The morning star

Front matter

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THE

MORNING STAR;

Preface

The symbolical parts of the Scriptures are invested with peculiar attractions. A familiar acquaintance with them can scarcely fail to increase respect and love for the Bible. This is especially true of the symbols of Christ, as significant representations of his character and office-work. They surround him with new charms as Mediator and Saviour. He never appears more emphatically " the chiefest among ten thousand, and altogether lovely," than when he is viewed through some of his more appropriate emblems.

A few of the more prominent symbols of Christ are contained in this volume. There are others which the Christian may study with pleasure and profit. Not one can be found on the sacred page that is not worthy of close and patient examination.

The same truth may be found in different symbols. Where this is the case, the author has endeavored to avoid repetition by developing the truth in one place only, with a brief allusion, or entire omission, in others.

4 PREFACE.

Each emblem lias usually one special thought or truth to communicate. While the writer has borne this fact in mind, he has also discussed other lessons which the several examples treated appear to contain.

The same text of Scripture may establish or illustrate a truth under two or more symbols. In a few instances proof texts are thus applied in this volume, for the reason that they are particularly appropriate in more than one place.

If these pages serve to magnify the beauty and wisdom of the word of God in the view of a single reader, or cause the humblest believer or unbeliever to think more of Christ, the author will cheerfully endure the censure of critics, and never repent of having committed these thoughts to print.

W. M. T.

Contents

Symbol Page

I. — THE MORNING STAR. ... 7

II. — THE ROSE OF SHARON. ... 30

II. The Rose Op Sharon

. — " I am the rose of Sharon."

Hast tliou not, in the lone wood's shade,

Oft seen a lovely flower, Pale, weak, and bending low its head,

Drenched by the thunder shower ?

Transplanted thence, and trained to grow,

The sunny garden's pride.

How sweetly did its odors flow.

Diffused on every side !

Fair Sharon's Rose thus lonely grew,

Of dark Gethsemane. Rev. J. EAsr.

Sharon was a spacious plain in the East, distinguished for the number and richness of its flowers. Among them the rose was conspicuous for beauty. It was the queen of flowers in the " Bible Lands." Far and near it was known as such ; and for this reason it was highly prized. Hence it came to be employed as an appropriate symbol of the Saviour.

THE ROSE OF SHARON. 31

At the present time there is more reason for comparing Christ with the rose than with any other flower. All flowers are objects of admiration ; but with none are there so many pleasant associations connected, and none appeal to the heart through so many charms. The rose has been celebrated in all lands and ages for this loveliness of which we speak. Hence our ears are frequently greeted with such comparisons as the following. A beautiful object, as a child, is said to be " fair as a rose." Delightful fragrance is pronounced " sweet as a rose." The hue of health upon the cheek of youth is described as " rosy." The blushing morning, with its resplendent glories, is called " rosy dawn." An object distinguished for peculiar softness is spoken of as being " soft as a rose leaf." Any person who will take the trouble to notice his own love for flowers will find that his heart is drawn towards this as it is not towards another. Hence it has always been employed as a decoration at festivals, and a significant emblem on other occasions. Scenes and personal charms that appeal to the tender sensibilities of our nature are frequently described by some allusion to the rose. When the serpent entered the- garden of Eden, he is represented by Milton as discovering Eve

" Veiled in a cloud of fragrance where she stood, Half spied, so thick the roses blushing round About her glowed."

It seems as if Milton thought that there could not be a perfect Eden without this flower to load the air with its fragrance. Nor was this peculiar to him. We find the same disposition in ourselves to employ it as emblematical of delicate feelings and charming realities. When joyous children, in their loveliness and innocence, assemble on some festive occasion, how generally the wreath of roses is chosen to adorn them ! It is suggestive of that class of delightful emotions and sentiments which it is desirable to awaken at such times. Notice this tendency of our hearts when the little child is deposited in the casket for the grave. The rosebud is laid upon its breast. If the death occurs when the season of flowers has passed, the neighborhood is searched for one of these appropriate emblems that has been reared under shelter. And how strongly it appeals to the mourner, as it lies upon that lovely form ! That stricken infant was the embodiment of delicate and beautiful elements of life, and nothing could so appropriately symbolize them as a rosebud. How precious to the weeping mother ! Who has not seen her advance to the coffin, ere its lid

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was fastened, and take the bud from the snowy breast of the child, to preserve as a memento of its existence ? Such remembrancers may be found in many a drawer, where they were deposited by bereaved affection after the angel of death swept past.

