Phillipsburg herald. [volume] (Phillipsburg, Kan.) 1882-1905, 1896-01-09
The Wedding Garment.

That was a profound saying OF the
Psalmist, and one that fifty fore
Swallowed the fullness Of the dispen-
sation Of Christ, CAS- for me, l will be-
hold Thy face in righteousness; shall
be satisfied when awake IN Thy like
ness" For he had reached in his
spiritual experience truth which the
humanitarian, in his natural conf
dence, denies, namely, that the like
ness of the Divine is the only thing
that can complete human natures that
the true and permanent satisfaction OF
man, that which will satisfy his crav-
ings for fullness and completion in
those nobler and purer endowments OF
bis being, is found only in the likeness
of Gdn 1t is true that perfect oneness
of humanity and divinity was once,
and only once, representative accomp-
lished in Jesus Christ, and that such
fullness of unity may not be looked
for in any other, But as the Son OF
God became in our humanity our elder
Brother, we may thereby become
partakers Of the divine life, and may
be 80 renewed in the likeness OF that
life, that there may be begun IN US
that assimilation of which the Psalm
ist thought, and which shall go on 80
long as we keep our faces turned to
Him whom we seek TO resemble.
The higher, spiritual life, the life of
God in man, is unavaillngly offered to
those who are either careless OF, or
Indifferent to, its superiority, and to
whom the visible relations Of the
earthly lille present the stronger at
fractions. 1t is not always because
men are afraid of the presence of God
that they hide themselves behind the
material. 1t is probably as often be-
cause the strong attractions of the
visible prove irresistible, and men can
not spare the time or energy that is
absorbed in this for the pursuit OF
something which they can neither see
nor handle. Perhaps, too, the fact
which all must admit that it would be
in vain to appear IN the presence OF
God exceptin a garment of righteous
ness suited to the august presence,
and the equally admitted facts that
the fields of worldly cultivation yield
no material out of which such q gar
ment can be woven, have something
to do with the general reluctance to
put on the divine likeness. The ex-
Clusiveness, if it may be SO termed, OF
the spiritual is such that it cannot be
put on over the material as a mere
cloak or covering Of the external; but
it requires that the entire raiment OF
the soul, in it's inner consciousness
and in its outer life, shall be of kin
bred texture. The profession must be
the manifestation of the state Of being.
A symmetrical life is the perfection
Of our existence. Fashion has of late
reached q point Of admirable refine
ment when it DEGREES that all ones
surroundings, garments, ornaments,
furniture and even flowers, shall be
harmonious, that they shall strike nc
chord of dlssonance against what q
purer art may declare to be in accord.
ance with exquisite taste. The spirit
of this decision 10 correct. 1t only
errs when it stops at the external, as
all laws of the social and material and
worldly must stop, and fails to reach
the inner garment Of the soul. The
divine law of symetry requires thai
there be purity fife as the outgrowth
and representation of purity Of soul
We are accustomed to regulate oul
standard of life by the will of those
who surround us in our little world Of
society. We must regulate oul
standard Of spiritual life, not by i'll
conformity to the material, but by i'll
harmony with the will of the Omni
scient, knowing that whether in the
crowd or in complete isolation we are
under the gaze Of the Almighty, ant
are to be judged, as to our fitness, by
His standard Of equity and taste.
II q man wish to enter and to enjoy
the entertainment Of a learned ant
intellectual society, it is not enough
surely that he have ticket OF admis
sion to show at the door. He mus
be capable Of approaching the cul
ture, the flashing wit, the refined e1
preston, the deep and earnest though
the broad view of life, of those VIII,