El Paso daily herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1881-1901, 1897-12-07
st, Clements Church.

IN SIOd way. In tnlS IL dDl0lnS eoul
| comfort.
| st. Clements Church.
Assistant Rector Andrews preached
last night at St. Clements church.
He took his text from the 25th verse of
the 9th chapter of ST. John: "One
thing 1 know that whereas l was blind,
now I see." The miracle was per-
formed in Jerusalem. Our Lord had
gone up to atteod the feast OF Taber-
nac'es. AS be and his disciples passed
along the street, they observed q
beggar who had been blind from his
birth. He was a pitiable object and
the disciples, curious to know what
| Christ might say in reply, asked a
pertinent question concerning the case
Our Lord, assuring them that no one
was to blame for the affection, proceed
ed at once to manifest the works OF
God by giving the man his sight. "He
spat on the ground and made clay Of
| the epittle, and amounted the eyes of
the blind man with the clay, and said
unto him, Go wash in the pool of Sill
YAM" An account of the miracle
soon reached the ears of the Pharisees,
| " no end eavore1 to win away the man S
confidence by telling him that Jesus
was sinner, nothing could be simpler
than the mans reply: whether he
be sinner or no I know not one thing
Iknow that whereas l was blind now
| see."
The man had been born blind. We
who have never been blind, cannot
begin to comprehend all that this
means. This soul had never tasted the
delights of sight. All his life had
been an endless night. He had been a
prisoner in a dungeon, having never
seen the light of day or the face of q
fellow man; having never seen flower
Or tree, the sunshine upon the hill
side or the s'ar-lit sky; having no
knowledge of color or extension and
only limited il ca of form.
A man born physically blind is sad
sight. What an infinitely sadder one
the man who has never yet enjoyed
spiritual vision; who, while in the full
enjoyment of an open eye, has the eye
of the soul yet closed; who. while per-
ceivinR the goodness and beauty of
created things and the wOnderfulness
of life, can not yet perceive that "God
is life and in him is no darkness at all:''
who, while they may with their eyes
devour the written word of God, yet
can not see the living word of whom
it testi6eth, "Whose life is the light of
men,"
But while in one respect the condi-
tion of the spiritually blind is eadder,
that of the physically afflicted in an
other respect is far, far happier. Now
that the great physician no longer
walks the earth in material form. the
physically blind enjoy small chance of
having their affliction removed, but
it is not so with the sDiritu ally blind
The promise ''Lo,I am with you always,
even unto the end of the world" is no
fiction; the descent of the holy ghost at
pentecost is no imagined thing, "Ask
and We shall have, seek and ye shall
find, knock, and it shall be opened unto
you" was spoken for the consola-
tiOn and comfort of poor blind human
ity.
God does not always manifest him.
self with, as it were, the flourish OF
trumpets. There are times when his
works are accompanied by the mighty
proclamation of thunder as on Sinair;
again there are times when, as on
Carmel, the raging element of fire pro-
claims his awful presence, but there
are times, too when 1t is the ''still,
small voice" in which he speaks. Ths
regep eration of a soul is q manifesto
ton of God, but there Is no thunder
1t is a still, small voice which whispers
within;
Thank my soul it Is the Lord,
IT'S thy savior, hear his word,
Jesus speaks, and speaks to thee:
"Say, poor sinner lowest thou me?"
The process is spiritual one.
There is little of excitement there.
There is little of anything but tremb-
ling peace.
Having been blind from his birth
having been compelled in consequence
of affection to spend his life by the
wayside dependent upon the aims Of
the passers by, at the absolute mercy
Of his fellowman, the subject of the
miracle reve's exultingly in his de-
liverauce, we who cannot appreciate
exuberance of his joy must forgive
whatever of sel6shness may appear il
his words. But was it selishDess? Il
the first Joy of the regenerate soul sci
fish? No, it cannot be, where Christ
is there must be Joy, TO- in him is nc
darkness st all. When Christ has
,, opened our eyes and we realize for the
! first time what is it to live, move anc
have our being in him the fulness o
happiness will be reached. VIVA
matters 1t how the cure is wrought, b!
whose fundamentally sight is pro
!, cured? 1t is sufficient for us that WI
see. There is one thing we do know
and the knowledge eff that one thinl
is the knowledge of all things, tba
whereas once " were blind now we sec
A Wicked Kings Death.
At the Fret M, q, church Sunds.