The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1893-12-21
JESUS WILL SAVE Us ALL
THE LAME TAKE THE PREY.
Or. Tsimage preaches q Sermon Of Hope
q u Consolation.

The utter demolition OF the Assyrian host
was here predicted. Not only robust men
should go forth and gather the spoils OF con-
quest, but even men crippled OF arm and
crippled OF foot should go out and capture
much that was valuable. Their physical dis
advantages should not hinder their great en-
richment. So II has been In the past so il
l. now so IL will be in the future. No II is
in all departments. Men laboring under
seemingly great disadvantages and amid the
most unfavorable circumstances. yet making
grand achievements, getting great blessing
Tor themselves, great blessing for the world,
great blessing for the church, and so the
lame tate the prey"
Do you know that the three great poets OF
the world were totally blind-Homcr, o.
sian. John Milton2 Do you know that Mr..
Prescott, who wrote that enchanting book,
THE Conquest Of Mexico" never saw
which he was writing2 A framework across
the sheet, between which, up and down,
went the pen immortal. Do YOU know that
Gambassio, the sculptor could not see the
marble before him or the chisel with which
he cut II into shapes bewtchingp Do YOU
know that Alexander Pope whose poems
Will last as long rs the English language,
was so much of an invalid that he had to be
sewed up every morning in rough canvas IN
order TO stand on his feet at all?
Do you know that Stuart. the celebrated
painter, did much OF his wonderful work un-
der the shadow OF the dungeon where he had
been unjustly imprisoned for debt? Do YOU
know that Demosthenes. By almost superhu-
man exertion, first had TO conquer the lisp
OF his own speech before he conquered as-
semblages with his cloquence' Do YOU know
that Bacon struggled all through innumer-
able sicknesses and that Lord Byron and Sir
Walter Scott went limping on clubfoot
through all their life, and that many OF the
great poets and painters and orators and his
torians and heroes OF the world had some
In kaal anI all fl.....
down, and impede their way. and cripple
their physical or their intellectual move
ment, and yet that they pushed on and
pushed up until they reached the spoils Of
worldly success and amid the huzza of
Nations and centuries "the lame took the
prey"
You know that q vast multitude OF these
men started under the disadvantage OF OBJ
scure parentage--C Columbus the son Of tho
weaver Ferguson, the astronomer. the son
OF the shepherd. America the prey OF the
one worlds on worlds the prey OF the other
But what Is true in secular directions Is more
true in spiritual and religious directions and
Iproceed TO prove IL.
There are in all communities many inva-
lids. They never know well day. They
adhere 10 their occupations, but they go
painting along the streets with exhaustions.
and at eventmc they lie down on the lounge
with achings beyond all medicaments. They
have tried all prescriptions, they have gone
through all the cures which were proclaimed
infalltble. and they have now come TO sur
render 10 perpetual ailments. They con-
slider they are among many disadvantages :;
and when they see those who are buoyant In
health pass by, they almost envy their robust
frames and easy respiration.
But have noticed among that invalid
class those who have the greatest knowledge
Of the Bible who are in nearest intimacy
with Jesus Christ, who have the most glow
ing experiences of the truth, who have had
the most remarkable answers TO prayer, and
who have most exhilarant anticipations OF
heaven. The temptations which weary us
who are in robust health they have con-
n, quered.
swarthy lolter in the way--'the lame take
the prey" Robert Hall an invalid, Edward
Payson un invalid Richard Baxter an inva-
lid, Samuel Rutherford an invalid. This
morning when you want to call to mind
those who are most Christ-like, YOU think of
some darkened room in your fathers house
from which there went forth an influence
potent for eternity.
step farther Through raised letters the
art Of printing has been brought to the atten-
tion of the blind.
You take up the Bible for the blind, and
you close your eyes, and you run your fingers
over the raised letters and you say why,
L never could get any information in ihls
way. What a slow, lumbrous way OF read
ing God help the blind '
And yet lind among that class OF persons,
among the blind, the deaf and the dumb, the
most thorough acquaintance with Gods
word. Shut out from all other sources OF
information; no sooner does their hand touch
the raised letters than they gather "A prayer.
Without eyes, they look of upon the king
doms of Gods love. Without hearing, they
catch the ministrelsy of the skies. Dumb,
yet with pencil, or with irradiated counte-
nance, they declare the glory OF God.
A large audience assembled I'm Npr York
at the anniversary of the Deaf and Dumb
Asylum, and one of the visitors with chalk
on the blackboard wrote this question to the
pupils "Do you not find 1t very hard TO be
deaf and dumb?' And one Of the pupils
took the chalk and wrote on the blackboard
this sublime sentence in answer "When the
song Of the angels shall burst upon our en-
raptured ear, we will scarce regret that our
ears Were never marred with earthly sounds. "
Oh, the brightest eyes In hasTcn will be
those that never saw on earth. The ears
most alert in heaven will be those that in
this world heard neither voice of friend nor
thrum Of harp, nor carol of bird nor doXo!-
ogy of congregations.
A lad who had been blind from infancy
was cured. The oculist operated upon the
lad and then put very heavy bandage over
the eyes. and after few weeks had gone by
the bandage was removed and the mother
said 10 her child; "Willie. can you seeP'
He said ''Oh, mamma. is this heaven
The contrast between the darkness before and
the brightness afterward was overwhelming.
And tell you the glorles OF heaven will be u
thousandfold brighter for those who never
saw anything on earth. While many with
good vision closed their eyes in eternal night,
and many who had a good, artistic and cul-
tured ear went down into eternal discord,
these afflicted ones cried unto the Lord in
their trouble. and he made their sorrows
their advantage, and so ''the lame took the
prey"
In the seventh century there was n le.
gend OF 81. Modobert. II was said that his
mother was blind, and one day while look
ing at his mother he felt so sympathetic for
her blindness that he rushed forward and
kissed her blind eyes, and the legend says
her vision came Immediately. That was
only "a legend, but 1t ia a truth, n glorlus
truth, that the kiss OF Gods eternal love has
brought TO many blind eye eternal ilumi-
nation.
step farther; There are those in all COM
81 all fnr