Democratic messenger., 1893-12-09

much of tllc printed and bound Bible
that ia neglccts the Old Testament Of
the fields nor reads the wisdom and
kindness and beauty of God written i'm
blossoms ON the orchard. i'll sparkles ON
the lake. in stars on the sky, in frost on
the meadows. The greatest jeweler of
all the earth is the frost There il moth
ing more wonderful in all crystallog-
raphy. Some morning in December u
whole continent is found besprinkled
with diamonds. the result Of one nights
work by this ieweler.
Do you make the ,lcpreciatory remark
that the frost is impermanent and will
last only two or three hours: What of
that! We 20 into London tower and
look Mt the crown jewels of England, but
we are in procession that the guards
keep moving on. and five minutes or less
are your only opportunity Of looking at
those crown jewels, hut at the crown
jewels bcstarrcd of the frost i'm parks
and fields you may stand To look delib-
erately and for hours. and no one to tell
you to move on.
Oh, these regalias and diadems of
beauty flung ont of heaven! Kings and
queens on celebrative days have come
riding through the streets throwing
handfuls of silver and gold among the
people, but the queen Of the winter
morning is the only queen rich enough
to throw pearls. and the king of frost
the only king rich enough to throw opals
and sapphires and diamonds. Homer
describes necklace of amber given to
Penelope, but the frost necklaces con-
tinent. The carcanet of precious stones
given to Harmonic had pinions of orange
jasper and white moonstone and Indian
agate, but it was misfortune to any
one who owned or inherited it, and its
history, generation after generation. was
n history of disaster. But the regalia of
frost is the good fortune Of every morn
ing that owns it.
The imperial household of Louis XVI
could not afford the diamond necklace
which had been ordered for Queen Marie
Antoinette, and it was stolen and taken
apart and lost, but the necklace that the
frost puts on the wintry morning,
though made of as many brilliants as the
withered grass blades, is easily afforded
by divine opulence and is never lost,
but after its use in the coronation of the
fields is taken back to heaven. o men
and women, accustomed to 90 into
ecstasy when in foreign travel you come
upon the historical gems of nations,
whether the jewel be called the Noun
tain of Glory. or the Sea of Light, or the
Crown of the Moon, or the Eye of Allah,
or the Star of Sarawak, or the Kohl
moor, implead you study the jewels
strewn all round your wintry home and
realize that "by the breath of God frost
is givenr'
But 20 a step farther and speak of
the frost rs an evangelist. and "a text of
Scripture is not of much use to me un-
less | can find the gospel in it. The Is
raelites in the wilderness breakfasted ON
something that looked like frozen dew.
The mamma fell on the dew, and the dew
evaporated and left u pulvcrized ma
terial, white and looking like frost,
but il was mamma. anil of that they ate.
SO now this morning. mixed with the
frozen dew of my text. there is a mamma
on which we may breakfast our souls.
You say the frost kills. Yes, it kills
some things. but we have already seen
that it gives health and life to others.
This gospel is the SAVIOR of life unto life
or of death unto death.
As the frost is mighty. the gospel is
mighty. As the frost lescen,ls from
heaven. the gospel descends from heav-
en-. BY the breath of God frost is given.
BY the breath of God the gospel is given.
As the frost purifies. So the grace of God
purifies. As the frost bestars the earth,
so grace beiewels the soul. As the frost
prepares for food many things that 9TH
erwise would be- inelible. so the frost of
trial ripens and prepares food for the
soul. In the tight grip Of the frost the
hard shells of walnut and chestnut and
hickory open, and the luxuries Of the
woods come into our laps or upon our
tables; So the frost of trial takes many
hard and prickly shell AMI crushes it un-
til that which stung the soul now
feeds it.
There are passages of Scripture that
once were enigmas, puzzles. riddles and
for you TO understand, but
the frosts Of trouble after awhile exposed
the full meaning to your soul. You said,
II do not see why David keeps rolling
over in his Psalms the story of how he
was pursued and prosecuted" He de-
scribes himself as surrounded by bees.
He says, They compasscd me about
like bees; yea. they compassed me about
like bees" You think what an exag-
gerating thing for him to exclaim, "Out
of the depths Of hell have cried unto
: Bargain day on BED towers n
a spreads. the greatest bargain ever
t offered.
t, HARRISON & PARSON
BERLIN, MD.