News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1890-01-23

hosheba, the daughter of King Joram, sister
of Ahaziah, took JOash, the son of AhaZlah,
and stole him from among the kings sons
which were slain, and they hid him, even
him and his nurse, in the bedcham5er from
Athaiah, SO that he was not slain. And he
was with her hid in the house of the Lord
six yearS."-II. Kings, XII, ,, 3. DR.. Tat
mage said:
Grandmothers are more lenient with their
children's children than they were with the II
own. At 40 years of age, il discipline be
necessary. chastisement is used, but at 10, the
grandmother, looking upon the misbehayloT
of the grandchild, is apologetic, and disposed
to substitute confectionery for whip. There
Is nothing more beautiful titan this mellow
ing Of old age toward childhood. But here,
in my text, we have grandmother of Z
different hue.
| have within few days been at Jerusa-
lem, where the occurrence of the text took
place, and the whole scene came wildly be-
fore me while [ was going over the site of
the ancient temple and climbing the towers
of the kings palace. Here in the text it is
old Athaliah, the queenly murderess. She
ought to have been honorable. Her father
was king. Her husband was q king. Her
son was king. And yet we find her plot
ting for the determination of the entire royal
family, including her own grandchildren.
But while the ivory floors of the palace run
with carnage, and the whole land is under
the shadow of great horror, fleet-footed
woman, a clergyman's wife, Jehosheba by
name, stealthily approaches the imperial
nursery, sieZes upon the grandchild that had
somehow as yet escaped massacre, wraps it
up tenderly but II haste, flies down the pal
ace stairs, her heart in her throat lest she be
discovered in this Christian abduction. With
this youthful prize she presses into the room
of the ancient temple, the Church of Olden
Time, unwraps the VI ung king and puts him
down, sound asleep as he is, and unconscious
of the peril that has been threatened; and
there for six years he is secreted in that
church apartment.
But the six years expire, and 1t IS now
time for young Joash to come forth and take
the throne, and to push back into disgrace
and death old Athaiiah. Now JOash, hall
affrighted at the armed tramp of his defend
ers, scared at the vociferation of his adj
mirers, is brought forth in full regalia. The
scroll of authority is put in his hands, the
coronet of government is put on his brow,
and the people clapped, and waved, and huz-
Zaed, and trumpeted. Then the queenly
murderess, frantic with rage, grabbed he1
mantle and tore it to tatters, and cried unit
she foamed at the mouth: ''You have nc
right to crown my grandson. You have nc
right to take the government from my shout
ders. Treason! TreasOnP' While she stood
there crying that, the military started for heI
arrest, and she took a short cut through a
back door of the temple, and ran through the
tary fell on her in the barn yard.
The first thought hand you from this sub
ject is that the eXterminaion of righteousness
is an impossibity. Superstition rises up and
says: 81 will just put an end to pure rellg-
ion." Domitian slew 10000 Christians, Do
cletian slew $4,000 Christians. And the
scythe of persecution has been swung
through all the ages, but did the foes OF
Christianity exterminate it? Did they eX-
terminate A ban, the first British sacri-
flee; or Quinglins, the Swiss reformer; or
John OIdcastle, the Christian nobleman; OF
Abdallah, the Arabian martyr; or Anne
Askew, or Sanders, or Cranmer? Great
work of determination they made of it!
Just at the time when they thought they had
slain all the royal family of Jesus some Joash
would spring up and out, and take the throne
of power, and WELD very sceptre of Chris
tian dominion.
How many individual and organized at
tempts have been made to eXterminate the
Bible They have eXterminated until, in
stead of one or two copies of the Bible in
our houses, we have eight or ten, and we
pile them up in the corners of our Sabbath
school rooms, and send great boxes of them
everywhere. If they get on as well as they
are now going on in the work of eXtermin.
alton, / do not know but that our children
may live to see the millennium! You cannot
eXterminate Christianity. You cannot Kill
Joash.
