The Middleburgh post. [volume] (Middleburgh, Snyder Co., Pa.) 1883-1916, 1896-12-17
REV. TAlMlGE'S SUNDAY SERMON
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE.
Subject: "The Mask OF Deceit"

in .ne palRce OF wicked Jeroboam there Is
a sick chlld-a very sick child. Medicines
have tailed; skill IL exhausted. Young hbi-
Jan, tho prince, has lived long enough to be-
come very popular, and vet he must die un-
Iess some supernatural aid be afforded
Death comes up the broad stairs OF tho palace
AMI swings back the door OF the sIckroom OF
royalty and stands looking Mt the diving
prince with the dart upifted. Wicked jero,
honm knows that he has no right to ask any-
Thing OF the Lord in the way of Kindness
He knows that his prayers would not be an
swered, and so he sends his wife on the deli
cate ana tender mission TO tte prophet OF
the Lord In Shiloh. Putting aside her roynl
attire, she puts on the garb OF peasant wo-
man and starts on the road. Instead OF car
rying gold and gems rs she might have car
RED from the palace she cnrries only those
gills which seem to indicate that she belongs
TO tue peasantry-a few loaves OF bread ami
lew cracknels aud n cruise of honey. Yon-
der she goes. hooded and veiled. the greatest
iady IN all the kingdom, yet passing unob-
servnd. No one that meets her on the high
way mas any idea that she Is the first lady in
oil The land. She Is queen In disguise.
The Tact Is that Peter the Great working
IN ,ne ury docks oi Saardam, the sailors hat
and the shipwright's AK gave him no more
thorough disguise than the garb Of the peas
ant woman gave to the queen OF Ttrzah. But
the prophet Of the Lord saw the deceit. Al
though his physical eyesght had failed he
was dtv,nely illuminc1, and nj ons glance
looked through the imposition. and he or ell
out; come In. thou wife of Jeroboaml Why
ioignest thou thvself 10 be another2 hnyo
evil tidings for thee. Ge, thes hack TO thv
house, AMI when thy feet touch tbs gate Of
the city the child shall die" She had right
To ask for the recovery ot her son; she had
no right To practice an imposition. Broken
hearted now, shn started Oh the way, tho
tears falling on the dust of the road ali tho
way from Shiloh to TirzAh. Broken
hearted now, sh" IS not careful any more 10
hide her queeuly gait and manner. True TO
tho prophecy, the moment her feet touch the
gate OF the city tho child dies. "A sho zoe,
IN the soul ofthc chld goes out. Tho cry In
the city palace Is joinc by the lameniation
OF nation. and as they carry good Abiiah
10 his grave the air is ililed with the voice OF
eulogy for the departed youth aud tho gronn
OF nn afflicted kingdom.
1t IL Tor no insignificant purpose that pre-
sent you the thrilling story OF the text. In
the urst place | learn that wickpdnes. in-
wolves others trying TO make ihom its dunes
us allies ana Its scapegoats. Jer1boam pro-
posed to hooiwink the Lords prophet. How
did he do III Did he 20 ami do the worl;
himself? No. Ho sent his wife to do IL
Hers the peril OF exposure. hers the fatigue
OF thc way. hers the execution Of the plot
hi..no hing. lniquity Is n brav, but II Is great
coward II lays the plan and gets some one
else 70 execute II; puts down tho gunpow,lrr
train aud gets some one ese To touch IL or
conlrives mischief and gets some one else TO
work It; starts lie and gets some one else o
circulate II. In nearly all the grent crimes
OF tho world It IL found ont that those who
panned the arson. the murder, the theft. the
fraud go free, while those who wero deceived
AMI cheated and hoodwinked into the CON.
splracy ciank the chain and mount the gal
lows.
Aaron Burr. with heart flied with impur.
nmhitInn for th,.1 q
the United States Government aud gets of
with few threats and little ccnsurs, while
Bennerhasset:. the learned Blennerhnssstt.
the sweet tempered Blennerhassett, is de-
ecoyed by him from the orchards and the
Iaooratories and the gardens and the home
ON the banks OF the Ohio River, ana his for
tunes are scattered. and he IL thrown into
prison. and his family. brought up in lux
ury, IL turned out to die. Abo.ninable Aaron
Burr has 1t comparatively easy. Sweet tenn
perei Blennerbassett t"s Ii hnrd. Benedict
Arnold proposed to sell out tho forts of the
United States; to surrender the Revolutionary
army and TO destroy the United States dow
ernment. He gets on with his pockets full
OF pounds sterling, while Major Andre, tho
brave and the brilliant, is deceived into the
conspiracy and suffers on the gbbet on the
banks OF tho Hudson; so that even tho
literaiure-the marble tablaiure that COM
memorated that event-hns been blasted by
midnight desperadoes. Benedict Arnold has
II easy. Major Andre has IL hard | haye
noticed that nine.tenths Of those VINO suffer
Tor crimes ara merely the satellites OF some
grent villains. Icnominious fraud is
Iuggler which hy sleight OF hand and leger-
demain makes the G.'ld thht it stole appear
In somebody e'so's pocket. Jerobouln plots
the lie. contrvcs tho imposition. aud gets
his wife 10 execute II. Stand of from all
imposition and chicancry. Do not consent
10 h3 anybody's dupe. anybody's ally in
wlckcdness. auyhody's scaprCoat.
The story OF the text also impresses ne
with the fact that ROYALTY sometimes rasses
IN Disguise. Tho frock, tho veil the hood of
the peasant woman hid tho quapnly char
acter Of this woman Of TirZah. Nobody sus-
pected that she was queen or u princess NJ
she passed by. but she was Just ~ much n
queen ms though she stood in the palace, her
robes incrustod with diamonds. And so all
around about us there are princpsses and |
queens whom the world does not recognize |
They ait on no throne OF royalty, they ride |
In no chariot. they elicit no huzza, they |
make no prelense, but by the grace OF God |
they are prncesses and they are queens; |
sometimes In their poverty, sometimes Ia |
their self-denial, sometimes Ia their hard |
struggles OF Christian seryice-God knows |
they ARE queens. The world does not recog-
niZe them.
Royalty passing in disguise, kings without
the crown, conquerors without tho palm,
empresses without the jewel. You saw her
yesterday on the street. You saw nothing
important in her appearance, but she is
regnant over vast realm of vlrture and /
goodness-a realm vaster than JrrobOam
ever looked Mt. You went down into the
house OF dcstiiution and want and suffering
You saw the story Of trinl written on the
wasted hand OF tho mother. on the pale
cheeks OF the children. on the empty bread
tray, on the lireless hearth, on the broken
chair. You would not have given q dollar
for all the furniture in tho house. But by
tho grace OF God she Is princess The
overseers OF the poor come there and discuss
the cause and say. "lts IL pauper' They
do not realize that God has FURNISHED for
her crown, and that after she has got
through the iatiGuing journey from Tirzah
10 Shiloh and from Shiloh back 10 Tir1ah
there will be throne OF royalty on which
she shall rest forever. Glory vciled. Az
huence hidden. Eternal raptures hushad Ip.
A queen IN mask. A princess ia disguise
When You think OF n queen you DO not
think of GafherInn az Rusgia Maria |