The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1891-12-16

the clew line and draw through your
mind the long train with indescribable !
velocity-one thought started up hum
bred, and this again a thousand-as the
chirp of one bird sometimes wakes a
whole forest Of voices, or the thrum of
one string will rouse an orchestra.
Watch your memory--that sheaf-
binder, thai goes forth to gather the
harvest of the past, and bring it into
tine present. Your power and velocity
of thought-thought Of the swift wing
and lightning foot; thought that out
speeds the star and circles through the
heavens, and weighs words, and, from
posing amid wheeling consultations,
comes down to count the blossoms in a
tuft of mignonette, then starts again to
try the fathoming of the bottomless,
and the scaling of the insurmountable,
to be swallowed up in the incompre-
hensible, and lost in God.
In reason and understanding, man is
alone. The OK surpasses him in
strength, the antelope in speed, the
hound in keenest of nostril, the eagle
in far-reaching sight, the rabbit in
quickness of hearing, the honey bee in
delicacy of tongue, the spider in fine
ness of touch. Mans power, therefore,
consistent not in what he can lift, or
how fast he can run, or how strong o
wrestler he can throw-for in these re-
spects the OK. the ostrich and the hyena
are his superior-but by his reason
he comes forth to rule all; through
his ingenious continuance to out
run, outfit. outwrestle. outsee, outhear,
Guido. At his all-conquering decree
the forest that has stood for ages steps
aside to let him build his cabin and cul-
tivate his farm. The sea which raved
and foamed upon the race has become
crystal pathway for commerce to
march on. The thunder cloud that
slept lazily above the mountain is made
to come down and carry mail bags.
Man. dissatisfied with his slowness of
advancement, shouted to the water and
the fire, "Come and lift!" ''Come and
draw" "Come and help!' And they
answered. SAY, ay. we Gomez" and they
Joined hands-the fire and the water
and the shuttles fly, and the rail train
rattles on, and the steamship comes
coughing, painting, flaming across the
deep. He elevates the telescope to the
heavens, and, as easily as through the
stethoscope the physician hears the
movement Of the lung, the astronomer
catches the pulsation of distant systems
of worlds throbbing with life. He takes
the microscope, and discovers that there
are hundreds of thousands OF animal
culm living, moving, working, dying
within a circle that could be covered
with the point of pin-animals to
which rain-drop would be an ocean, a
rose-leaf hemisphere, and the flash OF
a freely lasting enough to give them
light to several generations.
| take step higher and look at mans
moral nature. Made in the image OF
God. Vast capacity for enjoyment
capable, at first, of eternal joy, and
though now disordered. still, through
the recuperative force of heavenly
grace, able to mount up to more than
it's original felicity; faculties that may
blossom and bear fruit inexhaustibly.
Immortality written upon every capac.
ity; q soul destined to range in unlimited
spheres of activity long after the world
has put on ashes, and the solar system
shall have snapped its axle, and the
stars that, in their course, fought
against Sisera, shall have been slain
and buried amid the tolling thunders Of
the last day.
Pleasant things for the palate; must.
for the ear; beauty for the eye; aroma
for the nostril; kindred for our affec
tions; poetry for our taste; religion fol
our soul We are put in garden, and
told that from all the trees we may ea'
except here and there one. He gives
the sun to shine on'us, and the waters
to refresh us, and food to strengthen
us, and the herbs yield medicine wher
we are sick, and the forests lumber
when we would build a house, or eros!
the water in a ship. The rocks are
transported for our foundations; ant
metals upturned for our currency; ant
wild beasts must give us covering; ant
the mountains must be tunneled to lie
us pass; and the fish of the sea come NJ
in our net; and the birds of the air drol
at the flash of our guns; and the cattl'
on thousand hills come down to Civ
us meat. For us the peach orchard
bend down their fruit, and the vineyard
their purple clusters. To feed and re
fresh our intellect, ten thousand won
ders in nature and providence-wonder
of mind and body, wonders of earth
and air, and deep 'analogies and an
titheses; all colors and sounds; lyrics il
the air; idyls in the field; confagration
in the sunset; robes Of mist on tn
noun tains; and the Grand March" o
God in the storm.
But for the soul still higher adapta
ton; fountain in which it may wash
ladder by which it may climb; a SON
of endless triumph that it may sing;
crown of unfading light that it ma
wear. Christ came to save-came wit
cross on his back; came with spike
in his feet; came when no one els
would come, to do work which no on
else would do. See how suited to man
condition is what God has done for him
Man is sinner; here is pardon. Fl
, has lost Gods image; Christ retraces il
He is helpless; Almighty grace is prot
! Tered. He is lost wanderer; Jesu
brings him home. He is blind; and at on
touch of Him who cured Bartimeu.