Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1890-01-02

remark again that Christ comes tC
us in the hour of our extremity. He
knew the wine was giving out before
| there was any embarrassment or morti'
fication. Why did He not perform the
miracle sooner? Why wait until it was
all gone, and no help could come from
any source, and then come in and per
form the miracle? This is Christ's way;
and when He did come mat the hour of
extremity, He made first-rate wine, SO
that they cried out: Thou hast kept
the good wine until now" Jesus in the
hour of extremity! He seems to prefer
that hour.
In Christian home in Poland great
poverty had come, and on the week day
the man was obliged to move out of the
house with his whole family. That
night he knelt with his family and
prayed to God While they were kneel-
ing in prayer there was tap on the
window pane. They opened the win
dow, and there was raven that the
family had fed and trained, and it had
in its bill a ring all set with precious
stones, which was found out to be ring
belonging to the royal family. 1t was
taken up to the Kings residence, and
for the honesty of the man in bringing
it back he had house given to him and
garden and farm. Who was it that
sent the raven tapping on the window?
The same God that sent the raven to
feed Elijah by the brook Cherith. Christ
in the hour of extremity!
You mourn over your sins. You could
not find the way out You sat down and
said: God will not be merciful; He has
cast me off," but in that, the darkest
hour of your history, light broke from
the throne, and Jesus said: 80 wander
er, come home. l have seen all thy
sorrows. In this, the hour of thy ex-
tremity, offer thee pardon and ever
lasting lifer'
Trouble came. You were almost torn
to pieces by that trouble. You braced
yourself up against it. You said: Il
will be stole, and will not care;" but
before you had got through making tho
resolution it broke down under you.
You felt that all your resources were
gone, and then Jesus came. I'm the
fourth watch of the night" the Bible
says, Jesus came walking on the sea-"
Why did He not come in the first watch?
or in the second watch? or in the third
watch? l do not know. He came in
the fourth and gave deliverance to His
disciples. Jesus in the last extremity!
1 wonder if it will be so in our very
last extremity. We shall fall suddenly
sick; and doctors will come, but in vain.
We will try the anodynes and the slim
ulants and the bathings, but all in vain.
Something will say: You must CO."
No one to hold US back, but the hands
of eternity stretched out to pull US on.
What then? Jesus will come to us, and
as we say, Lord Jesus, am afraid of
that water; can not wade through to
the other side, He will say, Take hold
of my ARM and we will take hold Of
His ARMAND then He will put His foot in
the surf of the wave, taking US all down
deeper, deeper, deeper, deeper, and our
soul will cry: "All thy waves and bill
lows have gone over me-" They cover
the feet, come to the knee. pass the
girdle and come to the head, and our
souls cry out: Lord Jesus Christ, 1 can
not hold Thine arm any longer" Then
Jesus will turn around, throw both His
arms about us, and set US on the beach,
far beyond the tossing pillows. Jesus
in the last extremity!
That wedding scene is gone now. The
wedding ring has been lost, the tank
ards have been broken, the house is
down; but Jesus invites us to grander
You know the Bible says that
the church is the Lambs wife, and the
Lord will, after awhile, come to fetch
her home. There will be cleaning of
torches in the sky, and the trumpets of
God will ravish the air with their mu-
sic, and Jesus will stretch out His hand,
and the church, robed in white, will put
aside her vail, and look up into the face
of her Lord the King, and the bride
groom will say to the bride: Thou
hast been faithful through all
these years! The mansion is ready!
Come home! Thou art fair, my
lover and then He shall put upon
her brow the crown of dominion, and
the table will be spread, and it will
reach across the skies, and the mighty
ones of Heaven will come in, garlanded
with beauty and striking their cymbals;
and the bridegroom and bride will stand
at the head of the table, and the ban
queters, looking up, will wonder and ad.
mire and say: THAT is Jesus the
bridegroom? But the scar on His brow
is covered with the coronet, and the
stab in His side is covered with a rober'
and THAT is the bride! The WEAKNESS
Of her earthly woe lost in the flush of
this wedding triumph
There will be wine enough at that |
wedding; not coming up from the poi
;oned watts of earth, but the vineyards of
God will press their ripest clusters, and |
the cups and the tankards will blush to |
.he brim with the Heavenly vintage,
Ind then all the banqueters will drink
standing. Esther having come up from |
he bacchanalian revelry ofAhasuerus,
where a thousand lords Toasted, will be |
here. And the Queen of Sheba, from
he banquet of Solomon, will be there.
And the mother of Jesus, from the
Wedding in Cana, will be there. And
hey all will agree that the earthly
casting was poor compared with that
Then, lifting their chalices in that holy
light, they shall cry to the Lord of tbs
east:
Thou hast keptthe good wine until now.