The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1886-07-15
A HOLIDAY DISCOURSE.
DR.. Talmage Gives His Hearers
the First of a Series of
Summer DiscOurses,
Taking Subjects Suggested by Summer
Scenes and Surroundings.

"THE HAMPToNs," July Awhile Rev.
7. De Witt Talmage, d. D., is absent
from his pulpit in Brooklyn and recreating
in the country he continues to preach,
taking subjects suggested by summer
scenes and surroundings, and his dis
courses constituting a course entitled
"Voices of Gardens and Fields" Follow
ing is the first sermon in the series,
preached to-day from the text:
My beloved is unto me as a cluster OF campfire
In the vineyards Of En-. gedi- OF Solomon,
l., IA.
Solomon's Song has been considered by
many as fit only for moonstruck sent-
mentalists, written by q voluptuary, the
story of man crazed by fair maiden;
fit neither for family prayers nor for the
church. Indeed, we must admit that there
were years in Solomons 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 about Christ that have ever
been written. Besides that, think the
criticism of modern times upon the i'm
modesty of the Bible comes with poor
grace from a century in which the writings
of George Sand come to their fortieth
edition, and Christians cannot get to the
prayer meeting because they have tickets
for places of amusement so depraved that
they make the "Black Crook" respectable.
/ think, however, as far as l can see, in
my stupidity, that there are things turned
out upon the community to-day that bid
fair to do more 70 age he Song Of
Solomon.
Hear, now, one of his fresh and fair de-
scriptions of Jesus. If | had twenty years
to preach l 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 few types of
Christ when there are so many symbols of
Jesus that have never been discoursed
dpon. Why should we employ all our
time in examining few lilies when the
Bible is great garden filed with fuchsias,
and with daffodils, and with amaranths,
and with evening primroses for the close
of lifes 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 the cross, and morning
glories spreading out under the splendors
Of the breaking day2 Some years ago 1
discoursed to you about "the white hairs of
Jesus" and some of the newspapers sup
posed it was mere fancy of my own-the
poor fools not knowing that in Revelation,
!, ID, the Bible speaks of Christ, His head
and His hairs were white like wool, as
white as snow"-symbolizing the eternity
of Jesus.
Terraced on the side of the mountain
were the vineyards of En-gedi. Oh, they
were sweet places! From a shelving of
the mountain, 400 feet high, waters came
down in beautiful baptism on the faces of
the leaves; the grapes intoxicate with their
own wine; pomegranates with juices burst
ing 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, symbolical of Jesus:
for my beloved is unto me as cluster of
campfire from the vineyards of En-gedi."
l will carry out the idea of my text, and
in the first place show you that this cam
phire plant of the text was a symbol of
Christ, because of its fragrance. If 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 some; hut the campfire
plant of the text had fragrance gracious
to all. The vineyards of Eu-gedi bathed
in it; the buds, the blossoms tripping with
sweetness, typical of the sweetness Of
Christ.
How sweet the name Of Jesus sounds
In O believers ear
1t soothes his sorrows, heals his wounds,
And drives away his fear.
The name of Caesar means power, the
name or 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
Raa fha nf
Howard means reform; but the name of
Christ means love- 1t lis 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 per-
fume of the herbs that were packed amid
the clothing; so there are hundreds of
hearts here which if opened, would first
offer to you the name of Jesus. Have YOU
not seen Him? Through the dark night of
your sin has He not flashed upon your
vision? Beautiful when He comes 10 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 kept silenced until after
awhile the sun came out again, and she
clapped her hands and said: "Oh, the sun!
the SUM" 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 Righteousness poured His beams
apon our hearts, and we cried: THE snni
the sun!" Beautiful dawn in the straw OF
the Bethlehem khan Beautiful in His
mothers shawl, a fugitive to Egypt
Beautiful with His feet in the Galilenn
surf Beautiful with the children hang
ing about His neck! Beautiful in the
H.. of pafh IHnie,, 1,n
sons of men, day-spring from on high; '
light for those who sit in darkness; rose of
Sharon; lily of the valley-altogether
lovely. Oh, He is such sin -pardoner, /
such a trouble-soother, such a wound d,
binder, such grave breaker, that the !
faintest pronunciation of His name arouses |,
up all the incense of the garden, and a., /,
the perfume of the tropics, while the SOU. 4,
in ecstacy of affection, cries out: My be- /,
loved is unto me as cluster of campfire /,
from the vineyards of En-gedi."
But how shall talk of the sweetness Of f,
Christs pardon TO those who have never ,
felt it; 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 backs upon His iove7 /
Now, great many people may think this !
merely sickly sentimentalism. Jonathan f,
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 mentioned, IL threw
him into transport. Paul was a cool
logician, with nerves mistaken III the
Mediterranean shipwreck, granite nature.
comfortable with the whole world against
him, shaking his fst in the face of the
governments of nd the forces CT
darkness; yet the tL4 o 1t of Chris thrilled
him, transported him, overwhelmed him.
John Knox was unbending in his nature,
and hard in some respects. The flash OF
his indignation made the queen shiver and
he 1, 4 nc