Such facts are indicative of the place that is assigned to the rose in the world of flowers. They prepare the way to consider what there is about it to remind us of Christ. There must have been some reason for the Saviour's choice of it as a symbol, otherwise he might have compared himself to the lotus of Egypt. Thei'e must be something that peculiarly adapts it to the object for which it is employed. Let us inquire what it is.

When we look at a rose, the first thing that strikes us is, the queen of flowers upon the most uncomely stock. Scarcely any bush is less graceful and promising than that which, yields this flower. It is truly without "form" and "comeliness." There is beauty in a well-proportioned tree, even when stripped of its foliage. Many of them, taken in their wildness from the forests, are highly ornamental in the garden. But the rosebush is the reverse of this. It is the last shrub from which a person unacquainted with plants would expect to derive fragrance or beauty. Besides, it repels one by its thorns. The meanest twig that grows by the road side presents a more attractive surface. For this is a nettle to human hands — no better than the repulsive " bramble " to which the Saviour referred so disparagingly on one occasion. Yet, as we have said, it yields one of the most highly valued of flowers.

This reminds ns very forcibly of Christ as he was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah. "He shall grow up as a root out of a dry ground ; he hath no form nor comeliness ; and when we see him, there is no beauty, that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men ; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him ; he was despised, and we esteemed him not." In these words we have presented the humble origin and unattractive appearance of the Messiah. " A root out of dry ground " is a striking figure to indicate this. Barnes, commenting upon these words, says, " The idea here is, that the Messiah would spring from an ancient family decayed, but in whose root, so to speak, there would be life, as there is remaining life in the stump of a tree that has fallen down ; but that there would be nothing in his external appearance that would attract attention, or meet the expectations of the nation. Even tlieii he would not be like a plant of vigorous growth, supplied with abundant rains, and gro wingin a rich and fertile soil, but he would be like the stinted growth of the sands of the desert.''*

The Jews were anticipating the reverse of this. They expected a Saviour whose origin would be princely and promising. They were looking for porap and splendor in his coming. No wonder they were disappointed when he came in his poverty. No wonder they saw nothing in his humble lineage and appearance to admire. Cherishing such views as they did, how could they discover "form "or " comeliness " in him ? It is not strange that they exclaimed, when they saw iiim, " There is no beauty, that we should desire him." Nor is it singular that they "hid their faces from him." They could not believe that such glorious promises as God had made would be fulfilled in such a humble person. They thought it impossible that such fruit could proceed from such a stock — that such a flower as the Rose of Sharon could grow from such a desert soil as Nazareth. Therefore they turned away from him. " He was despised and rejected of men." The very name of " Jesus of Nazareth " became a hissing and by-word among them. That such an unpretending man should claim to have come upon a divine mission aroused their indignation, and they poured it out.

Now, contrast his advent with the present influence of his gospel. Think of him, born in a manger! Though affluence reared its comfortable abodes and splendid palaces around it, yet there was not a chamber nor a bed for his humble parents. The passing crowd bestowed upon them no attention, because they mingled with the unnoticed poor. Some kind stabler offered them a bed where the cattle ate their provender, as we sometimes permit the way-worn beggar to sleep in our barns. Think of him, then, I say, in the manger ; and from thence let your thoughts revert to the cross and the crown — the light of the world and the glory of heaven. Let the Mediator and Advocate with the Father, the eternal Judge, take his place in our minds with the mangered infant. Who would have believed that infant's hand grasped the sceptre of the world ? Who would have thought that infant's heart would ever agonize on Calvary for our fallen race ? Who would have said that he was destined to convulse the nations with his words, and break down the kingdom of darkness by his power? Yet it was even so. The *' root out of a dry ground " produced the queen of flowers.

THE ROSE OF SHARON. 3T

There could not be a more striking contrast than that presented by the birth and present exaltation of Christ. We have examples, in profane history, of men rising from obscurity to distinction ; and they are recounted as wonderful. There was Martin Luther, the son of a miner, without early advantages or encouragement, ascending to a post of influence and distinction seldom, if ever, surpassed. All Christendom bears the impress of his deeds. There was also Melancthon, the son of an artisan, throwing off the incubus which a lowly life imposed upon him, and rising to become the friend and co-helper of Luther in the moral revolution of the old world. There are others, too, of whom the earth was not worthy, whose examples are cited as remarkable for the contrast presented between their humble origin and the final position of power for good which they occupied. But all these fall infinitely below that which we see in Christ. Admirable as they are, they are of little importance beside the example of Him who went from a stable to the throne of the *' King of kings and Lord of lords."

