The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-03-09

rah, travelling IN the greatness of his
strength
FIGHTING FOR SALVATION,
We behold here new revelation of
blessed and startling fact. People talk
of Christ as though he were going to do
something grand for us after awhile He
has done it, People talk as though 10 or
20 years from now, in the closing hours
of our life or in some terrible pass of life,
Jesus will help us. He has done the work
already. He did it / 1851 years ago. You
might rs well talk of Washington rs
though he were going to achieve our ma
tional independence in 1850 as to speak
of Christ as though he were going to
achieve our salvation in the future. lie
did it in the year of our Lord 33-1,S6l
years ago-on the field of Bozrah, thee cap
tain of our salvation fighting unto death
for your and my emancipation.
All we have to do is to accept that
fact in our hearts, and we are free for
this world, and we are free for the world
to come. But, lest we might not ac-
cept Christ comes through here today
travelling in the greatness of his
strength" not to tell you that he IS So
ing to fight for you some battle in tie
future, but to tell you that the battle is
already fought and the victory already
won.
You have noticed that when soldiers
come home from the wars they carry on
their flags the names Of the battlefells
where they were distinguished. The
Englishman coming back has on his BAN
ner Inkerman and Balaklava; the
Frenchman, Jena and Eylau; the Ger
man, Versailles and Sedan. And Christ
has on the banner he carries as conquer
or the names of 10000 battlefields he won
for you and for me. He rides past all
our homes of bereavement-by the door
bell swathed in sorrow, by the wardrobe
black with woe, by the dismantled for
tress of our strength.
Come out and greet him today, o We
people! See the names Of all the battle
passes on his flag. Ye who are poor, read
on this ensign the story of Christs hard
crusts and piliowless head. Ye who are
prosecuted, read here of the ruffians who
chased him from his first breath to his
last Mighty to soothe your troubles,
mighty to balk your calamities. mighty
to tread down your foes, travelling in
the greatness of his strength" Though
his horse be brown with the dust of the
march, and the fetlocks be wet with The
carnage, and the bit be red with Tie
blood Of Your spiritual foes, he comes
up now, not exhausted from the battle,
but fresh as wien lie went into it-com-
ing up from Eozrah, travelling in the
greatness Of his strength"
THE GREAT CoNQUERoR.
You know that when Augustus and
Constantine and Trajan and Titus came
back from the wars what time there
was. You know they came on horse
back or in chariots, and there were tro
phies before, and there were captives be-
hind, and there were people shouting on
all sides, and there were garlands flung
from the window, and over the highway
triumphal arch was sprung. Thesolid
masonry today at Bcnevento, Rimini
aud Rome still tell their admiration for
those heroes. And shall we let our con-
queror go without lifting any acclaim?
Have we not flowers red enough to de-
pict the carnage, white enough to celc-
brate the victory, fragrant enough TO
breathe the joy?
Those men of whom just spoke drag
ged their victims at the chariot wheels,
but Christ, our Lord, takes those who
once were captives and invites them I'M
his chariot to ride, while he puts around
them the arm of strength, saying. Il
have loved thee with an everlasting love.
and the waters shall not drown it. and
the fires shall not burn it, and eternity
shall not exhaust it."
If this be true, cannot see how any
man can carry his sorrowsa great while.
If this conqueror from Bozrah is going
to beat back all yo1r griefs, why not
trust him? Oh, do you not feel under
this gospel your griefs falling back and
your tears drying up as you hear the
tramp Of thousand illustrious promises
led on by the conqueror from Bozrah,
''traveling, travelling in the greatness Of
his strength
On that Friday which the Episcopal
church rightly celebrates, calling it
Good Friday" your soul and mine were
,ontended for. On that day Jesus proved
himself mightier than earth and hell,
and when the lances struck him he gath
cred them up into a sheaf as reaper
gathers the grain. and he stacked them.
Mounting the horse of the Apocalypse,
he rode down through the ages travel
ing in the greatness of his strength" On
that day your sin and mine persisted, if
we will only believe it.
THE lord OF BUSINESS
There may be some one here who may
say: Il don't like the color of this con-
queror's garments. You tell me that his
garments We're not only spattered with
the blood of conflict but also they were
soaked that they We're saturated; that
they were dyed in it." admit it. You
say you do not like that. Then l quote
to you two passages of Scripture: With
out the shedding of blood there is no
remission" In the blood is the atone
ment." But it was not your blood. 1t
was his own. Not only enough to redden
his garments and to redden his horse, but
enough to wash away the sins of the
world. Oh, the blood on his brow, the
blood on his hands, the blood on his feet,
| the blood on his side! 1t seems as if en-
/ artery must have been cut.
There is fountain filed with blood
Drawn from Imnanuel's veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that food
( Lose all their guilty stains.
At o'clock tomorrow afternoon 60
among the places of business or toll. 1t
will be no difficult thing for you to find
men who by their looks show you that
they are overworked. They are prema-
turely old. They are fastening rapidly
toward their decease. They have gone
! through crises in business that shattered
their nervous system and pulled on the
brain. They have shortness of breath,
and pain in the back of the head, and
at night an insomnia that alarms them.
Why are they drudging at business early
and late? For fun? No; it would be diff
cult to extract any amusement out of
that exhaustion. Because they are avari-