Herald and news. [volume], November 15, 1894, Image 3

About Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943

Image provided by: University of Vermont

                
1
L
TIIE LOOKING GLASS.
Jtev. Dr. Talmagre Says the
pel is a Mirror
Qos.
Whrrrln Man's Slna Are Pot Before lilt
E'e - It Doe Not Distort or Flatter
the Feature Only Olanre In
the Mirror Shows Han Jat
'xl. How He li In the
' ; .- Eyes of UocL
Itev. Tlr. Talmage, xrho is now on his
homeward journey, selected as the sub
ject of his latest sermon through the
press, "The Looking Glass." his text
lieing Exodus xxxviii., 8:
And he made the laver of bras, and the foot
of It was liras. of the looking glasses of the
women assembling.
e often hear about the Gospel in
John, and the Gospel in Luke, and the
Gospel in Matthew; but there is just as
surely a Gospel of Moses, and a Gospel
of Jeremiah, and a Gospel of David.
In other words, Christ is as certainly to
be found in the Old Testament as in the
'ew.
hen the Israelites were marching-
through the wilderness they carried
their church with them. They called
It the tabernacle. It was a pitched
tent: very costly, 7ery beautiful. The
framework was made of forty-eipht
boards of acacia wood set in sockets of
silver. The curtains of the place wer
purple, and scarlet, and blue, and fin
linen, and wore liunjf with most artis
tic loops. The candlestick of that tab
frnacle had shaft, and branch, and
bowl of solid gold, and th fiirures of
cherubim that stood there had wing
of polu. and there were lamps of gold
and snuffers of pold, and tongs of gold
and rings of gold; so that scepticism
has sometimes asked, where did all
that precious material como from? It is
not my place to furnish the precious
stones, it is only to tell that they were
there.
I wish now more espcciall v to speak of
the laver that was built in the midst of
that ancient tabernacle. It was a great
basin from which the priests washed
their hands and feet. The water came
down from the basin in spouts and
passed awav after the cleansing. This
laver or basin was made out of the
looking glasses of the women who had
frequented the tabernacle, and who
had made these their contribution to
the furniture. These looking glasses
were not made of glass, but they were
brazen. The brass was of a very su
perior quality, and polished until it re
flected easily the features of those who
looked into it. So that this laver of
looking glasses spoken of in my text
did double work; it not only furnished
the water in which the priests washed
themselves, but it also, on its shining,
polished surface, pointed out the spots
,of pollution on the face which needed
ablution. Xow, my Christian friends,
as everything In that ancient tuber
jpacle, was suggestive of religious truth,
'and for the most part positively sym
bolical of truth, 1 shall take that laver
of looking glasses spoken of in tha text
8 all-suggestive of the Gospel, which
first shows us our sins as in a mirror,
and washea them away by divine
lablut'on. .
O. li.ippv day, happy u.i.v'i
When JeMM washed my sins away!
1 I have to say that this is the only
looking glass in which a man can see
himself as he is. There are some mir
rors that flatter the features, and make
you look letter than you are. Then
there are other mirrors that distort vour
features, and make you look worse than
you arc; but I want to tell you that this
looking glass of the Gospel shows a man
just as he is. When the priests entered
the ancient tabernacle, one glance at
the burnished side of this laver showed
them their need of cleansing; so this
gospel shows the soul its need of divine
washing. "All have sinned, and come
short of the jrlorv of God." That is
one showing. "All we, like sheep, have
gone a'-t'av," That is another show
ing. ' Kr.iln the crown of the head to
the sole of the foot there is no health
in us." That is another showing. The
world calls these defects, imH-rfections.
or eccentricities, or erratic behavior,
or "wild oats," or "high living;" out
the Grspel calls them sin, tran;res
aioii, filth the abominable tiling that
God hates. It was just one glance at
that mirror that made Paul cry out:
"0, wretched man that I am. who
shall deliver me from the bod v of this
ooatli?"' and that made David cry out:
"Purp me with hyssop, and I shall be
clean." and that made Martin Luther
cry out: (. my sins, my sins." I am
not t.diiing about bad habits. You and
1 do not need'any Kible to tell us that
lad habits are wrong, that blasphemy
and evil speaking are wrong. 15ut 1 am
talkii .s of a sinful nature, the source
of all bad thoughts, as well as of all
tad actions. The Apostle Paul vailr
their roll in the first chapter of Ro
ma."s. They are i regiment of 'h
encainp'n r arounil every hc.n t, hoiiihi
it in a tyranny from which nothing
but the grace of Go l can deliver it.
