The Republican., 1899-05-04
ON ENLARGING THE SOUL.
Contemplation of the Greatness and
Perfection of God and His Christ
the Greatest Inspiration.

Strong and deep in the human soul
is the desire for grand and elevating
thought. This longing indicates true
want. for it is thus that the soul is en-
larged, and enlargement, next to saliva
ton, is the supreme need. We are born
that we may grow. This is true of the
spirit as well as of the body. The soul
becomes great by the contemplation of
the great. Let thought be engaged on
little things, and its growth is stunted.
The larger its conceptions, the grander
is the stature of the true man, the i'm
mortal spirit within.
Christianity meets this as it does
every spiritual need. One of its excel
lencies is that it brings before the be-
lever the sublimest thoughts that ever
entered the human mind. 1t reveals
Christ the Lord. No other theme pre-
sents such an charging subject for con-
temptation. Conceptions of the vast
in nature are elevating. We have stood
by the Alpine range of the Swiss Ober-
land, and looked at the mighty, snow
stoled mountains as their vastness
grew in the mind. Or on the deck of
a vessel have sought that the ineessant
wave march of the unfathomable sea
might broaden and deepen our intel
lect. Or at night have listened to the
voiceless music of the stars, bringing
ideas larger than our words could shape.
And in each such exercise have felt
growth in soul stature. If meditation
on creation is so good, much more en-
nobling is a thought of the Creator
There we see infnity in all directions,
in time and space, inpower and wisdom
No thought of Him can be adequate,
but none, however perfect, can pass
through the human mind without leav-
ing a benediction behind. Itis in Christ,
by whom all things were made, that
we see God. Apart from him there may
be some philosophic conception of a
great first cause, but how far true, or
even satisfactory, no mortal knoweth.
But in our Lord we have God as He
wishes us to think of Himself. He is
the brightness of the Fathers glory,
the express image of His person.
Character is greater than being. No
elevating influence has more power
than that of intercourse with a great
and good man. We are wiser for lis
tening to his words, and better for
touching the hem of his garment. Men
have lived, men are living now, of such
moral force, that an hours converse
sometimes gives a new color to the
whole future of him who has the boon.
There is a fawless perfection in the
moral character of Christ that to med
itate upon is an inspiration. No regis
tered resolution, no energetic self-de-
nying action, has such a power to re-
mold character and strengthen holiness
as a calm contemplation of the moral
excellence of the Saviour of mankind.
The resources for meditation found
in Christ are boundless, and each is en-
larging. The highest beauty is His,
for moral beauty is higher than ma
terial; it is the highest of all, and in
this sense He is the chief among ten
thousand, the altogether lovely. 1t is
a secret of human happiness to allow
our imaginations to be filled with the
thought of happy things, happy beings,
happy scenes. Jesus Christ is the hap
piest of all beings. His JOY is infinite
and eternal. IF We loved me-" He once
said, ''ye would rejoice because 1 said
go to my Father" That is to say, the
glorifed joy of our Lord is, when con-
templated by the believer, a perennial
rejoicing that can transcend the great
est grief. Inconceivably great are the
stores of blessing provided by His
grace. We think of the innumerable
company of souls whom He has rescued,
of His eternal and immutabIe choice,
of the suffering to which He stopped
for their salvation, and of the everlast-
ing glory He is preparing for them.
And as we mediate thus on the breadth,
the length, the depth, and the height,
we find that in every way it transcends
our intellectual powers, it passes knowl-
edge. But as the apostle suggests, in
seeking to comprehend these things
we are filed with the fullness of God;
not only are our vessels full to the brim
but they grow in capacity. Dazzled
with the splendor of divine love we may
be, but thus our sight is purged, we
mount as eagles gazing on the sun, and
rise higher attracted by the glory.
Nobler than power or character or
beauty is love. Indeed, it is the sum-
ming up of these, the ripe fruit of which
all other excellence is but the bud. An
old Hebrew poet called love Deity in
candescent, or, as Coverdale translates
it, 80 very flame of the Lord" 1t is
through Christ that this glow and
brightness of God is manifested to us.
The love of Christ, then, is the loftiest
theme that can occupy any mind, and
the most ennobling.-London Freeman.
Keeping Ones Temper.
Keeping the temper is one of the
rarest fruits of grace and one of the
strongest proofs of a true Christian
manhood. 1t takes more strength of
character to rule ones spirit and keep