The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-11-02
AT THE CHURCHES,

Last SaDDatn was lovely uay ana
it brought out good audiences at both
of our churches. We have no report
of Mr.. Woods sermon. At the Meth.
odist church Mr.. Sisson spoke large!
ly as to the bearing of the prophesies
and their fulfillment as establishing
the validity OF the Bible. AS this
has been mooted by writers in these
columns We give the gentlemans re-
marks upon this point nearly entire.
The discourse was based upon Isaiah
LII, lst:
Who hath believed our report? and
to whom hath the arm of the Lord been
revealed?"
To a man seeking for light in regard to
che truth of the bible the prophecies in
the old Testament and the fulfllment of
the same in the new Testament ought to
have some weight as evidence. When we
read how the prophets Of old foretold
the coming of our Lord, where he should
be born, his sufferings and death, and
when we look and find the fulfilment of
all this in the testimony of the gospel
writers it ought to an unprecedented mind
be given some credence. The report
should be believed when such proof of its
truths found. Faithfully were the words
of the old prophets fulfilled even to the
place of the Saviour's birth in the little
village of Bethlehem and the parting of his
vesture by lot among the soldiers. That
the jews had this SD Oh. of Isaiah in
their scripture is proved beyond doubt
in the Sth Oh. of the Acts of the Apostles
where it mentions the meeting of Phillip
and the eunuch. The gospel writer
pictures the eunuch as engaged in read
| ing the scripture while riding along in his
chariot and more than that tells the very
scripture the eunuch was reading quoting
| the 7th and Sth verses of this SD Chap
ter, revealing unto us the fact that the
prophecy was in their possession and
contained in their scripture, for the
scripture which the Ethiopian read while
returning from his worship at Jerusalem
was identical with that taught and ex-
pounded by the Jews. But with it in their
possession, familiar with every word of
it and expecting it to be fulfilled they did
not see how to the very letter it had been
carried out in the life and death of Jesus
Christ. We echo the words of the Mas
ter, 0 faithless and perverse generations,
when we think of their rejection of one
who came as the fulfillment of their
prophecies. have often thought that if
his coming had been magnificent affair
or if his appearance had been like that of
some mighty conqueror surrounded by
splendor with untold riches at his COM
mand he would have been welcomed with
opened arms, but because he came in
iowly way, made adespised city his home
ministered to the poor and needy and
associated with publicans and sinners he
was prosecuted and rejected, caused to
stand trial for his life and at last to suf-
fer an ignominions death in the company
of thieves, which was adding insult to in
jury. l confess do not quite under
stand how the jewish people could rec
oncile their expectations with the fulfil
ment of prophecy which they believed
must surely come. 1t must have been
that their understanding was darkened
and like the eunuch to whom Phillip ex-
planned the meaning of this wonderful
chapter, they read but did not compre-
hend its full import and therefore would
not believe the report that the Messiah
had come and that the humble carpenter
from despised Nazereth represented the
fulfillment of the prophecies contained in
their scriptures. Seeing with their own
| eyes the sick healed, the dead raised, and
other demonstrations of power which
could come from no other than divine
source, they still refused to believe and
looked upon him as an imposter. We
| luuI NCl db tuCll luNl CNiullty Duu UHClC 10
nothing marvellous about it looking at it
from one stand point. We have unbeleif
in the world to day and unbelief is the
same in essence whether it be in one gen.
Grafton or another. The truth of the re-
port was not accepted then, almost 1000
years ago, by men who saw with their
own eyes the power of God in Jesus
Christ, and the report is not believed by
many now who hear the accumulated tes-
| timony of ages of Gods goodness and his
power to save. They hear the testimony
of the gospel writer's, that there is no
other name under heaven given among
men whereby we can be saved, but dis
credit the report and seek another way
into the kingdom. The inquiry of our
text did not stop in the year 80 bnt has
come laundering down the centuries to
the present day and hour. 1t has been a
pertinent question in every generation
since the rejection of Christ by the jew
ish nation and is as opposite now as it
ever has been in any age. The prophetic
vision of Isaiah it would seem included
the years that have elapsed since the ad-
vent and life of our saviour even down
into the closing years of this 10th cen
tury. The accumulated testimony of the
ages confronts every individual of in
telligence and enlightment and were it
related to any other cause would be ac-
cepted and believed but as it is, this testi-
mony of the power of God unto saliva
tion through his son Jesus Christ is dis
credited and the report which has been
in circulation over 1900 years is set aside
as being untrue and of no account by
many now in the year of our Lord 1894.