Southern standard. (McMinnville, Tenn.) 1879-current, 1889-05-11
SanaaYReasiaa,
EDITED BY REV. r. L. LEEPER.
The Beauty About Us.
BY THE REV. j. a. r.. DICKSON, D. d.

Dl The REV. j. n ", DIChSON, ID. DE-
We live in a palace Of enchant-
ment. About us are the ceiling of
azure, and the matchleSs drapeny of
clouds; beneath us are the green vel
vet sward and the lovely brown
earth, redOlent Of reviving and re-
freshing virtue; and about us the
sweet atmosphere, through which
we see the purple hills, the misty
wales, the arrowy silver rivers, the
wide reaches of far spreading prairie,
and the smiling hamlet half hidden
in the bosky shades of quiet glen or
distant mountain-side. Add to all
this the music of the birds, the low
ing of the kline, the rich tones of the
human voice, the beauty of "the hui
man face divine" and the marvel
lous play of light and shade on every
object we see. Turn where we will
everywhere we lift our eyes, we look
upon lOveliness surprising expires.
sion. How true it is, as Solomon de-
clares, HE hath made everything
beautiful in his time" All this
beauty is sometimes heightened by
the flash Of the lightning, or the arch
of the rainbow spread over it, or the
eclipse of sun or moon; and deepened
into grandeur by the roar of thunder
in the darkness, the impetuous rush
of the rain and the wild sleep of the
liberated winds that leave their track
through the forests like the path of a
bullet through the solid ranks of men
on battlefield. Beauty is our ever
present angel, but it often rises into
grandeur and leaps into sublimity.
"Great and marvellous are thy works,
Lord God Almighty" "All thy
works praise thee" What DWELL
ing place God has provided for us!
One so glorious that he employs its
parts as symbols of the highest truths.
The magnificent mountains set forth
the character Of His righteousness,
and the depths Of the ocean his judg-
ments, and the accessible rocks his
protecting love. And what is not
used to symbolise the glory Of Jesus
in his adoption to human needs! Is
he not the Rose of Sharon ana the
Lily of the Valley? Is he not the
Sun of Righteousness, and the bright
and morning star? Is he not the
true vine, the living water, the bread
fife, the light of life? Is he moi
the door, the foundation, and the
Master of the House? Time would
fail US to tell out all that Jesus is
figured forth by in nature. The world
is a great parable, and, as Mrs. Barrel
Browning sings:
''Earth's crammed with heaven,
And every common bush afre with God;
But only he who sees takes off his shoes"
What gift 1t is to be able to SCI
the beauty that is about us! A lady
who was once privileged to enter thu
studio of Turner and look on Will,
he painted, said to him, "Why d.
you put such. extravagant colors int,
your pictures? 1 never see anythin,
like them in naturew To which
Turner answered, "DOn't you wisl
you did, MADAME" She lacked tn
seeing eye, the cultivated eye, and s.
received this merited rebuke. Agas
siA on one occasion required an as
sistant, and when it was known Their
were many applicants for the position
Of honor. But which to choose wa
the question. So he fell on the sim
pie expedient of subjecting the thre
most promising students in turn t
the simple task Of describing tn
view from his laboratory window
which overlooked the side yards c
the college, On looking out one sal
he only saw a board fence and q brio
pavement; another added a stream {
Soapy water; the third detected tn
color of the paint on the fence, note
green mould orfungus on the bricks
and evidences of bluing in the water
beside other details. The third, VIII
had the seeing eye, received the COY
eted position.
The beautiful world in which W
are has other material uses. 1t grow
OUT food, provides our clothing, an
ministers to all our physical wants
but it does more, it feeds the fires {
our spirit, furnishes our imagination
and flls our souls with a sense of til
divine power, beneficence, and glor,
1t is a manifold symbol of spiritu,
realities, and so it ministers to OF
higher nature. Is this the reason VIII
we are planted SO as to send our roo