Look more particularly at the mission which the son of unknown Mary performed. I need not describe it; I could not if I would. We sometimes contrast the labors of individuals in this world, in 4 order to have a more correct idea of the character of their offices. With this object in view, contrast the mission of the soldier, waging a war of aggression, "with that of the missionary of the cross, bearing the word of life to the perishing. The former goes Avith deadly weapons and unloving heart to cut down his fellow-men as the mower cuts the grass. Under the power of martial music, his soul becomes the abode of burning passions, so that his highest ambition is the winning of an empire, though it be done at the sacrifice of a whole army of men. To lay smiling villages and cities in smouldering ruins, to slaughter his enemies and multiply misery in its most revolting forms, is his peculiar work. But the herald of the cross goes with the blessings of salvation to the same people. He wears no armor but the " armor of God. " He takes no shield but the '' shield of faith," and no helmet but " the helmet of salvation." He wields no sword but " the sword of the Spirit," and goes " praying always with all prayer and supplication " that he may " save some." His mission is one of love — " good will to men." He carries glad tidings to their doors. He helps them to build, and not to waste their towns and cities. He lifts them from their degradation with a brother's heart. He leads them to the wells of salvation. He points them to the Victim on the cross. He tells them of the Saviour's dying love. He guides them to the " fountain filled with blood.'' They become new creatures in Christ. Their hearts and homes are better. Their land improves. Institutions of learning and religion rise to bless them. They soon take their stand beside the Christian nations of the earth.

Now, which of these two missions is characterized by the most dignity and true glory ? That of the missionary of Jesus is far, far higher than that of the warrior. All the moral sentiments of our nature record their verdict for the bearer of glad tidings. In comparison with his, the work of the soldier, contending for empire and renown, is contemptible and low.

But how much more exalted was the mission of Christ than even that of the most devoted herald of salvation ! How much more love and self-denial it required ! How much broader and grander was the field which it explored! Our feeble conceptions are inadequate to embrace the height and depth, the length and breadth, of the plan devised for the salvation of the race. Yet it was all the work of that unpromising babe in the manger of Bethlehem.

Another quality of the rose which entitles it to become a symbol of Christ is its fragrance. For this it has always been celebrated. Its perfume, too, is more delightful than that of most flowers. In this particular it excels the multitude of buds and blossoms that adorn the earth.

The perfume of flowers has ever been employed as an emblem of the pure and sanctifying influence of holy character. A popular writer, in a recent work which he published, speaking of the characters of those followers of Jesus who maintain a heavenly walk, says, " Their whole walk is fragrant with paradise." It is an apt figure to denote what is very agreeable to us in the amiable piety of another. A poet has e^'pressed the same sentiment in the following lines : —

" When one that holds communion with the sides Has filled his urn where these pure waters rise. And once more mingles with us meaner things, 'Tis e'en as if an an<yel shook his win^s.

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Inmciortal fragrance fills the circuit wide, That tells us whence his treasures are supplied. So when a ship, well freighted with the stores The sun matures on India's spicy shores, Has dropped her anchor and her canvas furled In some fair haven of our western world, 'Twere vain inquiry to what port she went ; The gale informs us, laden with the scent.'*

There is more significance in this part of the symbol, perhaps, than we have supposed. Under the Jewish system of sacrifices we find that the fragrance of the ofierings was of considerable importance, at least as an emblem. Hence we frequently read of sacrifices, that they were a " sweet savor unto God." When Noah built an altar to the Lord, and offered burnt offerings upon it, God is said to have " smelled a sweet savor." That is, it was to him a pleasing and acceptable expression of Noah's faith and gratitude. All through the Jewish dispensation such observances are described by language like this : " It is a sweet savor, an offering made by fire unto the Lord." In these sacrifices there was a pointing to that greater off'ering upon the cross ; for which reason, probably, they were specially acceptable to God. Paul speaks of that affecting scene on Calvary in these words : " Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us, an off'ering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savorJ^ From these allusions it appears that there was a marked connection between the Jewish sacrifices and that on the cross, in the particular named.

The apostle refers to the influence of Christians by employing the same figure. He says, " We are 4* unto God a sweet savor of Christ." That is, the faithful believer sheds abroad an influence that is delightful as sweet odors to God. Nor is it his own righteousness — it is the '' sweet savor of Christ." He scatters the perfume of the Saviour's holiness.

