock In preparing them for heaven.
This day l set apart for you" You know.
very well that there are many parents who
are mere suffers Of the household; they;
provide the food and raiment; once in a
while, perhaps, they hear the child read a
line or two in the new primer; or IL there be
a case OF especial discipline, and the mother
can not manage it, the child is brought up
| in the court,martial of the fathers discipline
and punished. That is all there is Of it. No
scrutiny of. that child's immortal interests,
no realization of the fact that the child will
| soon go out in a world where there are giganI
| tic and overwhelming temptations that have
| swamped millions. But in some households
| 1t is not that way; the home, beautiful on
ordinary days, is more beautiful now that
the Sabbath has dawned There is more
joy in the good morning" There is
more tenderness in the morning prayer.
The father looks at the child,
and the child looks at the
father. The little one dares now to ask
questions without any fear of being an.
swered: Don't bother mel must he of to
che store" Now the father looks at .he child.
and he sees not merely tho blue eyes, the
arched brow, the long lashes, the sweet lip
He sees In that child long line of earthly
destinies; he sees in that child an immeasur.
ably eternity. AS he touches that child he
says: III wonder what will be the destiny of
this little one2" And while this Christian
father is thinking and praying the sweet
promise flows through his soul: "Of such is
the kingdom of heaven" And he feels joy,
not like that which sounds in the dance, or is
waited from the froth of the wine cup, or
that which is like the Cracking of thorns
under pot" but the joy of domestic reunion
and conservation.
Have been picturirg something that is
merely fanciful, or is it possible for you and
and for me to have such home ss that? |
believe it is possible.
have a statistic that would like to give
you. A great many people, You know, say
there is nothing in the Christian discipline Of
a household IN New Hampshire there were
two neighborhoods one of six families,
tho other of five families The six families
disregarded the Sabbath In tme five of
these families were broken up by the separa
ton of husbands and wives the other by the
father becoming thief Eight or nine of
the parents became drunkards, one com.
mitted suicide, and all came to penury
OF some forty or fifty descendants
about twenty are known to be drunkards
and gamblers and dissolute. Four or five
have been in State prison. One fell in a
duel. Some are in the almshouse Only one
became Christian, and he after first having
been outrageously disspste1. The other five
families that regarded the Sabbath were all
Fr7stcrsd. Eight or ten of the children are
consistent members of the church. Some of
them became officers in the church; one is
minister OF the Gospel; one is missionary to
China. No poverty among any of them
The homestead is now in the hands of the
third generation. Those who have died have
died in the peace of the Gospel Oh, is there
nothing in a Household that remembers Gods
holy day? Can it be possibly that those who
disregard this holy commandment can be
hope of the life that is to come.
Again. we ought to have IN the Sabbath
the joy of Christian assemblage. Where are
all those people going on the Sabbath? GU |
see them moving up and down the street. Is
it a festal day, people might ask? Has
the people to come fortha No, they are wor
shippers Of God who are going to their places
Of religious service. In what delicate scale
shall weigh the Joy of Christian convoca
zion! 1t gives brightness to the eye, and
flush to the cheek, and pressure to the
Hduu, anu InTlIl W Iue uedTb LOU see tuo
aged man tottering along on his staff through
the aisle. You see the little child led by the
hand of its mother. You look around and
rejoice that this is Gods day, and this is tho
communion of saints. Zone Lord, one
faith, one baptism" Some familiar tune
rapture. We plunge into some old hymn.
and all our cares and anxieties are hathed
off The glorious Gospel transports us, the
Spirit descends Jesus appears, and we feel
the bounding, spreading, electric joy of
Christian convocation.
] look upon the Church of God as one vast
hosanna Joy dripping from the baptismal
font, joy glowing in the sacramenta cup,
joy warbling in the anthem. joy beating
against the gate Of heaven with hallelujah
like the voice of mighty thunderines
Beautiful for situation The joy of the
and the place where Christ reviews his
troops, bringing them out in companies and
regiments and battalions, riding along the
line. examining the battle-torn flags of past
combat. and cheering them on to future
victories. Oh, the joy Of Christian assem-
blage
l remark also, we are to have in this day
the JOY of eternal Sabbatsm. do not be-
lieve it possible for any Christian to spend
the Lords day here without thinking Of
heaven. There is something in the gathering
OF people In churth on earth to make one
think of the rapt assemblage of the skies.
There is something in the song of the Chris.
tan Church to make one think Of the song Of
the elders before the throne, the harpsts and
the trumpeters of God accompanying the
harmony. The light Of better Sabbath
gilds the top of this, and earth and heaven
come within speaking distance of each other,
the song Of triumph waving backward and
forward, now tossed up by the Church Of
earth, now sent back by the Church of
heaven.
"Dsy of all the week the best,
Emblem Of eternal rest"
The Christian man stands radiant in its
ugnt his DererJ neart reJolces NJ vuo
thought of country where there is neither
a coffin nor grave; his weary body glows at
the idea Of land where there are no bur-
dens to carry, and no exhaustive Journeys to
take. He eats the grapes o. Eshcol. He
stands upon the mountain top and looks off
upon the promised land He hears the call
Of the eternal towers. and the tramp of the
numberless multitude with sins forgiven.
This is the day which the Lord hath made
Let us rejoice and be glad in 1t. Oh, We who
have been hunting for Sunday pleasures in
the street and on the rivor opE nd in, tho |