Here, for instance, is ingratitude.
Who li t : not been guilty of til it s;.n'.'
If a i:i i ! hinds us a glass of water, we
say. "Thank yon:'' but for the tea
thousand mercies that we are everyday
receiving from the hand of God. how
little c::;iression of gratitude for t hirst
slacked, for hunger fed. for shelter and
sunshine, and sound sleep, anil clothes
to wear how little thanks! I suppose
there are men fifty years of age who
have never yet Wen down on their
knee n thanksgiving to God for his
pood:i.- vs. Itesides that ingratitude of
our hearts, there is pride (who has not
felt i:?i pride that will not submit to
God, t.at wants its own nay a nature
that p T.'er.-. wrong sometimes instead
of risrht that prefers to wallow instead
of rise up. I Uo not care what you caii
that: lam not going to quarrel with
ny th'i 1 g:;m or any man who makes
any pretensions to theology. I do nt
care he t her you call it 'total depravi
ty, or s :a thing else: I simply make
the ::!:::::, cement of God's word, nf
finueu ari.l confirn.o-J l-y the experience
f hendneds of Christian people; tha
nar ::ia:im of the heart of man is evil
truu. uL'ii. "Thtrj L noue thai dvilh
good; no, not one." We hare a bad na
ture. We were born with it. We got
it from our parents; they got it from
their parents. Our thoughts are wrong,
our action is wrong; our whole life
obnoxious to God before conversion
and after conversion, not one good
thing in us but that which the grace of
Uod has planted and fostered. " ell
you say, "I can't believe that to be so."
Ah! my dear brother, that is because
you have never looked into this ver of
looking glasses..
If you could catch a glimpse of your
natural neart before God, you would
cry out in amazement and alarm. The
very first thing this gospel does is to
cut down our pride and self-sufficiency.
If a man does not feel his lost and
ruined condition before God, ho does
not want any gospel. 1 think the rea
son there are so few conversions in this
day is because the tendency of the
preaching is to make men believe that
they are pretty good anyhow quite
clever, only wanting a little fixing up
a few touches of divine grace, and then
you will be all right; instead of pro
claiming the broad, deep truth that
Tayson and Whitfield thundered to a
race trembling on the verge of infinite
and eternal disaster. "Xow," says
some one, "can this really be true'.'
Have we all gone astray? Is there no
good in us?" In Hampton court I
saw a room where the four walls were
covered with looking glasses; and it
made no difference which way you
looked, you saw yourself. And bo it is
in this gospel of Christ. If von once
step within its full precincts, you will
find your whole character reflected
every feature of moral deformity, every
spot of moral taint. If I understand
the word of God, its first announce
ment is that we are lost. I care not,
my brother, how magnificently yon
have been born, or what may have
been your heritage or ancestry, you
are lost by reason of sin. "Hut, you
say, "what is the use of all this of
showing a man's faults when he can't
get rid of them?" None! "What was
the use of that burnished surface to
this laver of looking glasses spoken of
in the text, if it only showed the spots
on the countenance and the need of
washing, and there was nothing to
wash with?" Glory be to God, I find
that this laver of looking glasses was
filled with fresh water every morning,
and the priest no sooner looked on
its burnished side and saw his need of
cleaning than he washed and was clean
glorious type of the Gospel of my
Lord Jesus, that first shows a man his
sin. and then washes it all away;
I want you to notice that this laver in
which the priest washed the laver of
looking glasses was filled with fresh
water every morning. The servants of
the tabernacle brought the water in
buckets and poured it into this laver.
So it is with the Gospel of Jesus Christ;
it has fresh salvation every day. It is
not a stagnant pool filled with accumu
lated corruptions. It is living water,
which Is brought from the eternal rock
to wash the sins of yesterday of one
moment ago, "0," says some one, "1
was a Christian twenty years ago.
That does not mean anything to me.
