The Camden journal. [volume] (Camden, S.C.) 1866-1891, 1890-01-02
:after A while the s,ns wif, Golden nrv.

ins necessary that they should have that
lwiic.' Hundreds of people have been mar
ried without Any wine, edo not read. that
any of the otner provisions fell short. When
Christ made the wine it was not a necessity,
butia positive luxury. do not believe that
He wants us to eat hard bread and sleep on
hard mattresses unless we like them the
best. l think. if circumstances will allow,
we have right TO the luxuries of dress, tho
luxuriaS of dict anil The iuxurics of residence.
There is nonlnre religion in an old coat Than
IN new one We can serve God drawn by
roldcn-platcd harness as certainly as when
we 60 a-foot. Jesus Christ will dwell with
us under fine ceiling as well as under
thatchcd ROOF: and when you can get vine
made out of water, drink as much oil 1t as
you can.
What is the difference between Chinese
mud hovcl and an American home? WHAT'S
The difference between the rough bear skins
Of the Russian boor aud the outfit of IN Amerl-
can gentleman? No difference, except that
which the Gospel of Christ, directly OF indi-
rectIv. has caused When Christ shall have
vanquiShcd all the world, | suppose every
house will be a mansion, and every garment Il
robe, and every horse all arch-ncckcd coursci,
and every carriage glittcrinS vehicle, ana
every man 4 King. and every woman q Queen:
and the whole earth paradise: the glorieS Of
glo.ie, 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 impatienco 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 50 much for the Joy
of the wedding party as Christ Himself, He
was the chief of the banqueters. When the
wine gave ont, He supplied it; and so, take
it. He will not deny us the joys that are posi-
lively festal
think the children of God have more
rigdt to laugh than any other people, and to
clap their hands rs louiIy. There is not a
single joy denied thom that is given to any
other people. Christianity does not clip the
wings of the soul Religion does not frost
the flowers. Whit is Christianity?
L take it to be simply procla-
nation from the throne of God OF
emancipation for all the easlavcd; anil
il a man accepts the terms of that procloma-
ton, aud becomc free. has he not right to
be merry2 Suppose father has an elegant
he give the first privilege of these grounds?
viii 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.r no father woad say anything like
that. lie would say; The first privileges in
all the grounds and all Of my house, shall be
for my own children" And yet men try to
make lis believe that Gods children are OIL
the limits, aud the chief refreshments and
enioymcptS of life ara for outsiders, and not
ic oh biFrnn II ic ci oYi, n thaicr, 1he,.
is no innocent beverage too rich for Gods
child 10 drink: there is no robe too costly for
him 10 wear; there is no hiarity too great
for him TO indulge in, and no house too
splendid for him to live in. EIe has right
to the joys of cartSnSs shall haye, a right 80
The Joys of bsar IN: 'Thoag6 triBuiation,
and rlTaf, ami hardship may come unto him,
let him rejoice. "Rejoice in the Lord, We
righteous, and again 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 eul-
barrassment or modification. Why did He
not perform the miracle sooner? Why wait
until it was all gone and no help could como
from any source, and then come in and per-
form the miracle? This is Christ's way; and
when He did como in, ut the hour Of cXtrem-
ity, He made first rate wine, so that they
cried out: ''rhou hast kept the good wine
until now" Jesus in the hour of extremity .
He seems 10 prefer that hour
In a Christian home in Poland great poverty
had come and OH the week day the man was
obliged to move ont Of tho house with his
whole family. That night he knelt with his
family and prayed to God. While they were
kneeling in prayer there was tap Oh the
window pane. They opened the window, and
thero was 4 raven that the family had
fcl and trained, and it had in its bill n ring
all set with precious stones, which vas
founl out to be ring belonging to the
royal family. 1t was taken up TO the
Kings residence, and for the hon
csty 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 OH
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 tho 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 20 wanderer, come home.
l have seen all thy sorrows. In this, the
hour of Dhy extremity, offer thee pardon
and everlasting life"
Trouble came. You were almost torn to
pieces by that trouble. You braced your
self up against it. You said: Il will be 4
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 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 dcliverance to His disciples Jesus in
the last extremity!
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 stinlulants and the
bathings, but all in vain Something will
say: You 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, l AM
afraid of that water; cannot wade through
TO the other side" He will say: 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:
"Ail Thy waves and pillows have gone over
me-" They cover the 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 the
tossing of the bilows. Jesus in the last e1'
tremity.
That wedding scene is gone now. The
wedding ring has been lost, the tankards
have been broken, the house is down; but
Jesus invites us 10 u 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 he
cleaning of torches in the sky, and the
trumpets Of God will ravisl the air with
their music: and Jesus will stretch out His
hand. and the church. robel in white.
will put aside her veil, and look