Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-10-12

fore becomes pellucid. Now you find
God is not trying to put you down. Now
You understand why you lest that child
and why you lost your property. 1t was
to prepare You for eternal treasures. And
why sickness came, it being the precursor
OF immortal juveneScence. And now you
understand why they lied about you and
tried to drive You hither and thither. 1t
was to put you in the glorious company
OF such men as Ignatius, who, when he
went out TO be destroyed by the lions,
said, Il am the wheat, and the teeth of
the wild beasts must first grind me before
l can become pure bread for Jesus
Christ. Or the company of such men as
that ancient Christian martyr" who.
when standing in the midst of the amphi-
| theater waiting for the lions to come out
| of their cave and destroy him and the
| people in the galleries jeering aud shout
Ing The lions'" replied, yet them come
| on" and then, STOPPING dow toward the
cave where the wild beasts were roaring
| to get out again cried, Let them come
| on. All. yes. it is persecution to put
| you in glorious company, and while there
are many things that you vii! have 10
postpone TO the future world for explana-
! ton | tell you that il Is the whole ten
| dency of your religion to unravel and ex-
| plain and interpret and illumine and ir-
radiate. Job was right. 1t is a glorious
| transparency. The crystal cannot equal
| it,"
l remark again that religion surpasses
| the crystal i'll its beauty, The lump OF
! crystal IS put under the magnifying glass
! of the crystallographer and he sees in it
! lndCScrlbable eXquisiteness -~ snowdrift
| and splintcrs of hoarfrost and corals and
| Wreaths and stars and Gowns and con
| stellations Of conspicuous beauty. The
| fact is that crystal is SO beautiful that |
| can think of but one thing in all the uni
verse that is as beautiful. and that is the
| religion of the Bible No wonder this
| Bible represents that religion as the day
| break. as the apple blossoms, as the gilt
| ter Of a kings banquet. 1t is the joy of
! the whole earth
People talk too much about their cross
and not enough about their crowns. DO
/ YOU know that the Bible mentions a cross
/ hut twentyseven times, while IL mentions
crown eighty times? Ask that old man
| what he thinks of religion. He has been
| II close observer. He has been cultivat-
| ing an aesthetic taste. He has seen the
| sunrises of half a century. He has been
an early riser. He has been an admirer
| of canoes and corals and all kinds OF
| beautiful things. Ask him what he thinks
of religion, and he will tell you: at is the
most beautiful thing / ever saw. The
| crystal cannot equal IT,"
| Harmony and Symmetry.
| Beautiful in its symmetry. When It
| presents Gods character, it does not pre-
| sent him as having love like a great pro-
| tuberance on one side of his nature, but
makes that love in harmony with his JUS
tice--a love that win accept all those who
come to him, and justice that will by no
means clear the guilty. Beautiful religion
! in the sentiment 1t implantsl Beautiful
| religion in the hope ii kindles. Beautiful
| religion in the fact that it proposes to
| garland and enthrone and emparadise an
| immortal spirit. Solomon says il Is a
| lily. Paul says it is a crown The Apoc-
! alypse says it IS a fountain kissed by the
sun. Ezekiel says it is Il foliaged cedar.
Christ says it is Il bridegroom come to
| fetch home a bride. While job in the
| text takes up whole vase of precious
stones-the topaz and the sapphire and
| the chrysoprasus-he holds out of this
beautiful vase just one crystal and holds
it up until it CLEANS in the warm light Of
the eastern sky, and he cxclaims, The
crystal cannot equal it,"
Oh, it is not q stale religion: it is not
stupid religion; it is not toothless bag.
as some seem to have represented it; it
is not Meg Merrilies with shriveled arm
come to scare the world; it Is the fairest
daughter Of God. heiress of all his
wealth; her cheek 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 whosoeycr will, let him come
Do you agree with Solomon and say il is
lily? Then pluck it aud wear it over
your heart. Do You agree with Paul and
say it is a crown? Then let this hour
be your coronation. Do you agree with
the Apocalypse and say it is a sprnging
fountainI Then come and slake the
thirst OF your soul. DO you believe with
Ezekiel and say it * a foliaged cedar?
Then come under it's shadow. Do you
believe with Christ and say 1t is bride
groom come to fetch home n bride? Then
strike hands with your Lord and King
while | pronounce you everlastingly one.
Or If You think with job that il il
jewel, then put it on your hand like
ring, on your neck like bend, on your
forehead like a star, while looking into
the mirror Of Gods word you acknowl-
edge, THE crystal cannot equal it,"
Superior to Crystal.
Again, religion is superior to the crystal
in its transformations The diamond is
only a capitalization. Carbonate Of lime
rises till it becomes calcite or aragonite.
Red oxide of copper crystallzes into
cubes and octahedrons. Those crystals
which adorn our persons and our homes
and our museums have only been resur-
rected from forms that were far from
lustrous. Scientists for ages have been
examining these wonderful transforma-
tionS. But tell you in the gospel Of tho
G,u If God thpre iI a rpnro yt,nnJo.f,,l