The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-04-26
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER.

comrades who had been with him,
laughing at his jokes. applauding his
eloquence and plunging him into sin?
They have left, Why? His money is
gone, his reputation is gone his wit is
gone, his clothes arc gope-everything
is gone. Why should they stay any
longer? They have completed their
work, They have stripped the slaiii.
There is another way, however, of
doing that same work. Here is man
who, through his sin, is PROSTATE. He
acknowledges that he has done wrong.
Now Is the time for you to 60 to that
man and say, Thousands of people
have been as far astray as you are and
got back, " Now In tho time for you
to go to that man and tell him of the
oninipotont grace of God, that is suili-
Client for any poor soul. Now is the
time to 20 and tell how swearing John
Bunyan, through the grace OF God aft
erward came to tho Celestial City. Now
is the time to go to that man and tell
him how profigate Newton came,
through conversion, to be world re-
howned preacher of Righteousness. Now
Ii the time to tell that man that multi
tudes who have been pounded with all
tho fails of sin and dragged through all
the Sewers of pollution at last have risen
to positive dominion IF moral power.
You do not tell him that, do you! No.
You say to him: Loan you money? No.
You are down. You will have to go to
the dogs Lend you dollar' would
not lend you cents to keep you from
the gallows, You are debauched! Get
out Of ily sight howl Down. You will
have to stay downl'' And titus those
bruised and battered men are some
times acoosted by those who ought to
lift them up. Thus the last vestige of
hope is taken from them. Thus those
who ought TO go and lift and save them
are guilty Of stripping the siaib,
The point want to make is this: Sin
Is hard, cruel and merciless. Instead of
helping man up, it helps him down,
and when, like Saul and his comrades,
you lie on the field it will come and
steal your sword and helmet and shield,
leaving you to the jackal and the crow.
Deceived.
But the world and satan do not do all
their work with the OHtonst and aban-
doned. A respectable impcnitont man
6tmes to die He is fiat on his back. He
could not get up II .be house was on
fire. Adroitest medical skill aid gen.
tlest nursing have been failure. He
las Sims to his last hour. What does
satan do for such ilian' Why, he
fetches up all the inapt disagreeAble
aud narrowing things In his life He
says! 'Do you remember those chances
you had for heaven and missed them9
Do you remember all those lapses in
conduct? Do you remember all those OPP
prehrions words and thoughts and &C.
lions? DON'T Remember them, Ell? I'll
make you remember tliem.' And then
he takes al the past and empties it on
that deathbed, as the mailbags are emp
tied on the postoffice floor. This man is
sick. He can2ot get away from them.
FHsp tho man says to satan: "You
have deceived nis. Yoa tald me that all
would be well. You said there would
be no trouble at the last. You told me
II did go and 80 yon would do SO and
So Now you cornef me and hedge me
up AMI ubmerge me in everything evil. y
.'Ha, haP' says satan. II was only fool
nc youi, 1t is .mirth for me to see you
suffer. / have beeli for 30 years plotting
to get You just where you are. 1t is hard
for you now; it will be worse for you
after awhile 1t pleases me. Lie still,
Sir. Don't finch or shudder. Como,
now, / will tear off from you the last
rag Of expectation. ! will tend away
from your soul the last hope 1 will
leave you bare for the beating of the
storm. 1t is my business to strip the
slaiii.''
While mefi are In robust health and
their digestion is good and their nerves
are strong they think their physical
strength will get them safely through
the last exigencyl They say it is only
cowardly women who are afraid at the
last and cry out for God. "Wait till l
come to die. will show you. You
Won't hear me pray, nor call for a min
lister, nor want chapter read me from
the Bible. But after the man has been
three weeks in sickroom his nerves
afe hot SO steady, and his worldly COM
panioiis are not anywhere near to cheer
him up, and he is persuaded that he
must quit life. His physical courage is
ill gone.
He Jumps at the fall of teaspoon in
d saucer. He shivers at the idea of 60
Ing away. He says: "Wife, l doD t
think my infidelity is going to take me
| through. For Gods sake don't bring
up the children to do as have done. If
| you feel like it, wish you would read
| a verse or two out of Fannie's Sabb;. h
school hymnbook or New Testament !"
But satan breaks in and says: "Y, |
have always thought religion trash and
| 4 lie. Don't give up at the last. Besides
| that, you cannot, in the hour you have
to live, get off ON that track. Die as you
lived With my great black wings l
shut out that light Die in darkness. /
rend away from you that last vestige
| Va itopO. ~ 40 DuoiuoSo w oeA3P VIC
slain"
| Too Late.
A man who had rejected Christianity
and thought it all trash came to die. He
was in the sweat of great agony, and
his wife said. I'VE had better have
some prayer. MARY, not breath Of
that" he said. 1.-THE lightest word of
prayer would roll back on me like rocks
on drowning man. / have come to the
bour of test. | had a chance, but for
feited 1t. | believed in liar, and liz
has left me in the lurch. Mary, bri. Z
me Tom Paine-that book that sworo
by and lived by--and pitch it into the
fire, and let it burn and burn as my
self shall soon burn." And thcn, with
the foam on his lip and his hands toss
ing wildly in the air, he cried ont:
"Blackness of da1knessl Oh, my God,
too late!'' And the spirits of darkness
whistled up from the depth and wheel
ed around and around him, stripping
the slain.