p. 91 | A Fragrant Character

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Aug 5, 1858

A Fragrant Character.

In one of those apt and suggestive figures with which the Bible abounds, and which impart a perennial freshness to its language, the stability and lowliness of the truly good man's character, are described in the portraiture of one, whose "beauty shall be as the olive tree, and his smell like Lebanon." The olive tree was the symbol of all that was fresh and graceful—so valuable that from king to cottage, every land holder had his olive yard. Nothing could convey to the mind of the Oriental reader a more expressive image of the beauty and fragrance of Christian character.

It is so indeed; the real Christian is "the highest style of man." So far as religion molds and controls the life of a man, it tends to make him a perfect being. True, there are many who profess religion, who are unlovely and repulsive, with nothing in their character to please or in their life to attract; and the world is prone to take them as specimens of genuine piety. But such unlovely examples of Christian chracter are specimens of the want of religion, or of mistaken ideas of religion, and not of religion itself. Could we but see the man as religion would make him, we should behold a beautiful specimen of a man.

There is a peculiar grace and dignity in the man who walks with God. The tenderness of feeling, the amiability of temper, the carefulness not to injure the meanest creature, the benevolence and sympathy of feeling, the glow of piety and the studious aim to promote the happiness of others, are traits which no mind, however lacking itself, can behold without respect and admiration. Like begets like. And the man who holds intimate daily intercourse with God in meditation and prayer, will come to reflect not a little of the beauty and excellence of the divine mind. What a lustre was there in the face of Moses, when he came down from the Mount! He had seen the Lord, had communed with him face to face, had caught some of his glory, and his face shone when Israel beheld him. The world took knowledge of the primitive disciples, that they had been with Christ.

Bad as this world is, it is not wholly insensible to the attractions of moral goodness. It can not fail to mark the superiority of the man of God to other men. His pure example, his winning character, his self-denying and benevolent life, are in marked contrast with the vice, the selfishness and the moral ugliness which he sees elsewhere. So meek, so gentle, so forgiving, so full of kindness and good will to all the world, is the real Christian, that most men will respect his character. Wickedness is often disarmed by the exhibition of goodness; and unbelief is constrained to assert the truth and power of religion.

The beauty of moral goodness never decays. The olive is an evergreen, and hence never loses its freshness and beauty. No matter what changes come over the outward man, or over the face of nature, or upon society around him, the Christian "shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth fruit in its season; his leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper."

Piety is as fragrant as it is beautiful. Lebanon was not more distinguished for its princely cedars than for its odoriferous vines. The numerous vineyards which adorned the mountain side, perfumed the valleys below, and sent their fragrance to a great distance. True piety gathers its sweetness not from the earth but from heaven. Its perfume is emitted from the tree of life, from the throne of God, from the breath of angels; and is wafted to earth on the breezes which blow soft over the Paradise above. That celestial fragrance distils its subtle influence upon the heart and upon the mind, and breathes out its divine sweetness into the conversation, into the actions, and into the very looks and manner of man. There is a sweetness in the spirit and life of true piety, which is both pleasing and grateful to the sense, and purifying and reviving to the spirit of man. It is good to be with one whose life is hid with God—whose whole being is subdued, molded, chastened, adorned, and enriched by the grace of God. The life of such an one is from heaven—his speech is of heaven; and the power of his attraction draws you towards heaven. You see and feel in his presence that goodness alone is of any real value.—N. Y. Evangelist.