If the influence of virtue and holiness, as developed in a mere human character, can be aptl}^ compared to delicious odors, then Christ has preeminent claim to the title Rose of Sharon. That flower was highly distinguished for its fragrance ; and so was Christ for the perfection of his virtues. He filled the atmosphere around him with the savor of his holy presence. Hence, when David spoke of him, in one of his touching psalms, he referred to his righteous character under the following figure : " All thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palace, whereby they have made thee glad." Imagine a royal personage coming forth from an " ivory palace," where his robes have become impregnated with the most delicious odors that are known, the breezes catching the perfume, and flooding the air with its regaling sweetness — and you have a correct idea of the Psalmist's figure, to exhibit the sacred influence that continually emanates from Christ.

The influence of his gospel in regenerating the guilty world is spoken of in language like the following : " The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them ; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose^ What could more forcibly express the vast change which Christianity is bringing to pass in heathen lands, than this picture of a loildcrness blossoming as the rose ? Imagine a desolate waste of sand, without a green thing to gladden the eye upon the whole area of sterility, — and then conceive of it as being suddenly converted into a garden of blooming roses, extending far as the vision can reach, one unbroken plain of beauty, — and you have the scriptural representation of the elevating influence of Christianity upon the world.

But the third and principal quality of Sharon's rose, which made it specially appropriate for the use to which Christ devoted it, is Beauty. Doubtless the symbol was originally designed to express the "beauty of holiness," as it appeared in Christ. It might have been employed wholly for this object. Be that as it may, it is a choice emblem of this exhibition of the Saviour's character.

Beauty, wherever it is beheld, charms the eye. Men may differ in their views respecting what constitutes it ; but whenever an individual discovers that to which ho gives this appellation, it sways his heart. God evidently designed that it should fulfil an important mission, otherwise he would have scattered it less profusely. In whatever direction we turn our eyes, we behold the beautiful in the works of God. From the humblest flower to the grandest object in nature, this quality appears. Blot out this single characteristic of the world in which we live, and much of the charm that it has for us would be gone. Nor is it confined to material objects alone ; it attaches to the relations and laws of domestic and social life. There is beauty in the fitness and delicacy of these, as really as there is in a flower, or in the human countenance. I say, therefore, God must have appointed this to accomplish an important purpose. No one can contemplate the great profusion of flowers, even, which are the most beautiful of material objects, without being impressed with this idea. If loveliness has no special purpose, then we behold something on every hill and in every valley, by every stream and on every plain, as well as in every land, which God has created in vain. But such a thought is an imputation upon the divine character. Beauty is no vain creation. It leaves an impression upon the heart of man. It makes the mark of God wherever it exists.

THE EOSE OF SHARON. 45

But the symbol in question refers to moral beauty. Christ employs the fairest flower to symbolize the highest moral perfection. Beauty is very frequently employed in the Scriptures to express exalted Christian excellence. Thus we are instructed to " worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness." The same writer said he would enter the sanctuary " to behold the beauty of the Lord ; " that is, to witness those manifestations of his perfections which acceptable worship promises. He also calls Zion " the perfection of beauty." Nothing is so exquisitely fair as that purity which belongs to the true Zion. Hence her subjects are exhorted to " put on their beautiful garments ; " while the Lord is said to " beautify them with salvation.'* He clothes them in the robes of his righteousness, that they may shine to his praise. For this David prayed when he said, " Let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us."

We need not multiply quotations. Such passages are numerous, and they possess an unmistakable meaning. The truth which they convey meets with a response in our hearts. There is nothing more beautiful than moral purity. Let nature endow a person with all the charms that ever graced humanity — the moment we learn that a corrupt heart lies behind those fascinating features, he or she is no longer beautiful. That quality has faded like a flower in the blasts of November. It is because our moral instincts assert that the hio-hest style of beauty is the moral. We cannot think that a corrupt individual is adorned with this grace ; or, at least, we have very little admiration to bestow upon his or her attractions. On the other hand, we often see personal charms in the plainest individuals, simply because we know that goodness fills the heart. The cardinal virtues throw the radiance of their purity into the speaking countenance and self-denying acts.

