Democratic messenger., 1894-02-17

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depart and the hills he removed. but my
loying Kindness shall not depart from
You" Whom the Lord loveth he chas-
teneth.' They shall hunger no more.
neither thirst any more, neither shall the
eun light on them. nor any heat. for the
Lamb which is III the midst of the throne
shall lead them to living fountains of
water, and God shall wipe away all tears
| from their eyes.
The most wholesome thing on earth is
trouble. if met i'll Christian spirit. To
make Paul what he was it took ship
wreck. and whipping on the bare back.
and peniteniiarv. and pursuit of wild
mobs. and the sword of decapitation. To
make David what he was it took all that
| Ahiihophel and Saul and Absalom and
Goliath and all the Philistine hosts could
| do against him. 1t took Robert Cham
bers' malformation of feet to make him
the literary conqueror.
1t was bereavement that brought Will
| liam Haworth of Wesley's time from
wickedness 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
cannot burn. Let the fire come to me.
| cannot burn" Thank God that there
are gems that unfold their best glories
under the lamplight. Thank God for
the ruby.
| SOLOMON WAS RIGHT.
Moreover. am sure that Solomon was
right in saving that religion or wisdom
| is better than rubies. from the fact that
thing is worth what it will fetch. Re
ligion will fetch solid happiness, and the
ruby will not. In all your observation
| did you ever find person thoroughly fe-
| licitated by an incrustment 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
satisfaction as the engraving that at the
expense of = 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 flattering guests, contain
more of real bliss than the plain ware of
your first table. at which sat only two:
Does a 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 finger 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!
II in this journey of life we have learn
ell anything. 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 10 testify that before high
heaven and the world. in companionship
with Jesus Christ and good hope of
heaven, they feel joy that all the re-
sources of their vocabulary fail to ex-
press. Sometimes il evidences itself in
! CALCULATIONS of hosanna: sometimes in
| doxologv: sometimes in tears. A con
veriei native Of India in letter said
How long for my bed, not that may
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to hold sweet communion with my God. =
II So mighty is worldly JOY that Julius
! II. hearin. his armies were triumphant.
expired. and if Talva, hearing that the
Roman senate had decreed him an honor,
expired. and if Dionysius and Sophocles,
overcome Of joy. expired. and il ship
wrecked purser. waiting on the coast of
| nj, in an1 Sea M IN
sight If vessel bringing relief, fell
dead from shock of delight. is il any sur
prise 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 IL me: DE Witt. three times
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; cannot bear
any more of this gladness. II is too much
for mortal WITHHOLD! withholdr We
have heard Of poor workmen or workwo-
men 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 par,loning grace find that all
our earthly 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 inanc,
and an aurora has no plllare,l splen1or,
and diamond has no flash, and n pearl
no light. and beryl no aquamarine. and
a ruby no ruddiness Ny gracious Lord,
My glorious Go1. My precious Christ.
Roll over on us few pillows of that
rapture. And now | nsk you. as fair
minded men and women. accustomed To
make comparisons. is not such joy as
that worth more than anything one can
have in jewelcd casket? Was not Solo
mon right when he said. Wisdom is bet
ter than rubies:'
MARTYRS To DUTY.
There is also something in the deep
carmine Of the ruby that suggests the
sacrifice on which our whole system of
religion depends. 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 startling of all colors
hath the ruby. Solomon. the author of
my text. knew all about the sacrifice of
lamb and dove on the altars of the tenn
pie. and he knew the meaning If sacri-
fetal blood. and what other precious
stone could he so we'll use to symbolic
il as the ruby? Red, intensely red. red
as the blood of the greatest martyr If all
time .Iesus-of the centuries. Drive
the story of the cruciixion out of the
Bible and the doctrine of the atoncment
out of our religion. and there would be
nothing of Christianity left for our wor-
ship or our admiration.
Why should it he hard to adopt the