The Manchester journal. [volume] (Manchester, Vt.) 1861-current, 1915-02-04

to the close of the
| 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 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 lie has APP
pointed a Day, in the end of the Age,
In which He will gather, or make up,
4 His Jewels: and that everybody who
lis respectable, halfway decent, Is TO
be gathered to the Lord and share in
His Kingdom Our text distinctly
points out that only very exceptional
class will be sought for and gathered
The class here described as jewels Is
contrasted in the context with other
Glasses proud" who have much
of the success of the present time; and
1.-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.
1--WE Are His Workmanship
But. we inquire, where are jewels
usually found? The answer is that
they may be found in very unexpected
places. For instance, the diamonds OF
South Africa are sometimes mingled
with the ordinary gravel, and some
times imbedded In bluish-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 now 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 III
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 unpublished, would have no more
value than a common stone for ordi-
nary purposes, SO those whom the
Lord is selecting and preparing as Ills
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
uIn n.,l Of IN ha rI gtnnaS
In seeking for those Of the desirable
kind. so the great Jewel-Gatherer OPP
crates according to principle in seek
Ing for His jewels.
"As Many as the Lord Shall CALI
The hardness of the diamond may be
used to represent character, and we are
to remember that character belongs
10 the individual Each must have
his own character, and only in pro-
portion as each has ii can he hope 10
be accepted as jewel; for those with
,ut II will not endure the tests.
As the diamond seeker lays hold upon
everything in his path that gives eyi-
1ence of having the diamond quallty,
20 Divine Grace, operating in the dia-
mond field Of the world-Christendom
lays hold upon all who have any
hing resembling character The soft,
The pIiable. the uncrystallized, are not
being sought now, and coming In con.
'act with Divine Grace are passed by.
only such as give evidence Of eharac-
er are thought worthy of even wash
ne and testing Ephesians 5:26-
The hard capitalization OF the dia-
nond corresponds to willingness to- \
ward righteousness in the individual. /
md unless there be such willingness !.
oward God and Righteousness there IL
none OF the jewel quality which the
lord is now seeking. Those whose
wills are formed. crystallized, set de