Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-10-11

cent Him as having love like great pro
fuherance ON one side of His nature, but
makes that love in harmony with His JUS.
tice--a love that will accept all those WINS
come TO Him and justice that Will by
NO means clear the guilty. Beautiful reii'
gion in the sentiment it implants! Beau
fiful religion in the hope it kindles! Beau
tiful religion in the fact that 1t proposes
to garland and enthrone and emperaolse
an immortal spirit Solomon SAYS IL is
lily. Paul says it is crown. Inc app ~.
ann. Ezekiel says it is q foliaged cedar
Christ saws it is q bridegroom come to
fetch home a bride. While JOB in the
t.xt takes up a whole vase Of precious
stones-the topaz and the sapphire and
III, chrvsoprasus-he takes out OF this
beautiful vase just one crystal and holds
Il up until it CLEANS in the warm light OF
the eastern sky, and he cxelaims, The
crystal cannot equal 1t!
oh. ID is not a stale religion, it is not a
stupid religion, it is not toothless bag, 10
,ome seem to have represented it,. 1t s
not a Meg Merriies with shrlveled arm
come to scare the world. 1t is the falrest
daughter of God, heiress of all His wealth,
her cheeks the morning sky, her voice the
music of the south wind, her step the
dance of the sea- Come and WOO her;
The Spirit and the Bride say come, and
whatsoever will let him come. Do you
agree with Solomon and say it is lily?
Then pluck it and wear it ever your heart.
DO you agree with Paul and say it is a
crown! Then let this hour be your, coro'
nation. Do you agree with the Apocac,
1ypse and say it is a sprinsing fountain!
Then come and slake the thirst of your
soul. Do you believe with Ezekiel and
say it is foliaged cedar? Then come un-
der its shadow. Do you believe with
Christ and say it is a bridegroom come to
with your Lord and King while I pre-
nounce you everlastingly one. Or if you
think with Job that it is jewel then put
it on your hand like ring on your neck
like bead, on your forehead like a star,
while, looking into tie mirror of Gods
word, you acknowledge 'The crystal can
not equal it,
What" say you, will God wear jew
elryp Ii He wanted it He could make
the stars Of heaven His belt, and have the
evening cloud for the sandals of His feet
But He does not want that adornment
He will not have that jewelry. When
God wants jewelry He comes down and
digs it out Of the depths and darkness of
sin. These souls are all crystallizations of
mercy. He puts them on, and He wears
them in the presence of the whole uni
verse. He wears them on the hand that
was nailed, over the heart that was
pierced, on the temples that were stung.
"They shall be Mine" saith the Lord, lin
the day when make up My jewels"
Wonderful Transformation! Where sin
abounded grace shall much more abound.
The carbon becomes the solitaire. "The
crystal cannot equal it,
Three crystals! John SAYS crystal at:
mosphere. That means health. Balm Of
worlds east wind! No rack of storm.
clouds. One breath of that air will cure
the worst tubercle. Crystal light on all
the leaves; crystal light shimmering on
the topaz of the temples; crystal light
tossing in the plumes of the equestrians
of heaven on white horses. But "the
crystal cannot equal it." John says erys.
tai river. That means JOY. Deep and
ever rolling. Not one drop of the Potomac
or the Hudson or the Rhine to soil it; not
one tear of human sorrow to imbitter it.
Crystal, the rain out Of which it was made;
crystal, the bed over which it shall roll
and ripple; crystal, it's infinite surface.
But "ths crystal cannot equal it," John
says crystal sea. That means multitude
nously vast vast in rapture, rapture vast
as the sea, deep as the sea, strong as the
sea, ever changing as the sea; pillows of
light, pillows Of beauty, blue with skies
that were never clouded and green with
and Antarcties and Mediterraneans and
Atlantics and Pacifcs in crystalline mag.
nifcence. Three crystals - crystal light
falling on crystal river, crystal river
rolling into crystal sea. But "the crys-
tai cannot equal it,
"Oh," says some one, putting his hand
over his eyes. "can it be that ! who have
been in so much sin and trouble will ever
come to those crystals~ Yes, it may be-
it will be. Heaven we must have, what
ever we have or have not, and we come
here to get it, "How much must ] pay
for it," you say. You will pay for it just
as much as the coal pay. to become the
In other words, nothing. The
same Almighty power that makes the crys-
tai in the mountain will change your heart,
which is harder than stone, for the prom
Use is, II will take away your stony heart,
and will give you heart Of flesh"
ooh" says some one, ut is just the
doctrine | want. God is to do everything,
and I am to do nothing" My brother, it
Is not the doctrine you want. The coal
makes no resistance. 1t hears the resur-
rection voice in the mountain, and 1T
comes to capitalization, but your heart re-
sists. The trouble with you. my brother,
10 the coal wants to stay coal.
/ do not ask you to throw open the door
and let Christ in. / only ask that you
stop boiling it and barring it. My friends.
we will have to get rid Of our sins. / will
have to get rid Of my sins, and you will
have to get rid Of your sins. What will
we do with our sins among the three
crystals? The crystal atmosphere would
display our pollution. The crystal river
would be befouled with our touch. Trans-
formation must take place now or no
at ALL Give sin full chanes
in your heart, and the Transformation will
be downward instead OF upward. Instead
Of a crystal it will be cinder.
In the days Of Carthage a Christian girl
was condemned to die for her faith, and q
boat was bedaubed with tar and pitch and
filed with combustibles and set on fire,
and the Christian girl was placed in the
boat, and the wind was offshore, and the
boat foated away with its precious. treas,
IRE. No one can doubt that boat landed
YOU in fiery boat and shove you of in ap
opposite direction-off from peace, off |
from God, of from heaven, everlastingly
off, and the port toward which you would
sail would be pert of darkness, and the
guns that would greet you would be the
guns of despair, and the flags that would
wave at your arrival would be the black
flags of death. Oh, my brother, you must |
either kill sin or sin will kill you. 1t is no |
when say that any man or |
woman that wants to be saved may be
salvation and destruction, between light |
md darkness, between chsrred ruin and |
glorious specialization.