The Grange advance. [volume] (Red Wing, Minn.) 1873-1877, 1875-03-23

God Defying Extravaganza Of Modern
socfoty.-A Sermon by Rev. Il. De
Witt TalmnEc.
.sMoreover as the Lord saith, because
the DAUGHTERS of Zion are naughty. and
yak with stretched forth necks and wan
ton ewes, walking and mincing as they
90. and making t,nkling with their feet:
In that day the Lord will take away the
bravery of their tinkling ornaments about
their feet, and their cauls, and their
round tires like the moon. the chains,
And the bracelets, and the mufflers, the
bonnets, and the ornaments OF the legs.
and tho bands, and the tablets, and
the earrings. the rings, and nose'jewels,
the changeable suits Of apparel, and the
nantes, and the wimples, and the crisp
ing pins, the glasses, and the fine linen,
and the hoods, and the wells. ''-lsaiah
iii. l6, 1923.
Through this window Of the text we
look in upon the voluptuousness of an
ancient city-thc description with a lit
tie variation, as appropl late to New York
and Brooklyn as to Jerusalem and Tyre.
One might think that Isaiah had before
him the fashion.platcs, and the head
dresses, and the jewel-caskets, and the
dancing.schools, and the drawing-room
parties of the present day, and that he
foresaw Saratoga and Brighton and Long
Branch. Through this same window Of
the text we also see the masculine extrav-
agance and dissipation which always cor
respond with the feminine. Woman may
have greater varieties Of apparel, but she
lives a ouieter life, and, therefore, may
have the greater varieties and luxuries of
dress without impediment. Men would
wear as much, if they knew how without
interfering with their worldly occupa-
tions. The rough jostling oflifc is mimi.
cal to man S dragging u dress-trail two
wards in length, or pending from his ear a
diamond cluster. In the time of the text,
as we'll as in all ages of the world, the
two sexes were alike in moralities or i'm
mOrtalities.
While i'll parlor sentimentalities 1t is
we'll that men defer to women, and wo-
men defer to men, in the presence Of God,
and in the light Of eternal responsible
ties, the sexes are equal.
Our text takes us twenty-five hundred
years back, and sets rs down in an an.
Gent city. 1t is bright day, and the
ladies are all out. The procession Of men
and women is moving mp and down the
gay streets. 1t is the height of the fash
ionable season. The sensible people move
with so much modesty that they do not
attract our attention. But here come
the naughty daughters Of Jerusalem.
They lean forward; they lean very :.uch
forward; SO far forward as to be unnatu-
ral-teetering, webbing, wriggling, flirt-
ing, or, as my text describes it, they
s'walk with stretched forth necks, walking
and mincing as they CO. They have
SPENT HOURS BEFORE THE MIRROR
ere starting from home, and have in most
astounding style arranged their bonnets
and their wells, and their entire apparel,
and nov 60 through the streets, taking
more Of the pavement than they are EN-
titled to, sweeping along with skirts that
the text describes as ground tires like
the moon.' See! that is princess
Look that is Damascus sword maker!
Look that is Syrian merchant! The
jingling of the chains, and the flashing Of
the head bands, and the exhibitions of
universal swagger attract the attention
Of the prophet isaiah, and he brings his
camera to bear upon the scene, and takes
picture for all the ages. But where is
that scene? Vanished, Where are those
gay streets? Vermin covered population
pass through them. Where are the hands,
and the necks, and the foreheads, and the
shoulders, and the feet that spertcd all
that magni6cence? Ashes! Ashes!
Taking my text as starting-point,
this morning l come out to talk to you
about the God-defying extravaganza of
modern society. For the refnements and
the elegancics and adornments of life, l
cast my vote. While [ was thinking over
this subject, there was handed into my
house a basket of flowers, paradisiacal in
their beauty. White Gala with a green
background Of begonia; heliotropes nest
ing among gcraniums; sePal, corolla and
pcrianth showed the touch of Gods fin
gers. In the snow of the camellia, in the
hire dye of the rose, in the ske-blue Of the
English violet, learned that God loves
adornmcnt. He might have made this
earth so as to satisfy the gross demands
OF sense, but left it without adornment or
attracts IN. Instead Of the variegated COL
ors OF The seasons, the earth might have
worn dress Of unchanging, dull brown.
The trees might have put forth their fruit
without the prophecy of leaf or blossom.
Niagara mi ght have let down it's waters in
gradual descent without thunder and
winged spray. But no. Look out, on
some summer morning, after heavy,
night dew, and see whether or not God
loves jewels. Put snowflake under
microscope, and see whether God does
love exquisite architecture. He de.
reed that the breast-plate of the priest
IN Olden time should have q wreath of