The Iola register., 1901-08-09

brought to King Solomon are might
lily suggestive of the sweet spices of
our holy religion. Christianity is not
collection of sharp technicalities
and angular facts and chronological
tables and dry statistics. Our reli-
gion is compared to frankincense and
to cassia, but never to nightshade.
1t is bundle of myrrh. 1t is a dash
of holy light. 1t is a sparkle of cool
fountains. 1t is an opening of opal
inc gates. 1t is collection of spices.
Would God that we were as wise in
taking spices to our Divine King as
Queen BallSis was wise in taking the
spices to the earthly Solomon.
The fact is that the duties and
cares of this life, coming to us from
time TO time, are stupid often and
fnane and intolerable. Here are men
who have been battering, climbing,
pounding, hammering, for 20 years.
40 years, so years. One great, long
drudgery has their life been, their
faces anxious, their feelings be-
numbed, their days monotonous.
What is necessary to brighten up
that mans life and to sweeten that
acid disposition and to put sparkle
into the mans spirits2 The spicery
Of our holy religion. Why, IL between
| the losses of life there dashed the
CLEAN of an eternal gain, IL between
the betrayals of life there came the
CLEAN OF the undying friendship OF
! Christ, II in dull times in business we
found ministering spirits flying to
/ and fro in our Office and store and
shop, everyday life instead OF being
a stupid monotone would be glor-
ious inspiration, penduluming be.
| tween calm satisfaction and high rap
| ture.
How any woman keeps house with
out the religion of Christ to help her
| is a mystery TO me. To have to spend
the greater part of ones life, is many
women do, in planning for the meals
and stitching garments that will soon
be rent again and deploring bre akages
and supervising tardy subordinates
| and driving off dust that soon again
! will settle and doing the same thing
! day in and day out and year in and
year out until the hair silvers and the
back stoops and the spectacles crawl
TO the eyes and the grave breaks open
under the thin sole of the shoe-oh,
it is a long monotony! But when
Christ comes to the drawing-room and
comes to the kitchen and comes to the
nursery and comes to the dwelling,
then how CHEEKY become all womanly
dutiesl She is never alone now
Martha gets through fretting and
joins Mary at the feet of Jesus. All
day long Deborah is happy because she
can help Lapidoth, Hannah because
she can make coat for young Sam
uel, Miriam because she can watch
her infant brother. Rachel because
she can help her father water the
stock. the widow of Sarepta because
the cruise of oil is being replenished
o woman. having in your pantry q
nest of boxes containing all kinds oi
condiments, why have you not tried
in your heart and life the spicery ot
our holy religion? martha, Martha
thou art careful and troubled about
many things, but one thing is needful
and Mary hath chosen that good part
which shall not be taken away from
her"
must confess that a great deal Of
the religion of this day is utterly in
sipid. There is nothing piquant OF
elevating about 1t. Men and womei
go around humming psalms in minor
key and cultivating melancholy, anC
their worship has in it more sigh
7 q. 4 a., ht h,fl
piety. Oh. no! But they are sitting
at feast where the cook has for
gotten to season the food. Everythin,
is fat i'm their experience and in thei
conversation. Emancipated from sin
and Death and hell and on their wa,
to a magnificent Heaven. they act a
/, though they were trudging on towar,
an everlasting Botany Bay. Religion
; does not seem to agree with them. |
seems to catch in the windpipe an,
become a tight strangulation instea
of an eXhi.aration. All the infide
books that have been written, from
Noltaire down to Herbert Spencer
have not done so much damage to on
Christianity as lugubrious Christians
, Who wants religion woven out o
| the shadows of the night? Why &
growing on your way TO celestial Ell
thronement? Come out of that cav
and sit down in the warm light of tn
, Sun of Righteousness. Away wit
your odes 10 melancholy and Hervey'
calculations Among the Tombs."
Then let our songs abound
And every tear be dry;
' We're marching through Emmanuel
! ground
To fairer worlds on high.
/ have to say also that we need t
put more spice and enivenment in on
? religious teaching, whether ii be i
r the prayer-meeting or in the Sunda
p school or in the church. We minister
= need more fresh air and sunshine i
S our lungs and our heart and our heaC
2 Do you wonder that the world is S
70 far from being converted when yo
i find so little vivacty in the pulpit an
. in the pew? We want, like the Lore
d TO plant in our sermons and eXhorti
t tions more lilies of the field. We wa1
b fewer rhetorical Celebrations an