Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-07-21
RURAL SERMONS.

A SERIES OF HOLIDAY DIsCOURsEs BY DR..
TALMAeE--"voICEs OF GARDENS AND
FIELDS"
"THE HAMPToNs," July 11.-Continu-
ing his series of rural sermons, entitled
''Voices of Gardens and Fields" the Rev.
T. Dewitt Talmage, D. D., to-day preach
ed from the Song of Solomon, chapter w.,
] verse 1: 81 am come into my garden. p
; He said -
The Bible il great poem. We have in
its faultlsss rhythm, and bold imagery, and
startling antithesis, and rapturous lyric, and
sweet pastoral, and instructive narrative,
and devotional psalm; thoughts expressed
in style more solemn than that Of Mont
gomery, more bold than that of Milton,
more terrible than that of Dante, more ma
tural than that of Wordsworth, more impas-
stoned than that Of Pollok, more tender than
that Of Cowper, more weird than that of
Spenser. This great poem brings all the
, gems of the earth into its corOnet, and it
weaves the flames of judgment into its gar
lands and pours eternal harmonies in its
rhythm. Everything this book touches it
makes beautiful, from the plain stones of
the Summer threshing floor to the daughters
! of Major filling the trough for the camels;
and the fish pools of Heshbon up to the
Psalmist praising God with diapason Of
: storm and whirlwind, and Job leading forth
Orion, Arcturus and the Pleiades
My text leads us into scene of summer
redolence. The world has had a great
many beautiful gardens. Charlemagne
added to the glory of his reign by decreeing
that they be established all through the
realm-deciding even the names of the
flowers to be planted there. Henry w.,
at Montpelier, established gardens of be-
witching beauty and luxuriance, gathering
into them Alpine, Pyrenean and French
plants. One of the sweetest spots on earth
was the garden of Shenstone, the poet
His writings have made but little impress
sion ON the world; but his garden, ''The
Leasowes," will be immortal. To the ma
tural advantage of that place was brought
the perfection of art. Arbor, and terrace,
and slope, and rustic temple, and reservoir,
and urn and fountain here had their crow n
ing. Oak and yew and hazel put forth
their richest foliage. There was no life
more diligent, no soul more ingenious than
that of Shenstone, and all that diligence
and genius he brought to the adornment of
that one treasured spot. He gave three hun
dred pounds for it; he sold it for seventeen
thousand. And yet l am to tell you to-day
of richer garden than any have men
toned.
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 it,
He planted it, He owns it, and He shall
have it. Walter Scott in his outlay at Alb
botsford ruined his fortune; and now, in
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 one hundred thou
sand pounds sacrificed him. But l 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 mary sighs and tears and pangs and
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; ye rocks that fell l.
| "Christ loved the Church, and gave Him
self 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 sweet
ness for Thyself!
The Church, in my text, is appropriately
compared to garden, because it is place
of choice flowers, of select fruits, and of
thorough irrigation.
That would be strange garden in which
there were no flowers. If nowhere else,
they would be along the borders or at the
gateway. The homeliest taste will dictate
something, if it be the old-fashioned holly
hook, or dahlia, or daffodil; but if there be
larger means, then you will find the Mex
ican cactus, and blazing azalea, and clus-
tering oleander. Well, now, Christ comes
to His garden and He plants there some of
the brightest spirits that ever lowered up
on the world. Some of them are violets,
unconspicuous, but sweet as heaven
You have 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 geranium on the stand, and the
new window curtains keeping out the glow
of the sunlight. 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
it all over with flowery jessamne running
in and out amid the crevices. These
flowers in Christ's garden are not like the
sunfower-gaudy in the light--but wherever
darkness hovers over soul that needs to be |
comforted there they standing blooming |
cereuses. But in Christ's garden there are |
plants that may be better compared to the |
Mexican cactus-thorns without, loveliness
within-men with sharp points of char
acter. They wound almost everyone that |
touches them. They are hard to handle.
Men pronounce them nothing but thorns
but Christ loves them Notwithstanding all |
their sharpness. Many a man has had
very hard ground to cultivate, and it has
only been through severe trial that he has
raised even the smallest scrap of grace
very harsh minister was talking to 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; 81 control more |
temper in five minutes than you do in five
years" 1t 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. 1 had friend
who came to me and said: 81 dare not join
the church." said, "Why?" "Oh," he
said, 81 have such violent temper. Yes
terday morning was crossing very early
at the Jersey City ferry, and saw milk
man pour large amount Of water ipto the
milk can, and | said to him, 4 think that
him down. Do you think ought to join
the Church?' Nevertheless, that very same
man, who was so harsh in his behavior,
loved Christ and could not speak of sacred
| things without tears of emotion and affec-
| tion. Thorns without, sweetness within
the best specimen of Mexican cactus l ever
saw.
There are others planted in Christ's
Garden who are always radiant, always i'm
pressive-more like the roses of deep hue
that we occasionally find called ''giants of
battle;" the Martin Luthers, st Pauls,
Chrysostoms, Wickliffs, Latimers and
Samuel Rutherfords. What in other men
is spark, in them is confagration.
When they sweat, they sweat great drops of
blood. When they pray, their prayer takes
fire. When they preach, it is Pentecost.
When they fight, it is a Thermopyle.-
When they die it is martydom. You find
great many roses in the gardens but only
few ''giants of battle" Men say: sWhy
don't you have more of them in the