Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1890-12-19

There comes a warrior on his way 10 the bar
racks, carrying that kind Of sword which
the world has forgotten how 10 make, q
Damascus blade which the interlAcings OF
color changing at every new turn Of the
light, many colors coming and going and in
terjoinIng, the blade 30 keen IL could cut in
twain an object without making the lower
psrto the object tremble, with an elasticity
that could not be broken, though YOU brought
the point OF the sword clear back 10 the
hilt and having q vatercd appearance
which made the blade seem as though lust
dipped in a clear fountain, q triumph Of cut
lery which q thousand modern foundryTnen
and chemists have attempted in vain 70 imi-
tate. On the side Of this street dAmasks,
named after this city, figures Of animals and
fruits and Landscapes here beirg first wrought
into alk-damasks. And specimens Of dar
maskeening by which in this city steel aud
iron were first graved, aud then the groves
filled with wire OF gold-dama skesning. But
stand back or be run over. for here are at the
gates Of the city laden caravans from Aleppo
in one direction, and from Jerusalem in an
other direction and caravans OF all nations
paying toll to the supremacy. Great is Da-
msscusl
But what most stirs nv soul is neither
chariot nor caravan nor bazaar nor palace,
but blind man passing along the street,
small OF stature and Insignificant in personal
appearance. Oh, yes; We have seen him be-
fore. He was one Of that cavalcade coming
from Jerusalem to Damascus to kill Chris
tians and we saw him and his horse tumble
up there on the road some distance out OF the
city, and he got up blind. Yes IL Is Saul OF
Tarsus now gong along this street called
Straight. he is led by his friends for he
cannot see his hand before his face. unto tn
house Of Judas; not Judas the bad but JUDAS
the good. In another part OF this city one
Ananias not Ananias the liar, but
Ananias the Christian, is told by
the Lord to 90 to this house
OF Judas on Straight street and put his hands
on the blind eyes OF Saul that his sight might
return. ''0h, said Ananias, ~ dare not go;
that Saul is terrible fellow. He kills
Christians and he will kill me-" go" said
the Lord, and Anauias went. There sits In
blindness that tremendous prosecutor. He
was great nature crushed. He had started
for the city Of Damascus for the one purpose OF
assassinating Christ's followers, but since
that fall from his horse he has entirely
changed. Ananias steps up to the sightless
man, puts his right thumb on one eye and
the left thumb on the other eye, and in an
outburst Of sympathy and love and faith
says: Brother Saul! Brother SAUL the
Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in
the way as thou earnest, has sent
me that thou mayst receive thy sight and
be filed with the Holy Ghost" Instantly
something like scales fell from the blind
mans eyes and he arose from that seat the
mightiest evangel Of all the ages, Sir Will
lam Hamilton for metaphys ical analysis, .
John Milton for sublimity OF thought
Whitefeld for popular eloquence, a John
Howard for widespread philanthropy. but
moro than all of them put together inspired,
thunderbolted, multipoteut, apostolic. Did
Judas, the kind host of this blind man, or
thA utattA Ioa Irnf
the sightless eyest I think not. But Paul
knew they had fallen, aud that is all that
happens to any OF US when We are converted.
The binding scales drop from our eyes and
we see things differently.
A Christian woman, missionary among a
most degraded tribe, whose religion was
never to wash or improve personal appear
ance was trying to persuade one OF those
heather women not only OF need Of change
of heart but change Of habits, which would
result In change Of appearance but the effort
failed until the missionary had placed in her
own hallway a looking glass, and when tho
barbaric woman passing through the hall
saw herself in the mirror for the first time,
she exclaimed, Can it be possible look like
that" and appalled, at her own appearance
she renounced her old religion and asked to
be instructed in the Christian religion. And
so we feel that we are all right In our sinful
and unchanged condition until the scales fall
from our eyes and in the looking glass Of
Gods word we see ourselves as we really are
until divine grace Transforms us.
There are many people In this house to-day
IS blind as Paul was before Auanias touched
his eyes. And there are many here from
whose eyes the scales have already fallen.
You see all subjects and all things different
ly--God and Christ and eternity, aud your
| own immortal spirit. Sometimes the scales
10 not all fall at once. When was boy,
at Mount Pleasant, one Sunday afternoon
reading bod ridges Rise ami Progress OF
Religion in the Soul" that afternoon some
OF the scales fell from my eyes and saw a
! little After had been in the ministry about
year. one Sunday afternoon in the village
parsonage reading the Bible story Of the Syro-
| Phenician's faith other scales fell from
my eyes AMI | saw better. Two Sunday
| evenings ago, while preparing for the even.
ing service in New York, pickle .up q
book chat did not remember TO have seen
before, and after | ha read a page about
reconse Grafton to Goi l think the remain.
ing scales fell from my eyes. Shall not
our visit to Damascus to-day result, like
Pauls visit, in vision to the blind aud in>
creased vision for those who saw somewhat
before?
was res ling OF painters child who be.
came blind In infancy, But after the child
was nearly grown a surgeon removed the
blindness. When told that this could be done,
the child's thought, her mother being dead,
was she would be able to see her father, who
had watched over her with great tenderness.
When night came she was in raptures and
ran her hsnis over her fathers fnce and
shut her eyes rs il to assure herself that this
was really the father whom she had only
known by touch, and now looking upon
him, noble man as he was in appearance as
wei. as In reality, she cried out. Just to
think that had this father 30 many years
and never knew him" As great and greater
is the souls joyful surprise when the scales
fall from the eyes aud the long sp ritual
darkness is ended, and we look up into our
Fathers face always radiant and loving, but
now for the first revealed, and our blindness
forever gone, we cry, abba Father"
To each one OF this vast multitude OF
auditors l say as Ansniss did to Saul OF
TarSas when his sympathetic fingers touched
the closed eyeids "Brother Saul Brother
Saull The Lord even Jesus that appeared
unto thee In the way that thou camest hath
sent me that thou highest receive thy siglt
and be Allied with tue Holy GhoJtr