Weekly expositor. (Brockway Centre, Mich.) 1882-1894, 1894-02-16


time 80 stop mouths leonlne; as
in Shadrach's time to cool blast fur
naces; as in Ezekiels time to console
captivity; as in St Johns time to UNI
roll an apocalypse over rocky desola-
tions. Hear its soothing voice as it
declares: Weeping may endure for a
night, but JOY cometh in the morning."
"The mountains shall depart and the
hills be removed, but myloving kindness
shall not depart from you;" "Whom
the Lord loveth he chasteneth;"
"They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more, neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat; for the
Lamb which is in the midst of the
throne shall lead them to living foun-
tains of water, and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes" The
most wholesome thing on earth is
trouble if met in Christian spirit. To
make Paul what he was it took. ship
wreck, and whipping on the bare back,
and penitentiary, and pursuit of wild
mobs, and the sword of decapitation.
To make David what he was it took
all that Ahithophel and Saul
and Absalom and Goliath and
all the Philistine hoats could
do against him. 1t took Robert
Chambers malformation of feet to
make him the literary conqueror. 1t
was bereavement that brought Will
lam Haworth of Wesley's time from
wiclSedness to an evangelism that won
many thousands for heaven. The world
would never have known what heroic
stuff Ridley was made of had not the
fires been kindled around his feet, and
not liking their slow work, he cried,
II can not burn; let the fire come to
me; can not burn" Thank God that
there are gems that unfold their best
glories under the lamplight! Thank
God for the ruby!
Moreover, l am sure that Solomon
was right in saying that religion, or
wisdom, is better than rubies, from the
fact that thing is worth what it will
fetch. Religion will fetch solid hap
piness, and the ruby will not. In all
your observation did you ever
find person thoroughly felici-
tated by an encrustment of
jewels? AS you know more of
yourself than any one else, are you
happier now with worldly adornments
and successes than before you won
them? Does the picture that cost you
hundreds or thousands of dollars on
your wall bring you as much satisfac-
ton as the engraving that at the ex-
pense of five dollars was hung upon
the wall when you first began to keep
house? Do all the cutlery and rare
plate that glitter on your extension
| dining-table surrounded by fattering
| guests contain more of real bliss
than the plain ware of your
| first table, at which sat only
two? Does wardrobe crowded
with costly attire give you more
satisfaction than your first clothes
closet with its four or five pegs? Did
not the plain ring set on the third fin
! ger of your left hand on the day of
your betrothal give more gladness than
! the ruby that is now enthroned on the
third finger of your right hand? If in
! this journey of life we have learned any
| thing, we have learned that this world
neither with its emoluments nor gains
can satisfy the soul Why, here come
as many witnesses as | wish to call to
the stand TO testify that before high
heaven and the world IN companion
ship with Jesus Christ and good hope
of heaven, they feel Joy that all the
resources of their vocabulary fail to
express. Sometimes it evidences itself
in calculations of Hosanna; sometimes
in doXology; sometimes in tears. A
converted native OF India in a letter
said: How | long for my bed, not
that l may sleep; 1 lie awake often
and long. but to hold sweet COM
munion with my Coz " If so mighty
is worldly Joy that julius H. hearing
his armies were triumphant expired;
and if Talva hearing that the Roman
senate had decreed him an honor, ek-
pred; and if Dionysius and Sophocies
overcome of JOY, expired, and if a ship
wrecked purser waiting on the coast
of Guinea in want and starvation at
the sight of vessel bringing relief,
fell dead from shock of delight; is it
any surprise to you that the joys
of pardon and heaven rolling over the
soul should sometimes be almost too
much for the Christian TO endure and
live? An aged aunt said to me, J." De-
Witt, three times l have tainted dead
away under too great Christian joy.
1t was in all three cases at the holy
communion. An eminent Christian
man while in prayer said, Stop, Lord,
/ can not bear any moro of this glad
ness; il is too much for mortal.
withhold withhold We have heard
of poor worlmen or worlSwomen
getting letter suddenly telling
them that n fortune had been
left them, and how they were almost
beside themselves with glee, taking
the first ship to claim the estate. But,
oh, what it is to wake up out of the
stupor of sinful life and through
pardoning grace find that all our earth
| ly existence will be divinely managed
| for 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 an aurora has no pillared