The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1891-06-19

shineG II takes all my time TO absorb
what has been revealed, so that havo
no time to upturn and root out and
drag forth what has not been revealed
The most OF tn effort to solve mys-
teries and explore the aexpIicabla and
harmonic things Is an attempt to help
the Lord out Of theolo ;ical difficulties.
Good enough intention, my brother, no
doubt; but the Lord is not anxious to
have you help him. He will keep his
throne without your assistance, Don't
be afraid that the Bible will fall apart
from Inconsistencies It hung together
many centuries before you were born,
and your funeral sermon will be
preached from text taken from its
undisturbed authenticity.
CHRIST COMES WHEN WE MAKE READY.
Do you know that | think that if all
ministers in all denominations would
stop this nonsense of ecclesiastical strife
and take hold the word of God, the
only question with each of us being
how many souls we can bring to Christ,
and in how short a time, the Lord
would soon appear for the salvation Of
all nations9 When the young queen
of England visited Scotland many
years ago great preparations were made
for her reception. The vessel in which
she sailed was far out at sea, but every
hill in Scotland was illumined with
bontires and torches The night was
set on fire with artificial illumination.
The queen, standing on ships deck,
knew from that that Scotland was full
of heartiest welcome, and the thunder
OF the great guns at Glasgow and Edin.
burgh castle woke up all the echoes,
Boom they sounded out over the sea.
Booml they sounded up among the
hills. Do you know that think that
our King would land if we were only
ready to receive him2 Why not call to
him from all our churches, from all our
hospitals, from all our honest Why
not all at once light all the torches of
Gospel invitatfon2 Why not ring all
the bells of welcomed Why not light
light up the long night of the worlds
sin aud suffering with bonfres of vic
tory9 Why not unlimber all the Cos
pei batteries, and let them boom across
the earth, and boom into the parting
heavens2 The King is ready to land
if we are ready to receive him.
Why cannot we who are now living
see his DESCENT Must it all be post
poned to after ages9 Has not our poor
world groaned long enough in mortal
agonies2 Have there not been martyrs
enough, and have not the lakes of tears
and the rivers of blood been deep
enough? Why cannot the final glory
roll in MOVE Why cannot this dying
century feel the incoming tides Of the
oceans of heavenly mercy9 Must our
eyes close in death and our ears take
on the deafness Of the tomb, and these
hearts beat their last throb before the
day comes in9 D Christ Why tar
riest thou9 Wilt thou not, before we
go the way of all the earth, let us see
thy scared feet under some MONDAY
cloud coming this way9 Before we die
let us behold thy hands that were
spiked spread out in benediction for a
lost race. And why not let us with
our mortal ears hear that voice which
spoke peace as thou didst go up speak
pardon and emancipation and love and
holiness and joy to all nations as thou
contest down?
But the skies do not part. hear no
fuIibling OF chariot wheels coming
down over the sapphire. There is no
swoop of wings see no flash of an
gelic appearances. All is still hear
nothing but the tramp of my own heart
as | pause between these utterances
The King does not land because the
world is not ready and the church is
not ready. To clear the way for the
Lords coming let us devote all our en-
ergies of body, mind and soul. A Rus
sian general, riding over the battlefield,
his horse treading amid the dying and
dead, wounded soldier asked him for
water, but the officer did not under
stand his language, and knew not what
the poor fellow wanted. Then the
soldier cried out, "Christosl" and that
word meant sympathy and help, and
the Russian officer dismounted and put
to the lips of the sufferer a cooling
draught
Be that the charmed word with
which we go forth to do our whole duty
In many languages it has only little
difference of termination. Christosl 1t
stands for sympathy. 1t stands for
help 1t stands for pardon. 1t stands
for hope. 1t stands for heaven.
Christos In that name we were bap-
TIED In that name we took our first
sacrament. That will be the battle
shout that will win the whole world for
God Christos! Put it on our ban
ners when we march! Put it on our
lips when we die Put it in the funeral
psalm at our obsequiesl Put it on the
plain slab over our gravel Christos!
Blessed be his glorious name foreverl