The free press., 1894-03-01
If In this journey of life we have harmed

| satisfy the soul Why, here come as man,
witnesses as 1 wish to call to the stand t.
testify that before high heaven and the
world, in companionship with Jesus Chris
and a good hope of heaven, they feel a jo.
that all the resources of their vocabulary fat
| to express Sometimes it evidences itself il
calculations of hosanna sometimes in doxol
ogy sometimes in tears. converted ma
tive of India in letter said "How Ions
for my bed. not that may sleep-I lie awake
often and long-but to hold sweet commu
nion with my God"
If so mighty is worldly JOY that Julius Ii
hearing his armies were triumphant. ex
pired and If Talva. hearing that the Roman
senate had decreed him an honor, expired
and il Dionysius and Sophocles. overcome
OF Joy. expired. and If shipwrecked pur-
SER waiting on the coast of Guinea in want
and starvation at the sight of a vesse
| bringjn, relief fell dead from shock OF de
! light is it any surprise to you that the Joys
OF pardon and heaven rolling over the sou
| should sometimes be almost too much for
the Christian to endure and live? An aged
aunt said to 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. 1t is too much for mortal.
Withhold withhold p' We have heard of
/
ter suddenly telling them that a 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 a 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 flash. and pearl no light, and
a berry no aquamarine, and ruby no ruddi-
ness. My gracious Lord! My glorious
God! NY precious Christ ! Roll over on us
few pillows OF that rapture. And now
| ask YOU. as fair minded men and women.
accustomed to make comparisons, is not
such a Joy rs that worth more than anything
one can have in a ieweled casket? Was not
Solomon right when he said. ''Wisdom is bet
ter than rubieS?"
There is also something in the deep ear
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 RUDY. Solomon the
author of my text, knew all about the sacri-
flee of lamb and dove on the affairs of the
fcia! blood, and what other precious stone
could he so well 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 cruci-
fixion 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 untes these two cities,
cost the life of the first architect. Ask the,
shpyards 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 crumbing embankments or crushed un-
der timberS or destroyed by the powder blast.
Tabulate the statistics OF how 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 tho 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 tor their country. Vicarious suffering
the most startling. the most stupendous
sacrifice of all time and eternity was on 8.
bluff back OF Jerusalem when one Being took
upon Himself the sins. the agonies. the per-
dition of u great multitude that no mun eau
number between II o'clock OF darkened
noon and o'clock in the afternoon, purchas-
ing the ransom of a 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 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 so the gems brought from among the
graves of Ceylon and New South Wales, but
there is only one genuine ruby, and that
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 jmita-
tons 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 banner be lifted in all
our souls
In olden times Scotland was disturbed by
freebooters and pirates. 70 rid the seas
and ports oil these desperadoes the hero
William Wallace fitted out Il merchant yes
sells, but filled it with armed men and put
out TO sea. The pirates. with their flag in
scribed of deaths head, thinking they
would get an easy prize, bore down upon
the Scottish merchantman, 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 hoisted. Blessed
be God for any sign, for any signal, for any
precious stone that brings TO mind the price
paid for such rescue.
I like the coral, for it seems the solidifi fed
foam of breakers. and like the jasper, for
it gathers seventeen colors into its
bosom, and l like the jet, for it congresses
the shadows of many midnights, and | like
the chrysoprase because its purple is illu-
mire with n smal. heaven of stars, and
like the chrysolite for its waves Of color
which seem on fire. But this morning moth
| ha NV - =,