The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1890-12-11


world has forgotten how to make-a
Damascus blade, with the interlacings
of color changing at every new turn Of
the light many colors coming and go
ing and interjoining, the blade so keen
it could cut in twain an object without
making the lower part of the object
tremble, with an elasticity that
could not be broken, though you
brought the point of the sword clear
back to the hilt, and having watered
appearance which made the blade seem
as though just dipped in clear foun
tain, triumph OF cutlery which thou
sand modern foundlymen and chemists
have attempted in vain to initiate. On
the side of this street damasks, named
after this city, figures OF animals and
fruits and landscapes here being first
wrought into silk-damasks, and spec
linens of damaskeening, by which in
this city steel and iron we're first graved
and then the groves filed with wire Of
Notwithstanding, 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 another direction, and caravans Of
all nations, paying toll to this suprsn,
acy. Great is Damascus
BLIND MAN.
But what most stirs my soul is
neither chariot nor caravan nor ba-
zar nor palace, but blind man pass
ing along the street, small of stature
and insignificant in personal appear
ance. Oh, yes, we have seen him be
fore. He was one of that cavalcade
coming from Jerusalem to Damascus
to kill Christians 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, it is Saul of Tarsus
now going along this street called
Straight He is led by his friends, for
he cannot see his hand before his face,
unto the house of Judas-not Judas
the bad, but Judas the good In an
other part of the city one Ananias-not
Ananias the liar, but Ananias the
Christians told by the Lord to go to
this house Of Judas on Straight street
and put his hands on the blind eyes of
Saul that his sight might return. oh. !"
said Ananias, Il dare not go; that Saul
is terrible fellow. He kills Christians
and he will kill me-" Co." said the
Lord, and Ananias went.
There sits in blindness that tremen
dous prosecutor. He was great nature
crushed. He had started for the city
of Damascus for the one purpose of as
fascinating Christ's followers, but since
that fall from his horse he has entirely
changed. Ananias steps up to the
sightless man, puts his Light thumb on
one eye and the left thumb on the
other eye, and in an outburst of sym
pathy and love and faith said: broth
er 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 William
Hamilton for metaphysical analysis, q
John Milton for sublimity of thought, 6
Whitefeld for popular eloquence, g
John Howard for widespread philan
thropy, but more than all of them put
together inspired, thunderbolted, mul
tipotent, apostolic. Did Judas, the
kind host Of this blind man, or Ana
Mas, the visitor, see scales drop from the
sightless eyesl think not But Pau
knew they had fallen, and that is al
that happens to any of us when we ar
converted. The binding scales drol
from our eyes and we see things differ
entity.
A Christian woman, missionar,
among most degraded tribe, who's,
religion was never to wash or improv,
personal appearance, was trying tx
persuade one of those heather womer
not only of need Of change of heart
but change of habits, which would re
suit in change of appearance; but tn,
effort failed until the missionary hat
placed in her own hallway a looking
glass, and when the barbaric woman
passing through the hall, saw hersel
in the mirror for the first time, sh,
exclaimed, Can it be possible | lool
like thatg' and appalled, at her owl
appearance she renounced her old re
ligion and asked to be instructed in tn
| Christian religion. And 30 we feel tina
we are all right in our sinful and un
changed condition until the scale
| fall from our eyes, and in the looking
glass of Gods word we see ourselve
as we really are until divine grac
transforms u.s.
MAY THE SCALES FALL FROM ALL EYES
There are many people in this hous.
today as blind as Paul was before An
anias touched his eyes, And there ar
many here from whose eyes the scale
have already fallen. You see all sub
jects and all things Differentiated,
and Christ and eternity, and your owl
immortal spirit. Sometimes the scale
do not all fall at once. When was
boy at Mount Pleasant, one Sunda
afternoon reading "Doddrige's Rise an,
Progress of Religion in the Soul" tina
afternoon some of the scales fell fron
my eyes and / saw little. After l ha,
been in the ministry about year, on
Sunday afternoon in the village PAL
sonage reading the Bible story OF tn
Syro-P henician's faith, other scales fel
from my eyes and saw better.
Two Sunday evenings ago, while pre-
pairing for the evening service in Ne,
York, picked up book that di
not remember to have seen before, an
after had read page about reconse
Grafton to God | think the remainin
scales fell from my eyes. Shall not GU
visit to Damascus today result, lik
- - Al