The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-10-04
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER.
winterl shall have no more trouble

now. Summer weather will come, and
the garden will be very beautiful, But
the gardener comes and cuts the vine
here aud there with his knife Tho
twigs begin to fall and the grapevine
cries out: murder What are you cut
ting me for?n "Ah," says the garden
er, ~ don't mean to kill you. If did
not do this, you would be the laughing
stock of all the other vines before the
season is over" Months go on, and ono
day the gardener comes under the trel-
lis, where great clusters of grapes hang,
and the grapevine says: THANK you,
sir. You could not have done anything
so kind as to have cut me with that
knife. /" "Whom the Lord lovoth he
chasteneth. No pruning, no grapes
no grinding mill, no flour; no battle,
no victory; no cross, no crown.
so Gods way, in the redemption of
the world, is different from ours. If we
had our way, we would have had Jesus
stand in the door of heaven and hecl;on
the nations up to light, or We would
have had angels flying around the Garth
proclaimin2 the unsearchable riches of
Christ. Why is it that the CAUSE goes on
SO slowly? Why is it that the chains
stay on when God could knock them
off? Why do thrones of despotism stand
when God could SO easily demolish
them? 1t is his way in order that AL
generations may cooperate and that all
men may know they cannot do the work
thp,p co Nra;s ING in ~ fkole
pyramids of sin go up i'll height will
they come down in ghastlness of ruin.
o thou father of all iniquity If
thou canst hear my voice above the
cracking of the flames, drive on thy
projects, dispatch thy emissaries, build
thy temples and forge thy chains, but
know that thy fall from heaven was not
greater than thy final overthrow shall
be when thou shalt be driven disarmed
into thy fiery den, and for every lie
thou hast framed upon earth thou shalt
have an additional hell of fury poured
into thine anguish by the vengeance of
our God, and all heaven shall shout at
the overthrow, as from the ransomed
earth the song breaks through the skies
"Halleluiah, for the Lord God omnipo-
tent reigneth Halleluiah, for the king
doms Of this world have become the
kingdoms Of our Lord Jesus Christi
Gods way in the composition of the
Bible, God S way in the Christians life,
Gods way in the redemption of the
world, Gods way in everything--differ-
ent from mans way, but the best
learn from this subject that the
overthrow of Gods enemies will be
sudden and terrific. There is the army
of The Midianites down in the valley of
Jezreel. l suppose their mighty men
are dreaming of victory Mount Gilboa
never stood sentinel for so large host.
The spears and the shields of the Mid
ianites CLEAN in the moonlight and
glance on the eye Of the Israelites, who
hover like battle Of eagles, ready to
swoop from the cliff. Sleep on, o army
of the Midianites! With the night to
hide them and the mountain to guard
them and strong arms to defend them,
let no slumbering foeman dream of dis
aster. Peace to the captains and the
spearmen.
Crash 60 the pitchers Up fare the
lamps To the mountains Fly, fly
Troop running against troop, thousands
trampling upon thousands. Hank to the
scream and groan of the routed foe,
with the Lord God Almighty after
them! How sudden the onset How
wild the CONSERVATION How utter the
defeat l do not care so much what is
against me if God is not. You want a
better sword or carbine than l have ever
seen to go out and fight against the
Lord Omnipotent. Give me God for my
ally, and you may have all the battle
ments and battalions.
Hopeless Fighters.
l saw the defrauder in his splendid
house. 1t seemed as if he had conquered
God as he stood amid the blaze of
chandeliers and pier mirrors In the
diamonds of the wardrobe | saw the
tears of the widows whom he had rob-
bed and i'll the snowy satin the pallor of
the white checked orphans whom he had
wronged. The blood of the oppressed
glowed in the deep crimson of the i'm
ported chair. The music tIembled with
the sorrow of unrequited toll But the
wave of mirth dashed higher on reefs
of coral and pearl. The days and the
nights went merrily. No sick child
dared pull that silver doorbell No beg
gar dared sit ON that marble step. No
voice of prayer foated amid that TIA
pestry. No shadow Of Judgment day
! darkened that fresco. No tear of human
sympathy dropped upon that upholstery
| Ponlp strutted the hall, and dissipation
filled her cup, and all seemed safe as
the Midianites in the valley of Jezreel
But God came. Calamity smote the
money market. The partridge left its
eggs unmatched. Crash went all the
porcelain pitchers! Ruin, rout dismay
and woe in the valley Of JeZeel!
Alas for those who fight against God
| Only two sides. Man immortal which
side are you on? Woman immortal,
which side are you on? Do You belong
to the 300 that are going to win the day
/ or to the great host of Midianites asleep
III the valley, only to be reused up i'll
CONSERVATION and ruin? Suddenly the
golden bowl of life will be broken and
! the trumpet blown that will startle our
soul into eternity. The day of the Lord
cometh as thief in the night and as
the God armed Israelites upon the
sleeping foe. Ha Canst thou pluck up
courage for the day when the trumpet
which hath never been blown shall
speak the roll call of the dead, and the
earth, dashing against lost meteor,
have It's mountains scattered to the
stars and oceans emptied in the air:
Oh, then, what will become of you?
What will become of me?
If those Midianites had only given up
their swords the day before the disaster,
all would have been well, and if You
will now surrender the sins with which
you have been fighting against God you
will be safe. Oh, make peace with him
now, through Jesus Christ the Lord!
/ With the clutch of drowning man
/ seize the cross. Oh, surrender Surren-
der Christ, with his hand on his pierced