The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-12-17
MOUNT LEBANON.
The Place Where the Cedars for
Solomon's Temple Were Out.
But Few of tho Mighty Monarchs of the
Forest Now Left standing--Rev. DIR.
Talmage Continues the Story
Of His Travels in tho
Holy Land.

prohcnou NY heW LIZ. lhlmaR0 iabJ sun
day. He announced as his text, Psalm
CIV, 10: 'sThe cedars OF Lebanon which
he hath planted" The eloquent preacher
spoke as follows:
In our journey we change stirrup for
wheel 1t is four o'clock in the morn
ing, at Damascus, Syria, and we are
among the lanterns OF the hostelry,
waiting for the stage to start A Mo-
hammedan in high life is putting his
three wives on board within an apart
ment by themselves, and our party oc-
cupy the main apartment Of one of the
most uncomfortable vehicles In which
mortals were ever jammed and half
strangulated. But we must not let the
discomforts annul or disparage the OPP
portunities. We are rolling on and out
and up the mountains Of Lebanon, their
forehead under o crown Of snow which
coronet the fingers Of the hottest sum-
.mer can not cast down. We are ascend
ing heights around which is garlanded
much OF the finest poesy Of the Scrip
lures, and are rising toward the might
lest dominion that botany ever recog-
nized, reigned over by the most imperial
tree that ever swayed in leafy scepter-
the Lebanon cedar; tree eulogized in
my text as having grown from nut put
into the ground by God Himself and no
human hand had any thing to do
with Its planting: ''The trees of Lob
anon which He hath planted"
The average height Of this mountain
is seven thousand feet, but in one place
1t lifts its head to an altitude OF ten
thousand. No higher than six thousand
feet can vegetation exist, but below that
line, at the right season, are vineyards
and orchards, and olive groves, and
flowers that dash the mountain side with
very carnage Of color, and fill the air
with aromatics that Hosea, the prophet
and Solomon, the king, celebrated as
''the smell OF Lebanon" At a height
Of six thousand feet is agrove of cedars,
the only descendants of those vast for
ests from which Solomon cut his timber
for the temple at Jerusalem, and where
at one time there were 100, 900 axemen
hewing out the beams from which great
cities were constructed. But this ma
tion OF trees has by human iconoclasm
been massacred until only small group
is left This race Of giants Is nearly ex-
tinct, but have no doubt that some Of
these were here when Hiram, King Of
Tyre, ordered the assassination Of those
cedars OF Lebanon which the Lord
planted From the multitude Of uses to
which 1t may be put and the employ
ment OF 1t in the Scriptures, the cedar
is the divine favorite. When the plains
to be seen from the window OF this stage
In which we ride to-day are parched
under summer heats, and not a grass
blade survives the fervdity, this tree
stands in luxuriance, defying the sum-
mer sun. And VIII en- the storms OF win
ter terrify tho earth, and hurl the rocks
in avalanche down this mountain side,
this tree grapples the hurricane Of snow
in triumph and leaves the spent fury at
its feet From sixty to eighty feet high
are they, the horizontal branches Of
great sweep with their burden Of leaves
needle-shaped, the top Of the tree pyra-
midal, throne OF foliage on which
might, and splend dor, and glory sit But
so continuously has the determination
OF trees gone on, that for the most part
the mountains OF Lebanon are bare OF
foliage, while l am sorry TO say, the
earth in all lands is being likewise de-
nuded.
The axe Is Staying the forests all
round the earth. To stop the slaughter
God opened the coal mines OF England,
and Scotland, and America, and tho
world, practically saying by that, Here
is the fuel; as far rs possible let my
trees alone" And by opening for the
human race the great quarries Of gran
ite, and showing the human family how
to make brick, God is practically saying:
"Here is building material; lot my trees
alone" We had better stop the axes
among the AdirondackA We had bet
ter stop the axes in all our forests, as 1t
would have been better for Syria II the
axes had long ago beon stopped among
the mountains Of Lebanon. To punish
US for our reckless assault on the fer
ests, we have the disordered seasons;
now tho droughts because tho uplifted
arms OF the trees do not pray for rain
their presence according to all scien-
lists disposing the descent OF the show
ers; and then we have the cyclones and
the hurricanes multiplied in number
and velocity because there is nothing TO
prevent their awful sweep.
Plant the trees In your parks that the
weary may rest under them. Plant
them along your streets that up through
the branches passers-by may see the
God who Hrst made the trees and then
made man to look at them. Plant them
along the brooks, that under them chill
dren may play. Plant them in your
gardens, that as in Eden the Lord may
walk there in tho cool Of the day.
Plant them In cemeteries, their shade
like mourner's veil, and their leaves
sounding like the rustic OF the wings OF
the departed Let Arbor day or the
day for the planting OF trees, recognized
by the Legislatures Of many OF the
States 'be observed by all our people,
and the next one hundred years do as
much in planting these leafy glories OF
God, as the last one hundred years have
accomplished in their destruction.
When, not long before his death, | saw
on the banks OF the Hudson in his glazed
cap, riding on horseback, George p.
Morris, the great sony writer OF Amer
lea. found him grandly emotional,
and could understand how he wrote'
"Woodman, spare that tree" the verses
Of which many OF US have felt like