The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-03-01
THE LONDONDERRY SITTER.

anu oiu age Is coming on Ihree Hou'
bles--a lion, pit and snowy day,
There Is good woman with falling
health and dissipated husband and
Maynard boy-three troubles. There
is young man, salary cut down, bad
cough, frownipg future-three troubles
There is maiden with difficult school
lessons she cannot get, face that Is not
as attractive as some Of her schoolmates',
prospect that through hard times she
must quit school before she graduates
three troubles. There Is an author, his
manuscript rejected, his power Of origi-
nation in decadence, anumbness in fore.
finger and thumb, which threatens pa
ralysis-Nhree troubles There is re.
porter Of fine taste sent to report pu-
gilism instead Of an oratorio, the copy
he hands in rejected because the paper
Is full, mother to support ON small
inoome-three troubles could march
right off these seats and across this plat
form, if they would come at my call, 500
people with three troubles. This is the
opportunity to play the hero or the hero
inc, not ON a small stage, with few
hundred people to clap their approval,
but with all the galleries of heaven
filled with sympathetic and applauding
spectators, for we are surrounded by
great cloud of witnesses. My brother,
my sister, my father, my mother, what
chance you havei While you'are in
the struggle, if you only have the grace
of Christ to listen, voice parts the
heavens, saying. my grace is sufficient
for thee" "Whom the Lord loveth he
chasteneth, "You shall be more than
conquerors. And that reminds me of
a letter on my table written by some
one whom I suppose to be at this mo-
ment present, saying. "My dear. dear
doctor, you will please pardon the writ
or for asking that at some time when
you feel like it you kindly preach from
the thirtieth psalm, fifth verse, Weep
ing may endure for night, but joy
cometh in the morning. and much
oblige down town business man."
So to all down town business men and
to all up town business men say: If you
have on hand goods that you cannot sell
and debtors who will not or cannot pay,
and you are also suffering from uncer-
tainty as to what the imbecile American
congress will do about the tariff, you have
three troubles, and enough to bring you
within the range Of the consolation of
my text, where you find the triumph Of
Benaiah over a lion, and a pit, and
snowy day. If you have only one trou-
BILE, l cannot spend any time with you
today. You must have at least three,
and then remember how many have tri-
umphed over such triad of misfortune.
Paul had three troubles: 'Sanhedrin de-
nouncing him-that was one great trou
BILE; physical infrmity, which he called
"a thorn in the flesh" and although we
know not what the thorn was, we do
know from the figure he used that it must
have been something that stuck him
that was the second trouble; approaching
martyrdom-that made the three trou-
bles. Yet hear what he says, eff I had
only one misfortune, could stand that,
but three are two too many?" No !
misinterpret. He says: 'Sorrowful, yet
always rejoicing. Poor, yet making
many rich Having nothing, yet possess
ing all things" Thanks be unto God,
who giveth us the victory through our
Lord Jesus Christ
David had three troubles, bad boy,
temptation to dissoluteness and de-
thronement What does he say? God
is our refuge and strength, very pres
ent help in time of trouble. Therefore
will not we fear, though the earth be
removed, and though the mountains be
cast into the midst of the sea-
John Wesley had three troubles-def
amation by mobs, domestic infelicity,
fatigue from more sermonsS preached
and more miles travelled than almost
any man of his time. What does he
say? 1.-The best of all is, God is with
u.s. " And when his poet brother,
Charles Wesley, said to him, Brother
John, if the Lord were to give me wings,
I'd fly" Johns reply was, Brother
Charles, if the Lord told me to fly, I'd
do it and leave him to find the wings"
Depression of Snow Day.
George Whitefeld had three troubles
rejection from the pulpits of England
because he was too dramatio--that was
enc trouble; strabismus, OF the crossing
Of his eyes, that subjected him to the car
feature of all the small wits of the day;
vermin and dead animals thrown at him
while he preached on the commons
that made three troubles. Nevertheless
his sermons were SO buoyant that lit
tie Child, dying soon after hearing him
preach, said in the intervals of pain,
Let me 60 to Mr.. Whitefelds God.
Oh, | am SO glad that Benaiah of my
text was not the only one who triumph
ed over lion in pit on snowy day!
Notice in my text a victory over bad
weather. 1t was snowy day, when
ones vitality is at low ebb and the
spirits are naturally depressed and one
does not feel like undertaking a great
enterprise, when Benaiah rubs his hands
together to warm them by extra friction,
or thrashes his arms around him to re-
vive circulation of the blood, and then
goes at the lion, whish wes all the more
fierce and ravenous because of the sharp
weather. Inspiration here admits at
mospherio hindrance The snowy day
at Valley Forge well nigh put an end to
the struggle for American independence.
The snowy day demolished Napoleon's
army on the way from Moscow ~,
The inclemency Of January and Feb
ruary weather has some years bankrupt
ed thousands of merchants. Long sue
cession of stormy Sabbaths has crippled
innumerable churches. Lighthouses
yelled Ivy the snow on many coast
have failed to warn off from the rocks
the doomed frigate. Tens of thousands
of Christians of nervous temperament
by the depression of snowy day almost
despair of reaching heaven. Yet in that
style of weather Benaiah Of the text
achieved his most celebrated victory,
and let us by the grace Of God become
victor over influences atmospheric. If we
are happy only when the wind blows
from the clear northwest, and the Their
moineter is above freezing point, and
the sky is an inverted blue cup of sun