The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-03-29
TOUCHED AS BY FIRE.
REV. Oh. TALMAeE BREACHES IN NEW
YORK ON THE HOLY GHOST.


tho Academy Of Musio-Ths Wonderful
Power Of tho Omnipotent Holy Ghost.
Tongues Of Fire.
NEw foES; Mafoh "a. when DR..
Talmago assembled the platform Of tho
Academy Of Music this Afternoon, he
faced an audience quite as large as any
that had assembled in the great build
ing since these services began. while
several thousand others were outside un.
able to secure soats or even standing
room. He took for his subject Tongues
of Fire, the text selected boing Acts
xix, ., Have 20 received tbs Holy
Ghost?'
The word ghost, which means soul,
or spirit, has been degraded in common
parlance. We talk of ghosts as baleful
and frightful and in frivolous or su.
perstitious way. But my text speaks Of
Ghost who is omnipotent and divine
and everywhere present and 81 times in
the New Testament called tho Holy
Ghost The only time ever heard this
text preached from was in the opening
days of my ministry, when glorious old
Scotch minister came up to help me in
my village church. On the day Of my
ordination and installation he said, IF
you get into the corner Of Saturday
night without enough sermons for Sun.
day, send for me, and will come and
preach for YOU" The fact ought to be
known that the first three years of pas
tors life arc appallingly arduous. No
other profession makes the twentieth
part Of the demand ON a young man. If
secular speaker prepares one or two
speeches for political campaign, it is
considered Rrduous. II lecturer pre-
pares one lecture for d year, he is
thought to have done we'll. But a young
pastor has two sermons to deliver every
Sabbath before the same audience, be-
sides all his other work, and the most of
ministers never recover from the awful
nervous strain of the first three years.
Be sympathetic with all young ministers
and withhold your criticisms.
The Holy Ghost.
My aged Scotch friend responded to
my first call and came and preached
from the text that now announce. l
remember nothing but the text 1t was
the last sermon he ever preached. On
the following Saturday he was called
to his heavenly reward. But remem-
Der Just how he appeared as, leaning
over the pulpit, he looked into the face
Of the audience, and with earnestness
and pathos and electric force asked
them, in the words Of my text. "Have
70 received the Holy Ghost?" The office
of this present discourse is to open a
door, to unveil Parsonage, to intro
duce force not sufficiently recognized.
He is as great as God. He is God The
second verse Of the first chapter of the
Bible introduces him-Genesis i, 2.
"Tho Spirit of God moved upon the facs
Of the water" -that is, as an albatrosc
or eagle spreads her wings over her
young and warns them into life and
teaches them to fly, so the Eternal Spirit
spread his great, broad, radiant wings
over this earth in its oallow and I'M
aedged state and warmed it into life
and futtered over 1t and set it winging
its way through immensely. 1t is the
tip top Of all beautiful and sublime sug-
gestiveness Can you not almost see the
outspread wings over the nest Of Young
worlds? 1.-THE Spirit Of God moved upon
the face Of the waters. "
Another appearance of the Holy Ghost
was at Jerusalem during great feast.
Strangers speaking II different lam
guages were present from many parts
Of the world. But in one house they
heard what seemed like the coming Of
cyclone or hurricane. 1t made the
trees bend and the houses quake. The
cry was, "What is that?" And then q
forked fame of fire tipped each fore
head, and what with the blast of wind
and the dropping fire panic took place,
until Peter explained that it was neither
cyclone nor conflagration, but the bril-
lance and amounting and baptismal pow
er of the Holy Ghost
That scene was partially repeated In
forest when Rev. John Easton was
preaching. There was the sound of a
rushing, mighty wind, and the people
looked to the sky to see if there were
any signs Of storm, but it was clear
sky, yet the sound of the wind was so
great that horses, frightened, broke loose
from their fastenings, and the whole as
sembly felt that the sound was supernat-
ural and pentecostal. Oh, what an in
finite and almighty and glorious person
age is the Holy Ghostl He brooded this
planet into life, and now that through
sin 1t has become dead world he will
brood it the second time into life. Peril
Gus attempt would be comparison be-
tween the three persons of the Godhead.
They are equal, but there Is some con-
alteration which attaches itself to the
third person Of the Trinity, the Holy
Ghost, that does not attach itself to OIL
Their God the Father or God the Son. We
may grieve God the Father and grieve
God the Son and be forgiven, but we are
directly told that there Is sin against
the Holy Ghost which shall never be
forgiven either In this world or In the
world to come. And 1t Is wonderful
that while on tho street you hear the
name Of God and Jesus Christ used In
profanity You never hear tho words
Holy Ghost. This hour speak OF tho
Holy Chest rs Biblical interpreter, as
| human constructor, as solacc for tho
broken hearted. as preachers re.en-
fofcement
Better Than q Concordance.
The Bible is a mass Of contradictions,
an affirmation of impossibilities, unless
the Holy Ghost helps as to understand
1t. The Bible says Of itself that the
Scripture lis not for private intorpre-
tation." but ''holy men Of God rpako
as they were moved by the Holy Ghost"
that is, not private Interpretation. but
Holy Ghost Interpretation Pile on your
study table all tho commentaries Of the
Bible-Matthew Henry and Scott and
Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes and
Bush and Alexander, and all the archa,-
49,