John Angell James:
"Your adornment must not be merely external--braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God." - 1 Peter 3: 3-4
How exquisitely is this put. How impressive the ideas which are conveyed. It is the decoration of the soul rather than of the body, about which Christian women should be chiefly solicitous and concerned. The soul is indestructible and immortal; so should its ornaments be. What can jewels of silver or jewels of gold do for this? Can the diamond sparkle upon the intellect? or the ruby blaze upon the heart? Or the pearl be set in the conscience? Or the gorgeous robe clothe the character? Or the feather or the flower wave over the renewed and holy nature? No! The appropriate ornaments of the soul are truth, holiness, knowledge, faith, hope, love, joy, humility; and all the other gifts and graces of the Spirit--wisdom, prudence, fortitude and gentleness. These are the jewels with which the heart should be adorned. The outer body is corruptible. Dust it is, and unto dust it shall return.That beautiful woman glittering in all the profusion of diamonds--the admiration and envy of the party or the ball room, must before long be a mass of putrefaction too ghastly to be looked upon--and then a hideous skeleton, a collection of bones, a heap of dust! And where will be the immortal spirit? Will it wear the cast-off jewels of the body? O no! These remain, rescued from the grasp of the 'king of terrors', but only to ornament other bodies!
But turn now to that other female, the woman who, regardless of the decoration of the body, was all intent upon the beauty of the soul. Look at her, who was clothed with the robe of righteousness and the garment of salvation, and decorated with the ornaments of a meek and quiet spirit. She too dies; but the indestructible and immortal spirit over which death has no dominion, goes not unadorned into the presence of the Eternal; for the jewels with which it decorated itself on earth are as indestructible as its own nature, and go with it to shine in the presence of God!
(Taken from the chapter, Ornaments of a Profession of Religion, in Female Piety by John Angell James)
Okay, so did you write the post, or is a quote? Because I was thinking, "wow...that's really...high language, I don't think of Sarah writing that," and then I got to the bottom and saw the parenthesis. If you wrote it, that's amazing! Otherwise, it is a great reminder nevertheless that outward beauty doesn't last. And you can realize, from life, how people will gradually discover the inwardly beautiful lady is much more pleasant to be around, despite the lack of diamonds gracing her neck.
ReplyDeleteHave you ever read "The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit" by Matthew Henry? We're reading it in the Ladies' Reading Group; it's really good!!
ReplyDeleteSavannah - Yeah, it only hit me after I posted that that it might look like I write like a Victorian! :-) Up until I read this quote, I never heard of the word "putrefaction." Ick!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth - Funny that you should say that, because several weeks ago, Mr. Chantry recommended it to me too. I haven't been able to read it yet, but with two people's stamps of approval, I'll have to now!
My mom is going to read The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit next week. Maybe I should too. After the Confessions. One thing at a time.
ReplyDeleteOh good, and now I'm going to read "Young People's Problems." :)
ReplyDeleteWe should make a book club....
ReplyDelete:-)