The Londonderry sifter. (South Londonderry, Vt.) 1883-19??, 1895-06-07

goad. One Of the surprises Of heaven
will be what grand Results came from
how simple means. Matthias Joyce, the
vile man, became great apostle Of
righteousness, not from hearing John
Wesley preach, but from seeing him kiss
q little child ON the pulpit stairs.
The Help Of God.
Again, my subject springs upon us
the thought that in calculating the pros
poets of religious attempt we must take
omnipotence and omniscience and ON
nipresence and all the other attributes
Of God into the calculation. Whom do
you see ON that plowed field Of my text?
One nearer says, II see Shamgar. An
other nearer says, II see 600 Philis-
tines. My nearer, you have missed the
chief parsonage on that battlefield Of
plowed ground. also see Shamgar and
600 Philistines; but, more than all and
mightier than all and more overwhelm-
ing than all, see God. Shamgar with
his maided arm, however muscular,
and with that humble instrument made
for agricultural purposes and never
constructed for combat, could not have
wrought such victory, 1t was omnipo-
tence above and beneath and back Of and
at the point Of the oxgoad. Before that
battle was over the plowman realized
this, and all the 600 Philistines realized
it, and all who visited the battlefield
afterward appreciated it. want in
heaven to hear the story, for it can new
er be fully told on earth-perhaps some
day may be set apart for the rehearsal,
while all heaven istens-the story of
how God blessed awkward and humble
instrumentalities. Many All evangelist
has come into town given up to world
illness. The pastors say to the evangel-
list: "We are glad you have come, but
it is hard field, and we feel sorry for
you. The members Of our churches play
progressive euchre and go to the theater
and bet at the horse races, and gayety
and fashion have taken possession of the
town. We have advertised your meet
ings, but are not very hopeful God
bless you. This evangelist takes his
place on platform or pulpit. He never
graduated at college, and there are before
him 90 graduates Of the best universe
ties. He never took one lesson in elocu
tion, and there are before him 20 trained
orators. Many of the ladies present are
graduates of the highest female semi
naries, and one slip in grammar or one
INSTRUMENTATION will result in sup
pressed giggle. Amid the general chill
that pervades the house the unpretend-
ing evangelist opens hiSBible and takes
for his text, Lord, that my eyes may
be opened. T" Opera glasses in the gal
lery curiously scrutinize the speaker.
He tells in plain way the story Of the
blind man, tells two or three touching
anecdotes, and the general chill gives
way before a strange warmth.
A classical nearer who took the first
honor at Yale and who is prince Of
proprieties finds his spectacles becoming
dim with moisture suggestive of tears.
A worldly mother who has been bring
ing up her sons and daughters in utter
godlessness puts her handkerchief to her
eyes and begins to weep Highly edu-
Gated men who came to criticise and
pick to pieces and find fault bow on
their gold headed canes What is that
sound from under the gallery? 1t is a
sob, and sobs are catching, and all along
the wall and all up and down the audi
ence there is deep emotion, SO that
when at the close of the service anxious
souls are invited to especial seats or the
inquiry room, they come up by scores
and kneel and repent and rise up par
doned; the whole town is shaken and
places Of evil amusement are sparsely
attended and rum holes lose their pa
irons, and the churches are thronged,
and the whole community is cleansed
and elevated and rejoiced. What power
did the evangelist bring to bear to cap
ture that town for righteousness? Not
one brilliant epigram did he utter. Not
one graceful gesture did he make. Not
one rhetorical climax did he pile up.
But there was something about him
that people had not taken in the esti-
mate when they prophesied the failure
Of that work They had not taken into
the calculation the omnipotence of the
Holy Ghost It was not the flash Of a
Damascus blade 1t was God, before
and behind and all around the oxgoad.
When people say that crime will tri-
umph and the world will never be con-
verified because Of the seeming INSULT
cheney of the means employed, they
count the 900 armed Philistines on one
side and Shamgar, the farmer, awk-
wardly equipped, on the other side, not
realizing that the chariots Of God are
20, 900 and that all heaven, cherubic,
seraphic, archangelic, deific, is on what
otherwise would be the weak side. Ma
poleon, the author Of the saying, "God
is OH the side Of the heaviest artillery, "
lived to find ont his mistake, for at Wa
terloo the 100 guns of the English over
came the $50 guns Of the French. God
is on the side Of the right, and one man
in the right will eventually be found
stronger than 600 men in the wrong. In
all estimates Of any kind Of Christian
work do not make the mistake every
day made Of leaving out the head Of the
universe.
Humble weapons
Again, my subject springs upon us
the thought that in God service it il
best to use weapons that are particular
ly suited to us. Shamgar had, like many
of us, been brought up on farm. HI
knew nothing about javelins and buc
klers and helmets and breastplates ani
greaves Of brass and catapults and bal
liste and iron scythes fastened to the
axles Of chariots. But he was familiar
with the fail of the thrashing floor ant
knew how to pound with that, and the
ak of the woods and knew how to hew
with that, and the oxgoad Of the pillow
man and knew how to thrust with that
And you and will do best to use thost
means that we can best handle; those
weapons with which we can make thu
most execution. Some in Gods service
will do best with the pen; some witt
the voice; some by extemporaneoui
speech, for they have the whole vocabu
larry of the English language half way
between their brain and tongue, ant
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