The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-01-16

the throne and put them ON the caravan.
Start now; no time TO be lost. Goad ON the
eamels, When SEQ that caravan, dust COW
cred, weary and exhausted, trudging on
across the desert and among the bandits
until il reaches Jerusalem, | say; There Is
an earnest seeker after the truth"
But there are great many who do not act
In that way, They all want 10 get the
truth, but they want the truth TO come to
them; they do not want 10 go TO II, There
are people who fold their arms and say; II
am ready TO become a Christian at any time;
II am TO be saved ! shall be saved and II
am to be lost shall be lost" But Jerusalem
salem, The religion OF the Lord Jesus Christ
will not come to you; you must go and get
religion. Bring out the camels; put on all
the sweet spices, all the treasures of the
hearts affection. Start for the throne, Go
in and hear tho waters of salvation dashing
in fountains all around about the throne.
Sit down at the banquet-the wine pressed
from the grapes of the heavenly Eshcol, the
angels OF God the cup bearers Goad on the
camels. The Bible declares il: ''rhe
Queen OF the southn-that is, this
very woman l am speaking of-"the
Queen of the south shall rise up
in Judgment against this generation and con-
denim il; for she came from the uttermost
parts of the earth TO hear the wisdom Of
Solomon; and. beholdi greater than Sol.
ONION is here" What mfatuation the sitting
down in idleness expecting to be saved.
"Strive TO enter in at the strait gate.
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and We
shall find; knock, and it shall be opened TO
youh Take the Kingdom of Heaven by vio-
lence. Urge on the camelsl
Again, my subject impresses mo with the
fact that religion Is surprise to any one
that gets it. This story of tho now religion
H.. T.. - ,.IA, %
nor, who was a type OF Christ-that story
rolled on and ON, and was told by every trav-
eler coming back from Jerusalem. The news
goes on the wing of every ship and with
every caravan, and you know story en-
larges as it is retold, and by tho time that
story gets down into the southern part OF
Arabia Felix and the Queen Of Sheba hears
it, it must be tremendous story. And yet
this Queen declares in regard TO it, although
she had heard so much and had her antci-
pations raised so high, the half-the half was
not told her.
So religion is always surprise to any one
that gets it, The story of grace-an old story.
Apostles preached it with rattle OF chain;
martyrs declared it with arm of fire; DEATH
beds have affirmed it with visions OF glory,
and ministers of religion have sounded 1T
through the lanes and the highways, and
the chapeis, and the cathedrals. 1t has been
cut into stone with chisel, and spread on the
canvas with pencil; and it has been recited
in the doxology of great congregations. And
yet when man first comes to look on the
palace of Gods mercy, and TO see the royalty
of Christ, and the wealth Of this banquet, and
the uxuriance of His attendants, and the
loveliness of His face, and the joy of His SER
vice, he exclaims with prayers with tears,
with signs, with triumphs: ''rhe half-the
half was not told mew
/ appeal to those VINO are Christians. Com
pare the idea you had OF the joy Of the
Christian life before you became Christian
with the appreciation of that joy you have
now since you have become Christian, and
you are willing TO attest before angels and men
that you never, in the days of your spiritual
bondage, had any appreciation of what was
10 come. You are ready to-day to answer
and say in regard to the discoveries you
have made Of the mercy and the grace and
the goodness of God: "1he half-the half
was not told mep
Well, we hear great deal about the good
time that is coming TO this world when it is
to be girded with salvation Holiness on the
bells of the horses The lions name patted
by the hand of a babe. Ships of Tarshish
bringing cargoes for Jesus, and the hard,
dry, barren, winter bleached, storm SCARED,
thunder split rock breaking into floods of
bright water. Deserts into which dromeda-
ries thrust their nostrils, because they were
afraid of the simoon-deserts blooming into
carnation roses and silver tipped lilies.
1t is the old story. Everybody tells it,
Isaiah told it, John told it, Paul told it,
Ezekiel told it, Luthor told it, Calvin told it,
John Milton told it--everybody tells it; and
yet-and vet when the midnight shall fly the
hills, and Christ shall marshal His great army,
and China dashipg her idols into the dust,
shall hear the voice Of God and wheel into
line; and India destroying her Juggernaut
!, aI,il1rau
the Ganges, shall hear the voice of God
and wheel into line; and vine covered
Italy, and wheat crowned Russia and all the
nations Of the earth shall hear the voice of
God and fall into line; then the Church,
which has been toiling and struggling through
the centuries, robed and garlaned like bride
adorned for her husband, shall Put aside her
veil and look up into the face Of her Lord the
King and say: 1.-THE half-the half was NOT
told met!
weI there ig corning greater surprise to
every Christian-a greater surprise than
anything have depicted. Heaven is an old
story. Everybody talks about it, There is
hardly hymn in the hymn book that does
not refer to it, Children read about ii
put on their spectacles to study it,
We say it is hurbor from the
Storm We call it homo. Wc say ii
is the houss of mary mansions. We
weave together al sweet, beautiful, delicate
exhilarant words we weave them into let
tiers, and then we spell it out in rose and lily
and amaranth. And yet that place is going
to be surprise to the most intelligent Chris
tian Like the Queen of Sheba, the report
has come to us from tho far country, and
many Of us have started. 1t lisa desert march
but VIC urge on the camels. What though
our feet be blistered with the way? We ar
fastening to the palace. Wo take all oul
loves and hopes and Caristian ambitions
as frankincense and myrrh and cassia, to tn;
great King. We must not rest. We mus
not halt. The night is coming on, and it il
not safe out here in the desert. Urge on thu
camels see the domes against the sky
and the houses of Lebanon and Tue temple
and the gardens. See the fountains dance il
the sun and the gates flash as they open t.
let in the poor pilgrims.
Send the word up to the palace that W.
are coming and that we are weary of TIN
march of the desert. The King will come on
and say: 'Welcome to the palace; bath
in these waters; recine on these banks
Take this cinnamon and frankincense ant
myrrh and put it upon ceuser and sxins
it before the altar" And yet. my friends
when heaven bursts upon us it will b.
greater surprise than that-Jesus OF
the throne, and we made like Him! All oul
Christian friends surrounding us in glory
All our sorrows and tears and sins gone b,
forever The thousands of thousands tn
one hundred and forty and four thousand
the great multitudes that no man can mum
Der, will cry, world without end: 'The hal
the half was not told me!'