The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1890-12-31

on the cedars TO praise the Lord And
Solomon says the countenance Of Christ
is excellent as the cedars, and Isaiah
declares, 1.-THE day Of the Lord shall be
upon all the cedars Of Lebanon" And
Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, and Amos, and
Zephaniah and Zachariah weave its TO-
liage into the sublimest uttej&nces.
As we ride over Lebanon to-day, there
is bowling wind sweeping past, and
dash of rain, all the better enabling US
to appreciate that description Of tenn
pest, which no doubt was suggested by
what David had seen with his own eyes
among these heights, for as soldier he
carried his wars clear up to Damascus,
and such poet as he, warrant, spent
many day on Lebanon. And perhaps
while he was seated on this very rock
against which our carriage jolts he
writes that wonderful description OF
Thunderstorm: 'The voice Of the Lord
is powerful. The voice Of tho Lord is
full OF majesty. The voice OF the Lord
breaketh the cedars of Lebanon. Yea,
the Lord breaketh the cedars Of Leb-
anon. He maketh them also to skip like
calf. Lebanon and Sirion likeG young
unicorn. The voice Of the Ltd divid-
eth the flames of fire."
AS the lion is the monarch of the
fields, and the behemoth the monarch
of the waters, the cedar is the monarch
Of the trees. And l think one reason
why it is SO glorious all up and down
the Bible, is because we need more
Of its characteristics in our religious
life. We have too much Of the will
low, and are easily bent this way or
that; too much of the aspen, and we
tremble under every zephyr Of assault;
too much of the bramble tree and our
sharp points sting and wound but not
enough of the cedars, wide branched and
heaven-aspiring, and tempest-grappling.
But the reason these cedars stand so
we'll is that they are deep-rooted. They
run their anchors down into the caverns
Of the mountain and fasten to the very
foundations of the earth, and twist
around and clinch themselves on the
other side Of the deepest layer of rock
they can reach. And that is the differ
ence between Christians who stand and
Christians who fall. 1t is the difference
between superficial character, and one
that has clutched its roots deep down
around and under the Rock Of Ages.
One Of the Lebanon cedars was exam
ined by a scientist and from its concen-
trio circles, it was found to be $500 years
old and still standing, and there is such
thing as everlasting strength and such
stanchness OF Christian character that
all time and all eternity, instead of
being it's demolition, shall be
it's opportunity. Not such are
those vaccilating Christians who
are so pious on Sunday that they
have no religion left for the week day.
As the anaconda gorges itself with food,
and then seems for long while to lie
thoroughly insensible, SO there are men
who will on Sunday get such religious
forfeit that the rest Of the week they
seem thoroughly dead to all religious
emotion. They weep in church under a
charity sermon, but II on Moray 1 sub,
jectlof want presents itself 4Nthe door
the beggar's safety will depend entirely
on quick limbs and an unobstructed
stairway. It takes all the grace they
can get to keep them from committing
assault and battery on those intruders,
who come with pale faces and stories Of
distress and subscription papers The
reason that God planted these cedars in
the Bible was to suggest to US that We
ought, in our religious character, to be
deep like the cedar, high like the cedar
broad-branched as tho cedar. A trav
eler measured the spread of the bough.
Of one Of these trees and found it III
feet from branch tip to branch tip, ant
have seen cedars of Christian charac
ter that through their prayers and char
tiles put out one branch to the uttermos
parts of America, and another branch t.
the uttermost parts of ASIA, and these
wide branched Christians will keep OF
multiplying until all the earth is ove
Swallowed with mercy.
But mark you, these cedars of Leba
non coull not grow If planted in milo
climates and in soft air, and in carefully
watered gardens. They must have thu
gymnasium of the midnight hurrican,
to develop their arms. They must pla,
the athlete with a thousand winters be
fore their feet are rightly planted, an,
their foreheads rightly lifted, and thei
arms rightly muscled. And if there b.
any other way for developing stronl
Christian character except by storms o
trouble, never heard of it. Call tn
roll of martyrs, call the roll of tn
prophets, call the roll of the Apostles
and see which of them had an easy tim
OF it Which of these cedars grew il
the warm valley? Not one of them
Honeysuckles thrive best on the soutI
side of the house, but cedars in tn
Syrian whirlwind. Men and wome,
who hear this or read this, instead @
your grumbling because you have !
hard, thank God that you are in just tn
best school for making heroes an
heroines. 1t is true for both this worl
and the next Rock that baby in era
die cushioned and canopied; gradual
him from that into costly high chat
and give him a gold spoon; send him t
school wrapped in furs enough for a
arctic explorer; send him through co
lese where he will not have to study i
order to get diploma, because his fatf
er is rich: start him in profession wher
he begins with an Office of the floor cove
ed with Administer, and library {
books in Russian morocco, and an arm
| chair upholstered like a throne and n