The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1903-03-05

would be willing for O time even to
barter away their chance Of heaven IL
they could only sell Christ, as did Ju-
das, for thirty pieces of silver. O
my friends. | beg and plead with you
not to sell your divine birthright for a
mere mess of pottagc! Stop. in Gods
name! Stop before it is too late.
In the ancient story we have been told
That Midas touch turned everything to
gold.
But VIC today a stranger sight behold
Man turns to everything when touched by
gold
The BrideErOom's excuse.
But. bark. Another Knock is heard
at the door of the good nHI'a house.
"AhA." You say, "thnk of tn" foolish
exru$" this third expected guest has
sent. lie says that he is Il bridegroom
and therefore rHII!.ot come. Why dill
he not do as Mi Mun,Iy said he ought
to hAvr dome 20 to tn" l'rnuU"t hHll
and take his wife. HlougE' But my
friend. this rXclI&n of the tt'id"gro"m
ought not to b" ia You an ohi""t of
drrSi0n. Of all the excuses Whi"h
Christ stated In tn" pur0tlc | think
this one wH# the most pIHuSbh and
the most RATIONAL Til" bridegroom
in the east by the custom of that time,
might be looked upon lpuirntly for an
sWcring as he did. The Hebrews con
sidcrcd marriIg" one Of til" most sacred
and important events of Il human be
inE's life. Every young girl spent her
time chiefly in preparing for her nup-
tial day. She was always spinning
linen and making garments for the
wedding rousseau. Every young man
was taught that his duty to the world
and to God was to marry. He did not
enter into this marriage relationship
in haphazard way, as do many of the
young people of the present time. He
did not marry upon momentary I'M
pulse. But the young people were Of
ten affianced for years before the we'd
ding day. Then, by the old Hebrew as
well as by the Roman law. bride
groom was absolutely Independent of
all military and, to q great extent. of
civil obligations for whole year. Aft
err the wedding night for twelve long
months he was allowed to stay at home
under his own roof So when the BRIDE
groom of the east sent a refusal to
come to the banquet he practically said.
as hundreds and thousands of wives
and mothers are now saying: II can
not afford to come to Christ's banquet
at the present time. / have my home
duties to attend to. I have domestic
obligations. pray thee have me ex~
cused."
But, my dear friends, can the hus-
band and the wife truly attend to and
fulfill their domestic relations unless
they first have been to the marriage
banquet Of the Lamb? No, no. You
know that no husband and father IL
truly we'll equipped parent unless he
is Christian man; you know that no
wife is truly an independent woman
unless she is Christian woman. Leigh
Richmond once developed this thought
in a pathetic incident which he told
about his mothers life. She had six
children, and one Of them, her baby,
was killed by the carelessness of
nurse allowing the child to fall out Of
a second story window. At that time
Leigh Richmond was walking in the
street below. He gathered up the poor
bleeding body Of his little brother and
carried him into the house and placed
him In his mothers lap. All that day
the mother kept praying and praying.
In the midst of her prayers she turned
to her son and said, Leigh, If / cease
praying for five minutes / shall be
crushed under this sorrow, but when |
pray to God he comforts and upholds
me-" SO no wife and mother is able to
braveiy confront the sorrows of the
home unless she is a Christian woman.
Sooner or later troubles and awful
troubles will knock at every bedroom
door. and. man and woman, you cannot
afford to say, like the bridegroom of
old, that you cannot come to Christ on
account of your domestic obligations.
The simple fact Is your home duties
and sorrows ought to be mighty inspi-
rations to send you to the feet of Christ.
The Duty of Parents.
Besides, parents, how can you have
the right influence over your children
unless you are censecrated Christian
men and women? How can father
and mother tell their children how to
love the Lord Jesus unless they them
selves have accepted the invitation to
the gospel banquet? Can the blind
lead the blind? Can something come
from nothing? l lift clay vase in my
hand and smell the sweetest fragrance.
say: 20 vase, whence came thy per-
fume? Were thy substances fragrant
before the hot fires of the potter's fur
mace touched thee?' May" answers
the vase. "The reason 1 am perfumed |
Is because hundreds of flowers have
been plucked and have been allowed |
to kiss me with their red and white |
ips." Upon the sand dunes of the sea-
shore / pick up curiously twisted |
shell. | place it to my ear and hear q !
ow, moaning sound. say to the shell,
Shell, why dost thou moan like sick