The Globe-republican., 1894-02-16


tiary, and pursuit of wild mObs, and
the sword of decapitation. To make
| David what he was it took all that
! Ahithophel and Saul and Absolom and
! Goliath and all the Philistine hosts
could do against him 1t took Robert
Chambers malformation of feet to
| make him the literary conquerer. 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: Il cannot burn; let the fire
come to me; 1 cannot burn" Thank
God that there are gems that unfold
their best glories under the lamp light!
Thank God for the ruby!
Moreover. 1 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 happi-
ness, and the ruby will not In all your
observation did you ever find a person
thoroughly felicitated by an encrust-
ment 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 salts
faction 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 fiattering
guests contain more real bliss than the
plain ware of your first table, at which
only two sat? Does a wardrobe crowd
ed 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? If in
this journey of life we have learned
anything. we have learned that this
world neither with its emoluments nor
gains can satisfy the soul Why, here
come as many witnesses as l wish to
call to the stand to testify that before
high Heaven and the world, in COM
partnership with Jesus Christ and a
good hope of Heaven. they feel joy
that all the resources of their vocabul-
larly fail to express A converted ma
tive of India in letter said: How l
long for my bed, not that l may sleep:
l lie awake often and long, but to hold
sweet communion with my God" If
SO mighty is worldly joy that Julius
H.. hearing his armies were triumph
ant, 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
if a shipwrecked purser waiting on the
coast of Guinea in want and starvation at
the sight of vessel bringing relief, fell
dead from the shock of delight, is it any
to you that the joys of pardon
and Heaven rolling over the soul should
be almost too much for the
Christian to endure and live?
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 sap
phire 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 affairs
Of the temple, and he knew the
meaning of sacrificial blood, and what
other precious stone could he so
well use to symbolic it 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 execution out of the Bible |
and the doctrine of the atonement out
IF our religion. and there would be |
nothing of Christianity left for our
or our admiration. Why |
should it be hard to adopt the Bible |
.heory that our redemption was pur-
chased by blood? What great bridge |
EVER sprung its arches: what temple |
.ver reard its towers: what nation ever
achieved its indepe ,dence: what mighty |
rood was ever done without sacrifice |
# life? The great wonder of the
world. the bridge that unites these
NO cities, cost the life of the first |
Irchitect Ask the shipyards
# Glasgow and New York how many
arpenters went down under accidents
'efore the steamer was launched: ask
ne three great transcontinental rail-
Dads how many in their construction
we're buried under crum bling embank-
nents. or crushed under timbers, or
destroyed by the powder blast Tabu-
ate the statistics of how many moth
rs have been martyrs to the cradle of
lex children Tell US how many men
acrificed nerve, and muscle. and brain.
nd life in the effort to support their
Tell me how many men
n England. in France. in Germany. in
taly in the United States have died
or their country. Vicarious suffering
- :. AZ |