The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1895-03-29

the International series of Sunda
school lessons. And if that is all 20
will not understand the deeper an
grander meanings of the Bible SO WEI
as that Christian mountaineer who
Sunday morning, after having shake
down the fodder for the cattle, come
into his cabin, takes up his we'll wor
Bible, and with a prayer that stirs tn
heavens asks for the Holy Ghost to un
fold the book
No more unreasonable would l be i
I should take up The Novoe Vremya O
ST. Petersburg, all printed in Russian
and say, There is no sense in thi
newspaper, for cannot understand on
line of all its columns, than for an,
man to take up the Bible, and withou
getting Holy Ghost illumination as tt
Its meaning say: "This Book insults my
common sense | cannot understand it
Away with the incongruAty!" No ONT
but the Holy Ghost, who inspired the
Scriptures, can explain the Scriptures
Fully realize that, and you will be al
enthusiastic lover Of the old book az
my venerable friend who told me in
Philadelphia last week that he was read
ing the Bible through the fifty ninth
time, and it became more attractive and
thrilling every time he went through it.
In the saddJebags that hung across my
horses back as l rode from Jerusalem
down to the Dead sea and up to Damas-
Gus had all the books about Palestine
that l could carry, but many man on
his knees, in the privacy of his room,
has had flashed upon him more 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-
quence, and Peters imprisonment, and
Joshua's prowess, and Elijah S ascension.
l do not depreciate any of the helps for
Bible study, but l do say that they all
together come infinitely short without a
direct communication from the throne
of God in response to prayerful solioita-
tion. We may find many interesting
things about the Bible without especial
illumination, as how many horses Solo,
mon had in his stables, or how long was
Noah's ark, or who was the 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: 81 could not
understand it, and do you suppose any
body understood it?' "Oh, yes" said
his Christian friend, "there were uned-
ucated 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
and the life; he that be-
lievethyn me, though dead, yet shall he
live"
A Reconstructor and solace.
Next consider the Holy Ghost as
human reconstruction. We must be made
over again. Christ and Nioodemus talk
ed about it, Theologians call it regener-
alton. do not care what you call it,
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 If sin were lux
ury, it must become detestation. IT we
preferred bad associations, we must pre-
fer good associations. In most cases it is
such a complete change that the world |
notices the difference and begins to ask:
what has come over that man? Whom |
mas he been with? What has SO affected |
MIN? What has ransacked his entire ma
turep What has turned him square
Take two pictures of Paul-one
IN the road 70 Damascus to kill the dis
,iples Of Christ, the other on the road to
Ostia to die for Christ. Come nearer
nome and look at the man who found
lis chief delight in low class of club
looms, hiccoughing around card table
md then stumbling down the front steps
Ifter midnight and staggering home
ward, and that same man, one week aft
inward. with his family on the way to
| prayer meeting What has done it? 1t
must be something tremendous. Unjust
70 God. 1t must be the Holy Ghost.
Notice the Holy Ghost as the solacer
# broken hearts. Christ calls him the
Comforter. Nothing does the world so
much want as comfort. The most people
ave been abused, misrepresented, cheat
d, lied about, swindled, bereft. What
> needed is balsam for the wounds, lam
ern for dark roads, rescue from malign-
ng pursuers, lift from the marble slab
tombstones. Life to most has been
They have not got what they
7anted. They have not reached that
7hioh they started for. Friends betray.
'hange of business stand loses old GUS
om and does not bring enough custom
} make up for the loss. Health becomes
when one most needs strong
luscle and steady nerve and clear
rain Out of this audience of thousands
nd thousands, if / should ask all those
Tho have been unhurt in the struggle
I life to stand up, or all standing to
old up their right hands, not one would
love. Oh, how mt 1--WE need the Holy
host as comforterl He recites the sweet
1spel promises to the hardly bestead.
70 assures of mercy mingled with the I
'verities. He consoles with thoughts /