What are you now? We are not talk
ing, my brother, about pardon ten
years ago, hut a mint pardon now a
fresh salvivtion. Suppose a time of
war snouirt come, ana I could show
the government that I had been loyal to
it twelve years ago, would that excuse
me from taking an oath of allegiance
now? Suppose yon ask me about my
physical health and I should say I waf
well fifteen years ago that does not
say how I am now. The gospel of Jesus
Christ comes and demands present al
legiance, present fealty, present moral
health, and yet how many Christians
there areseekingto live entirely in pnst
experience, who seem to have no ex
perience of present mercy nnd pardon!
When I was on the sea, and there came
up a great storm, and officers and crew
and passengers all thought we must go
down, I began to think of my life insur
ance, and whether if I were taken a way,
my family would be cared for; and then
I thought is the premium paid up? and
I said yes. Then I felt comfortable.
Yet there are men who, in religious
matters, are looking back to past insur
ance. They have let it run out, and
they have nothing for the present, no
hore mr pardon falling back on the
old insurance policy of ten, twenty
thirty years ago. If I want to find out
how a friend feels toward me, do I go
to the drawer and find some old yellow
letters writ ten to me ten or twelve
years ago? No, I go to the letter that
was stamped day before yesterday in
the post office, and I find how he feel."
toward me. It is not in regard to old
communications we had with Jesu
Christ, it is communications we have
n w. Are we not in sympathy with
him this morning, and is he not in sym
pathy with us? Ho not spend so much
of your time in hunting in the ward
robe for the old worn o.it shoes of
Christ tin profession. Come this morn
ing and take the glittering robe of
Christ's righteousness from the Sav
iour's hand. You say you were
plunged in the fountain of the Saviour's
ni'Tcy a quarter of a century ago.
That is nothing to me; I tell you tc
w.-isii now in this laver of looking
"lasses and have your soul made clean.
1 notice also, in regard to this laver
of looking glasses spoken of in the
text, that the priests always washed
both hands and feet. So the gospel oi
Jesus Christ ma-t touch the very ex
tremities of our moral nature. A man
cannot fence off a small part of his soui
and say, "Now, this is to be a garden in
which I will have all the fruits and
flowers of Christian character, while
outside it shall be the devil's com
mons" No. no; it will be all garden or
none. I sometimes hear people say.
"lie is a very go vi man except in poli
tVs." Then "he is not a good man. A
religion that will not take a man
through an autumn election will not
lie worth anything to him in June.
July and August. They say he is
a useful sort of a man. but he
overreaches in a bargain. I deny the
statement! If he is a Christian a:iy-tvl-.ere,
he will be in his bas'uess. It
is very easy to be ,.'.1 in She prayci j
loetitjj, with the scrrouudin kinoij-
blessed, but not so easy to be a Chris
tian behind the counter, when by one
skillful twitch of the goods you can
hide a flaw in the silk so that the cus
tomer cannot see it It is very easy
to be a Glristian with a psalm book iD
your hand and a Bible on your lap, but
not so easy when you can go into a
shop and falsely tell the merchant you
can get those goods at a cheaper rate
in another store, so that lie will sell
them to you cheaper than he can afford
to sell them. The fact is the religion
of Christ is all pervasive. If you rent
a house, you expect full possession ol
it You say: "Where are the keys ol
those rooms? I want possession oi
those rooms? If I pay for this whole
house, I want possession of those
rooms." And the grace of God when it
comes to a soul takes full possession of
a man, orgws away and takes no pos
session. It will ransaek every room in
the heart, every room in the life, from
cellar to attic, touching the very ex
tremities of his nature. The priests
washed hands and feet.
1 reinark further, that this laver of
looking glasses spoken of in the text
was a very large laver. I always
thought, from the fact that so many
washed there, and also from the fact
that Solomon afterward, when he copied
that laver in the temple, built it on a
very large scale, that it was large; and
so suggestive of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ and salvation by him vast in its
provisions. The whole world may come
and wash in this laver and be clean.
When our civil war had passed the
government of the I'nited States made
proclamation of pardon to the common
soldiery in the Confederate army,
but not to the chief soldiers. The (Jos
pel of Christ does not act in that way.
