Orange County observer. [volume] (Hillsborough, N.C.) 1880-1918, 1894-03-03

testify .he. bet"re nist feaTsn and the
world. in csrtaaioIshif sith Jesus Christ
and a cctd biz T hcai er The. feel a Joy
tina. all 'he tesot.tces OF their vocabulary fail
10 express. Sometimes i, evidences itself IN
CALCULATIONS OF ho-anna sometimes in doxol-
ogy sometimes in tears. 4 converted ma
tive Of India in a letter sail How | long
for my bed. not tina, I rnnv sleep-I lie awake
often ard i-ng TIT 70 hid see~t "oumu-
n.or .*tth M tSd
Hs1 mighty is worldly Joy tina; julius II.
hearing his armies were in phant. ex-
pired. and If Talva. hearing that the Roman
senate had decraa1 him an honor expired.
and if Dionysius and ~Sophocies. overcome
of joy, expired, AMI If a .hipwrecked pur-
ser. waiting Cs the coast II Guinea n want
and s,arta,iot AZ tbs, 1ighs II 4 vesse'
t%r,ncias !cia.r III dtad is9u shock Of de-
light. Is it any surprise 10 you tia: the joys
Of pardon and heaven rolling over the soul
should sometimes 10 almost TOO much for
the Christian to endure and live? An aged
aun. said 10 me DE Witt. three times |
have tainted dead away unler too great
Chri-ia. -. /. go i. ri .h-ee ~a.es at
the holy communion.
An eminent Christian man while in prayer
said stop. Lori / canno bear any more
~ this glaineSs. It ia too much for mortal.
WithhoIdl Withhold We have heard ot
poor worsnen or workwomen getting a let
ter suddenly tallin. them that a fortune had
foeen left them ard how they ware almost
beside thrrtstl~~e WITH -lee taking the first
ship t. lain the estate But. Oh what il is
- wake mp olt Of the stupo- OF Il sinful life.
an through p~ardoniuc grade find that all
our earthly existence Will be dlvinelv man
aged Tor our best welfare. and that then all
heaven will roll IN upon the soul
Compared with that a spring morning is
stupid. and an August sunset is inane. and
aurora has no pillared s%pienior. and a dia-
moni has no fash. and ii pear no light. and
Il her, IN atilarnatint, and ii ruby no ruddi-
ness. ", gracious Lori' Ny glorious
God My precious Christ Roll over on US
a few pillows OF thai rapture. And now
| ask voni as fair minded men and women.
accustomed to make comparisons, is not
such "A Joy as that worth nure than anything
on" cab have IL q jeAeloI rasket1 Was not
Solomon fight when he said. Wisdom is bet
Ter than rlibies2'
There is also something III the deep car
u ne Of the ruby that suggests the sacrifice
on which our whole system Of religion de-
ponds. While the emerald suggests the
meadows. and the sapphire the skies. and
fhe opal the sea. the ruby suggests the blood
Of sacrifice. The most emphatic and start
ling % all eolOrs has the ruby. Solomon, the
author Of my text, knew all about the sacri-
flee of lamb and dove on the affairs Of the
temple. and he knew the meaning Of sacri-
tlria! blood, and what other precious stone
could be so well use to symbolic Ii as the
ruby Red. Intensely red. red az the blood
Ofthe greatest martyr Of all time-Jesus-of
the centuries Drive the story Of the cruel
tixion out Of the Bible and the doctrine OF
the atonement out Of our religion, and there
would be nothing Of Christianity left for our
worship or our admiration.
fWhy should it be hard to adopt the Bible
theory that our redemption was purchased
by blood? What great bridge ever sprung its
arches. what temple ever reared its towers,
what Nation ever achieved its independence.
what mighty good was ever done without
sacrifice of life? The great wonder of the
world, the bridge that unites these two cities,
cost the life Of the first architect. Ask the
shipyards Of Glasgow and New York how
many carpenters went down under accidents
before the steamer was launched ask the
three great tra~nscontinental railroads how
many in their construction were buried I'M
der crumbliny embankments or crushed IN
der timbers or destroyed by the powder blast.
Tabulate the statistics fhow many mothers
have been martyrs to the cradle Of sick chill
dren. Tell us how many men sacrificed nerve
and muscle and brain and life in the effort
to support their households. Tell us how
many men In England. in France. in Ger.
many. i'll Italy. in the United States. have
died tor their country Njcarious suffering
is as old as the world. but the most thrilling,
the most startling. the most stupendous
sacrifice Of all time and eternity was on a
bluff back of Jerusalem when one Being took
upon Himself the sins. the agonies, the per
dition ofa great multitude that no man can
number between II o'clock Of a darkened
noon and 3 o'clock in the afternoon. purchas
Ing the ransom Of q ruined world.
Dive In all the seas. explore all the mines,
crowbar all the mountains. view all the
crowned jewels OF all the emperors, and fine
me any gem that can so overwhelmingly
symbolic that martyrdom as the ruby
Mark you. there are many gems that are
somewhat like the ruby. SO is the cornelian
so is the garnet. SO is the spinel,- so is the
balas. 50 the gems brought from among the
gravels Of Ceylon and New South Wales, but
there ls only one genuine ruby, and that
comes from the mine of Burmah. And Their
ls only one Christ. and He comes from
heaven. One Redeemer, one Ransom. one
Son Of God. only ''one namo given under
heaven among men by which we can be
saved
Ten thousand times 10, 900 beautiful imita
tions of that ruby, bat only one ruby. Chris,
had no descendant. Christ had no counter
part. In the lifted up grandeur and glor,
and love and sympathy of His character H.
is the Incompatible. the Infinite One, The
only wise God. our Saviour" Let all hearts
all homes. all times. all eternities, bow low
before Him Let His banner be lifted in al
our souls
In olden times Scotland was disturbed b,
freehooters and pirates. To rid the sea:
and ports of these desperadoes the herr
William Wallace fitted out Il merchant YES
sells. but filed it with armed men and pu
out to sea. The pirates. with their flag in
scribed of a deaths head, thinking they
would get an easy prize. bore Town upo1
the Scottish merchantmen. when the armet
men of Wallace boarded the craft of tn
pirates and put them in chains and the1
sailed for port under the Scotch flag flying
And 10 our souls. aseailed Of sin and deaf
and hell. through Christ ara rescued. an
the black flag of sin Is torn down, and th.
striped flag Of the cross is hoisted. BLESSED
be God for any sign. for any signal. for an
precious stone that brinrs % min the pric,
paid for such a RS .ue.
Hike the coral. COR it seems the solids fec
foam OF breakers. and | like the jasper. 70
It gathers seventeen colors into id
bosom. and | .:--rhe Al. for 1t cou,rres,e
the shadows Of many nidnights. and | Tx
TIE chrysoprasa because its purple Is ilr
mir cd with a small, heaven Of stars. an
iiAe the ch-ysolite for its waves 81 eafo
which seem On fire. But this morning aoth
ing 50 inpresses ne as the ruby. Tor i, =.
picis. Il typiHes. il suggests the bl0aa =
Jesus Christ tina. ~cleanseth fro.. Al. sr
Without the she'd ling 0. blood there i ~