The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-07-17


should ever get up alive; but no sooner
had they proved this than the dead
Christ arose, and the disciples beheld
him. heard his voice and ia
hila, and they took the with
to Prove that to be true whici
acres of the day had proved
possible; the record of the e ...
and Of the testimony is in g.
"IIim hath God raised from
whereof we are witnesses
Now, let NE play the skc
moment. "There is no God
skeptie, "for l have never o-.
with my physical eyesight. .a
bic is a pack of contradiction
never was Il miracle. Lazaru r.t
raised from the dead, and
was never turned into wine.
ligion is an imposition ON the ~,.tuli.g
of the ages" There is an ..5 IL 9
moving in that pew as though
like to respond. Here are hu h. -as Of
people with faces a little fl ID at
these announcements, and al -h1-.El
this throng there is suppress 'a..G'
which would like to speak g.. in tt-
half of the truth of our gloric 'a
tianity, as in the days of the 81 r
ing out, 1--WE are witnesses"
The fact is, that if this worl ,
brought to God it will not be through
argument, but through testimony. You
might cover the whole earth with apol-
ogies for Christianity, and learned
treatisos in defense of religion; you
would not convert a soul. Lectures on
the harmony between science and re-
ligion are beautiful mental discipline.
but have never saved soul and never
will save soul Put man of the world
and man of the church against each
other, and the man of the world will,
in all probability, get the triumph.
There are thousand things in our re-
ligion that seem H. .,ical to the world
and always will seem illogical
uIUMpHs OF THE GOSPEL.
Our weapon in this conflict is faith,
not logic; faith, not metaphysics; faith,
not profundity; faith, not scholastic
exploration. But then, in order to have
faith, we must have testimony, and if
five hundred men, or one thousand
men, or five hundred thousand men, or
five million men get up and tell me
that they have felt the religion of Jesus
Christ joy, comfort, help, an in
spiration, am bound as fair minded
man to accept their testimony. want
just now to put before you three propo-
sitions, the truth of which | think this
audience will attest with overwhelming
unaninity. The first proposition is,
We are witnesses that the religion OF
Christ is able to convert soul The
Gospel may have had hard time to
conquer us, we may have fought it
back, but we were yanquished You
say conversion is only an imaginary
thing. We know better I'VE are
witnesses There never was so great
change in our heart and life on any
subject as on this.
People laughed at the missionaries in
Madagascar because they preached ten
years without one convert, but there
are many thousands of converts in Mad
agascar today People laughed at DR.
Ju1son, the Baptist missionary, be
cause he kept on preaching in Burlnaf
five years without single convert. but
there are many thousands of Baptists
in Burlnah today. People laughed at
DR.. Morton in China for preaching
there seven years without single con
version, but there are many thousands
of Christians in China today People
laughed at the missionaries for preach
ing at Tahiti for fifteen years without a
single conversion, and at the missiona-
ries for preaching in Bengal seventeen
years without a single conversion, yet
in all those lands there are Duititudes
of Christians today.
But why go so far to find evidences
of the Gospels power to save soul
I'VE are witnesses. We were so proud
that no man could have humbled us
we were so hard that no earthly power
could have melted us. Angels of Goo
were all around about us; they could
not overcome us. But one day, per
haps at Methodist anxious seat, or a
a Presbyterian catechetical lecture, Of
at burial. or on horseback, powel
seized us, and made us get down, ant
made us trernble, and made us kneel
and made us cry for mercy, and W,
tried to wrench ourselves away from tht