The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1886-07-28
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
Second Discourse OF the Series on
Voices Of Gardens and Fields"
The Church Militant as the Garden Of
ClriSt-its LabOrs, Fruits and Flowers
Heroic Lab0rers-The Voice
Of the Gardener.

Ss sAAO o"AuChoAs
Rev. 7. Dewitt Talmage delivered the
second OF his series of discourses on
"Voices of Gardens and Fields" at "The
Hamptons," taking for his text:
1 an como into my garden -solomon's
Song, vi.
He said: The Bible is great poem. We
have In its faultless rhy thin, and hold i'm.
agery, and startling antithesis, and rap.
furious lyric, and sweet pastoral, and in.
structive narrative, and devotional PISA I'm,
thoughts expressed in style more solemn
than THAT of Montgomery, more bold than
that OF Milton, mere terrible than that of
Dante, more natural than that OF Words
worth, more imprisoned than that of
foilok, more tender than that Of Cowper,
more weird than that of Spenser. This
great poem brings oil the gems of the
earth into its coronet, and it weaves the
flames of judgment into its garlands, and
pours eternal harmonies in its rhy thin.
Every thing this book touches 1t makes
beautiful, from the plain stones of the
summer thrcshing floor to the daughters
al Nabor filling the trough for the camels,
and the fish-pools of Heshbon up to the
Psslmist praising God with diapason Of
storm and whirlwind, and Job leading
forth Orion, Arcturus and Pleiades.
My text leads US into scene Of summer
redolenee. The world has bad a great
many beautiful gardens. Charlemagne
added to the glory of his reign by decree
ing that they be established all through
the reaIm-deciding even the names Of the
flowers to be planted there. Henry w., at
Montpelier, established gardens of be.
wtching beauty and luxuriance, gather.
ing into them Alpine, Tyrenean and
French plants. One of the sweetest spots
ON earth was the garden of Shenstone, the
poet. His writings have made but little
impression on the world, but his garden,
l"Ths Lessowes," will be immortal To
the natural advantage Of this place was
brought the perfection of art. Arbor, and
terrace, and slope, and rustic temple, and
reservoir, and urn and fountain here had
their browning. Oak and yew and hazel
put forth their richest foliage. There was
no life more diligent, no soul more In.
genious than that of Shenstone, and all
that diligence and genius he brought to
the adornment Of that one treasured spot.
He gave 81 800 for it; he sold it for $S5, 900.
And yet am to tell you to-day Of richer
garden than have mentioned.
! 1t is the garden spoken Of in my text,
the garden Of the church, which belongs
to Christ, for my text says SO. He bought
1t, he planted it, he owns II, and he shall
have it. Walter Scott, in his outlay at
Abbotsford, ruined his fortune; and now,
an the crimson flowers of those gardens,
you can almost think or imagine that you
see the blood Of that old mans broken
heart. The payment Of the last $4,000
sacrificed him. But have to tell you
that Christ's life and Christ's death were
the outlay of this beautiful garden of the
church, Of which my text speaks. Oh,
how many signs, and tears, and pangs,
aud agonies! Tell me, ye women who
saw him hang! Tell me, ye executioners
who lifted him and let him down! Tell
ME, thou sun that didst hide; We rocks
chat fell! "Christ loved the church and
gave himself for it," If the garden of the
church belongs to Christ, certainly he has
right to walk in it. Come, then, o
blessed Jesus, to-day; walk up and down
these aisles, and pluck what Thou wilt of
sweetness for Thyself!
The church, in my text, is appropriately
compared to a garden, because 1t Is place
Of choice flowers, of select fruits, and of
thorough irrigation.
That would be a strange garden in which
there were no flowers. II nowhere else,
they would be along the borders or at the
gateway. The homeliest taste will dictate
something, il 1t be the old fash Toned holly.
hook, or dahlia, or daffodil; but IL there be
larger means, then you will find the Mexi.
can cactus, and blazing azalea, aud clus.
tering o'ssndsr. Well, now Christ comes
to his garden, and he plants there some of
the brightest spirits that ever lowered
upon the world. Some of them are violets,
unconspicuous, but sweet as heaven. You
dave to search and find them. You do not
see them very often, perhaps, but you find
where they have been by the frightened
face of the invalid, and the sprig of ger.
ahium on the stand, and the new window
curtains keeping out the glow OF the sun.
light. They are, perhaps, more like the
ranunculus, creeping sweetly along amid
the thorns and briars Of life, giving kiss
for sting; and many man who has had
in his way some great black rock of
trouble, has found that they have covered
it all over with the fowery jessamine run.
ming in and out amid the crevices. These
flowers in Christ's garden are not like sun.
flowers, .gaudy in light, but wherever
darkness hovers over soul that needs to
be oomfortsd, there they stand, night
blooming cereuses. But in Christ's garden
there are plants that may be bet.
ter compared to the Mexican
cactus--thorns without, loneliness within;
men with sharp points of character. They
wound almost every one that touches
them. They are hard to handle. Men
pronounce them nothing but thorns, but
Christ loves them notwith standing all
their sharpnesses. Many man has had
very hard ground to cultivate, and it
has only been through severe trial he has
raised even the smallest scrape of grace.
A very harsh minister was talking to a
very placid elder, and the placid elder said
to the harsh minister:
Doctor, do wish you would control
your temper"
"Ah," said the minister to the elder, ~
control more temper in five minutes than
you do in five years"
Ii is harder for some men to do right
than for other men to do right The grace
that would elevate you to the seventh
heaven might not keep your brother from
knocking man down. had friend who