The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1894-11-02
THE TEL LOOKING GLASS.
DIR. TALMAGE'S LESSONS FROM THE
JEWISH TABERNACLE. "
The Doctrine Of Mans Need of Redeemcr
Is Referred to In Every Part of the Old
Testament "a Well as the New.

The Doctrine Of Mans Need of Redeemer
Is Referred to In Every Part of the Old
Testament "a Well rs the New.
BROOKLYN, Oct. 2S.-Rev, DR.. Tai
mage, who has left India and is now on
bis homeward journey, has selected as
Tho subject of his sermon today through
lac press "The Looking GLASS;" his
tsxt Icing Exodus xxxviii, s, "And he
made the laver of brass, and the foot of
It WAS of brass, of the looking glasses of
the women assembling
We often hear about the gospel in
Iohn, and the gospel in Luke, and the
t1spol in Matthew, but there is just as
/ * ) gospel of Moses, and gospel of
! .enAiah, and a gospel of David. In
i,a,r words, Christ is as certainly to be
JJlad in the Old Testament as in the
New.
When the Israelites We're marching
through the wilderness, they carried
their church with them. They called it
the tabernacle. 1t was q pitched tent,
Very costly, very beautiful The frame
wood set in sockets of silver. The cur
lains of the place We're purple and scar
let and blue and fire linen and were
hung with most artistic loops. The can
Illestiok of that tabernacle had shaft
Ind branch and bowl of solid gold, and
the figures of cherubim that stood there
had wings of gold, and there were
lamps of gold, and shutters of gold, and
tongs of gold, and rings of gold so that
skopticism has sometimes asked, Where
hid all that precious material come
from? 1t is not my place to furnish the
precious stones. 1t is only to tell that
they were there.
The LAYER of Cleansing.
wish now more especially to speak
Of the laver that was built in the midst
of that ancient tabernacle. 1t was a
great basin from which the priests wash
came down from the basin in spouts
and passed away after the cleansing
This laver or basin was made out of the
looking glasses of the women who had
freQuentcd tie tabernacle, and who had
made these their contribution to the
furniture. Tnese looking glasses We're
not made of glass, but they We're bra
zen. The brass was of very superior
quality and polished until it reflected
Easily the features Of those who looked
into it, so that this laver of looking
glasses spoken Of in my text did double
work. 1t not only furnished the water
in which the priests washed themselves,
but it also, on its shining, polished sur
face. pointed out the spots Of pollution
on the face which needed ablution.
Now, my Christian friends, as every
thing in that ancient tabernacle was
suggestive of religious truth and for
the most part positively symbolical of
truth, shall take that LAYER of looking
glasses spoken of in the text as all sug-
gostive of the gospel, which first shows
us our sins as in mirror and then
washes them away by divine ablution
Oh happy day, happy day,
When Jesus washed my sins away
The Mirror of Truth.
have to say that this is the only
looking glass in which man can see
himself as he is There are some mirrors
that flatter the features and make You
are other mirrors that distort your fea-
lures and make you look worse than
you are, but want to tell you that this
looking glass of the gospel shows a man
just as he is When the priests entered
the ancient tabernacle, one glance at
the FURNISHED side of this laver showed
them their need of cleansing. So this
gospel shows the soul its need of divine
washing "All have sinned and come
short Of the glory of God. That is one
showing. Gan we, like sheep, have gone
astray." That is another showing.
"From the crown of the head to the sole
of the foot there is no health in us. :"
That is another showing. The world
calls these defects, imperfections, or &C.
centricities, Or cratic behavior, Or wild
oats" or high living" but the gospel
calls them sin, transgression, filth-the
abominable thing that God hates 1t
was just one glance at that mirror that
made Paul cry out, ooh, wretched man
that l am, who shall deliver me from
the body Of this death?" and that made
David cry out, purge me with hyssop,
and I shall be clean, )" and that made
Martin Luther cry out, ooh, my sins,
my sins" l am not talking about bad
habits. You and l do not need any Bible
to tell us that bad habits are wrong,
that blasphemy and evil speaking are
wrong. But 1 am talking Of sinful ma
ture, the source of all bad thoughts as
well as of all bad actions. The Apostle
Paul calls their roll in the first chapter
Of Romans. They are regiment of
death encanping around every heart,
holding it in tyranny from which
nothing but the grace of Cod can deliv-
err it.
Tile Deadly Sin.
Here, for instance, is ingratitude.
Who has not been guilty of that sin? If
man hand us glass of water we say,
s'Thank you, - but for the 10, 900 mer-
cies that we are every day receiving
from the hand of God how little express
sion of gratitude-for thirst slaked, for
hunger fed, for shelter, and sunshine,
pnd sound sleep, and clothes to wear,
how little thanksi I suppose there are
rnen so yeas OF age who have never yet
been dow, OH their knees in thanksgiv-
ing to Cos! for his goodness Besides
that ingratituds Of our hearts there is
pride--wlio has not felt it?-pride that
will not submit to God; that wants its
own way--a nature that prefers wrong
sometimes instead of righV; that prefers
- waiiow instead of rise up. do not
care what you call that. ] am not going
to quarrel with any theologian or any
man who makes any pretensions to the
ology. / do net care whether you call
it total Gcpravity" OF s9:nothing else.
l simply make the announcement OF
Gods word, Affirmed and confirmed by
the experience OF hundreds Of Christian
people Tbs Imagination of the heart Cd