The Opelousas courier., 1890-02-15

heaved back the ~blackness; and the sun
laughed to the lake, and the lake laughed to
the sun, and from horizon to horizon, under
the saffron sky, the water was all turned into
wind. :. ~ =.
learn from this miracle that Christ is not
impatient with the Injuries of life 1t was
not necessary that they should have thss
vine. Hundreds OF people have been mar
RED without any wire; We do not read that
any of the other provisions fell short. When
Christ made the wine it was not a necessity,
but a positive luxury. I do not believe that
lie wants lis to cat hard bread and sleep on
hard mattresses, unless we like them the
best. l think, if circumstances will allow,
we have a right to the luxuries Of dress, tbs
luxuries of diet and the ~luxuries of residence.
There is nc MOTE religion in an old coat than
in a new one. We can servs Sod drawn by
golden-plated harness as certainly as when
we go a-foot. Jesus Christ will well with
Us Under a fine ceiling as well as under a
matched roof; and when you can get wine
made out of water, dirk as much of it as
you can.
What is the difference between a Chinese
mud howell and an American home? WHAT'S
The difference between the rough bear skins
Of the Russian boor and the outfit of an Ameri-
can gentleman? No difference, except that
which the Gospel of Christ, directly or lndi-
rectly, has caused. When Christ shall have
vanquished all the world, | suppose every
house will be a mansion, and every garment a
fobe, and every horse an arch-necked %courser,
and every carriage a glittering vehicle, and
every man a King, and every woman a Queen,
and the whole earth a paradise; the glories of
the natural world harnionizing with the
glorle5 of the material world, until the very
bells of the horses shall jingle the praises of
the Lord.
[ learn, further, from this miracle, that
Christ has no impatience with festal joy,
otherwise He would not have accepted the
invitation to that wedding. He certainly
would not have done that which increased
the hilarity. There may have been many in
that room who were happy, but there was
not one of them that did so much for the joy
Of the wedding party as Christ Himself. He
was the chief of the banqucters. When the
wine gave out, He supplied it; and so, | take
1t, He will notdany US the joysthat are posi-
lively festal.
think the children of God have more
right to laugh than any other people, and to
clap their hands as loudly. There is not a
single joy denied them that is given to any
other people. Christianity does not clip the
wings of the soul: Religion does not frost
l take it to be simply a procla-
nation from the throne of God of
emancipation for all the enslaved; and
if a man accepts the terms of that proclama-
ton, and becomes free, has he not a right to
be merry? Suppose a father has an elegant
ld1ISlol III d 50 SloIl1S. ~ "Ltil N
he give the first privilege of these grounds?
Will he say: "My children, you must not
walk through these paths, or sit down under
these trees, or pluck this fruit. These are
for outsiders. They may walk in
them" No father would say anything like
that. He would say: 1.-THE first privileges in
all the grounds, and all of my house, shall be
for my own children" And yet men try to
make us believe that Gods children are on
the limits, and the chief refreshments and
enjoylnents of life are for outsiders, and not
for His own children. It is stark atheism. Their
is no innocent beverage too rich for Gods
child to drink; there is no robe too costly for
him to wear; there is no hilarity too great
for him to indulge in, and no house too
splendid for him to live in. He has a right
to the joys of earth; he shall have a right to
the joys of heaven. Though tribulation,
and trial, and hardship may come unto him,
let him rejoice. REJOICE in the Lord, ye
righteous, and again I say, rejoice"
| remark again that Christ comes to us in
the hour of our extremity. He knew the
wine was giving out before there was any en-
barrassment or modification. 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 in, at the hour of extrem-
ity, He made first rate wine, SO that they
cried out: ''Thou hast kept the good wine
| uItIl HUHs JESUS LII DIl0 HOUI " GAGIGLulty.
He seems to prefer that hour.
In a Christian nome 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
kneeling in prayer there was a tap on the
window pane. They opened the window, and
fed and trained, and it had in its bill a ring
all set with precious stones, which was
found out to be a ring belonging to the
royal family. 1t was taken up to the
Kings residence, and for the hon
esty of the man in bringing it back he had q
house given to him, and n garden and a 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 mourned over your sins. You could
not find the way out. You sat down and
cast me off," but in that, the darkest hour
of your history, light broke from the throne,
and Jesus said: so ~wanderer, come home.
I have seen all thy sorrows. In this, the
hour of thy extremity, I offer thee pardon
and everlasting lifem
Trouble am You were almost torn U
pieces by that trouble. You braced your
self up against it. You said: II will be a
stole, and will not care;'' but before you had
got through making the resolution it broke
down under YOU. You felt that all your re-
sources were gone, and then Jesus came.
SIN the fourth watch of the night" the
Bible says, "Jesus came walking on the sea-"
: Why did He not cone in the first watch? or
in the second watch ? or in the third watch?
I do not know. He came in the fonrth, n
gave deIiveranee 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 stimulants and the
bathings, but all in vain. Something will
say: 'fYou must 60" 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
afraidof that water; I cannot wade through
to the other side,n' He will say: Take
hold of My ARM" and we will take
hold of His arm, and then He will put His foot
in the surf Of the wave, taking us down
deeper, deeper, deeper, and our soul will cry:
"All Thy waves and pillows have gone over
me.n They cover he feet, come to the
knee, pass the girdle and come to the head,
and our soul cries out: Lord Jesus, / 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 thu
tossing of the pillows. Jesus in the last 9
tremity.
That wedding scene is gone now. Ths
wedding ring has been lost, the tankards
have been broken, the house is down; bui
Jesus invites us to a grander wedding. 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 BIZ
cleaning Of torches in the sky, and the
trumpets of God will ravish the air with
, their music; and Jesus will stretch out His
- 1 81 - A. ol,,nnh rohnI Sr yht%A