The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1886-07-28
DR.. TALhAGE'S SERMON.
THE GARDEN OF THE CHURCH.

AiOu IoOASI ", L.
The Bible is q great poem; we have in it
faultless 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 Montgomery:
more bold than that of Milton; more terrible
than that Of Dante; more natural than that
Of Wordsworth; more impas ,ioned 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 judg-
ment into its garlands, and pours eternal
harmonies into 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 tish-pools Of Heshboa up
to the Psa mist praising God with diapason Of
storm and whirlwind, and Job leading forth
Orion, ArcturGs and the Ple:ades.
My text leads US into scene Of summer
redolence. The world has had great many
beautiful gardens. Charlemagne adCed to
the glory OF his reign by decreeing that they
be established all through the realm de
Gliding even the names Of the flowers to be
planted there. Henry w., at Montpelier,
established gardens Of bewitching beauty
and luxuriance, gathering into them Alpine,
Pyrenean and French plants. One Of the
sweetest spots on earth was the garden Of
81 snstone, the poet. His writings have made
but little impression on tie world, but his
garden, The Seasons, will be immortal. To
the natural 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 crowning. Oak and yew and hazel put
forth their riche,t 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 e3O0 for
it; he sold it for Gl7,0O0. And yet am
to tell you to-day of a richer garden than
any l Fave mentioned. 1t is the garden
spoken of in my text, the garden Of tie
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 Abbotsford, ruined his for
tune, and now, in the crimson flowers Of
those gardens, you can almost think or imag-
inc that you see tie blood of that old mans
broken heart The payment of the last s10O,-
ID tell you that Christ's life and Christ's
death were tie outlay of this beautiful gar
den Of the church of which my text speaks.
Oh, how many sighs, and tears, and pangs,
and agonies! Tell me, ye women who saw
Him bang. Tell me, ye executioners who
lifted Him and let him down. Tell me,
thou sun that didst hide, ye rocks that fell.
"Christ loved tn, 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 Oh blessed Jesus. to-day,
walk up aud down these aisles, and pluck
what Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyself
The church, in my text, is appropriately
compared TO a garden, because it is pla.e
of choice flowers, of select fruits and Of
thorough irrigation. That would be strange
garden in which there were no flowers. IT
nowhere else, they would be along the bor-
ders or at the gateway. The homeliest taste
will dictate something, if it be the old-fash-
ioned hollyhock, or dahlia, or daffodil, or
coreopsis: but if there be larger means, then
you will find the Mexican cactus, and dark
veined arbutelion, and blazing a'alea, and
o!eander. Well, now, Christ comes
to his garden and be plants there some OF the
brightest spirits that ever fowered upon the
world. Some of them are violets, unconspic-
uous, 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 in
valid, and the sprig Of geranium on the
keeping out the glare 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,
have found that they have covered it all over
with fowery jessamine running in and out
amid the crevices. These Christians in
Christ's garden are not like the supfower,
gaudy in the light, but whenever darkness
hovers over soul that needs to be comfortsd
there they stand-night-bloom cereuses.
But in Christ's garden there are plants that
may be better compared to the Mexican cac-
tus-thorns without; loveliness 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,
notwithstanding all their sharpnesses Many
q man has had very hard ground to culti-
yate, and it has only been through severe
trial he has raised even the smallest crop of
to very placid elder, and the placid elder
said to the harsh minister: doc.
tor, do wish you would control
your temper" "Ah,n said the min 'ster to
the elder. II 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 a man
QOWu. udu lTl6uu VIII CuuLe W ulc e1HO
said: "I dare not join the church." Isaid:
"Why7n ."Oh,n he slid, II have such vio-
lent temper. Yesterday morning was cross
ing very early at the Jersey City ferry and
saw milkman pour alarge amount Of water
into the milk can anl said to him, 1 think
that will do and he insulted ME and !
knocked him down. Do you think ought
to Join the churchs" 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 atfec-
tion. Thorns without but sweetness within
the best specimen OF Mexican cactus ever
saw.
There are others planted in Christ's garden
who are always radiant, always impressive
more like the roses Of deep hue that we oc-
casicnally find, called giants of battle"-
the Martin Luthers, St. Pauls Crysostoms,
Wickliffes, Latimers and Samuel Ruther-
fords. What in other men is spark, ID
them is conhagration. When they sweat,
they sweat great DROPS of blood. When they
pray, their prayer takes fire. Mnen sney
It is Thermopyla. When they die it is
martyrdom. You find great many roses
in the gardens, but only few giants of
battle" Men say: "Why don't you have
more Of them in the church" I say, "Why
don't you have in the world more Humboldts
AMI Wellingtons?' God gives to some ten
talents to others, one.
In this garden of the church which Chrlst
has planted also find the snowdrop', beau
tiful but cold-looking, seemingly another
phase of winter. mean those Christians
who are precise in their tastes, unimpas-
stoned, pure as snowdrops and US cold. They
never shed any tears, they never get exctei,
they never say anything rashly,, they never
do a nything pre,ipita.ely. Their pulses
never futtar, their nerves never twitch, their
indignation never boils over. They live
49,, ,,,o,f ,ao,la. hut THAR life