A person performs a deed that appears to be the promptings of a benevolent heart, such as clothing the naked, feeding the hungry, or raising up the down-trodden. We admire the act, and join with others in pronouncing it beautiful. But let us ascertain that some sinister motive, some sly, secret, selfish interest begot it, and at once it is converted into a contemptible deed. It is degraded from a lovely to a hateful thing. We have no patience with it. Its charm has vanished.

Such an act as that of the poor widow, casting her two mites into the Lord's treasury, possesses a moral attraction before which much that is called

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great in the world is vanity. The spirit that actuated the pious woman is one that commands the respect of every class. The untutored savage, even, feels his heart melt under its moral power. The roughest nature cannot so insult itself as to assert that a rose is not lovely ; neither can it assert the same of that widow's act without doing violence to itself. The gift of a fortune, the endowment of a college or asylum, for worldly power and glory, is small and insignificant in the comparison.

From this it is evident that moral beauty is the highest kind. The virtues that lift tlie soul heavenward awaken the most pleasing emotions within us. The chains of Peter, when we learn the spirit which impelled him to preach of Christ, become radiant with this quality. Every link is one of gold, and all together shine as jasper. There is more attraction in those galling fetters than, attaches to the gilded robes of a royal despot.

Notice here the trne nature of sin and holiness as presented in the Scriptures. The former is the embodiment of moral deformity, the most ugly and unlovely of all existences. Behold the emblem of it in the Bible. It is the most loathsome and terrific of all creeping things — the serpent. In its nature and destructive power, sin is like that dreadful creature.

It has a fang to bite, poison to infuse, and death to inflict. On the other hand, as we have seen, holiness is described as loveliness itself. The most lovely objects in nature are selected to set forth its attractions. Just those things which command the profoundest love of the human heart are chosen to symbolize it. All this adds weight to what has been said concerning moral beauty.

How aptly, then, is Christ styled the Eose of Sharon ! When Isaiah was describing the future blessings of the righteous, he did not forget Christ. He said, " Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty." And, 0, how beautiful I The rose leaf is less pure than his soul. The dove is the divine emblem of his lovely spirit. Sin has not left the trace of a single passion upon his brow. There was moral beauty in his advent. It was a glorious sight when the angels flashed the light of their wings upon the midnight gloom to celebrate his birth. His youth lost not the charm. Youth is always winning when it is found in the ways of virtue ; but that of Christ was rendered infinitely more so in consequence of its connection with the issues of his manhood. His ministry, with its deeds of unrivalled benevolence, was beautiful. Infidels have been compelled to acknowledge this. "When he took little children in

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his arms to bless them ; when he wept with the sorrowing, and rejoiced with the joyful ; and when every where he laid his hand of love, and poured out his heart of mercy upon the suffering forms of humanity, his character was lovely beyond comparison. Behold him in the Mount of Olives at night, supplicating the blessing of God upon his foes ! So beautiful was the scene, that artists have transferred the affecting reality to the canvas. Follow him to the judgment hall of Pilate. Listen to the accusations that are brought, and say if they tarnish the lustre of his character. The longer we gaze upon that interview, the more is our admiration of the Saviour increased. His holiness becomes more attractive as bitter enemies attempt to despoil it. What can be more lovely than the disposition which prompted his last prayer for his persecutors when upon the cross ; " Father, forgive them ; they know not what they do." This was the climax of those beautiful things which characterized the Saviour from his birth to his death. Surely the queen of flowers is fitly chosen to represent his worth.

In one respect Christ is not like the rose of Sharon. Its beauty fades with the passing season. It withers, and lies a worthless thing. But that of Christ, like all moral and spiritual existences, never 5 decays. When the last trace of loveliness shall have passed away from the earth, that of Jesus will shine with more charms than ever. His presence will beautify the mansions of rest, and ransomed spirits will bow before him as the object of their hearts' deepest love and reverence.

If Christ is the most beautiful of all moral beings, then we readily perceive how we can attain to the highest degree of loveliness. We must be like him. Thousands aim to secure the admiration of mankind. Indeed, it is more or less the effort of all the race. Personal appearance commands their undivided attention. They employ art and ingenuity to heighten their charms. Gems, and all sorts of costly trinkets, with princely garments and studied airs, are employed for this purpose. It would startle the world to know exactly the amount of time and expense devoted to this single object, by the human family. Yet, it is done for a vain, perishing impression, while they might possess a personal attraction like that of Christ. They have only to be like him in moral excellence, and they will be adorned with his graces. Their infiuence will be like the perfume of flowers, and their moral beauty ineradicable as the nature of holiness.