The Bolivar bulletin. [volume] (Bolivar, Hardeman County, Tenn.) 1865-1888, 1886-07-16
FA1MAGE'S SERMON.
Opening OF Series on the voices
of the Gardens and Fields"
Subjects Suggested by the Preachers sum-
mer Ramblings-The Campfire Plant
az Typical OF Christ-The Re-
storative Power Of Grace.

i =
bath, the aVoiees of the Gardens and
Fields'' being the theme. His text was;
My beloved is unto me as a cluster OF cam
phire in the whey ards of En- gedi.-Song of
Solomon. l., a.
''Solomon's Song1 has been considered
by many as fit only for moonstruck senti-
mentalists; written by voluptuary; the
story of man crazed by fair maiden;
fit 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 about 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
century iy. 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. I think,
however, as far as can see, in my stupid
ity, that there are things turned out upon
the community to-day that bid fair to do
more damage than the Song of Solomon.
Hear, now, one of his fresh and fair de-
scriptions Of Jesus. If I 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 yet 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 great garden filed with fuchsias, and
with evening primroses for the close of
life'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 spIendors Of
the breaking day? 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-
tions, the first and fourteenth, the Bible
speaks of Christ:
His head and His hairs were white ike
wool, as white as Snow
symbolizing the eternity of Jesus.
Terraced on the side of the mountaiR
were the VINEYARDS of En- gedi. Oh, they
were sweet places! From a 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; ali
fruits and flowers and aromatic woods
amorg the sweetest of these the campfire
plant of the text. It's flowers are in
clusters like our lilac-graceful, fragrant,
sYnbolical of Jesus; for
My beloved is unto me as O cluster of
campfire from the vineyard of En- gedl
l will carry out the idea of my text, and
IN the first place show you that this
0amphire plant of the text was a symbol
cf Christ, because of it's fragrance. IF L
7 ad a branch of it and should wave it in
-Four midst, it would fill all the house with
rs redolence. The campfire, as we have
70, is offensive to somel but the campfire
plant of the text had a fragrance gracious
Be all The vineyards of En-gedi bathed
ln 1.-THE branches, the buds, the blossoms,
gripping with sweetness, typical of the
sweetness of Christ.
How sweet the name of Jesus sounds
In believers cart
It so5thes his sorroWs heals his wo unds,
And drives away his fear.
TIE name of Cesar means power; the
nome of Herod means cruelty; the name
o. Alexander means conquest; the name
OF Demosthenes means eloquence; the
naIae of Milton means poetry; the name
of Benjamin West means painting; the
name of Phidias means sculptures 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;
so there are hundreds of hearts here which,
if opened, would first offer to you the name
of Jesus. Have you not seen Him2 Through
the dark night of your sin has he not
flashed upon your vision? 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.
lenced until after awhile the sun came out
again, and she clapped her hands, and
said: so, the sun the sunp' 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
eousness poured his beams upon our
hearts, and we cried: "The sum-
the sum-" Beautiful dawn in the
straw of the Bethlehem khanl
Beautiful in His mothers shawl,
a fugitive TO Egypt Beautiful with his
feet in the Galilean surf! Beautiful with
the children hanging about His neckl
Beautiful in the home circle of Bethany
Fairer than the sons of men; day spring
from on high; light for those who sit in
darkness; rose of Sharon; lily Of the val
ley-altogether Iovelyi o! He is such
q sin-pardoner, such a tFouble-sooth-
er, 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, ia ecstasy Of affection cries
out:
Ny beloved is unto me as 3 cluster Of
campfire from the vineyards of En- geei.
But how shall talk of the sweetness of
Christ's 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 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 ardoT; and
yet, when the name of Christ was men
toned, it threw him into a tran sport.
Paul was a cool logician, with nerves IN
shaken in the Mediterranean shipwreek,
granitic nature. comfortable with the
whole world against him, shaking his fist
In the face of the Governments of earth and
the forces Of darkness; yet the thought
of Christ thrilled him, transported him,
overwhelmed him. John Knox was un-
bending in his nature, and hard in some
respects. The fash Of his indignation
made the queen shiver and the duchess
quake; yet he sat down as a little child at
the feet Of Jesus. solomon was surround
cd by al palatial splendor-his ships Ro-
Ing out from EGion-gshsF On voyages o.