The Brookhaven leader., 1890-12-18

VI Jno WOElu IOr governments 70 dtlOW
such things as the modern massacre Of
Damascus For such murderous attacks
on Christian missionaries and Christian
disciples, the Gospel is not so appro-
pirate as bullets or sabers sharp and
heavy enough to cut though with one
stroke from crown Of head to saddle.
But what most stirs my soul is neither
chariot, nor caravan, nor bazar, nor
palace, but a blind man passing along
the street. small of stature and insig-
nificant Of personal appearance. Oh,
yes, we have seen him before. 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 dis
tance out of the city, and he got up
blind. Yes, 1t is Saul of Tarsus now
going along this street called Straight.
He is led by his friends, for he can not
see his hand before his face. unto
the house of Judas; not Judas tho
bad, but Judas the good. In another
part of this city one Ananias-not Ana
Mas the liar, but Ananias the Christian
is told by the Lord togo to this house
of Judas on Straight street and put
his hands on the blind eyes of Saul,
shat his sight mightreturn. 'Oh," said
Ananias, 81 do not go; that Saul is o
terrible fellow. He kills Christians,
and he will kill me-" Go" said the
Lord. and Ananias went There sits in
blindness that tremendous prosecutor.
He was & great nature crushed. He had
started for the city of Damascus for
| h. - 81 ~.
Christs followers, but since that
fall from his horse he has entirely
changed. Ananias steps up to the sight
less 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 as Jesus
that appeared unto thee in the way as
thou camest has sent me that thou
mayst receive thy sight and be filled
with the Holy Ghost" Instantly some
thing like scales fell from the blind
mans eyes, and he arose from that
seat the mightiest evangel of all
the ages a Sir William Hamilton for
metaphysical analysis, a John Mil
ton for sublimity of thought, White
1
Howard for widespread philanthrophy,
but more than all Of them put together
inspired, thunderbolted, multipotent.
apostolic Did Judas, the kind host of
the blind man, or Ananias the visitor,
see scales drop from the sightless eyes?
| think not. But Paul knew they had
fallen, and 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.
AChristian woman, missionary among
most degraded tribe, whose religion
was never to wash or improve personal
appearance, 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
and when the barbaric woman.
passing through the hall, saw
herself in the mirror for the
| first time. she exclaimed: "Can 1t be
possible look like that?" and, appalled,
at her own appearance, she renounced
her old religion and asked to be in
| 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 wo
see ourselves as we really are. until
Divine grace transforms US.
There are many people in this house
to-day as blind as Paul was before
Ananias touched his eyes. And there
are many here from whose eyes the
scales have already fallen. You see all
subjects and all things differently-God
and Christ, and eternity, and your own
immortal spirit. Sometimes the scales
do not all fall at once. When was a
boy, at Mount Pleasant, one Sunday
afternoon. reading 'Doddridge's Rise
and Progress of Religion in the
Soul" that afternoon some of
the scales fell from my eyes and I
saw little. After had been in the
ministry about a year, one Sunday aft
ernoon, in the village parsonage, read
ing the Bible story of the Syro-
Phenician's faith, other scales fell from
my eyes and l saw better. Two Sunday
evenings ago, while preparing for the
evening service in New York, i picked
up book that l did not remember to
have seen before, and after had read a
page about reconsecration to God I
think the remaining scales fell from my
eyes. Shall not our visit to Damascus
to-day result, like Paul's visit, in vision
to the blind, and increased vision for
those who saw somewhat before?
l Twas reading of a painters child who
became blind in infancy. But after
the child was nearly grown, surgeon
removed the blindness. When told
that this could be done, the child's
chief thought, her mother being dead.
was she would be able to see her father.
who had watched over her with great
tenderness. When sight came she was
in raptures, and ran her hands over her
fathers face, and shut her eyes as 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 we'll as
in reality, she cried out: Just to think
that had this father so many years
and never knew himT As great and
greater is the souls joyful surprise
when the scales fall from the eyes and
the long spiritual darkness Is ended,
and we look up into our Fathers face