The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1915-02-09

Gospel Age. and not only tells US that
the Lord will not gather His jewels
sooner, but also implies that the only
class to be gathered at that time will
be the jewel class-He comes to make
up His jewels. We have here a con-
tradiction of the ordinary thoughts on
this subject-that he has been gath
ering His jewels all along for the past
six thousand years, evidently an err
roneous thought, since He has ap-
pointed a Day, In the end of the Age,
In which He will gather, or make up,
His jewels; and that everybody who
Is respectable, halfway decent, Is to
be gathered to the Lord and share in
His Kingdom. Our text distinctly
points out that only a very exceptional
class will be sought for and gathered.
The class here described as jewels Is
contrasted In the context with other
classes-"the proud" who have much
of the success of the present time; and
"the workers of wickedness," who
tempt God and are not careful to please
and serve Him. Such evidently are
the majority Of mankind. The jewel
class is described as they that feared
Jehovah'-that reverenced Him-"and
that thought upon His Word"
I'VE Are His Workmanship
But. we inquire, where are jewels
usually found2 The answer Is that
they may be found in very unexpected
planoo Eor snc+onoo <bn 1foropd~ ~
South Africa are sometimes mingled
with the ordinary gravel, and some
times imbedded in bIuish-black clay.
They all require to be searched after.
and to be washed from the mire, be-
fore being prepared to refract the light
So some Of these jewels that the Lord
Is o seeking out from the world are
found In the ordinary walks of life,
and some came from deep down in the
mire of sin. In the world of mankind
the Lord does not expect to find the
jewels In perfect order-shaped, cut,
polished and ready for the setting In
glory. On the contrary, by one class
of His servants He lifts them out of
the mire of sin and the horrible pit,
cleanses them through the merit of
HIS own precious blood and through
His Word; and then through other
servants and ~providences He polishes
them with Divine skill, that they may
reflect and refract the light Of the glory
Of God-the Divine character-Justice,
Wisdom, Love-
As the diamond in its rough state,
uncut. unpublished, would have 10 more
value than a common stone for ordi-
nary purposes. so those whom the
Lord is selecting and preparing as His
jewels are to derive their ultimate
value from the cutting, shaping, pol
ishing, of their characters under Di-
vine providence. AS it is written, I'VE
are His workmanship" We cannot
suppose the Illustration to be perfect
in every particular; yet We may readi-
" see that while Divine Grace is to
be credited with the entire outcome
the beauty of the finished jewel-nev-
ertheless Divine Grace operates ac-
cording to principles and conditions,
under Divine Law. AS the expert
enced diamond miners reject the soft
clay and various Of the hard stones,
in seeking for those of the desirable
kind, so the great JewelGatherer op-
crates according to a principle in seek
ing for His jewels.
"As Many as the Lord Shall Call"
The hardness of the diamond may be
used to represent character, and we are
to remember that character belongs
to the individual. Each must have
his own character, and only in pro-
portion as each has it car he hope to
be accepted as a jewel; for those with
out 1t will not endure the tests.
As the diamond-seeker lays hold upon
everything in his path that gives eyi-
dence of having the diamond quality.
80 Divine Grace. operating In the dia-
mond field of the world-Christendom
Jays hold upon all who have any
thing resembling character. The soft,
the pliable, the uncrystallized, are not
being sought now, and coming in CON
tact with Divine Grace are passed by.
Only such as give evidence Of charac-
ter are thought worthy Of even wash
ing and neutrality-suspicious. 5:26.
The hard crystallization Of the dia-
mond corresponds to willingness to-
ward righteousness in the Individual:
and unless there be such willingness
toward God and righteousness there is
none of the jewel quality which the
Lord Is now seeking. Those whose
AE1lls ara formed crystallized- set da-