Fort Worth gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1891-1898, 1891-04-20

| postpone to the future world for eKplana-
| ton, tell You that il is the whole tendency
| of your religion to unravel and explain and
| interpret and illumine and irradiate. Job
| was right. 1t is glorious transparency.
| THE CRYSTAL CANNOT EQUAL IT.
] remark again that religion surpasses the
| crystal in its beauty. That lump of crystal
| is put under the magnifying glass of the
cryStallOgrapher and he sees in II indescrlb-
| able beauty-snowdrift and splinters of
| hoar-frost and corals and wreaths and
stars and crowns and Oscillations OF con-
| spicuous beauty. The fact is that crystal is
so beautiful that l can think of but one
| thing in all the universe that IS so beautiful,
and that is the religion of the Bible. No
wonder this Bible represents that religion
as the daybreak, as the apple blossoms, as
the glitter of a kings banquet. 1t is the
| Joy of the whole earth.
People talk too much about their cross
and not enough about their crown. Do you
know the Bible mentions a cross but
twenty-seven times, while 1t mentions 4
crown eighty times2 Ask that old man
what he thinks of religion. He has been =
| close observer. He has been culturing an
aesthetic taste. He has seen the sunriseS
of 4 half century. He has been an early
riser. He has been an admlrer OF canoes
and corals and all kinds of beautiful things
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 1t
presents Gods character it does not pre-
sent Him as having love like great pro-
tuberance on one side of h nature, but
makes that love in harmony with His
juStice-a love that Will accept all those
who come TO Him. and a justice that will
by no means clear the guilty. Beautiful
religion in the sentiment II implants
Beautiful religion in the hope it kindles.
Beautiful religion in the fact that it pro-
poses TO garland and enthrone aud empara-
disc an immortal spirit. Solomon says it
IS L lily. Paul says it Is q crown. The
Apocalypse says il is Il fountain kissed by
the sun. Ezekiel says il is q fOliaged ce-
oar. Christ says il is i bridegroom come
to fetch home bride. While Job IN the
text takes up whole vase OF precious
StOnes-the topaz and the sapphire and the
chrysoprasus-an he takes out of this
beautiful vase Just one crystal and holds
ii up until it CLEANS in the warm light of
the eastern sky, and he eXclaims, The crys-
tai cannot equal it
Oh, it is not Z stale religion. it is not j
stupid religion, it is not Il toOthless bag as
some seem to have represented it; 1t IS not
a Meg Merrilies with shriveled arm come
to scare the world. 1t is the fairest daugh-
ter 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
whosoever will, let him come. DoyOu agree
with Solomon and say it is a lilyl Then
pluck it and wear it over your heart. Do
you agree with Paul and say IL is 4 crown.
Then let this hour be your coronation. Do
You agree with the Apocalypse and say 1t is
Il springing fountain, Then come and Stake
the thirst OF your soul. DO You believe
with Ezekiel and say it is 4 folaged cedar!
Then come under its shadow. Do you be-
lieve with Christ and say it is a bridegroom
come to fetch home bride! Then strike
hands with your Lord the king while /
pronounce you everlastingly one. Or II you
think with Job that il is a jewel, then put
it on your hand Ike a ring, on your neck
like / bead. on your forehead like 4 star,
while looking into the mirror of Gods
Word you acknowledge 1.-The crystal cannot
equal it
again, religion is superior to the crystal
in its transformations. The diamond is
only consolidation of coal. Carbonate of
lime rises till it becomes calcite or aragon-
ite Red oxide of copper crystalizes into
cubes and octachedronS. Those crystals
which adorn our persons and our homes and
our museums have only been resurrected
from forms that We're far from luStrOus
Scientists for ages have been examining
these
WONDERFUL TRANSFORMATIONS.
But | tell you in the gospel of the Son of
God there is more 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"
What - say you, will God wear jew
ery!" If He wanted to He could make the
hole II,
ing cloud for the sandals of His feet; but
He does not want that adOrnment. He will
not have that iewelry. When God wants
jewelry He comes down and digs it out of
the depths and darkness of sin. These
souls are all cryStaliZationS OF mercy. He
puts them on and He wears them in the
presence of the whole universe. He 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 transformation The
crystal cannot equal it." There she is, u
waif of the street, but she shall be sister
of charity. There he is, sot in the ditch,
but he shall preach the gospel. There. be-
hind the bars of a prison, but he shall reign
with Christ forever. Where sin abounded
grace shall much more abound. The car
bon becomes the solitaire. The crystal
cannot equal it
Now, | have no liking for those people !
who are always charging in Christian
meetings about their early dissipation. Do |
not 90 into the particulars, my brothers. |
Simply say you were sick, but make no dis |
play of your ulcers. The chief stock in
trade of some ministers and Christian |
workers seems to be their
EARLY CRIMES AND DISSIPATIONS.
The number of pockets you picked and the |
number of chickens you stole make very |
poor PRAYER meeting rhetoric. Besides |
that, it diScourageS other Christian people |
who never got drunk or stole anything. |
But il IS pleasant to know that those who |
were farthest down have been brought |
highest up. Out of Internal serfdOm into |
eternal liberty Out of darkness into light |
From coal to the solitaire. The crystal |
cannot equal 1t.
But, my friends, the chief transforming |
power OF the gospel will not be seen in |
this world and not until heaven breaks |
upon the soul When that light falls upon |
the soul then you will see the crystals
Oh, what u magnificent setting for these |
jewels of eternity! L sometimes hear
people representing heaven in 4 way that |
is far from attractive to me- It seems
almost 4 vulgar heaven as they represent
it with great blotches of color and bands
Of music making deafening racket.
John represents heaven as exquisitely
beautiful. Three crystals. Iu one place
stone, clear as crystal In another place
under the throne, clear as crystal" In
another place he says: Before the
throne there was sea of glass. clear rs
c-sl. n IOh 1