Connecticut western news., 1900-07-05


 repentance are all gathered up into Gods bottle, and some day, standing before the throne, we will lift our cup of delight and ask that 1t be filled with the wine of heaven, and Jesus, from that bottle of tears, will begin to pour
 in the cup, and we will cry, Stop, Je-
 sus; we do not want to drink our own
 tearsw And Jesus will say, Know ye
 not that the tears of earth are the wine
 of heaven" Sorrow may endure for
 a night, but joy cometh in the morning.
 I remark, further, Jesus does not
 shadow the joys of others with his
 own griefs. He might have sat down
 in that wedding and said: T have so
 much trouble, so much poverty, so
 much persecution, and the cross is
 coming. I shall not rejoice, and the
 gloom of my face and of my sorrows shall be cast over all this group" So said not Jesus. He said to himself: Here are two persons starting out in
 married life. Let 1t be a joyful occa-
 sion. will hide my own griefs.
 will kindle their joy" There are many
 not so wise as that. I know a house. hold where there are many little chil- dren, where for two years the musical instrument has been kept shut because there has been trouble in the house. Alas for the folly! Parents saying: "We will have no Christmas tree this coming holiday, because there has been trouble in the house! Hush that laugh ing up stairs! How can there be any joy when there has been so much trou- bleT And so they make everything consistently doleful and send their sons and daughters to ruin with the gloom they throw around them.
 Keep Back Sorrow.
 Oh, my dear friends, do you not know those children will have trouble enough of their own after awhile? Be glad they cannot appreciate all yours. Keep back the cup of bitterness from your daughters lips. When your head Is down in the grass of the tomb, pov- erty may come to her, betrayal to her, bereavement to her. Keep back the sorrows as long as you can. Do you not know that that son may, after awhile, have his heart broken? Stand between him and all harm. You may not fight his battles long. Fight them while you may. Throw not the chill of your own despondency over his soul. Rather be like Jesus, who came to the wedding hiding his own grief and kin ding the joys of others. So I have seen the sun on a dark day struggling
 amid clouds, black, ragged and porten- tous, but after awhile the sun, with golden pry, heaved back the blackness, and the sun laughed to the lake, and l the lake laughed to the sun, and from horizon to horizon, under the saffron sky, the water was all turned into wine.
 1 learn from this miracle that Christ is not impatient with the luxuries of | life. 1t was not necessary that they l should have that wine. Hundreds of people have been married without any wine. We do not read that any of the other provisions fell short When Christ made the wine, 1t was not a ne- cessity, but a positive luxury. I do not believe that he wants us to eat hard bread and sleep on hard mattress es unless we like them the best. l | think, if circumstances will allow, we have a right to the luxuries of dress, I the luxuries of diet and the luxuries of | residence. There Is no more religion In an old coat than in new one. We can serve God drawn by golden plated harness as certainly as when we go afoot. Jesus Christ will dwell with us
 under a fine ceiling as we'll as under a | matched roof
 What Is the difference between & Chinese mud hovel and an American home? What Is the difference between | the rough bearskins of the Russian boor and the outfit of an American gen. ! tleman? No difference except that which the gospel of Christ, directly or indirectly, has caused. When Christ shall have vanquished all the world | suppose every house will be mansion. | and every garment a robe, and every horse an arch necked courser, and ev- l cry carriage a glittering vehicle, and every man a king, and every woman | queen, and the whole earth paradise,
 the glories of the natural world har- I monizing with the glories of the ma
 terial world until the very bells of the
 horses shall jingle the praises of the | Lord.
 | Religion Is Joyful.
 I learn, further, from this miracle
 that Christ has no impatience with fes- tai joy; otherwise he would not have l accepted the invitation to that we'd ding. He certainly would not have
 done that which increased the hilar-
 ity. There may have been many in
 that room who were happy, but there
 was not one of them that did so much for the joy of the wedding party as | Christ himself He was the chief of
 the banqueters. When the wine gave
 out, he supplied 1t, and so, take 1t, he
 will not deny us the joys that are posi- lively festal.
 I think the children of God have
 more right to laugh than any other
 people and to clap their hands as loud | ly. There Is not single joy denied
 them that Is given to any other people. | Christianity does not clip the wings of
 the soul. Religion does not frost the
 flowers. What Is Christianity? I take
 1t to be simply a proclamation for all
 the enslaved, and If a man accepts the
 terms of that proclamation and be-
 comes free has he not a right to be
 merry? Suppose a father has an ele-
 gant mansion and large grounds. To
 whom will he give the first privilege of
 these grounds? Will he say: My chil- | dren, you must not walk through these l paths or sit down under these trees or
 pluck this fruit. These are for outsid-
 CTS. 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 refreshments and enjoyments ] nf lfa nrf, for ai1tctdnr.s not fc,,. hic