The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1894-02-28


should sometimes be almost too much for
the Christian to endure and live? An aged
aunt said to me: "De Witt. three times I
have tainted dead away under too great
Christian Joy. 1t was in all three cases a,
the holy communion"
An eminent Christian man while In prayer
said ''Stop. Lord I cannot bear any more
OF this gladness. 1t is too much for mortal.
Withhold! withhold We have heard Of
ter suddenly telling them that fortune had
been left them, and how they were almost
beside themselves with glee, taking the first
| sup 70 claim rne estate. But, oh, what It Is
to wake up out Of the stupor OF sinful life.
and through pardoning grace find that all
our earthly existence will be divinely man
aged for our best welfare. and that then all
heaven will roll in upon the soul!
Compared with that spring morning is
stupid. and an August sunset is Inane, and
aurora has no pillared splendor, and dia-
mond has no fash, and pearl no light, and
berry no aquamarine, and ruby no ruddi-
ness. My gracious Lord! My glorious
| God! Ny precious Christ Roll over on US
few billows Of that rapture. Aud now
ask you, as fair minded men and women.
accustomed to make comparisons, is not
such a Joy as that worth more than anything
one can have in jeweled casket? Was not
Solomon right when he said, "Wisdom is bet
ter than rubies?"
Inere IS also something IN the deep car
mine Of the ruby that suggests the sacrifice
on which our whole system OF religion de-
pends. While the emerald suggests the
meadows, and the sapphire the skies. and
the opal the sea, the ruby suggests the blood
Of sacrifice. The most emphatic and start
ling OF all colors has the ruby. Solomon, the
author Of my text, knew all about the sacri-
dee OF lamb and dove on the altars OF the
temple, and he knew the meaning OF sacri-
dcial blood, and what other precious stone
could he so we'll use to symbolic 1t as the
ruby? Red, intensely red. red as the blood
Of the greatest martyr of all time-Jesus-of
the centuries Drive the story of the cruci-
fxion 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.
Why 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 tranScontinental railroads how
many In their construction were buried un-
der crumbling embankments or crushed un-
der timbers or destroyed by the powder blast.
Tabulate the statistics ofhow many mothers
have been martyrs to the cradle Of sick chill
dren. Tell Cd 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, in Italy. in the United States, have
died for their country. Vicarious 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
bluff back Of Jerusalem when one Being took
upon Himself the sins, the agonies, the per-
dition of great multitude that no man can
number between u o'clock OF darkened
noon and 8 o'clock in the afternoon, purchas-
ing the ransom Of 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 find
me any gem that can 80 overwhelmingly
symbolic that martyrdom as the ruby.
Mark you, there are many gems that are
somewhat like the ruby. SO Is the cornellan.
80 Is the garnet, 80 Is the spinel, 80 Is the
balas, SO the gems brought from among the
gravels Of Ceylon and New South Wales, but
comes from the mine of Burmah. And there
is only one Christ, and He comes from
heaven. One Redeemer, one Ransom. one
Son OF God, only Zone name given under
heaven among men by which we can be
saved"
Ten thousand times 10, 900 beautiful imita-
tions Of that ruby but only one ruby. Christ
had no descendant Christ had no counter
part. In the lifted up grandeur and glory
and love and sympathy of His character He
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 bannt- be lifted in oil
our souls
In olden times Scotland was disturbed by
freebooters and pirates. To rid the seas
and ports of these desperadoes the hero
William Wallace fitted out q merchant ves-
sells, but filed it with armed men and put
out to sea. Tho pirates, with their flag in
scribed of deaths head, thinking they
would get an easy prize, bore down VI, on
the Scottish merchantmen, when the armed
men of Wallace boarded the craft Of the
pirates and put them in chains and then
sailed for port under the Scotch flag flying.
And to our souls, assailed OF sin and death
and hell, through Christ are rescued, and
the black flag Of sin is torn down, and the
striped flag Of the cross Is hotsted. Blessed
be God for any sign, for any signal, for any
precious stone that brings 20 mind the price
paid for such rescue.
like the coral, for it seems the solidifed
foam OF breakers, and like the jasper. for
it gathers seventeen colors into its
bosom. and like the jet. for it congresses
the shadows OF many midnights, and 1 like
the chrysoprase because its purple Is illu-
mired with q small heaven Of stars, and I
like the chrysolite for its waves Of color
which seem on fire. But this morning moth
ing 80 impresses me az the ruby, for it de-
picts, it typifles, it suA gests "The blood OF
Without the shedding of blood there is no
remission" Yea. Solomon WAS right when
in my text he said, '!Wisdom is better than
| rubies."
To bring out contrast that will illustrate
my text, Iput before you two last earthly
scenes. The one is in room with rubies.
but no religion, and the other in room
with religion, but no rubies. You enter the
first room, where an afluent and worldly
man is about to quit this life. There Is a
| ruby on the mantel, possibly among the
vases. There is ruby in the headdress OF
the queenly wife.
On the finger OF the dying man there Is q
ruby. The presence of these rubies implies
opulence OF all kinds. The pictures on the
walls are heirlooms or the trophies OF Eu-
! ropean travel. The curtains are from foreign
looms. The rugs are from Damascus OF
Cairo. The sofas are stuffed with ease and
luietude. The rocking chairs roll back
ward and forward on lullabies. The pillows
are exqusltely embroidered. All the ap.
pointments Of the room are peroratlon to a
successful commercial or professional life.
But the man has no religion, never has had
and never protessed to have. There is not
Bible or one religious book in the room.
The departing man feels that his earthly
career Is ended, and nothing OPEN, beyond.
| Whara ha mill land afennin0 off from this HE