The Bolivar bulletin. (Bolivar, Tenn.) 1888-1946, 1901-10-11

/ mortal 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 lg-
natius, 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
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 amphitheater waiting for the
| lions to come out of their cave and
destroy him and the people in the
galleries jeering and shouting: The
lions!" replied: Let them come on!'
and then, STOPPING down toward the
cave where the wild beasts were roar
ing to get out, again cried: LET
them come on!" All, yes, it is perse-
cution to put you in glorious COM
pany, and while there are many
things that you will have to postpone
10 the future world for explanation,
tell you that it is the whole tend
ency of your religion to unravel and
explain and interpret and illumine
and irradiate. Job was right. 1t is
! a glorious transparency. 1.-The crys-
tai cannot equal it,
1 remark again that religion sur
passes the crystal in its beauty. The
lump of crystal is put under the mag
nifying glass of the crystallograph-
er and he sees in it indescribable eX-
quisiteness-snowdri and splinters
of boar frost and corals and wreaths
and stars and crowns and constella-
tioEs of conspicuous beauty. The fact
is that crystal is so beautiful that /
can think of but one thing in all the
universe that is as beautiful, and
that is the religion of the Bible. No
wonder this Bible represents that re-
ligion as the daybreak, as the apple
blossoms, as the glitter of a king IS
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 but 81 times, while
it mentions a crown so times? Ask
| that old man what he thinks of re-
ligion. He has been close observer.
He has been cultivating an esthetic
| 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: ut is the most beautiful thing
L ever saw. The crystal cannot
equal it,
Beautiful in its symmetry. When it
presents Gods character, it does not
| present Him a S having love like great
|, protuberance on one side of His ma
ture, but makes that love in harmony
with His justice-a love that will ac-
cept all those who come to Him, and a
justice that will by no means clear
the guilty. Beautiful religion in the
sentiment it implants! Beautiful re-
ligion in the hope it kindles! Beautiful
religion in the fact that it proposes to
| garland and enthrone and emparadise
an immortal spirit. Solomon says it
is lily. Paul says it is a crown. The
Apocalypse says it is fountain kissed
by the sun. Ezekiel says it is foliaged
cedar. Christ says it is a bridegroom
come to fetch home a bride. While
Job in the text takcs up a whole vase
|
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 exclaims: 1.-The crystal cannot
equal it,
Oh, it is not stale religion; it is not
a stupid religion; it is not a toothless
bag, as some seem to have represented
| it; it is not Meg Merrilies with shriv-
| eled arm come to scare the world; it
is the fairest daughter of God, heiress
of all His wealth.; her cheek the morn
| ing 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 a lily? Then
| pluck it and 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 springing
| fountain? Then come and slake the
thirst of your soul. Do you believe
with Ezekiel and say it is foliaged
cedar? Then come under it's shadow
Do you believe with Christ and say it
it a bridegroom come to fetch home a
bride? Then strike hands with your
Lord and King while pronounce you
everlastingly one. Or if you think with
| Job that it is jewel, then put it on
your hand like a ring, on your neck
| like a bead, on your forehead like a
star, while looking into the mirror Of
Gods word you acknowledge: 1.-The
| crystal cannot equal it,
Again, religion is superior to the
crystal in its transforma tions. The
diamond is onlya Capitalization. Car
i Donate of lime rises till it becomes cal
; cite or aragonite. Red oxide of copper
j crystallizes into cubes and octahed-
/: rons. Those crystals which adorn our
| persons and our homes and our mu-
+; seums have only been resurrected from
| forms that were far from lustrous.
Scientists for ages have been eXamin-
| ing these wonderful TRANSITIONAL TONS
But [ tell you in the Gospel of the Son
of God there is a more wonderful trans
| formation. Over souls by reason of
! sin black as coal and hard as iron
God, by His comforting grace, stoops
and says: "They shall be mine in the
day when L make up my jewels"
What" say you. "Win God wear
jewelry?" If He wanted it, He could
| make the stars of the heaven His