The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1892-08-19

tuo CoutuHcly anu sCoIi VI iiicH5 II no
had bantered them to come on, if he had
laughed them into derision, if he had de-
nounced them as the vagabonds that
they were, we could understand their
ferocity, but it was against inoffensive-
ness that they brandished their spears,
and shook their fists, and ground their
teeth, and howled and scoffed and jeered
and Knocked.
What evil had he done2 Whose eye.
sight had he put out? None; but he had
given vision to the blind. Whose child
had he slain? None; but he restored
the dead damsel to her mother. What
law had he brokenp None, but he had
inculcated obedience to government.
What foul plot had he enacted against
the happiness of the racer None; he
had come to save world. The only
cruelty he ever enacted was to heal the
sick. The only ostentation he ever dis
played was to sit with publicans and
sinners and wash the disciples feet.
The only selfishness he ever exhibited
was to give his life for his enemies.
And yet all the wrath of the world
surged against his holy heart. Hear
the redhot scorn of the world kissing
in the pools of Saviour's blood! And
standing there today let us see what an
unreasonable, loathsome, hateful, blast
ing, damning thing is the iniquity of
the human heart. Embossed, what will
not sin do? It will scale any height, it
will fathom the very depth Of hell, it
will revel in all lasciviousness. There
is no blasphemy 1t will not utter, there
are no cruelties on which 1t will not
gorge itself. 1t will wallow in filth, it
will breathe the air of charnelhouses of
corruption and call them aroma, it will
quaff the blood Of immortal souls and
call it nectar.
When sin murdered Christ on the
cross it showed what it would do with
the Lord God Almighty if it could get at
him. The prophet had declared think
1t was Jeremiah-had declared centuries
before the truth, but not until sin shot
out its forked tongue at the crucifx and
tossed its sting into the soul of a mar,
tyred Jesus was it illustrated, that "the
heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked"
OUR LOVE TOWARD CHRIST.
Again, cit beloved Christ to suffer-"
that our affections might be excited
Christward. Why, sirs, the behavior of
our Lord has stirred the affections of all
those who have ever heard of it. 1t has
hung the art galleries of the world with
such pictures as Ghirlandajo's "Wor-
ship of the Magi," Giotto's Baptism of
Christ" Holman Hunts "Christ in the
Temple" Tintoret's "Agony in the Gar
den," Angeles "Cruciixion," and it has
called out Handel's messiah" and rung
sweetest chimes in "Young's might
Thoughts and filled the psalmody of
the world with the penitential notes of
sorrow and the hosannas of Christian
triumph.
Show me any other king who has so
many subjects. What is the most po-
tent name today in the United States, in
France, in England, in Scotland, in Ire
land? Jesus. Other kings have had
many subjects, but where is the king
who has so many admiring subjects as
Christ? Show me regiment of thou
sand men in their army and will show
you battalion Of ten thousand men in
Christ's army.
Show me in history where one man
has given his property and his life fol-
any one else, and will show you in his
tory hundreds and thousands of men
who have cheerfully died that Christ
might reign. Aye, there are hundred
men in this house who, if need were,
would step out and die for Jesus. Their
faith may now seem to be faint, and
sometimes they may be inconsistent,
but let the fires of martyrdom be kin
died, throw them into the pit, cover
them with poisonous serpents, pound
them, fail them, crush them, and will
tell you what their last cry would be,
Come, Lord Jesus, come quicklyI"
Oh, yes! the Lord Jesus has won the
affections of many of us. There are
some of US who can say this morning,
"Lord Jesus, my light and my song; my
hope for time, my expectation for eter-
nifty" Altogether lovely thou art. My
soul is ravished with the vision. Thou
art mine. Come, let me clasp thee.
Come life, come death, come scorn and
pain, come whirlwind and darkness.
Lord Jesus, 1 cannot give thee up. l
have heard thy voice. have seen thy
bleeding side. Lord Jesus, If Ihad some
garland plucked from heavenly gardens
would wreathe it for thy brow. If l
had some gem worthy of the place l
would set in thy crown. If had seraphic
harp l would strike it in thy praise
But come lost and ruined and undone
to throw myself at thy feet.
No price bring;
Simply to thy cross cling.
Thou knowest all things. Thou know
est that / love thee.
| But remark again, at beloved
Christ to suffer-" that the world might
learn how to suffer. Sometimes people
suffer because they cannot help them
| selves, but Christ had in his hands all
the weapons to punish his enemies, and
| yet in quiescence he endured all out
rage. He might have hurled the rocks
of Golgotha upon his pursuers; he might
| udNC Cl3lt VIZ COL VI lihlil liC DIV w Ch
| up his assailants; he might have called
| In reinforcement or taken any thunder
bolt from the armory of God Omnipo-
| tent and hurled it seething and fiery
among his foes, but he answered not
again.
Oh, my nearer! has there ever been in
the historyof the world such an exam
! pie of enduring patience as we find in
the cross? Some of you suffer physical
1istresses, some of you have lifelong
ailments and they make you fretful
Sometimes you think that God has
! given you cup too deep and too brim.
ming. Sometimes you see the world
laughing and romping on the highways
of life, and you look out of the window
while seated in invalid's chair.
PATIENT SUFFERING OF CHRISTIAN LOVE
want to show you this morning one
who had worse pains in the head thar
you have ever had, whose back was
scourged, who was wounded i'll tllt
hands and wounded in the feet, and suf
fered all over; and / want that example
e