Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1891-05-09
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun
day Sermon.


What is that building out yonder glitter
fhg in the SUM- Have you not heardt 1t is
the house of the forest of Lebanon. King
Solomon has just taken to it his bride, the
Princess of Egypt. You see the pillars OF
the portico and great tower adorned with
one thousand shields of gold, hung on the
outside of the tower-ive hundred of these
shields Of gold manufactured at Solomon's
order. five hundred were captured by David
his father. in battle. See how they biazs in
the MONDAY SUM-
Solomon goes up the ivory stairs Of his
throne between twelve lions in statuary. and
sits down on the back of the golden bull the
head Of the bronze beast turned toward the
peop,e. The family and attendants Of the
king are so many that the caterers of the
place have to provide every dav one hundred
sheep and thirteen oxen besides the birds
and the veIison. / hear the stamping and
paving of four thousand fine horses in the
! royal stables. There were important officials
1 who had charge Of the work OF gathering
the straw and the harley for these horses
King Solomon was an early riser, tradition
says, and used to take ride out at daybreak: :
and when in bis white apparel, behind the
swiftest horses OF all the realm, and followed
by mounted archers in purple. as the cayai-
cade dashed through the streets of Jerusalem
suppose it was something worth gett ng up
| at FIVE O'Clock in the morning to look at.
Solomon was not like some of the kings of
| the present day-erownei imbecility All
the spleDeor of his pa,ace and retinue was
eclipsed by his intellectual power. Why, he
seemed know everything. He was the first
great naturalist the world ever saw. Pea
| cocks from India strutted the bssaltic walk.
and apes chatted in the trees and deer stalked
the parks, and there were aquariums with
| foreign fish and ayar.es with foreign birds,
and tradition says these birds were so well
tanned that Solomon might walk clear across
the city under the shadow of their wings as
they lowered and fitted about him.
More than this, he had great reputation
for the conundrums and riddles that he made
and guessed. BE and King Hiram, his
neighbor, used to sit by the hour ami ask
| riddles, each one paying in money if he could
| not answer or guess the riddle The Solo
monte navy visited all the world, and the
sailors Of course, talked about the wealth o.
their king, and about the riddles and engimas
that he made and solved, and the news
spread until Queen Balkis, away off south,
heard Of it, and sent messengers with a few
riddle that she would like 10 have Solomon
solve. and few puzzles which she would like
to have him find out. She sent among other
things to King Solomon diamond with a
hole so small that a needle could not pene-
trate il. asking him to thread that diamond.
And Solomon took worm and put it at the
opening in the diamond, and the worm
crawled through, leaving the thread in the
diamond.
The queen also sent goblet to Solomon.
asking him to ill it with water that did not
pour from the sky, and that did not rush out
from the earth, and Immediately Solomon put
\ slave on the back of swift horse AMI
galloped him around and arounl the park
Until the horse was nigh exhausted, and from
| The perSpiration of the horse the goblet was
filled. She also sent King Solomon FIVE
hundred boys in girls dress, and five hun
dred girls in boys dress, wondering if hs
would be cute enough to find out the dec
lion. Immediately Solomon, when he saw
Them wash their faces, knew from the way
they applied the water that it was all cheat
Queen Balkis was so pleased with the
Lcuteness Of Solomon that she said, III lust
go and see him for myself" Wonder it
fomes-the cavalcads-horses and dromeda-
ries, chariots and characters, jinging har-
ness and gathering hoofs, and blazing
shields, snd flying ensigns, and clapping
ymbals. The place is saturated with the
ierfume. She brings cinnamon and saffron
aud calamus and frankincense and all man
ner of sweet spices. As the retnue sweeps
through the gate the armed guard inhale the
roma. "HaltW cry the characters, as the
rheels grinds the gravel in front of the pill
AIRED portico of the king. Queen Balkis
lights in an atmosphere bewitched with per-
lime. As the dromedaries are driven up to
ihe kings store-houses, an the bundles of
nmphor are unloaded, AMI the sacks OF Gin.
