The united opinion. [volume] (Bradford, Vt.) 1881-1970, 1896-01-10

hood, If he gets in trouble, in trial, in
persecution, in temptation, he has only
to show this ring of Christ's adoption.
and all the armed cohorts of heaven
will come to his rescue.
The Betrothal.
Still further, when Christ takes a soul
into his love he puts upon it a marriage
ring. Now, that is not within Of mine
(Hosea ii. 19), 81 will betroth thee I'M
to me forever, yea, l will betroth thee
unto me in righteousness, and in judg-
ment, and in loving kindness, and in
mercies." At the wedding altar the
bridegroom puts ring upon the hand
of the bride. signifying love and faith
fulness. Trouble may come upon the
household, and the carpets may 60, the
pictures may go, the piano may go, ev-
erything else may go-the last thing
that goes is that marriage ring, for it is
considered sacred. In the burial hour it
is withdrawn from the hand and kept
in a casket, and sometimes the box is
opened ON an anniversary day, and as
you look at that ring you see under its
arch long procession of precious mem
cries. Within the golden circle Of that
ring there is room for thousand sweet
recollections to revolve, and you think
of the great contrast between the hour
when, at the close of the wedding march,
under the flashing lights and amid the
aroma Of orange blossoms, you set that
ring on the round finger of the plump
hand, and that hour when at the close
of the exhaustive watching, when you
knew that the soul had fed, you took
from the hand, which gave back no re-
sponsive clasp, from that emaciated fin
ger, the ring that she had worn SO long
and worn SO we'll.
On some anniversary day you take up
that ring, and you polish it until all
the old luster comes back, and you can
see in it the flash of eyes that long ago
ceased to weep. Oh, it is not an I'M
meaning thing when I tell you that
when Christ receives a soul into his
keeping he puts on it marriage ring
He endows you from that moment with
all his wealth. You are one-Christ
and the soul-one in sympathy, one in
affection, one in hope.
There is no power on earth or hell to
effect enforcement after Christ and
the soul are united. Other kings have
turned out their companions when they
got weary of them and sent them adrift
from the palace gate. Ahasuerus ban
ished Vashti; Napoleon forsook Jose
phine, but Christ is the husband that is
true forever. Having loved you once, he
loves you to the end. Did they not try
to divorce Margaret, the Scotch girl,
from Jesus? They said, "You must give
up your religion" She said, 81 can't
give up my religion" And SO they took
her down TO the beach of the sea, and
they drove in stake at low water
mark, and they fastened her to it, ex
pecting that as the tide came up her
faith would fail The tide began to rise,
and came up higher and higher, and to
the girdle, and to the lip, and in the
last moment, just as the wave was
washing her soul into glory, she shouted
the praises of Jesus.
Oh, no, you cannot separate soul
from Christ 1t is an everlasting mar
riage. Battle and storm and darkness
cannot do it. Is it too much exultation
for a man, who is but dust and ashes
like myself, to cry out this moment, 81
am persuaded that neither height nor
depth nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor
any other creature, shall separate me
from the love of God, which is in Christ
Jesus, my Lord?" Glory be to God that
when Christ and the soul are married
they are bound by chain-a golden
chain-if might say so-a chain with
one link, and that one link the golden
ring of Gods everlasting love.
The Marriage.
Igo step farther, and tell you that |
when Christ receives a soul into his )
love, he puts on him the ring of festivi-
ty. You know that it has been the Gus
tom in all ages to bestow rings on very
happy occasions. There is nothing more
appropriate for birthday gift than a
ring. You delight to bestow such gift
upon your children at such time. 1t
means joy, hilarity, festivity. Well,
when this old man of the text wanted
to tell how glad he was that his boy
had got back, he expressed it in this
way. Actually, before he ordered SAN
dals to be put on his bare feet; before
he ordered the fatted calf to be killed
to appease the boys hunger, he COM
manded, "Put ring on his hand. " \
Oh, it is a merry time when Christ
and the soul are united Joy of forgive
ness What a splendid thing it is to
feel that all is right between my God
and myself. What glorious thing it is
to have God just take up all the sins Of
my life and put them in one bundle,
and then fling them into the depths of
the sea, never TO rise again, never to be
talked of again. Pollution all gone.
Darkness all illumined. God reconciled.
The prodigal home. "Put ring on his
hand.
Every day I find happy Christian peo-
pie. l find some of them with no second
coat, some of them in huts and tene-
ment houses, not one earthly comfort
afforded them, and yet they are as hap
py as happy can be. They sing Rock
of Ages as no other people in the world
sing it. They never wore any jewelry in
their life but one gold ring, and that