It says pardon for all, but especially
for the chief of sinners. I do not now
think of a single passage that says
a small sinner may be saved, but I do
think of passages that say a great sin
ner may be saved. If there be sins
only faintly lined, just a little tinged,
so faintly colored that you can hardly
see them, there is no special pardon
promised in the Hible for those sins:
but if they be glaring, red like crim
son, then they shall be as snow. .ov,
my brother, 1 do not state this to put
premium upon great iniquity. I mere
ly say this to encourage that man, w ho
ever he is, who feels he is so far gone
from God that there is no mercy for
him. I want to tell him there is a
good chance. Why, I'aul was a mur
derer; he assisted at the execution of
Stephen; and yet Haul was saved. The
dying thief did everything bad. The
dying thief was saved. Kichard liaxter
swore dreadfully: but the grace of God
met him, and Kichard Haxter was
saved. It is a vast laver. Go and 'tell
everybody to come and wash in it Let
them come tip from the penitentiaries
and wash away their crime. Let them
come up from the almshouses and wash
away their poverty. Let them come up
from their graves and wash away their
death. If there be any tjne so worn out
in siu that he cannot get up to the
laver you will take hold of his head
and put your arms around him, and 1
will take hold of his feet, and we will
plunge him in this glorious Ifethesda
the v&st laver of God's Uierey And sal
vation. In Solomon's temple there
were ten layers and one molten sea
this great reservoir in the midst of the
temple filled with water these lavers
and this molten sea adorned
with figures of palm branch,
and oxen, and lions, and cher
ubim. This fountain of God's mercy
is a vaster molten sea than that.
It is adorned not with palm branches,
but with the wings of the Holy Ghost;
and around its great rim all the race
may come and wash in the molten sea.
1 was reading the other day of Alex
ander the Great, who, when he was very
thirsty and standing at the head of his
army, had brought to him a cup of
water. He looked off upon his host and
said: "I cannot drink this; my men are
all thirsty;" and he tlashed it to the
ground, Messed be God! there i
chough wafer for all the host enough
for captains and host. "Whosoever
will may come and take of the water ol
life freely" a laver broad as the earth,
high as the heavens, and deep as hell.
Hut I notiee also, in regard to this
laver of looking glasses spoken of in the
text, that the washing in it was imper
ative, and not optional. When the
priests come into the tabernacle (you
will find this in the thirtieth chapter oi
Exodus), God tells them that they
must wash in that laver or die. The
priest might have said: "Can't I wash
elsewhere? 1 washed in the laver at
home, and now you want me to wash
here." (iod says: "No matter whether
or not you have washed before. Wash !
in this laver or die. "liut, 'says the
nriest, "there is water just as
clean as this why won't that do?"
"Wash hre," says Gol, "or die?"
So it is with the gospel of Christ it is
imperative. There is only this alter
r. itive: Keep ouv sins and perish, or
wash them away and live. liut says
someone: "Wliy could not God have
made more ways to Heaven than one?"
I do not know but he could have made
half a dozen. I know he made but one.
You say: "Why not have a long line
of boatsrnnning f mm Here tt Heaven?"
I cannot say, but I simply know that
there is only one boat. You say: "Are
there no trees as luxuriant ns that on
Calvary? more luxuriant, for that had
neither buds nor b!o;soms; it was
stripped and barked'.'" Yes, yes.
there have been taller trees than that
and more luxuriant; but the only path
to Heaven is under that one tr,-e. In
stead of quarrelling because there are
not more ways, let tis be thankful to
God there is one onj name given unto
men whereby we can lie saved one
laver in which all the world may wash.
So you see what a radiant gospel this is
I preach. I do not know how a man
can stand stolidly nnd present it. for it
is such an exhilarant gospel. It is not
a mere wnim or caprice; it is ni, or
death: it is heaver, or hell. You come
before your child, an 1 you have a p:vs
ent in your hand. You put your hands
behind your back and say. ' Which
hand will vou take? In one han-l there
is a treas'ire. in the other there is not."
The cLiiu blindly chooses. Lut God
nr Father does not do that way with
ns. He spreads out both hands, and
ays: ".Vow this shall be very plain.
that hand are pardon, and peace, and
life, and the treasures of heaven;
that hand are punishment, and sorrow
anu woe. Choose, choose for your
selves!!' "He that believeth and is bap
tised shall be saved, but he that believ
eth not shall be damned. "
O, my dear friends, I wish I could
coax you to accept this gospel. If you
could just take one look in this laver
of looking glasses spoken of in the text
you would begin now spiritual ablu
tion. The love of Christ I dare not,
toward the close of my sermon, begin
to tell about it. The love of Christ1
Do not talk to nje about a mountain;
is higher than that. Do not talk to me
about a sea; it's deeper than that.
