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September 25, 1912] THE!
A THING OF BEAUTY.
Appeals to men to receive the religion of Jesus
Christ are usually made on the ground of
its utility. We are told that it is true and right
and good. It is profitable for the life that now
is and for that which is to come. All this is
true. Surely the ground of appeal is good. But
there is another ground. Religion is not only
true and right, but it is also beautiful.
Many do not think so. They consider it disagreeable
and unlnvnlv Tlinv Himi onro'.r
it with contempt. This is because their taste is
perverted. Men saw no beauty in our Lord. But
they had looked on bad models so long, and
lived on terms of too great intimacy with the
earth and the world. Their taste was perverted.
Their judgment was wrong. So it is
in the case of all those who see no beauty in
the Christian religion.
"The King'8 daughter is all beautiful within."
"O worship the Lord in the beauty of
holiness." "One thing have I desired *
and that will I seek after; that I might dwell
in the house of the Lord all the days of my life,
to behold the beauty of the Lord." In the
Song of Solomon, the Bride sines ? snnor nf tho
Bridegroom, and this is what she sings: "He is
the fairest among ten thousand and the One altogether
lovely.31 It matters little what particular
interpretation one gives to the Song of
Solomon, he shall not be able to find in history
or in fiction one character answering to this description
except Jesus of Nazareth, the son of
Mary, the Son of God. He is altogether lovely.
Many lovely characters may i>e found.
Everyone knows lovely people among his dear
. friends. But not one of them is altogether
lovely. Not one is free from faults. Jesus only
is faultless, flawless, sinless, the perfection of
beauty.
Wickedness is ugly. Ungodliness is unlovely.
Sin is a deformity. Idolatry is an abomination.
Why are pagan idols so hideous? Why do not
pagan artists make the images of their gods
beautiful? Because their conception of God
answers to the hideous images of their idols
which we see. Their gods are monstrosities.
If they knew our God and His Son Jesus Christ,
they would cast their hideous images to the
moles and the bats and worship the Lord in the
beauty of holiness.
Christianity creates beautiful characters.
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
meekness, kindness, patience, temperance,
charity." Jesus compares his religion to
a pearl. "The kingdom of heaven is like unto
a merchant man seeking goodly pearls." Where
in the heavens above, in the earth beneath, or
in the waters under the earth, can anything so
beautiful as a real genuine'Christian
be found? Pearls and diamonds a>"e not to be
compared to it.
Dr. George Matheson tells of a young lady
who came to him in great distress, because she
felt that she was so delinquent in the discharge
of religious duty; but he knew that she was a
very dutiful Christian. He told her that he had
observed her loyalty and fidelity to her aged
and blind father, and asked if she did r?t consider
this a duty. She said she could not think
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mi, iur sue iouna so mucn pleasure in it. She
labored under the mistake of many, thinking
that religious duty must necessarily he disagreeable.
She did not know how closely related
love and duty are.
Is not the life of a young woman who denies
herself the pleasures of society and the freedom
usually enjoyed by those of her age, that
she may minister to an aged and blincf father,
beautiful? Is there anything more beautiful?
Some men say they can see no beauty in this
PRESBYTERIAN OF THE SO
world; but the world is full of it. In every
community there are some who deny themselves
and make many sacrifices that they may minister
to invalid parents or helpless brothers and
sisters, or needy neighbors, and find perfect
happiness in it. These are crood'lv nenrls well
suited to deck the brow of the Redeemer.
This religion is expressed by beautiful architecture,
beautiful raiment, and beautiful music.
Solomon's temple was not only a costly
building, but a gem of architecture. It was intended
to represent the beauty and magnificence
of the religion of the Hebrews who worshiped
Jehovah there. All Christians try to
make their houses of worship beautiful and
keep them scrupulously clean. The garments
of the high priest were splendid, his breastplate
being decked1 with precious stones and his
robes spotless. The religion of the Bible requires
beautiful attire. Why do Christian people
lay aside the garments which have been
soiled in the field, in the shop and in the
kitchen, and put on clean linen and their best
attire on Sabbath morning? Not only Christians,
but nearly all the people in a Christian
community do this without knowing exactly
why. It is because the' Sabbath is a clean dav.
It is separated from other days. It is the day
of beauty, the day of worship. Multitudes
have been converted from sin and wickedness,
men and women who in their former life defiled
their souls and bodies and garments, men and
women dressed in rags and filthy garments. So
soon as they feel the thrill of the new life they
feel also the thrill of an impulse to take a hath
in pure water and' exchange their filthy garments
for clean raiment. One would doubt the
genuineness of the conversion of a drunkard
who should be content to continue to wear the
defiled garments of his old life of shame. Religion
is beautiful and clean, and it is expressed
in clean garments.
