The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1891-08-07

the cross, and we have to traverse tn
desert, ana we are pounded and dale,
Of misrepresentation and abuse, and W
have to urge our way through tel
thousand obstacles that have to b
slain by our own right arm. We hav
to ford the river, we have to climb til
mountain, we have to storm the castle
but, blessed be God, the day of res
and reward will come. ~
On the tiptop Of the captured battle
ments we will shout the victory; II no
In this world, then In that world wher,
there is no gall to drink, no burdens t.
carry, no battles to fight. How do
know it9 Know It'll know 1t becaus,
God says so. 'They shall hunger NJ
more, neither thirst any more, neither
shall the sun light on them, nor any
heat, for the Lamb which is in thu
midst of the throne shall lead them t.
living fountains of water, and God
shall wipe all tears from their eyes,"
NOAH AND THE scoFFERs.
1t was very hard for Noah to endure
the scofing of the people In his day
while he was trying to build the ark,
and was every morning quizzed about
his old boat that would never be of any
practical use; but when the deluge
came, and the tops of the mountains
disappeared like the backs of sea mon.
sters, and the elements, dashed up in
fury, clapped their hands over a
drowned world, then Noah In the ark
rejoiced in his own safety and in the
safety Of his family, and looked out on
the wreck OF a ruined earth.
Christ, bounded of prosecutors, de-
MED pillow, worse maltreated than
the thieves on either side of the cross,
human hate smacking its lips in salts
faction after it had been draining his
last drop of blood, the sheeted dead
bursting from the. sepulchers at his cru
cifixion. Tell me, O Gethsemane and
Golgotha! were there ever darker times
than those9 Like the booming of the
midnight sea against the rocks, the
surges of Christ's anguish beat against
the gates of eternity, to be echoed back
by all the thrones of heaven and all
the dungeons of hell.
But the day of reward comes for
Christ; all the pomp and dominion of
this world are to be hung on his throne,
uncrowned heads are to bow before
him on whose head are many crowns,
and all the celestial worship is to come
up at his feet, like the humming of the
forest, like the rushing of the waters,
like the laundering of the seas, while
all heaven. rising on their thrones, beat
time with their scepters: "Hallelujah,
for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth!
Hallelujah, the kingdoms of this world
have become the kingdoms of our Lord
Jesus Christi"
That song Of love, now low and far,
Ere long shall swell from star to star;
That light. the breaking day which tips
The golden spired Apocalypse.
Again, learn from my subject that
events which seem to be most insignif-
cant may be momentous. Can you i'm
agine anything more unimportant than
the coming Of q poor woman from Moab
to Judeaa Can you imagine anything
more trivial than the fact that this Rpth
just happened to alight-as they say
just happened to alight on that field Of
Boaz2 Yet all ages, all generations,
have an interest in the fact that she
was to become an ancestress of the Lord
Jesus Christ, and all nations and king
doms must look at that one little Incl
dent with thrill of unspeakable and
eternal satisfaction So it is in your
history and in mine: events that you
thought of no Importance at all have
been of very great moment. That
casual conversation, that accidental
did not think of it again
for long while; but how it changed
all the current of your life!
THE BEGINNING OF MINsTRELsY.
It seemed to be of no Importance
that Jubal invented rude instruments
of music, calling them harp and organ,
but they were the introduction of all
the worlds minstrelsy. And as you
hear the vibration of a stringed instru-
ment, even after the fingers have been
taken away from it, so all music now of
lutte and drum and cornet is only the long
continued strains of JubaPs harp and
Jubal's organ. 1t seemed to be mat
ter of very little Importance that Tubal
Cain learned the uses of copper and
iron, but that rude foundry of ancient
days has its echo in the rattle of Biz
machinery and the roar and
bang of factories on the Merrimac.
Again, see in my subject an illus
tration of the beauty Of female indus
try. Behold Ruth toiling in the har
vest field under the hot sun, or at noon
taking plain bread with the reapers or
eating the parched corn which Boaz
handed to her The customs of So
ciety, of course, have changed, and
without the hardships and exposure to
which Ruth was subjected every intel
ligent woman will find something to do. |
l., =