An artist in his dreams saw sach
splendid dream of the transfiguration
of Christ that he awoke and seized hi
pencil and said: "Let me paint thif
and die." O, I have seen the glories of
Christ! I have lx-held something of
the Iieauty of that great sacrifice on
Calvary, and I have sometimes felt
would be willing to give anything if
might just sketch before you the won
ders of that sacrifice. 1 would like to dc
it when i die. "Iet me paint this an
die: He comes along, weary am!
worn, His face wet with tears, His brow
crimson with blood, ami He lies dow
on Calvary for you. No, I mist ike
Nothing was as comfortable as that
A stone on Calvary would have made
soft pillow for the dying head of Christ
Nothing so comfortable as that. He
does not lie down to die; He stands up
to die; His spiked hands outspread as if
to embrace a world. O, what a hard
end for these feet that had traveled all
over Judea on ministries of mercy
What a hard end for those hands that
had wipeil away tears and bound ur.
broken hearts! Very hard, oh, dying
Lamb of God! and yet there are those
who know it and who do not love lhee
They say: "What is all that to me
What if lie does weep and groan am)
die? I don't want Him." Lord Jcsiif
Christ, they will not help Thee down
from the cross! The soldiers will come,
and they will tear Thee down from the
cross, and put their arms around The
ami lower Thee into the tomb; but
they will not help. They see not limp
to move them. O, dying Christ, turr
on them Thine eyes of affection now,
and see if they will not change t licit
mi uds!
"1 saw One hunpine on a tree,
In airony and blood.
Who fixed Ilia luuguld eyes on me,
As near His cross 1 Motwl.
"O. never till my latest breath
Will I forirvt that look!
He seemed lorharire me wlih hi death,
Though not a word lie spoke."
Ami that is all for you! O, enn you
not love Him? Come around this laver
old and young. It is so burnished yon
can see your sins; and so deep you cat
wash them all away. O. mourner, hen
bathe your bruised soul: and sick one.
here cool your hot temples in this laver.
Peace! Do not cry any more, dear son!
1'avdon for all thy sins, comfort for all
thy afflictions. The black cloud that
hung thundering over Sinai has iioatec
above Calvary, has burst into the show
er bt a Saviour's tears.
I saw in Kensington Garden a pictmi
of Waterloo a good while after the bat
tle had passed, and the grass had grows
all over the field. There was a ilis
mounted cannon, anil a lamb had conn
up from the pasture and lay sleeping
in the mouth of that cannon. So the
artist had represented it a most sug
gestive thing. Then 1 thought row
the war between God and the sou! had
ended; and instead of the announce
ment, "The wages of sin is death,'
there came the words. "My peace Igiv
unto thee;" nnd r-midst the batteries of
the law that hail once quaked with the
fiery hail of death. I beheld the Lamb
of God which ta!:eth away the sin ol
the world.
' I neiit lo Jf-ns as I was
Weury. n:: i m-:i. and sad:
1 found In HIM a rcstme place.
And He has h.m!? me Eiud "
badlyThightened. I
The Fear of Itmulnit in the Tropics ol
Tarantula.
Dwellers in the tropics must con
stantly guard against the many poison
ous insects and reptiles which lurk in
crevices and damp corners. 1 he cent!
pede. for example, is unpleasantly social
in habits, while its dread neighbor, the
tarantula, whose bite means paralysis
or death, frequents old houses as well
as stables and courtyards.
We had a fright the other day. writes
a lady from the West Indies, which ha'
made me very particular about search
ing our sleeping-rooms. It all arose
from the rvimblingsof a small centipede.
who would not stay at home, but wan
dercd across mamma's face in the night
and stung lur badly when she tried tc
brush him oft.
Her face was so swollen and painful
the next day that I suppose we were
all a bit nervous about the danger tc
aurselves. I know that when I went
to take mv siesta at noon I looked
about my room carefully, but se-.-ing
not bins', wrapped a shawl about ait
and fell asleep.