Literature is greatly indebted to Christianity
for its finest beauty. This religion has purified
literature. Christian poetry, Christian hymns
are pure, sweet and clean. They shine with a
moral and spiritual light and beauty found in
no other literature. Christian music is the
sweetest music in the world. Even in com
munities where there is little culture, Christianity
introduces a taste for the best music. The
singing of the saints is not always the best
when judged by the standards of the world.
The musical critics may rule it out. But there
is a note which the critics do not hear, and on
which they cannot pronounce judgment. The
angels hear it, and it is acceptable to the Father
of all.
This religion makes beautiful homes, beautiful
communities, beautiful cities and a beautiful
world. Banish it from the world and dark
ness would prevail everywhere. Pagan art, pagan
architecture and pagan literature could not
make a beautiful world where the love of God
and the righteousness of Christ have no place.
The psalmist offered this prayer: "Let the
beauty of the Lord our God be upon us." Tt
was a great prayer, but not too great. We may
offer it also with perfect confidence and assurance.
The beauty of tbe Lord shall be upon thy
hand and upon thy neck and upon thy soul.
"TAKE TIME."
Much time is wasted by sluggards, and per
naps much more by busy people. Tt is quite as
bad and as extravagant to use valuable time
for needless things as it is to spend good money
for needless tilings. Martha's worry and fret
were not called for. and much of her labor was
useless. She is a type of multitudes of busy
housewives and busy business men. Hurry and
worry do not enrich life. They impoverish it.
UTH (1083) 5
Our Lord had a large task on His hands, but
He never fretted. He went quietly, confidently,
steadily through life, knowing that no duty
pressed so heavily on Him as to require Ilim to
negleet any other duty.
Every needful thing requires time, and it is
never wise to cut the time short. It takes time
to supply the needs of the body. The God of
nature is also tne uou 01 grace ana rie made us
so that every part of our being should be developed
in harmony. It takes time to develop
the intellectual faculties. We may do this
while attending to other things; but besides the
development acquired in the regular routine of
life, the mind requires special seasons of study.
Time is required for social life. One may be
a good husband without neglecting his business
to spend time with his family; but it is
worth while to devote special time to this end.
One apostle says, "Keep yourselves in the love .
of God." It is a high calling. It is also a duty
to keep one's self in the love of home, of wife
and children. To do this a little time must be
spent. When the husband is absent from home
he must take time to write to his family. No
burdens of business can excuse him from this
duty. For him to give all his time to business
and none to his family is the sure way to
weaken the tie that binds the husband and
father to the home. It is well also to take time
to keep up friendly and happy relations with
neighbors. A reasonable amount of time given
to such amenities is well spent. To neglect such
friendly offices because of the pressure of business
is to become narrow, selfish and sordid.
There are higher claims on our time. "Take
time to be holy," says the song. If the physical
nature cannot be supported without devoting
time to it, if our social life requires time,
if our business requires time, how can we expect
our spiritual life to flourish without special
seasons of worship and spiritual culture? Take
time to read the Bible. "They searched the
Scriptures daily." Shall we take time to eat
three meals a day, and refuse to our hungry,
empty souls an hour each day? We cannot
feed on the bread of life in the midst of the
rush of business. Take time to read the Word
of God every day. Take time to pray. Prayer
is the highest fellowship. If it is necessary to
take time to cultivate our human fellowships,
how much more to cultivate fellowship with
God. Take time to go to church and prayer
meeting.
Take time to do good. Kvery Christian
wishes to do good. Sometimes good men make
a mistake by trying to do good by giving
checks alone. A check is valuable, but personal
ministry is better. The help which costs
time and personal effort is a hundred fold more
beneficial than that which is given at arm's
length and by a sudden impulse. There are
multitudes of lonely people. A few moments
of personal ministry will do more to relieve
meir loneliness than the largest gift. There
are many sad people in the city. Misfortune
lias fallen on them. The days are dark and the
world it unfriendly. The people are passing
by on the other side by thousands, and the
more they see going by on the other side th'e
sadder and lonelier they become. The good
Samaritan took time to help a fallen brother
rise.?Advocate.
Place me on the mountain tr?r? on/1 if T
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faith unfeigned, T recognize that God is there;
place me in the lonely wilderness, and God will
be there; place me in the city full, where hurrying
crowds may jostle me, yet God is nearer
to me than the crowd*, for omnipotent compassion
encircles me in its arms. I am the Lord's,
and He is mine.