The Brookhaven leader., 1886-07-15
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Opening OF a Series on the voices
of the Gardens and Fields"
Subjects Suggested by the Preachers sum.
msr RsmbIIngs-The Campfire Plant
as Typical OF Christ-The Re-
storntive Power of Grace.

Il
bath, the "Voices of the Gardens and
Fields" being the theme. His text was:
My beloved is unto me as cluster of cam
phire In the vineyards OF En- gedi.-Song Of
Solomon, l., L.
"Solomon's Song" has been considered
by many as at only for moonstruck senti-
mentalists; written by a voluptuary; the
story Of a man craEed by a fair Made n /;
At neither for family prayers nor for
church. Indeed we must admit that there
were years in Solomon's life when he had
several hundred more wives than he was
entitled to-; but he repented Of his sin, and
God chose him to write some of the best
things abe ut Christ that have ever been
written. Besides that, think the criti-
cism of modern times upon the immodesty
of the Bible comes with poor grace from a
century in which the writings OF George
Sand come to their fortieth edition, and
Christians can not get to the prayer meet
ing because they have tickets for places Of
amusement so depraved that they make
the BLACK Crook" respectable. l think,
however, as far as can see, in my stupid
ity, that there are thiSgs turned out upon
tue community to-day that bid fair to do
Hear, now, one of his fresh and fair de-
scriptions of Jesus. If l had twenty
years to preach would like to employ ten
of them in bringing out to observation
those representations of Christ that have
as vet been passed by. do not know why
the pulpit should hover over a few types
of Christ when there are so many symbols
of Jesus that have never been discoursed
upon Why should we employ our time
in examining a few lilies, when the Bible
is a great garden filed with fuchsias, and
with daffodils, and with amaranths, and
with evening primroses for the close of
lfe's day, and crocuses at the. foot of the
snow bank of sorrow, and heartsease for
the troubled, and passion flowers planted
at the foot of a cross, and morning glories
spreading out under the splendors of
the breaking dayY Some years ago dis
coursed to you about "the white hairs of
Jesus" and some of the newspapers sup
posed it was a mere fancy of my own-the
poor fools not knowing that in Revela-
lions, the first and fourteenth, the Bible
speaks of Christ:
His head and His hairs were white like
wool, as white as snow
symboAEing the eternity of Jesus
Terraced on the side of the mountain
we're the VINEYARDS of En- gedi. Oh, they
~ere sweet places! From II shelving of
the mountain, four hundred feet high,
waters came down in beautiful baptism on
the faces of the leaves; the grapes intoxi-
cate with their own wine; pomegranates
with juices bursting from the rind; all
fruits and flowers and aromatic woods
among the sweetest of these the campfire
plant of the text. Its flowers are in
clusters like our lilac-graceful, fragrant,
81 ubolical of Jesus; for
nv beloved is unto me as cluster of
campfire from the vineyard of En- gedi
l will carry out the idea of my text, and
In the first place show you that this
campfire plant of the text was a symbol
of Christ, because of it's fragrance. II !
had branch of it and should wave It in
your midst, it would fill all the house with
its redolence. The campfire, as we have
it, is offensive to sonnet but the campfire
plant of the text had fragrance gracious
to all. The vineyards of En- gedi bathed
in 1.-THE branches, the buds, the blossoms,
dripping with sweetness, typical of the
sweetness of Christ.
How sweet the name OF Jesus sounds
In believers earl
1t soothes his sorrows, heals his wo unds
And drives away his fear.
The name of Caesar means power; the
name of Herod means cruelty; the name
Of Alexander means conquest; the name
of Demosthenes means eloquence; the
name of Milton means poetry; the name
OF Benjamin West means painting; the
name of Phidias means sculpture; the
name Of Beethoven means music; the name
Of Howard means reform; but the name
Of Christ means love.
1t is the sweetest name that ever melted
from lip or heart AS you open an old
chest that has long been closed, the first
thing that strikes you is the perfume of the
herbs that were packed amid the clothing;
80 there are hundreds of hearts here which,
if opened, would first offer to you the name
% Jesus. Have you not seen Him? Through
the dark night of your sin has he not
flashed upon your visonf Beautiful when
he comes to help, beautiful when he comes
TO save. A little child was crying very
much during the time of an eclipse. 1t
got so dark at noon that she was afraid
and kept sobbing, and could not be ST.
fenced until after awhile the sun came out
again, and she clapped her hands, and
said: 80, the sun! the sun" Some Of
US have been in the darkness of our sin;
eclipse after eclipse has passed over our
soul; but after awhile the Sun of Right
6ousness poured his beams upon our
hearts, and we cried: "Tbe sun!
the SUM" Beautiful dawn in the
straw of the Bethlehem khan!
Beautiful in His mothers shawl
a fugitive to Egypt Beautiful with his
f1et in the Galilean surfl Beautiful with
the children hanging about His neck!
Beautiful in the home circle of Bethany!
Fairer than the sons of men; dayspring
rom on high; light for those who sit in
darkness; rose of Sharon; lily of the VAL
iey-altogether lovely! OF He is such
= sin-pardoner such a trouble Doth
or, such a wound binder, such a grave
breaker, that the faintest pronunciation
of His name rouses up all the incense of the
garden and all the perfume of the tropics,
while the soul, in ecstasy of affection cries
out:
Ny beloved 10 unto me as cluster of
asmphire from the vineyards OF En- gedi.
But how shall talk of the sweetness of
Christ's pardon to tn ose who have never
felt 1t; of the sweetness of His comfort to
those who have refused His promise of the
sweetness of His face to those who have
turned their back upon His lover Now, a
great many people may think this is
merely sickly sentimentalism. Jonathan
Edwards was a cool man. He was harsh
IN some of his opinions, he was never
afflicted with any sentimental ardor; and
yet, when the name of Christ was men
toned, IL threw him into a tran sport.