Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-10-09

beautiful. Three crystals. In one place
he says, Her light was like a precious
stone. clear q crystal" In another place
he says, Il saw pure river from under
the throne, clear as crystal" In another
place he says, Before the throne there
was a So of glass clear as crystal"
Three crystals, John says crystal atnos-
phere. That means health. Balm of
eternal June. What weather after the
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 crys-
tai river. That means joy, Deep and
eyel rolling. Not one drop of the Poto-
mae the Hudson or the Rhine to soil
it. y one tear of human sorrow to inn
bittt 1t, Crystal, the rain out of which
it was made. Crystal. the bed over
which it shall roll and ripple. CrystGh
its infinite surface. bat 'the crystal can
not equal it," John says crystal sea.
That means multitudinousiy vast. Vast
in rapture. Rapture vast as the sea, deep
as the sea, strong as the sea, ever chang
ing as the sea. Billows of light. Bill
lows of beauty. blue with skies that were
never clouded and green with depths that
were never fathnmed. Arcties and Ant
arctics and Mediterraneans and Allan
ties and Paeitics in crystalline magnifi-
eence. Three crystals Crystal Light
falling on crystal river. Crystal river
rolling into crystal sea. But 1.-THE crys-
tai cannot equal IL.
"0h." says some one, putting his hand
over his eyes, ''ean it be that | WHO have
been in 50 much sin and trouble will ever
come to those crystals? Yes, it may
belt viii be. Heaven we must have,
whatever we have or have not. and we
lme here to get ii. "How much must
pay for it?" you say. You will pay for
it just as much as the coal pays to be-
come the diamond. In other words,
nothing The same Almighty power that
makes the crystal in the mountain will
change Your heart which is harder than
stone, Tor the promise is. Il will taxi .
away your stony heart, and l will gil /,
you a heart of flesh
Open the Door to Christ.
Oh says some one, 1T is just the. doc
trine | want. God is, TO do everything,
and l 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 it
comes to capitalization; but your heart
resists. The trouble with you, my broth
err, is the coal wants to stay coal.
do not ask yon to throw open the door
and let Christ IL. J only ask that you
stop boiling it ana barring it. My friends.
we will have to get rid of our sins. l
will have to get rid of my sins, and you
viii have to get rid of v ur sivs. What
will we do with our sins aInoua ihe 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
transformation at all. Give sin full
chance in your heart and the transforms
ton will be downward instead of upward.
Instead of crystal it will be cinder.
In the days of Carthage a Christian
girl was condemned to die for her faith.
and a boat was bedaubed with tar and
pitch and fill"' with combustibles and
set on fire. and the Christian girl was
placed in the boat and the wind was OF
shore, and the boat fioatei away with its
precious treasure. No one can doubt
that boat LANDED at the shore of heaven.
Sin wants to put you in fiery boat and
shove you off in an opposite directiJn-off
from peace, ots frnr God, off from heav-
en-. everia stingly off, aui the port toward
which yo,i would silil would be port of
darkness, and the guns that would greet
you would be the guns of despair, and
the flags that wonld wave at your ar
rival would be thu black flags of death.
Oh. my brother, you must either kill sin
or sin will kill you 1t is no exaggeration
when | say that any man or woman that
wants to be saved may be saved Ire
mendous choice! A thousand people are
choosing this moment between salvation
and destruction, between light and dark
ness, between eharred ruin and glorious
capitalization.