The Iola register., 1901-10-11

the day when l make up my jewels"
Wonderful transformation Where
sin abounded grace shall much more
abound. The carbon becomes the sol
| itaire. "The crystal cannot equal it,"
Now, have no liking for those peo-
pie who are always enlarging in
Christian meetings about their early
dissipation. Do not go into the par
| ticulars, my brother. Simply say
you were sick, but make no display
of your ulcers. The chief stock in
trade of some ministers and Chris
tian workers seems to be their early
crimes and dissipations. The num-
Der of pockets you picked and the
number of chickens you stole make
very poor prayer meeting rhetoric.
Besides that, it discourages other
Christian people who never got drunk
or stole anything. But it is pleasant
to know that those who were far
thest down have been brought high
est up. Out of Internal serfdom into
eternal liberty. Out of darkness into
light. From coal to the solitaire.
THE crystal cannot equal it,"
But, my friends, the chief trans
forming power of the Gospel will not
be seen in this world, and not until
Heaven breaks upon the soul. When
that light falls upon the soul, then
you will see the crystals. What
magnificent setting for these jewels
of eternity! l sometimes hear people
representing Heaven in way that
is far from attractive to me, 1t
| 81, ho
represent it, with great blotches of
color and bands of music making a
deafening racket. John represents
Heaven as eXquisitely beautiful
Three crystals! In one place he says:
Her light was like precious stone,
clear as crystal" In another place
he says: 81 saw a pure river from
under the throne, clear as crystal
In another place he says: Before
the throne there was sea of glass
clear as crystal" Three crystals!
John says crystal atmosphere. That
means health. Balm of eternal June
What weather after the worlds east
wind! No rack of stormclouds. 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 crystal river,
That means joy. Deep and ever roll.
ing. Not one drop of the Potomac
or the Hudson or the Rhine TO soil
it. Not one tear OF human sorrow
to embitter it. Crystal the rain out
, of which it was made. Crystal, the
bed over which it shall roll and rip.
pie. Crystal, its infinite surface. But
"the crystal cannot equal it," John
says crystal sea. That means multi.
tudinously vast. Vast in rapture
Rapture vast as the sea, deep as the
: sea, strong as the sea, ever changing
as the sea. Billows of light. Billows
of beauty, blue with skies that were
never clouded and green with depths
that were never fathomed. Arctics
and antarctics and Mediterranean:
and Atlantics and Pacifics in crystal
line magnifcence. Three crystalsl
Crystal light falling ON a crystal river
Crystal river rolling into a crysta
sea. But "the crystal cannot equa
it,"
"Oh," says some one, putting hii
hand over his eyes, can ii be that
who have been in so much sin aDC
, trouble will ever come to those crys
tals?" Yes, it may bet will be
Heaven we must have, whatever W.
have or have not, and we come here tC
! get it. How much must pay for itY
you say. You will pay for it just al
much as the coal pays to become 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
for the promise is: II will take away
your stony heart, and l will give yot
a heart of flesh"
"Oh," says some one, "it is just the
doctrine / want. God is to do every
. thing, and | am to do nothing" Ny
brother, it is not the doctrine yol
want. The coal makes no resistance
1t hears the resurrection voice in tn,
mountain and it comes to crystalliza
ton; but your heart resists. III,
,, trouble with you, my brother, is tn,
coal wants to stay coal.
do not ask you to throw open the
door and let Christ in. | only ask tha
you stop boiling and barring it. Ny
friends, we will have to get rid of oul
sins. | will have to get rid of my sins
and you will have to get rid of you
sins. What will we do with our sini
among the three crystals? The crys
|, tai atmosphere would display our pol
, luton. The crystal river would be be
fouled with our touch. Transforma
, tion must take place now or no trans
, formation at all. Give sin full chanc,
in your heart and the TRANSFORMATION
will be downward instead of upward
p Instead of crystal it will be a cinder.
In the days of Carthage, Christian
girl was condemned to die for her faith
and boat was bedaubed with tar anC
pitch and filled with combustibles anC
set on fire, and the Christian girl wal
placed in the boat, and the wind was of