The Memphis appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1886-1890, 1889-06-10


held their heads far aloft. From yonder
hight his eye at one sweep took in the
mighty scoop OF the valleys, and with
another sweep took in the Mediterranean
Sea, and you hear the grandeur OF the
cliffs and the surge Of the great waters in
his matchless sermonology. One day
see that divine boy, the wind nurrying his
hair over his sun Drowned forehead, stand
ing on a hill top looking off upon Lake
Tiberias, on which at one time according
TO proiane history are, not four hundred
four thousand ships. Authors have taken
pains TO say that Christ was not affected
by these surroundings, and that he from
within lived outward and Independent Of
circumstances. So far from that being
true, he WAS the most sensitive being that
ever walked the earth, and il pale in
valid's weak finger could not touch his
robe without strength going out from him,
these mountains and seas could not have
touched his eye without irradiating his
entire nature with their magnilicence. |
warrant that he had mounted and ex-
plored all the fifteen hills around Nazar-
eth, among them llermon with its crystal
coronet OF perpetual snow, and Carmel
and Tabor and Gilboa, and they all had
their sublime echo in after time from the
Olivetic pulpit
And then IL was not uncultivated grand
eur. These hills carried in their arms or
on their backs gardens, groves, orchards,
terraces, vineyards, cactus. sycamoros.
These outbranching foliages did not have
to wait for the floods before their silence
was broken, for through them and over
them and in circles round them and under
them were peicans, were thrushes, were
sparrows, were nightingales, were larks,
were quails, were blackbirds, were par.
tridges, were bnlbuls. Yondcr the white
iiocks OF sheep showed down over the pas
ture lands. And yonder the brook 70.
hearses TO the pebbles its adventures down
the rocky shelving. Yonder are the Orr.
entail homes the housewife with pitcher
on the shoulder entering tho door, and
down the lawn in front children reveling
among the flaming fora And all this
spring and song and grass and sunshine
and shadow woven into the most exquis-
ite nature that ever breatbed or wepl or
sung or suffered Through studying tho
sky between the hills Christ had noticed
the weather signs, and that crimson sky
at night meant dry weather next day, and
that crimson sky In the morning meant
wet weather before night. Aud how beaui.
fully lie made use of II in after years as
lie drove down upon the pesticrous Phar.
isoe and Sadducee by crying out "Whcn
II is evening 20 say IL will be fair
weather. Tor the sky Is red, and in the
morning II will be foul weather TO.
day, for tho sky is red and lowering.
q, ye hypocrites, yo can discern the
face OF the sky, but can ye not discern the
signs of the tines By day, rs every boy
has done, he watched the BARNARD fowl
qt sight Of oyer-swinging hawk cluck her
chickens under wing and in after years he
said 80, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. How
often would have gathered thee rs a hen
gathereth her chickens under her wing!"
by night lac had noticed his mother by the
plain candle light which, as ever and anon
IL was snullod aud the removed wick nut
down on the candlestick, beamed brightly
through all the family sitting room as his
mother was monding his garments that
had been torn during the days wander.
ings among the rocks or bushes. aud years
aiterward Il all came out in the smile OF
tho greatest sermon ever preached:
Neither do men light a candle and put
II undor n bushel but In candlestick, and
II giveth light 10 all who nro in the house.
Let your light no shine" Some time
when his mother in the autumn took out
the clothes that had been put away for the
SUMMER lac noy ICED how tho moth miller
How out aud the coat dropped apart ruined
and useless, aud 30 twenty years after lao
enjoincd: LAY up for yourselves treas.
urcs in heaven where neither moth nor
rust can corrupt" Ills boyhood spent
among birds aud flowers they ali
cafolcd ana bloomcd again fifteen
years after Us lac cries out: ''Behold the
fowls OF the air." Consider the lilies"
A great storm one day during Chris's
boyhoOd blackenod tho heavens aud an.
gcrcd the rivera Perhaps standing in the
door Of the carpenters shop lac watched IL
gathering louder aud wilder until two cy.
clones, one sweeping down from Mount
Tabor aud the other from Mount Carmel,
met In the valley Ut EslraolOn aud two
houses are caught In the fury aud crash
goes tho one aud triumphant stands the
other, aud lac noticed that one had shift.
INK sand for foundation aud the other
an eternal rock for basis. aud twenty years
after he built the whole scone into "A pero.
ration OF Hood aud whrlwind that seized
his audience and lifted them into the
nights OF sublimity with the two great
arms Of paihos aud terror, which sublime
words render, asking you ~ far rs posi-.
bic 10 forget that you ever heard them be-
fore. whatsoever hcarcth these sayings
Of mine, and doeth them. ! will liken him
unto wise man, which built his house
upOn a rock; aud the rain descended aud
/ the Hoods came, aud the winds blew, anil
beat upon that house; aud Il fell not; for Il
was founded upon a rock. And every
ono that hearclh these sayings Of mine,
and docth them not, shall DO likcned unto
a foolish man, which built his house upon
tho sand; aud the rain descended, aud tho
floods came. aud the winds blow, aud beat
upon that house, aud Il fell, and great wa.
the TALL OF IL.
Yes, from tho naturalnoss, the sim.
| plicity, the freshness OF his parallels and
SMILES aud metaphors In manhood dis
course know that he had been boy oil
the fields, and had haihcd in the strvanl
aud heard tho nightingalo's call. and
broken through the ilowcry hedge and
looked ont Of the cmhmsurcs Of the for
lrcss. aud drank from the wells aud chased
the butterflies, which travellers say hay,
always been one OF tho lifting beau
ties Of that landscape, aud talked with tho
strange people from Damascus and Egypl
aud sapphbris aud syria. who In caravans
on on loot passed through his ncighbor
hood, the dog barking at their approach
at shutdown. A. allcrward he was per
feet man, In The time Of which speak h,
was a perfect boy, with the spring OF
boys foot. the sparkle Of n boys eve, th,
rebound Of boys lie, and Just the oppo
site oi those juveniles who sit around NOR
bid and unclasic, old men at ten.