,an.oD, and the boxes of spices are opened,
lhe purveyors of the palace discover what
Ply text announces, OF spices. great abun-
lance; neither was there any such spices as
he Queen of Sheba gave TO King Solomon :"
Well, my friends, you know that all the
ioglans agree in making Solomon a type of
thirst and making the Queen of Sheba u
type of every truth seeker, and | shall take
'he responsibility of saying that all the
pikenard and cassia and frankincense which
ire Queen of Sheba brought to King Solo
non are nightly suggestive of the sweet
pices of our holy religion. Christianity is
rot collection Of sharp technicalities and
angular facts and chronological tables and
dry statistics. Our religion is compared to
frankincenee ard to cassia, but never to
nightshaGe 1t is bundle of myrrh. 1t is A
dash of holy light. 1t is sparkle of cool
fountains. 1t is an opening of opaline gates
1T a collection OF spices. Would God that
we were as wise in taking spices to our Di-
vine KING as Queen Balkis was wise in ia k
ing the spires 10 the earthly Solomon What
many of us most need is TO have the hum
rum driven cut of our life and the hum
drum cut of our religion. The American and
English church will die of humdrum unless
there be change.
An editor from San Francisco few weeks
ago wrote me sayins he was getting up for
his paper symposium from many clergy
men, discussing among other things, "Wny
60 not people go to church, and he wanted
my opinion, aud l gave it in one sentence
People do not go to church because they
cannot stand the humdrum." The fact Is
that most people have so much humdrum in
their worldly calling that they do not want
TO have added the humdrum of religion. We
need in all our sermons and exhortations and
songs and prayers more of what Queen Ba.-
Kis brought to Extraordinarily, more
spice.
he fact is that the duties and cares of this
life, coming TO us from time to time, are
stupid often and iuane and intolerable Here
are men who have been bartering and me-
| gotiaiinP, climbing, pounding, hammering
| for twenty years, forty years, fitty years.
One great long drudgery has their life been
Their face anxious, their feelings benumbed,
their days uonotonous. What is necessary
TO brighten up that mans life, and to sweeten
that acid disposition, and to put sparkle into
the man SPIRITS The spcery of our holy
religion. Why, if between the losses of life
there dashed CLEAN of an eternal gain; il
between the betrayals of life there came the
| CLEAN OF the undying friendship OF Christ;
| if in dull times in business we found minis
tering spirits flying to and fro in our Office
and store and shop, everyday life, instead of
being stupid monotone, would be a glori-
Gus inspiration, penduluming between calm
satisfaction and high rapture.
How any woman keeps house without the
religion of Christ to help her is mystery to
me. To have to spend the greater part of
ones life, as many women do, in planning
for the meals, in stitching garments that will
| soon be rent again, and deploriny t reakages
and supervising tardy subordinates and
driving off dust that soon again will settle,
and doing the same thing day in and day
out, and year in and year out until their
hair silvers, and the back stoops, and the
spectacles crawl to the eyes, and the grave
| breaks open under the thin sole of the shoe
oh, it is a long monotonyl But when Christ
comes to the drawing room, and comes to
the kitchen. and comes to the nursery, and
comes in the dwelling, then how cherry be-
comes all womanly duties. She is never
alone now, Martha gets through frettine
and joins Mary at the feet of Jesus
All day long Deborah is happy because
she can hep Lapidoth; Hannah, because she
can make a coat for young Samuel; Miriam,
because she can watch her infant brother:
Rachel because she can help her fathe
water the stock; the widow of Sarepts be
cause the cruss of oil is being replenishej.
O woman having in your pantry a nest of
boxes containing all kinds of condiments.
why have you not tried in your heart and
life the spicery of our holy religion!
Martial Martial thou art careful an |
troubled about many things; but ons thin :
is neeiful, and Mary hath chosen that GOO
part which shall not be taken away from
her.
l must confess thata great deal OF the re-
hglon Of this day is utterly insipid. There
IS nothing p;quant OF elevating about it.
Men and women go around humming psalms
I IN minor key. and culturing melancholy,
and their orship has in it more sighs than
rapture We do not doubt their piety Ga,
no. But they are sitting at a feast where