| Show PRECIOUS JEWELS SOUGHT BY A KINO kin diamonds of the first water polished by the diving divine hands hand the world of mankind th s mine rough diamonds diamond in the miry clay washed in blood moot molt precious cut on an the wheel wheal of discipline polished by a famous R reflecting ting and refracting the light of f truth set in a royal diadem toronto on 0 n L t jan 31 pastor russell Is here we report one ol of his addresses IF q from the t e x 11 t they shall be b i mine the lord of hosts Is in a that day when n I 1 make up my jew els the es of speech throughout the scriptures are arc full ull of significance said the pastor when the lord likens ilia his faithful people to precious stones atones it signifies that there Is ao an intrinsic value or beauty that he appreciates and it implies that such characters are rare in comparison to the world our text points to the close of the tha age in which we live and not only tells tell that the lord will not gather ills his jewels sooner but that they are the only ones to be gathered then chenue ue comes to make up op ula jewels we have here a contradiction of the ordinary thought on this subject 1 that tie lie has been gathering ills his jewels for the past six thousand years aud and 2 that everybody who Is respectable Is 13 to be gathered to the lord and share in nis kingdom evidently this thought Is erroneous jewels require to be searched after and generally need to be washed from the mire before being prepared to retract refract the light so some of the lords jewels are found in the ordinary walks of life and some came from deep down in the mire of sin bin by one class of nis his servants lie ile lifts them out of the horrible pit and the miry all clay v washes them cleanses them from sin through the merit of nis own precious blood and through ills his word then through other servants and provi dences Us tie polishes them with divine sull skill in order that they may reflect and refract the light of the glory of 0 the dl DI vine ch character ameter isaiah the work of the great the pastor went on to explain that as the diamond la in its rough state uncut unpolished has no more value than a common stone so those whom the lord is selecting and preparing as ula ilia jewels are to derive their ultimate value from the cutting shaping pol bisbing of their characters under pi vine providence the hardness of the diamond would represent character and we are to remember that character belongs to the individual and that only in proportion as each has it can he be hope to be accepted finally as a jewel for those without character will not endure the tests the crystallization of the diamond corresponds to willingness toward righteousness in the individual and unless there be such willingness there Is none of the jewel quality which the lord Is now seeking those therefore who are lu in the hands bands of the great and undergoing nis his polish ing pro process ceRs must first have passed through the previous ekpo expo experience of having been found of divine grace found of our lord jesus must have been washed and must have been ac cepter as having wills desirous of harmony with the divine mind these may therefore take pleasure in all the trying ekpo expo experiences and difficulties through which our lord causes them to pass as part 4 of the polishing process t necessary to their completion as jebo aho jewels to be made up by the close of the gospel age then they will be set in the gold of the divine nature to reflect the beauties of the divine character forever the value of trials and the speaker next proceeded to show that this work of cutting and polish ing is as entrusted only to the skilled hands of our lord jesus christ because ile he himself lins passed through similar experiences at the fathers hand bands and therefore knows thus what Is needed to perfect the jewels that they may be pleasing and acceptable to the father A part of their lesson la is to have faith in n the great master blaster workman whom lie rather father has appointed to shape and polish them some may require much more trimming oo on some sides of their character than do others and often the disposition Is 6 to draw back to be not fully submissive to fear that the lord has baa abandoned then them to trial but infinite wisdom assures us that this la Is not so and that to draw back would leave one unfit for the kingdom king dom with the lords jewels the world has seen the wheel of discipline whick has been cutting this class tor for centuries but it has baa not understood the matter it may have even caught a glimpse of the jewels although not so as to be able to know the real mer it of their characters or the lie value of the cutting and polishing process but the great knows and ta afia explained it to the jewels and thus b being e in assured that oil all bilings q are working we ric together for their good they can rejoice even in tribulation |