The second thought I hand you from my
subject is that there are opportunities in
which we may save royal life. You know
that profane history if repIete with stories Of
stra gled monarchs and of young princes
who have been put out of The way. Here il
the story of a young king saved. How Je-
hosheba, the elergyman's wife, must have
trenhled as she rushed into the imperial
nursery and snatched up Joash. How she
hushed him, lest by his cry be hinder the
escape.
1t seems as if between that young king and
his assassins there is nothing but the frai
arm of a woman. But why should we spend
our time in prasing this bravery of eXpedi-
ton when God asks the same thing of you
and me? All around us are the imperilled
children of great king. They are born OF
almighty parentage, and will come to throne
or crown, If permitted. But sin, the old
Athaliah, goes forth to the massacre. Muir
derous temptations are out for the assassina-
ton.
This afternoon, in your Sabbath school
class, there will be prince of God-some
one who may yet reign as king forever before
the throne; there will be some one in your
class who has corrupt physical Inheritance
there will be some one in your class who has
father and mother who do not know how
to pray; there will be some one in your class
who is destined to command in church or
state-some Cromwell to dissolve parlia-
ment, some Beethoven to touch the worlds
harpstrings, some John Howard to pour
fresh air into the lazaretto, some Florence
Nightingale to bandage the battle wounds,
some Miss Dix to soothe the crazed brain,
some John Frederick Oberlin to educate the
besotted some David Brainard to change The
Indians war whoop to a Sabbath song, some
John Wesley to marshal three-fourths of
Christendom, some John Knox to make
queens turn pale, some Joash to demOlish
idolatry and strike for the kingdom of
heaven.
There are sleeping in your cradles by night,
there are PLAYING ia your nurseries by day,
imperial souls waiting for dominion, and
whichever side the cradle they get out will
decide the destiny of empires. For each one
of those children sin and holiness contend
Athaliah on the one side and Jehosheba on
the other. But | hear people say! whats
the use of bothering children with religious
instruction? Let them grow up and choose
for themselves. Don't interfere with their
vOlition." Suppose some one had said to
Jehosheba: Don't inserfere with that young
Joash. Let him grow up and decide whether
he likes the pa ace or not, whether he wants
to be king or not. Don't disturb his volt
ton" Jehosheba knew right well that I'M
less that day the young king was rescued, he
would never be rescued at all.
tell YOU, my friends, the reason we don't
reclaim all our children from worldtiness is
because we begin too late. Parents wait until
their children lie before they teach them the
children swear before they teach them the
importance of righteous conversation. They
wait until their children are all wrapped up
in this world before they tell them of better
world. You put all care upon your children
between 10 and H. Why do Won not put the
chief care between and 8? 1t is too late to
repair a vessel when it has got out of the dry
docks.
The third thought hand to you from my
text is that the church of God is good hid
ing place. When Jehosheba rushes into the
nursery OF the king and picks up Joash what
shall she do with him? She hears the cry OF
the mob in the streets she hears the shriei
of the dying nobility; so she rushes witt
Joash unto the room of the temple, into the
house of God, and then she puts him down
She knows that Athaliah and her wicked as.
sassins will not bother the temple great
deal; they are not apt to go very much tC
church, and so she sets down ,JOash to the
temple. There he will be hearing the SONGS
or the Worshlppers year after wear: there he
viii breathe the odor of the golden oensers
IN that sacred spot he will tarry, secreted
until the six years have passed. and he come
to enforcement. Would to God that we
were as wise as Jehosheba, and knew that
the church OF God is the best hiding place,
" men OF the world outside there BETRAYED
carlcatured and cheated of the world, why dc
you not come in through the broad, wide
open door of Christian c0mmunionY I wist
| could act the part of Jehosheba TODAY. and
steal you away from your perils and hide vou
IN the temple, How few of us appreciate tht
fact that the church of God is hiding place
Ihere are MANY people who put the church
az so low mark that they begrudge it every.
thing even the few dollars they give toward
It: They make no sacrifices. They dole Q
little out of their surplusage, They pay theil
butchers bill, and they pay their doctor:
Dill, and they pay their landlord, and they
pay everybody but the Lord, and they come
In at the last TO pay the Lord in his church