The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-07-18
daughters to, ruin with tbt gloom they

| throw around tEem.
Oh, l4y, dear friends, do you not know
those children will have ,Eouble enough
of their own after awhi!c3 Be glad they
the cup Of bitterness from Your daughter :
lips. When your head Il down in the
grass of the tomb pover* may confe 10
her betrayal to her, bereavement to her.
Keep back the sorrows aslong as you can.
DO you not know that Eat son may. after
awhile, have his heaft broken? Stand
between him and all harm. You may not
fight his battles loDxs Fight them while
YOU may. Throw ncf the chill of your own
dependency over hs soul. Rather I've like
Jesus, who came TO the wedding hiding
His own grief and kindling the joys Of
others. So haye seen the. sun on dark
day struggling. imid clouds, black. ragged
and portentous, but after awhile the sun,
with golden pry, heaved back the black
ness. and the sun laughed to the lake. and
the lake laughed to the sun, and from hori
zon to- horizon, under the saffron sky, the
water was all turned into wine.
l learn from this miracle that Christ is
not. impatient with the luxuries of lie. 1t
was not necessary that they should have
that wine. Hundreds of people have hecn
married without any wine. We do not read
that anytof the other provisions fell short.
When Christ made the wine it was not a
necessity. but a positive luxury. do not
believe that He wants us to eat hard bread
and sleep on hard mattresses unless we
! like them the best. ] think, if circum-
stances will allow, we havesa right to the
the luxuries of residence. There is no
more religion in an old coat than in a new
one. We can serve God drawn by golden
harness as certainly as when we go afoot.
Jesus Christ will dwell with lis under a
fine ceiling as we'll as under thatched
roof. ~
What is the difference between Chi.
nese mud hovel and an American home?
What is the difference between the rough
Ebearskins of the Russian boor and the
outfit of an American gentleman? No
difference except that which the gospel of
Christ, directly OF indirectly. has caused.
When Christ shall have vanQuished al! the
world.I suppose every house will be q
mansion, and every garment robe, and
every horse an arch necked courser, and
every carriage a glittering vehicle, and
every man a king. and every woman a
queen, and the whole earth a paradise: tho
glories of the natural world harmonlzina
with the glories of the material world un.
lss1 the very bells of the horses shall jingle
tthe praises of the Lord
RI learn, further, from this miracle that
tChristi has no impatience with festal JOY:
otherwise He would not have accepted the
| invitation to that wedding. He certainly
would not have done that which increased
the hilarity. There may have been many
| in that room who were hanDy, but there
was not one Of them that did so much t"r
the jov Of the wedding party. a. Ch'ist
Himself He was the chief OF the ban
aueters. When the wine gave ont, Rr sup
piled it. and so. take it. He will ~ ceny
I think the children of God have more
right to laugh than any other peopir, and
to clan their hands as loudly. There is
not n single JOY denied them that is given
to any other peonle. Christianity dies not
clip the wings of the soul. Religion docs
not frost the flowers.
l. What is Christianity? I take it to be
simply.a proclamation for all the ensla"cd.
and if man accepts the terms OF that
proclamation and becomes free has lie not
a right to be merry?
Suppose a father has an elegant man
sion and large grounds. To whom will ne
give the first privilege of these gron3'lS?
Will he say: my children, you must not
walk through these paths or sit 'lowm, nm
der these trees or pluck this fruit thesn,
are for outsiders. They may wax in them
No father would say anything like that:
He would say: The first privileges 10 all
the grounds and all Of my house shall ba
for nv own children" And yet men try
to make lis believe that Gods children are
on the limits and the chief refreshments
and cnioyments Of life are for outsiders
and not for His own children. 1t is stark
atheism. =,
There is no innocent beverage too ri:h
for Gods child to drink; there is no robe
too costly for him to wear; there is no
hilarity too great for him to indulg; IN,
and no house too splendid for him to live
in.
remark. again, that Christ comes to
us in the hour of our extremity. He knew
the wine was giving out before there was
any embarrassment or modification. why
did He not perform the miracle sooner!
Why wait until it was all gone, and no
help could come from any source; ana
then come in and perform the miracle?
You mourned over your sins. You couit
not find the way out. You sat down and
said: "God will not he merciful. lie has
cast me off. =" But in that the darkest hour
of your history light broke from the throne
and Jesus said: "Oh wanderer, come
home! I have seen all thy SORROWS. In
this the hour of thy extremity offer thee
pardon and everlasting life!"
Trouble came. You were almost torn
to pieces by that trouble. You hraced
yourself up against it. You said, i VIII
be stole and will not care. But before
you had got through making the resolution
| it broke down under you You felt tha1
all your resources were gone, and tnen
Jcsus came.
an the fourth watch of the night the
Bible saws. "Jesrs came walking on he
sa." WHY did He not come. in the first
| watch or in the second watch or III The
third watch? I do not know. lie came
in the fourth and gave deliverance to Lis
disciples. Jesus in the last extremity.
I wonder if it will he so in our very
last extremity. We shall fall suddenly
sick, and the doctors will come, but in VAIN.
We will try, the anodyneS and the st!mu'
lants and the bathings. but all IN VAN.
Something will saw, "You must 60" No
one to hold US back, but the hands of eter-
nity stretched out to pull us on, What
then? Jesus will come to us, and as we
saw. Lord Jesus, am afraid Of that wa
ter: T cannot wade through to the o!helr,
side. " He will say. "Take hold of My arm"
and we will take hold of His arm. and then
He will put His foot in the surf OF the
wave, taking us on dowE. deeper, DEEPER,
deeper, and our soul will cry, All my
| waves and pillows have gone over me.
Thev cover the feet, come to the knee and
pass nnsy the f sirdle die and come to the head: and
our our soul cries out, "Lord Jesus Christ, l
cannot hold Thine arm any Longer" Then
Jesus will turn around, throw both, His
arms about us and set us on the beach .ar
beyond the tossing of the pillows. Jesus
| in the last extremity! r,.,
That wedding scene is gone nov. lHs
wedding ring has been lost. the, .ankards
have been broken, the house I. down. Dut
Won know the Bible saws that the church