The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1893-05-19

in, roll up, thou mlllennlal harinonyl
THE MEANNEss OF REVENGE.
See also In my subject q rejected OPP
portunity of revenge. Why did not
David pick up Saul's javelin and hurl 1t
back againG David had skillful arm.
He demonstrated on another occasion he
could WELD sling, and he could have
easily picked up that javelin, aimed it
at Saul, the would be assassin, and left
the foaming and demented monster as
lifeless under the javelin as he had left
Goliath under sling. Oh, David, now
is your chance. No, no. Men and women
with power of tongue or pen or hand to
reply to an imbittered antagonist, bet.
ter initiate David and let the javelin lo
at your feet and keep the harp in YOU
hand. Do not strike back. Do not play
the game of tit for tat.
Gibbon, in his history, tells of Bajazet,
the great Moslem general who was
brought captive to the tent of Timur,
He had attempted the massacre of Timur
and his men. Timur said to him: Had
you vanquished us lam not ignorant Of
the fate which you reserved for myself
and my troops, but disdain to retaliate.
You life and honor are secure, and shall
express my gratitude to God by my Glenn
ency to man." Beautiful.
Revenge on Christians tongue or pen
or hand is inapt and more damage to
the one who employs it than the one
against whom it is employed. Whati-4a
javelin hurled at you and fallen at your
feet, and you not hurl 1t back again?
Yes. have tried the plan. Learned
it from my father and have practiced it
all my life, and it works well, and by
the help of God and javelins not picked
up have conquered all my foes and
preached funeral sermons in honor of
most Of them.
The best thing you can do with jave-
lin hurled at you is to let it lie where it
dropped or hang it up in your museum
hs curiosity. The deepest wound made
by javelin is not by the sharp edge, but
at the dull end of the handle to him who
wields it. leave it to you to say which
got the best of that fight in the palace
Saul or David.
See also in my subject that the fact
that a man sometimes lodges is not
against his courage. My text says that
when Saul assailed him, David avoided
out Of his presence twice"-that is, when
the javelin was flung, he stepped out Of
its direction or bent this way or that-in
other words, he lodged. But all those
who have read the life of David know
that he was not lacking in prowess.
David had faults, but cowardice was not
one of them.
When David, who was, ! guess, about
Al feet high, went out to meet the giant,
who was, guess, about 10 feet high, II
was big undertaking, and the inequali.
ties of the struggle were so great that II
struck the giants idea Of the ludicrous,
and he suggested to the little fellow that
he would make fine dinner for a buz.
| card or a jackal-"Com to me, and ]
will give thy flesh unto the fowls Of the
| lir and to the beasts of the field"
| COURAGE OF THE RIGHTEOUS.
When David went out to meet that
| giant and conquered him, he demon.
strated, as he did on other occasions. his
courage. But am SO glad that when Saul
flung that javelin David dodg | it, OF
the chief work of his life would never
have been done. What lesson this is
to those who go into useless danger and
expose their lives or their regulations OF
their usefulness unnecessarily. When
duty demands, go ahead, though all earth
/ arl l111 hodfra In,
from the right position. But when moth
ing is involved step back or step aside.
Why stand in the way Of perils that
you can avoid? Go not into quixotic
battles to fight windmills. You will be
of more use to the world and the church
as an active Christian man than as q tar
get for javelins. There are Christian
always in fight II they go into
churches, they fight there. IF they 6
into presbyteries or conferences or consc
Citations, they fight there. My advice t
you Is, If anything is to be gained 70
God or the truth, stand out Of the wa
Of the javelins. Samuel xviii, II, "Ds
vid avoided out of his presence twice"
| Washington was as mighty in his II
treats as In his advances. His arm
would several times have been destroye
If he had not lodged. He lodged O
Long Island; he lodged on New Jerse
heights. Lincoln on his way to inaugr
ration at Washington was waited for b
assassins, but he took another train an
lodged the desperadoes. We have hig
example Of the fact that sometimes
man will serve God best by disappear
ing from this or that place, this or tha
environment.
A mob brought Christ to the top {
the rocks back Of Nazareth. They di
not like his preaching, and they propose
to hurl him down the precipice. BIZ
while they were getting ready for til
massacre Christ darted into the crow
and amid the confusion escaped to Ct
pernaum and continued exercising de,
lis and cooling fevers and filing fish ne
and giving healthy circulation Of bloc
to paralysis and curing dementia an
turning corpses into living men an
women and doing his chief work.
II What good thing he lodged *
crowd on the rocks back Of Nazaretl
Likewise at Jerusalem one day, while
!; was sauntering up and down in Sol
mons porch waiting for an opportunit
, to say kind words or do useful dee
, the people proposed to pay him for h
self sacrifices by stoning him to deaf
but the record is, HE escaped out
. their hands,"
CAUSELESs HATRED.
See also in my subject the unreaso
able attitude of javelin toward har
, What had that harp in David's har
, done to the javelin in Sauls handr HI
: the vibrating strings of the one hurt Il
, keen edge of the other? Was there {
t old grudge between the two families
{ sweet sound and sharp cut? Had the II
/ angle ever insulted the polished shat
/ Why the deadly aim Of the destroyil
8 weapon against the instrument of SCOT
: ing, calming, healing sounds
| Well, will answer that if you w
, tell me why the hostility Of SO many
D the gospel, why the virulent attac
l against Christian religion, why the ang
] antipathy of SO many to the most genis
Il - l.