Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1890-12-13

A Christian woman missionary among
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 hange of habits, which would
result in change of appearance but the effort
failed until the missionary had placed in her
own hallway looking glass, and when the
barbaric womin passing through the hall
saw herself in the mirror for the first time,
she exclaimed, Can it be possible l look like
thatsn and appalled, at her own appearance
she renouncel 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 sca.es 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 reople in this house to-day
as blind as Psul was before Ananias touched
his eyes Aud there are many here from
whose eyes the scales have already fallen.
You see all subjects and things different
ly--Csod and Christ and eternity, and your
own immortal spirit. Sometimes the scales
do not all fall at once When | was boy,
at Mount Pleasant one Sunday afternoon
reading d ID lrid ge's Rise AM Progress of
Religion IN the Soul that afternoon some
OF the scales fell from my eyes and l saw
little. After | had baen i'll the ministry about
year. one Sunday afternoon in the village
parso1i age reading the Bible story of the Syro-
Phenicans faith other scales fell from
nv eyes an | saw bstter. Two Sunday
evenings ago, while preparing for the even
iny service in New York pckel up
book that did not remember to have seen
before and after | hal read a page about
reconsecrato,' to God | think the remain
ing scales fell from my eyes. Saal not
our visit TO Damascus to-day result, like
Paul's visit in vision TO the blind and IN
creas cd vision for those who saw somewhat
before?
l was reading of pa nters child who be.
came blind in infancy. But after the child
was near.y 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 sue was in raptures, and
ran her hands over her fathers face, and
shut her eyes as if 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
well as in reality, she cried out just to
think that had this father so many years
and never knew him!' As great and greater
is tue souls joyful surprise when the scales
fall from the eyes and the long sp ritual
darkness is ended aid 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 Fatherm
To each one Of this vast multitude OF
auditors I say as Ananas did to Saul OF
Tarsas when his sympathetic fingers touched
the closed eyelids' Brother SAUL Brother
Saul The Lord even Jesus that appeared
unto thee in tue way ti;at tAiou earnest, hath
sent me that thou H1ignteSt receive thy sight
and be filed with tue Holy GhostV