Telegram-herald., 1891-04-20


70 esms out u thEsr cave ADD destroy hiaa.
and tbs psoeie " the galleries tsersnS and
shouting, The hons for Pslyearp." re-
glie1. La then cone o.. and thea stoo2r
iag dowa tsssra the cave vner- the wild
beasts sere rlAssag - get cat, Let them
come On" Al, yes, i Il persee 1tion 20 pat
200 in glorious company. asd while there
AZ many Ehngs thaE yoa will have -
postpone 20 the future world for expi2ns-
tiol, tel yoa taaE it i the = hole tendency
or your religion 70 unragel and srpis
and interpret and iilunine and irraiists.
JOB wzs rgat- II u glorious tfanspsr-
sney Tbs crystal cannot equal IL
! remark again that religion sarpasses
the crystal in It's beauty. That lump of
esyssai u pat under the maZnifying glass
Of the crysIzllozrapher. zad he sSes ia it In
descE15abse ooSaIy-sn0wdr1ft aid sp.!Et-
srs Of haar frost and eorals and wreaths
and stars and crowns and eAsssllasloas OF
conspicuous beauty. The fact Is that
crystal i 50 beautiful that can think OF
but one thing IN al the universe that Il 80
beautiful. and that Is the religion ot the
Bible. No wonder this Bible represents
that religion xs the dsybrcak, as the apple
blossoms, a. the glitter Of kings bah
aue6 1t Is the Joy Of the whole earth
roo Much TALK or THE CROSS.
People talk too much about their cross
and not enough about their crown. Do
yoa know the Bible mentions cross but
twenty-seven times, while it mentions .
crown eighty times, Ask that old man
what he thinks Of religion. lie has been
close observer. he has been cnlturrng an
ssrhstie taste. He has seen the sanrises Of
a half century. He has been an early riser.
He has been an admirer OF canoes and
corals and all kinds Of beautifal thingx
Ask him what he thinks Of religion. and he
will tell you. 1T is the most beautiful
thing | ever saw" The crystal cannot
equal it,"
beautiful in its symmetry. When IL
presents Gods character IL doos not pre-
sent him as having love like a great pro-
tuberance on one side Of his nature, but
makes that love in harmony with his
justice "A love that will accept ell
those who come % him, and justice that
will by no means clear the guilty. Beauti-
ful religion Ia the sentiment il implants,
Beautiful religion tn the hope IL kindles.
Beautiful religion in the fact that it pro-
poses 10 garland and enthrons and empar-
adise an immortal spirit. Solomon says
it Is q lily. Paul says it Is a crown. The
Apocalypse says it is a fountain kissed of
the san. Ezekiel saysi is foliaged cedar.
Christ says IL Is "a bridegroom come 70 fetch
home bride. While job in the text tax Is
up = whole vase OF precious stones-the
topaz, and the sapphire, and the chryso-
prasns-and he takes out OF this beautiful
vase just one crystal, and holds it up until
10 CLEANS in the warm light Of the eastern
sky. and he exclaims, ''The crystal cannot
equal it,"
Oh, it Is not stale religion, 1t Is not a
stupid religion, it is not u toothless hag,
as some seem 10 have represented it; it is
not Meg Merriles with shriveled arm
come to scare the world. II is the fairest
daughter OF God, heiress of all his wealth.
Her cheek the morning sky; her voice the
music OF the south wind; her step the
dance Of the sea- Come and WOO her The
Spirit and the bride say come, and whose
ever will. let him come. Doyou agree with
solomon aud say IL Is lily! Then pluck
it and wear it over your heart. Do you
agree with Paul and say it is a crown.
Then let this hour be your coronation. Do
you agree with the Apocalypse and say
1t Is a springing fountain' Then come
and slake the thirst OF your soul. Do you
believe with Ezekiel and say it is foli-
aged cedars Then come under its shadow.
Do you believe with Christ and say it is
bridegroom come to fetch home bride,
Then strike hands with your Lord the
King while pronounce you everlastingly
one Or if you think with Job that it is
jewel, then put it on your hand like ring,
on your neck like bead, on your forehead
Ia ufo Ia fnTn he vvntp
Of Gods Word You acknowledge ''the
crystal cannot equal it,"
THE TRANSFORMATIONS OF RELIGION.
Again. religion is superior TO the crystal
in its transformations. The diamond is
only crystallization OF coal. Carbonate
of lime rises till it becomes calcite or ar
agoniSe. Red oxide OK copper crystallizes
into cubes and octohedrons Those crys-
tails which adorn our persons and our
homes and our museums have only been
resurrectcd from forms that were far from
lustrous. Scientists for ages have been ex-
amining these wonderful transformations.
But tell You In the gospel OF the Son Of
God there Is a moro wonderful transforma-
ton. Over souls by reason Of sin black as
coal and hard as iron God by his comfort
ing grace stoops and says, "They shall be
mine in the day when l make up my
jewels"
"whas." say you. will God wear jewel
ryr II in wanted 1t he could make the
stars OF heaven his belt and have the even
ing cloud for the sandals of his feet, but
he does not want that adornment. He
viii not have that jewelry. When God
wants jewelry he comes down and digs it
out Of the depths and darkness of sin.
These souls are all crystallizations of
mercy. lie puts thom on, and he wears
them in the presence Of the whole universe.
lie wears them on the hand that was
nailed, over the heart that was pierced, on
the temples that were stung. They shall
be mine," saith the Lord, "in the day when
make up my jewels" Wonderful trans
formation, The crystal cannot equal IT, !"
There she il, n wait of the street. but she
shall b sister OF charity. There he is, a
sos in the ditch. but he shall preach the
gospel There, behind the bars OF prison.
but he shall reign with Christ forever
Where sin abounded grace shall much
more abound. The carbon becomes the
solitair-. The crystal canpot equal It."
DO NOT GO rSTo PAKTrcULARa
Now. have no liking for those people
who are always enlarging In Christian
meetings about their early dissipation. Do
Dot go into the particulars. my brothers
Simply ssy you were sick, but make no
display of your ulcers. The chief stock in
trade of some ministers and Christian
workers seen,s 70 be their early crimes and
dissipsfions. The nnmber OF pockets you
picked ard the number Of chickens you
stole make very poor prayer MEETING rhet-
oric. Eesiies that. IL discourages other
Christian people who never got drunk or
stole anyshinz Dat it Is pleasant tn know
that tfuee who we're fartbest down have
ocen brought highest mp. Ous Of Internal
serhiom Into eternal iiherty. Out OF dark
ness into light. From coal - the solffairc
''Th~ crystal cannot eansi IT,
But. my friends. The chief Transforming z
power ef the gospel viii not be seen In this