The Chanute times. [volume] (Chanute, Kan.) 1897-1913, 1900-07-06


people. Christianity does not clip the
wings of the soul. Religion does not
frost the flowers. What is Christian
ity? | take It to be simply a proc
lamation from the throne OF God OF
emancipation for all the enslaved,
and II a man accepts the terms OF that
proclamation and becomes free has ne
not a right to be merry? Suppose a
| father has an elegant mansion anu
large grounds. To whom will he give
the first privilege Of these grounds
VIII he say: MY children, you must
not walk through these paths, or SIT
down under these. trees or pluck this
fruit. These are for outsiders. They
may walk in them" No father would
say anything like that. He would say,
"The first privileges in all the grounds
and all of my house shall be for my
own children And yet men try to
make us believe that Gods children
are on the limits. and the chief re-
| freshments and enjoyments of life are
for outsiders and not for his own
CullQTGH. IL 10 otdl AhSA
is no innocent beverage too rich for
Gods child to drink. there is no robe
too costly for him to wear, there is no
hilarity too great for him to indulge
in and no house too splendid for him
to live in. He has right to the joys
Of earth; he shall have right to the
Joys of heaven. Though tribulation
and trial and hardship may come to
him, let him rejoice. Rejoice in the
Lord, we righteous, and again l say
rejoice"
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 NOR
tification. Why did he not perform
the miracle sooner? Why wait until
1t was all gone, and no help could
come from any source, and then come
in and perform the miracle? This Is,
Christ's way, and when he did come
in, at the hour of extremity, he made
first rate wine, so that they cried out,
Thou hast kept the good wine until
now" Jesus in the hour of extrem-
ity! He seems to prefer that hour.
In a Christian home in Poland great
poverty had come, and on the week
day the man was obliged to move out
of the house with his whole family.
That night he knelt with his family
and prayed to God While they were
kneeling in prayer there was tap on
the window pane. They opened the
window, and there was raven that
the family had fed and trained, and 1t
had in its bill a ring all set with pre-
cious stones, which was found out to
be ring belonging to the royal FAM
lily. 1t was taken up to the kings
residence, and for the honesty of the
man in bringing it back he had a
house given to him and garden and
farm. Who was 1t that sent the
raven tapping on the window? The
same God that sent the raven to feed
Elijah by the brook Cherith. Christ
In the hour of extremity!
A Grander Wedding.
The wedding scene is gone now. The
wedding ring has been lost, the tank
ards have been broken, the house Is
down, but Jesus invites us to grand
err wedding. You know the Bible says
that the church is the Lambs wife,
and the Lord will after awhile come
to fetch her home. There will be
cleaning of torches in the sky, and
the trumpets of God will ravish the
air with their music, and Jesus will
stretch out his hand, and the church,
robed in white, will put aside her veil
and look up into the face of her Lord,
the King and the Bridegroom will say
to the bride: Thou hast been faith
full through all these years! The man
sion is ready! Come home! Thou
art fair, my love-" And then he will
put upon her brow the crown of do
minion, and the table will be spread,
and it will reach across the skies, and
the mighty ones of heaven will come
in. garlanded with beauty and striking
their cymbals, and the Bridegroom
and bride will stand at the head Of
the table, and the banqueters,. looking
up. will wonder and admire and say:
THAT is Jesus, the Bridegroom! But
the scar on his brow is covered with
the coronet, and the stab in his side
is covered with a robe!" And That
is the bride! The WEAKNESS of her
earthly woe lost in the flush Of this
wedding triumph"
There will be wine enough at that
wedding; not coming up from the poi
soned watts of earth, but the vineyards
of God will press their ripest clusters
and the cups and the tankards will
blush to the brim with the heavenly
vintage, and then all the banQueters
will drink standing. Esther, having
come up from the bacehanalian rev.
elry of Ahasuerus, where thousand
lords Toasted, will be there. And the
queen of Sheba, from the banquet OF
Solomon, will be there. And the
mother of Jesus, from the wedding in
Cana, will be there. And they all will
agree that the earthly feasting was
poor compared with that. Then, lift
ing their chalices in that light, they
shou crv IN tho Lord of the feast,