The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-03-29
oicsics. and al THE Bible dicsionarics
and ali the tnnps Of Palostine and nil

uuu hli tn6 uNpS VI TNiostine, ana MI
the international series Of Sunday
school lessons. And II that Is all You
will not understand the deeper mud
grander meanings Of tho Bible 80 we'll
AZ that Christian mountainocr who,
bunday morning, after having shaken
down The fodder for the cattle, comes
into his cabin, takes up his woll worn
Bible. and with prayer that stirs tho
heavens asks for the Holy Ghost to un,
told tho book
, No more Unreasonable would DO If
! SHOULD take up The Novoe vremya Of
St. Petersburg, oil printed in Russian,
and say, 'Thero is no sense in this
newspaper, for / cannot understand one
line Of all its columns" than for any
man 10 take up the Bible. and without
gotting Holy Ghost illumination as to
Its meaning say: 'This Book insults my
common sense. I cannot understand it.
Away with the incongruityl" No one
but the Holy Ghost, who inspired the
Scriptures, can explain the Scriptures.
Fully realize that, and you will DO as
lover of the old book, as
my venerable friend who told me in
Philadelphia last week that he was read
Ing the Bible through the fifty.ninth
time, and 1t became moro attractive and
thrilling every time he went through it.
In the saddlebags that hung across my
horses back as / rode from Jerusalem
down to the Dead sea and up to Damas-
Gus had all the books about Palestine
that could carry, but many man Oh
his knees, In the privacy of his room,
has had flashed upon him moro vivid ap
probation of the word Of God than
many man who has visited all the
scenes Of Christ's birth, and Paul's elo-
quenoe, and Peters imprisonment, and
Joshua's prowess, and Elijah s ascension.
I do not depreciate any Of the helps for
Bible study, but do say that they all
together come infinitely short without a
direct communication from the throne
Of God in RESPONSE to prayerful solicita-
ton. We may find many interesting
things about the Bible without especial
as how many horses Solo
mon had In his stables, or how long was
Noah's ark, or who was tho only woman
whose full name is given in the Scrip
lures, or which is the middle verse of
the Bible, and all that will do you no
more good than to be able to tell how
many beanpoles there are In your neigh
boris garden.
The learned Earl Of Chatham heard
the famous Mr.. Cecil preach about the
Holy Ghost and said to friend on the
way home from church: FL could not
understand it, and do you suppose any.
body understood it3'' "Oh. yes, said
his Christian friend, there were uned
uoated women and some little children
present who understood it" warrant
you that the English soldier had under
influence read the book. for
after the battle Of Inkermann was over
he was found dead with his hand glued
to the page Of the open Bible by his own
blood, and the words adhered to his
hands as they buried him, II am the
resurrection and the life; he that be-
lieveth in me, though dead, yet shall he
live"
A Reconstruction and Solace.
Next consider the Holy Ghost as
human reconstruction We must be made
over again. Christ and Nioodemus talk
ed about 1t. Theologians call 1t regener-
alton. l do not care what you call 1t,
but we have to be reconstructed by the
Holy Ghost. We become new creatures,
hating what we once loved and loving
what we once hated. II sin were a lux
ury, 1t must become detestation. If we
preferred bad associations, we must pre-
fer good associations. In most cases it is
such complete change that the world
notices the difference and begins to ask:
"What has come over that manp Whom
has he been with? What has so affected
him? What has ransaoked his entire ma
ture? What has turned him square
about?" Take two pictures Of Paul-one
on the road to Damascus to kill the dis
ciplos Of Christ, the other on the road to
Ostia to die for Christ. Come nearer
homo and look at the man who found
his chief delight in low class Of club
rooms, hiccoughing around card table
and thon stumbling down the front steps
after midnight and staggering home
ward, and that same man, one week aft
erward. with his family on the way to
a prayer meeting. What has done 1t? 1t
must be something tremendous. Unjust
be God. 1t must be the Holy Ghost.
Notice the Holy Ghost as the solacer
Of broken hearts. Christ calls him the
Comforter. Nothing does the world SO
much want as comfort The most people
have been abused, misrepresented,o cheat
ed. lied about, swindled, bereft. What
Is needed is balsam for the wounds, Ian
tern for dark roads, rescue from malign.
ing pursuers, a lift from the marble slab
of tombstones. Life to most has been a
semifailure They have not got what they
wanted They have not reached that
which they started for. Friends betray.
Change of business stand loses old GUS
tom and does not bring enough custom
to make up for the loss. Health becomes
precarious when one most needs strong
muscle and steady nerve and clear
brain. Out Of this audience Of thousands
and thousands, if ! should ask all those
who have been unhurt in the struggle
of life to stand up, or all standing to
hold up their right hands, not one would
move. Oh, how much we need the Holy
Ghost as comforter He recites the sweet
gospel promises to the hardly bestead.
Ho assures Of mercy mingled with the
soverfties He consoles with thoughts
of coming release. He tells of a heaven
where tear is never wepe and burden Is
never carried and injustice Ia never suf-
ftrod. Comfort for all the young people
VINO are maitreated ut homo, OF receive
insufficient income. or are robbed OF their
,hooling, or kept back from positions
Wy earned by the putting forward Of
others less worthy Comfort for ali these
men ana women midway in the path Of
lifo, worn out with what they have al
ready COMO through, and with no bright
ening future. Comfort for these aged
onos amid many infirmities and who feel
themselves to be IN the way In the homo
or business which themselves establish
ed with their own grit.
Ill., I'LL, fNho,t oo,rf1,< r&Ll-l -.