Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1898-07-29
THREE SPECTACIES.
DR.. IA MACE ENP0JNDs HISTORY
m ELCeU-NT SERMON.

RPlIuW gold. - eAAins XVIII. Is.
| suppose You know what the Isrnelitrs
ala down ia Eg, ptian scrfdom. They ua,lr
bricks. Amid the utensils OF the brick Liln
there we've also other utensils OF cookery
the kettle. the pots, tine pans with which
th.y prepared their daily food. and when
these slaves, tired OF the days work lay
down 10 rest, they lay down amid the inn
plem,nis Of cookery and the implements Of
hard work. When they arose In the morn
inc they found their garments covered with
the clay and the smoke aud the dust. aud
hasmirrhed and begrimed with the utensils
of cookery. But after awhile the Lord
broke up that slavery, and lie took these
poor slaves into land where they had bet
ter surb, bright and clean aud beautiful APP
uarrl. No more bricks for them to make
Let Pharaoh make his own bricks when
David Ca my text Comes to describe the
transition of these poor lsraeiites from their
bondage amid the brick kilns into the Slori-
Gus emancipation for which God had pre-
pared them, he says: Though We have
lain among the pots, vet shall We be as the
wings of a dove covered with silver, and
her feathers with yellow gold"
Miss Wlatcly, the author of a celebrated
book, Lille in Egypt" said she sometimes
saw people in the East cooking their food
ON the tops of houses, and that she had
often seen, Just before shutdown, pigeons,
doves, which had, during the heat of the
day been hiding among the kettles aud the
pans with which the food was prepared,
picking up the crumbs that they might
find, just about the hour of sunset
spread their wings and fly heIvenwurd
entirely unsOiled by the region in winch
they had moved, for the pigeon is
very cieanly bird. And as these pigeons
flew away the setting sun would throw sill
yer on their wings and gold on their
lVs.an In San
fetched smile or an unnatural comparison,
when David, in my text, says 10 these
emariated lsraelites, and saws to all those
who are brought out OF any kind of trou-
bic into ;0y kind of spiritual JOY,
Though We have lain among the pots, vet
shah We he rs the wings uf dOv" covered
with silver, and her feathers with yellow
gold"
| am going to preach something this
morning which some OF YOU do not believe
and that is that the grandcst possible
HdOrnmont i, the religion OF Jesus Christ
There are u great many people who suppose
that religion il IL very different thing from
what it really is. The reason men con-
demu the Bible is because they do not UNI
derstand the Bible: they have not properly
examined it. Dr. johnson SAID that Hume
told minister III his bish"rrr OF Durham
that he had never particularly examined
the New Testament, yet all his life warning
against it. HALEY, the astronomer, an
nounrrd his skcpticism to Sir Isaac New.
ton, and Sir Isaac Newton said: Now,
sir. | have examined the subject, and YOU
have not and am ashamed that YOU, Iro.
Tossing to hc II philosopher, consent To con
denim Il thing you never examined And
so men reject the religion OF Je,u. Christ
because they really have never investigated
it. They think it something impractical
something that Will not work. sonnet hing
Pccksniiian, something hypocrItirul, some
thing repulSiNC, when it j. SO bright and so
beautiful you might compare it 10 Il dove.
its wings covered with silver and its
feathers with yellow gold.
70 enter the religious life is to put YOUR
self in the pardon, the comfort. the com
| panonShip, the omnipOtunc1 of the Illus.
| trious Christ, the Saviour of one world
and the chief joy Of another. The storm
! His frowu; the sunlight His smile; the
! spring morning His breath; the earth
/ quake the stamp OF His foot; the thunder
| the whisper Of His voice; the ocean a dron
ON the tip of His finger; heaven sparkle
on the bosom Of His love: eternity the
twinklng of His eye; the universe the fly
ing dust of His chariot wheels Able to
| heal heart break, or hush II tempest. or
drown IA world, or flood immensely with
His glory. Whnt IN uplifting thing tn
make such Il Being our ally,
But how l. it ii Il young man becomes Il
Christian? All through the gay circles
| where he associates, all through the bust
, ness circles where he is known. there Is
commiseration. They say, "What pity
that Young man who had such bright
prospects should SO have been dtspoiled
by those Christians, giving up all his
d. worldly prospects for something which is
of no particular present WORTH Here is II
| young woman who becomes Il Christians
her voice, her face, her manners the
charm of the drawing room Now all
through the social circle the whisper goes,
What pity that such Il bright light
should have been eXtinguished, that such
a graceful gait should be crippled, that
such worldly prospects should be ohIiter-
ated." All, my friends, it can be shown
that religions ways are ways of pleasant
ness and that all her paths are peace;
that religion, instead of being dark and
dOleful, and lachrym0se, and rapulsive, is
bright and beautiful, fairer than a dove,
its wings covered with silver and its
feathers with yellow gold.
See, in the first place, what religion will
do for mans heart. care not how
cheerful 4 man may naturally be before
conversion conversion brings him up to II
higher standard of chprrluluess. l do not
say he will laugh any louder; [ do not say
hut that he may stand back from SONS
forms of hilarity in which he once in-
dulged, but there comes into his soul an inn
mensc satisfaction. 4 young man, not a
Christian, depends upon worldly successes
to keep his spirits up, Now he is pros
pered, now he has large salary, now he has
a beautiful wardrobe, now he has pleasant
friends, now he has more money than he
knows well how to spend everything goes
bright and we'll With him. Rut trouble
comes-there are many young men in the
house this morning who can testify out OF
their own experience that sometimes &c
young men trouble does come-his Trends
are gone, his salary is gone, his health Is
gone; he goes down, down. He becomes
sour, cross, queer misanthropic, blames
the world, blames society. blames the
church, bIames everything; PUSHES per
haps, to the Intoxicating cup to drown his
trouble, but instead of drowning his
trouble browns his body and drown
his soul.
But there is Christian young man
Trouble comes to him. Does he give up
No. He throws himself back on the re-
sources of heaven. He says, God is my
Father. Out of all these disasters | shall
pluck advantage for my soul, All the
promises are mine-Christ is mine, Chris
tian companiOnship is NINE heaven Il
mine. What though my apparel be worl
: ont? Christ gives me robe of righteous
ness. What though my money be gone
| have n title deed to the whole uniVers,
IN the promise, All are yours. What thougl
my worldly friends fall away? Minister
ing angels are my bodyguard. Wha
though my fare be poor and my breac
be Scant? | sit at HE Kings banquet"
You and l have found out that people
who pretend to be happy are not alway
happy. Look at that young man carl
caturing the Christian religion, scoAinl