Chapter 16
The Morning Glory an the Glory of the Morning
Two names so much alike and yet how different they often are! To illustrate, take the “morning glory” and the “glory of the morning.” The morning glory is a beautiful little flower that blooms out on the little climbing vines that are often planted about the doors of our homes. The little vine will climb the twine string until it reaches the top of the porch and then the lovely little vine will cover the top of the porch, and the flowers will hang in great clusters down over the doorway. Early in the morning while the dew is on, the whole porch will be covered with lovely flowers, and as long as the morning stays cool and fresh, the flowers could not be more beautiful — all colors, red and white and blue and purple, dazzling in the early morning sunlight.
As soon as the dew dries off, the morning glories are ready to drop from their tiny little stems, and wither up in the heat; but while the dew is on, they are so lovely and so beautiful that somebody called them morning glories, and that lovely name got out on them. It has stuck to them like a postage stamp sticks to the envelope. It would make me feel sad if the morning glories were called by some other name. When you see the morning glories in bloom you know that the dear Lord has been in the community, for no man could mix his colors to make the vine so dark and green and fresh, and yet red and white and purple, and, oh, those dark blue ones, how they dance and shine in the morning sunlight! When I look at them I just want to run and jump right into the middle of the vine and get my arms full of those lovely little friends of mine, and plant a dozen kisses on their dainty little faces, and when they raise their tiny but beautiful little heads to heaven all damp with the morning dew, you just have to stop and look at them. They command you like so many commanding officers, and I just dare you to go by and not say, “Good morning, morning glories.” If you love the Lord you will feel like taking off your hat to them, for you are in the presence of perfection and beauty and loveliness. They look like Jesus had spent the night with them. You feel that He had joined in with them and sung a morning lullaby, given them a parting kiss, withdrawn just a little way, and was looking through the morning sunlight at a cluster of morning glories.
But there is a great difference between the morning glory and the glory of the morning. The glory of the morning is brought into display by the rising of the sun, as that fiery charger rolls up over the blue dome and shakes sparks of living fire from his outstretched wings. We stand in awe and are made to wonder at the glory and power of our God, the Builder of the heavens and earth, and thank God, the Creator of the universe. How strange, how refreshing, how marvelous, how glorious! Are you surprised that this wonderful hour is called the morning? King Solomon said, “Who is she that looketh forth as the morning?”
Just watch that fiery chariot as he climbs the mountain peaks, and throws handfuls of morning light down into that valley. Do you wonder that the lambs are bleating and the birds are singing and the brooks are humming their morning tune ? Do you wonder that the hens are cackling and the calves are bawling, and the pups are barking? Just listen as the girls play that organ. It sounds like a brand-new one. Listen to the boys in the back yard as they whoop and yell, as they stand on their feet one minute and their heads the next. What does it all mean? Why, man, this is the glory of the morning. Take another look and you will see mountains of floating clouds and they will smile on you as you wave them a happy good morning. But the next moment you will see what looks to be tons of granulated sugar, and trainloads of whipped cream, and you will feel like throwing your hat in the air and shouting to the top of your voice that the angels are having whipped cream for breakfast, and all nature joins in a great praise meeting.
And we just look up and say, “Glory to God!” and hardly know why we said it. Well, we just had to say it, for it said itself; that was our expression of the “glory of the morning.” But as we stand and gaze on the wonder of this glory we hear the humming of the bees and we see them out at the daybreak gathering honey from the clover blossoms and their little heads are wet with the morning dew as they have soused them through the dewdrops, gathering their morning meal.
Praise the Lord for the glory of the morning, and praise Him for the morning glory!
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THE END