The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1888-12-13
TALMAGES SERMON.
An EloQoent Discourse on " Tho
Fragrance of tho Gospel"
me Robes OF Christ Redolent OF Swe>t
and Lasting Perfumes that PCne-
trate the Innerm ost Recesses
of the Christian Life

Tabernacle Rev, 7. De Witt Talmage took
for his subject THE Fragrance Of the
Gospel" His text was:
All Thy garments smell OF myrrh, and alocs,
md cassia out OF the ivory palaccs.-Psalms
XIV.
Among the grand adorn.heists IL the
City of Paris is the ChurcA ~ NotrGV anne.
with its great towers, End elaborateSros Z
windows. and scmpt3ring of the last judy
ment; with ITS trumpeting angels and fis>
Ing deadi Us battlcments of quarter foii;
Its Sacr'Tty, with ribbed ceiling and stat
ueS ~ saints. But there was nothing in
all that building which more wildly APP
pealed to my plain republican tastes than
the costly vrstmcutS which laid in Oakcn
preSScs-rOhcs that had been embroidered
with gold and been Worn by Popcs and
ArChbiSho2s on great occasions. There
was q robe that had been worn by Plus
VII. al The browning OF the first Napn-
leon, There was also a vcstmcnt that had
been worm at the baptism Of Napoleon II.
As our gUid" opened the Oaksr presses
and hrouEh; ont these vestNeEiS of tabU-
lorrs cost and lifted thtm up, the fra
grauco of the pungert aromatics in which
they had been preserved filled the place
with sweet-ess that was almost or.
pressive, Nothing that had been done
IN stone more wildly impressed me
thai these things that had been done IL
cloth, and embroidery, and perfume.
But to-day open the drawer vi this text,
and hook upon The kiugly robes e.. Christ,
and as lift them, flashing with eternal
Jewels, the whole house is filled with the
aroma of these garments, which ''smell of
myrT!i, and aloes, and caS>ia, out of the
ivory palaces"
In my text the King steps forth. His
robes rustic and blaze as he advances.
His pomp, and power. and glory overmas-
ter the spectator. More brilliant is He
than Queen Nashti, Moving amid the Per-
sian Princes; tran Marie Antoinette on
the day wher. Louis XVI put upon her the
necklace OF eight hundred diamonds; than
Anne Boleyn the day when Henry VIII.
welcomed her to his palace: all beauty
and all pomp forgotten, while we stand III
fhe presence of this imporiai glory.
King Of Zion, King Of earth, King of
Heaven. King forever. His garments not
worn out, not dust -bedraggled; but ra-
diant and jeweled, and redolent, t.
seems as if they must have been pressed a
hundred years amid the flowers of Heav-
en-. The wardrobes from which they have
been taken must nave been sweet with
clusters of campfire. and frankinceuse,
and all manner of precious wood. Do you
not lnhe.e the OdorS: Ay. ay. They
smell Of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out
OF inc ivory palaces.
Your first curiosity "a to know why the
robes of C&rist are odorous with inyrrh.
This was briGht-leafed AbySsinian
plant. 1t was trifeiiated. The Greeks,
Egyptians, Romans and Jews bought and
sold ii u q nigh price. The first present
that was ever given to Christ was n sprlg
OF myrrh, thrown on His infant bed in
bethlehem, and the last gift that Christ
ever mad was myrrh pressed into the cup
~ His crUCitiXiOn. The natives w1Uid
take stone and bruise the trcc, and then
1t would.CXude a gum that would saturate
all the ground beneath. This gum was
used for purposes of merchandise. One
piece "f II, 10 larger than a chestnut
would whem n whole room with odurs,
1t was put in closets, in chests. in drawers,
III rooms, and its perfume adhered almost
unfortunately To- any thing that was any,
where near il, So when in my text read
that Christ's garments smell of myrrh,
Immediately conclude the exquisite sweet.
ness of Jesus. | know that to MANY He il
only like any historical persch another
John Howard, another pmlanthropic
Obcrliu, another CUnfucius, grand
subject for painting, heroic
theme for a poem, a beautiful form
for statue, but to those who have heard
His voice. and felt His PARTON, and
received His htpcdiction. lie is music, anG
light, and warmth, nLd thrill, and cterna
fragrance. Sweet as a friend sticking t,
you when all else betray. Lifting you VI
While others try to push you down. NUt
30 much like morning glories, that bloom
only when the sun l. coming up, nor like
flour o'clock's," that bloom only wher
the sun i. going d,%n, but like myrrh
perpetuaft Aromatic-the same morning
noon and night-yestCrday, to-day, for.
ever. 1t seems as if we can not wear Hin
out. We pat on Him all our burdens, an(
affiict Him with our griefs, and set Hin
foremost in all our battles, and yet He is
ready to lift, and to sympothize and tC
help. We have 5" imposed upon Him thai
one would think in eternal affront He
would quit our soul; and yet to-day He adj
dresses us with the same tenderness
dawns upon US with the same smile, Pirie-
us with the same compassion.
There is TO name like His for Us. 1t If
more imperial than Caesars, more musical
than BeethOyen's, more conquering than
CharlemaZne's, more eloquent than
Cicer"'s. II throbs with all life. 1t weep-
with all pathOs. 1t groans with oil pain
1t stoops with all con ascension. II
breathes with all perfume. Who like
Jesus to set broken bone, to pity home
less orphan, to nurse a sick man, to take a
prodigal back without any scolding, to
1llumtne q cemetery all plowed with
graves, to make queen unto God out OF
the lost woman of the street, to catch the
tears of human sorrow in a lachrymatOry
that shall never be broken: Who has such
an eye to see our need such a lip to kiss
away our sorrow, such hand to snatch
us out Of the fire, such a foot to trample
our enemies, such heart to embrace all
our necessities: | struggle for some
metaphor with which to express Him.
He is not like tho bursting forth of a full
orchestra; that is too loud. He is not
like the sea when dashed to rage
by the tempest; that is too bosterous.
He as not like the mountain, its brow
wreathed with the lightnings; that is too
solitary. &.'e us softer type, gentler
comparison. We have seemed to see Him
with our eyes, and to hear Him with our
ears, and to touch Him with our hand.
Oh, that to-day He might appear to some
one of our five senses! Ayy the nOstril
shall discover His presence. He comes
upon us like spice gales from Heaven.
Yea, His garments smell of pungeut, last
ing and all-DerVaSiVe myrrh