Waking, - I opened my eyes lazily,
taking in the objects about me one by
one. Suddenly my blood ran cold. On
my pillow, scarcely a foot away, was s
cluster of dark, hairy little legs, lie
tokening the presence of the tarantula'
With one bound 1 was in the middle
of the floor, seized the baby from his
crib, and threw open the dxr, calling
wildly down the corridor, "Help! Quick,
a cacata!"
Sleep faces appeared at all the doors,
but sleep gave place to horror, and we
armed ourselves hastily for the combat
Tarantulas are very vicious when at
tacked, and have beeu known to jump
six feet: so we proceeded cautiously.
Sogiinda, the cook, going first w ith an
ax. We looked through the room, but
found no trac of the tarantula. Then
we searched more carefully, and finally
made an exhaustive examination of the
minutest crannies, but still nothing.
At last the genius of the party .sug
gested that I lie down as before: and
she proved her theory that the knotted
fringe on my sh.iul was the bugbear
tiiat had turned us all pale with frifelit!
Youth's Companion.
MILLINERY!
At 20 per cent less
ever
Than we or anv retail store in Vermont
sold before.
Largest and most complete line of Trimmed
Millinery in this vicinity.
PRICES
Trimmed AYalking find Sailor Hats
in all I lie laiost and most
pillar sham's-, and colors
regular prices .1 to l.f0 af
Our price,
(lood quality Unlriiiiiiied Felt lints
in till similes, large, med
ium and small. JSold else
where from cents to
j'1.2."). ( nr price,
Misses' and Children's School Cups,
itest st vies iist received
from New York. Our
price,
llest quality Fur Felt
Hats and HoniM-ts.ivgulai'
pl'ice, fl.lj to l.i.)
Good quality l.'np for
llovs or (iirls at
60c
40c
95c
Felt Hats stvlislilv trimmed with
ribbon, jets, feathers and j
ornaments, former prices
fi.:t to .3... now
Velvet Jfats, archly trimmed, latest
styles, regular price
.l.-iO to ..(lll, now
only
All of these goods we guarantee
and warrant the same as if you paid
the regular price, and they can be ex
changed as usual.
Very large full cross
aigrettes, former price , JJr
40 to 5i(, now W Cm J
Very best quills, all shades,
J ery best quills, all shades, y
You can buy the best for what the cheap
formerly cost you.
Remember Our Goods were all new this Season.
ROOD'S NEW YORK STORE.
WesliRandoIph, Vt.
MRS. E. S. ROOD,
Bascom House Block, Belhel, Vt.
hit i nit
We Are the People, W Ail id
WHO SELL
IFLOURI
ILLSBURY S BEST
Feeds lh World.'
Costs a little more than
GOODS
Sloct'sPaltil :
The best w in
ter beat flour
an tlie market.
Men's Cotton Shirts,48c to $1.00
" Wool Shirts, 50c to 2.00
Boys' Underwear, 33c to .50
Men's " 35c to LOO
" Fleece lined UnderwearJS c
" Mittens, 15 cents
' " Gloves, 35 "
" Duck Coats,. $1.00
" Pants, per pair, 73 cents
Boys' Knee Pants, 23 "
These are all new
THE WISE BUY IT &ooas. recently nougnt
We .re Hendquarters for .11 the .bore On OUT trip tO NCW York
brands and you will make no mist.be in.j-ri.,- x -1,
buying of us. auauuotuu iui ouii vdOAJ.
(Ml & AUEIMIl & ALLEN
c?xjE3iz:iNr,
DIADEM,
3Z30X-I3PSII3,
BECAUSE,
It is THE BEST Spring Wheat Flour,
it makes the bent bread.
It makes the sweetest bread.
It makes the most bread.
J.G.Sargent's Special Attractions.
Ready-Made Clothing,
Crow-Black Cheviots Can't
Beaten.
Gent's Furnishing Goods,
I Shawls, Cloaks, Blankets,
Be j Underwear, Gloves' Hosiery,
i Ready Made Wrappers,
! Groceries, Crockery.
The largest and best line of Boots and Shoes
in this vicinity.
CALL AND EXAMINE OUR STOCK.
J, G. SARGENT
DETIIEl.,
VERMONT.
J.H.LAMSON
Sells the celebrated
"WEST SHORE"
Stove. He also does all
kinds of
And furnishes Plumbing
materials.
i