“Wisdom with its trumpet word
In a myriad volumes heard;
All which unto love belongs
Chanted in uncounted songs,
Up and down the endless ages;
Things divine in sacred pages–
As the sands of the seashore–
Taught with tongues of gold and yore;–
When tomorrow is today,
What can still remain to say?
One thing looked for–one unheard,
Only that unuttered word.
Echoes of the sense of which
All our spoken words enrich,
And shall yet, with clarion call,
Alter and transmute them all.”
The words of Christ are not like other men’s words. He says they are spirit and life. In one of his parables he speaks of his words as seeds. We know what seeds are. You may have in your hand a handful of gems – pearls, diamonds, or other precious stones. They are brilliant and beautiful. They are rare and of great value. You hold a fortune in your hand. But these are only little stones. They have no life in them. You may plant them in your garden, but they will not grow, and you will not gather any harvest from them. Then you may take up a handful of seeds – flower seeds, grain seeds, and seeds of trees. They have no brightness, do not shine, and cannot be sold for ornaments. But they have secrets of life in them. Scatter them in your garden, drop them in your window box, or plant them in the fields, and they will grow. Christ’s words are seeds. They are different from other men’s sayings. These may be eloquent, brilliant, wise, sparkling with beauty – gems of literature, but they have no life in them. They do not make the world any better. But the words of Christ are life. Plant them, and you will have regenerated lives, sweet homes, grace and beauty in character.
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