The Forrest City times., 1891-05-08
TABERNACLE PULPIT.
snUMpRUM ABOLISHED" THE
 sUBJECr AT THAT TEMPLE.
Dr. Telmass in . Logical and Wsll-Ds- nnWi Sermon Before . Vast Audi. sncs In His Spacious and
 Handsome Church.

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 sncs in His Spacious and
 Handsoms Church.
 What is that building out wonder, glitter ing in the sunl Have you not heardP It King solomon has just taken to it his bride, the princess of Egypt. You sec the pillars Of the portico, anu great tower. adorned with one thousand shields of gold, hung on the outside of the tower-five hundred of the shields of gold manufactured at Solo. mons order, five hundred were captured by David, his father, Tn . battle. Sec how they blaze in the monday sunl
 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 bronzed beast turned attendants of the king arc 50 many. that the caterers of the palace have to pro- vide every day one hundred sheep and thir- teen oxen, besides the birds and the venlson. hear the stamping and paving of four thousand fine horses in the royal stables. There were important officials who had charge of the work of gathering the straw and the barley for these horses. King Solo mon was an early riser, tradition says, and used to take . ride out Ut day-breAk; and when, in his white apparel, behind the swiftest horses of all the realm, and follow ed by mounted archers in purple, as the cav- alcxde dashed through the streets of Jeru>a- lem, suppose it was something worth get ting up at i've o'clock in tue morning to look at.
 solomon was not like some of the kings Of the present day-crowncd imbecility. All the splendor of his palace and retinue were eclipsed by his intellectual power. Why, he seemed to know everything. He was the first great naturalist the world ever saw. PeacocEs from India strutted the basaltic walk, aud apes chattered in the trees and deer stalked the parks and there were aquariums with foreign fish. and aviares with foreign birds; and tradition 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. He and King Hiram. his neighbor, used to sit by the hour anu ask riddles, each one paying In money if he could not answer or guess the riddle. The Solomonic navy visited ail the world. and the sailors, of course, talked about the wealth of their king. and about the riddles and engmas that he made aud solved: and the news spread until Queen Bxlkis, away off south, beard of 1t, and sent messengers with few riddles that she would like to have Solomon solve, and a few puzzles winch she would like to have him find out. She sent among other things, to King Solo, mon, n diamond with . hole so small that . needle could not penetrate 1t, 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 10 fill it with water that did not pour from tho sky, and that did not rush out from the earth and in-
 .e~Iv .I.., Al of swift horse and galloped him around and around the park until the horse was well-nigh exhausted. and from the perspi- ration of the horse tho goblet was filled. She also sent King Solomon i've hundred boys Tn girls dress, and five hundred girls in boys dress, wondering if he would be acute enough to fnd out the deception. Immediately Solomon, when he saw them wash their faces, knew from the way they applied the water that it was all cheat.
 Queen Bakis was SO pleased with the acutcness of Solomon that she sad "pll just go and see him for myself" Wonder 1t comes-the cavalcade-horses and drome- daries, caariots and chariotcers. jinglng harness and cisttering boofs, and blazing shields and flying ensigns, and clapping cymbals. The place is saturated with the perfume. She brings cinnamon, and saffron, and calamus, and frankincense, and all manner of sweet spices. As the rctnue hWccpN tuIOuKu tue kHtS. tuo 0IWcu EuITu inhale the aroma. "Haltr' cry tho chariot eers, as tho wheels grind the gravel Tn front of the pillared portico of the king. Queen Balkis nlights ip an atmosphere bcwitcbed with perfume. As tho dromedaries are driven up to the kings storehouses, and the bundles of camphor are unloaded. and the sacks of cinnamon. and the boxes of spices are opened. the purvevors of the pal ace discover what my text announces: ''Of sptces, great abundance; neither was there any ouch sp'ces as tho Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon"
 We'll, my friends, you know that all theologians agree. in making Solomon type of Christ and making the Queen of SbcbA type of every truth-seeker; and I shall take ihe responsibility of saying that all the spikeAard. snd cassia, and franklin. censs which the Queen of Sheba brought to King solomon arc nightly suggestive of the sweet spices of our holy religion. technicalities, and angular facts, and chrono- logical tables. and dry statistics. Our re. lig,on is compared to frankIncense and to cassia, but never to nightshade. It is . bundle of myrrh. It Is \ dash of holy light. It is . sparkle of cool fountaina It is an opening of opaline gates IL is col lection of spices. Would God that wc were as wise in taking spices to our Divine King as Queen Balkls was wise in taking the spices to the earthly Solomon! What many of us most need ts to have the humdrum driven out of our Hfc. and the humdrum out of our religion. The American. and English. and Scottish church will die of humdrum unless there be . change. An editor from San Francisco few weeks ago wrote me saying ho was getting up for his paper asymposium from many clergymen, discussing among other things "Why do not people go to churchs" and he wanted my opinion and gave it In ono sentence: People do not 20 to church because they cannot stand the hrm- drum. The fact is that most people have a much humdrum in their worldly calling, that they do not want to have added tho humdrum of religion. We need In all our sermons and exhortations and songs and prayers moro Of what Queen Balkis brought to Solomon. namely moro apice.
 The fact is that the duties and cares of this life, coming to us from time to time. are stupid often. and inanc. and intolerablc. Here are men who have been hartering. and negotiating. climbing. pounding. hammer ing for twenty years, forty years, fifty years. Ono great long drudgery has their life been. What is necessary to brighten up that mans life. and to aweeten that acid disposition, aud to put sparkie into the mans sptritsf The apicery of our holy re- hgtou. Why, if between tho losses of life there dashed gleam of m eternal sam N between the betrayals of life there came the gleam of tho undying friendship of Christ; if in dull times iu business we