Iuka reporter. (Iuka, Miss.) 1888-1894, 1891-05-14
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE,s SUNDAY
SERMON.
saDieoa 'Humdrum Abolished

~e'~ vhiSics, H., ~.
/ what is that building out yonder glitter
ing IN the SUM- Have you not heardp II Ia
the house of the forest of Lebanon K;n@
Solomon has just taken to it Ills bride thse
frincess of Egypt. You see the pillars of
She portico and a great tower, adorned with
one thousand shields of gold hung on the
Outside OF the tower-five hundred of these
shields of gold manufactured at SoIomon,s
osrder. f1ve hundred were captured by David.
ms father, in battle. See how they blaze in
the MONDAY SUM
Solomon goes up the ivory stairs of his
Throne between twelve lions in statuary. and
sats down on the back of the golden bull. the
mead or the bronze beast turned toward the
people. The family and attendants of the
King are SO many that the caterers of the
place have to provide every day one hundred
sheep and thirteen oxen, besides the birds
ana the venison. | 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
She straw and the barley for these horses
AanS solomon was an early riser tradition
says, and used to take ride out at slaybreak.
and when in bis white apparel, behind the
swlftest horses of all the realm, and followed
pY mounted archers i'll purple. as the caval-
cade dashed through the streets of Jerusalem
Asuppose it was something worth getting up
AZ ave O'Clock in the morning to look at.
= Solomon was not like some of the kings of
the present day--erowned imbecility. All
the splendor of his palace and retinue was
eclipsed by his intellectual power. Why. he
seemed oknow everything. He was the first
great naturalist the world ever saw. Pea
cocks from India strutted the basaItic walk
and apes chatted in the trees and deer stalled
the parks and there were auuariums with
foreign fish and aviares with foreign birds
and tradition says these birds We're so well
famed 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
Tor the conundrums and riddles that he made
ana guessed He and King Hiram, his
nelghbor, used to sit by the hour and ask
riddles, each one paying in money if he could
not answer or guess the riddle The Solo
monic navy visited all the world, and the
sailors, of course, talked about the wealth of
their king, and about the riddles and engilnas
that he made and solved, and the news
spread until Queen Balkis, away off south,
heard OF 1t, and sent messengers with few
riddles that she would like to have Solomon
solve, and a few puzzles which she would like
TO have him find out She sent among other
things to King Solomon a diamond with a
hole so small that needle could not pene-
trate it, 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 a goblet to Solomon.
asking him to fill 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 and
galloped him around and around the park
until the horse was nigh exhausted, and from
the perspiration of the horse the goblet was
hlled. She also sent King Solomon five
hundred boys in girls dress, and five hun
dred girls in boys dress, wondering if he
would be cute enough to find out the decep-
ton. Immediately Solomon, when he saw
them wash their faces, knew from the way
they applied the water that it was all a cheat
Queen Balkis was SO pleased with the
acuteness of Solomon that she said, '.I'll Just
go and see him for myself Wonder it
comes-the observation-disclosures and dromada-
ries, chariots and characters, juggling har-
ness and gathering hoofs, and blazing
shields, and flying ensigns, and clapping
cymbals. The place is saturated with the
perfume, She brings cinnamon and saffron
and caiamus and frankncense and all man
ner Of sweet spices. As the retinue sweeps
through the gate the armed guard inhale the
aroma. "Haltw cry the characters, as the
wheels grinds the gravel in front of the pill
alights in an atmosphere bevitched with per-
fume. As the dromedaries are driven up to,
the kings store-houses, and the bundles OF
camphor are unloaded. and the sacks OF Gin
namon, and the boxes Of spices are opened,
= the purveyors of the palace discover what
my text announces, .Of spices great album
DANCES neither was there any such spices as
thu Rpeen of Sheba gave to King Solomon"
Wel03ny friends, you know that all the
plogif1s agree in making Solomon type of
Chr( Il and making the Queen of Sheba a
type of every truth seeker, and shall take
the responsibility of saying that all the
spikenArd and cassia and frankincense which
The Queen OF Sheba brought to King Solo
sd6n are nightly suggestive of the sweet
spices Of our holy religion. Christianity is
not o collection of sharp technicalities and
angular facts and chronological tables and
dry statistics. Our religion is compared to
frankincense and to cassia, but never to
pightshade. 1t is a bundle OF myrrh. LISA
dash of holy light. 1t is a sparkle of cool
fountains. IT. is an opening of opaline gates.
It is q collection OF spices. Would God that
we were as wise in taking spices to our Di-
vine King as Queen Balkis was wise in TAX
ing the spices to the earthly Solomon What
many OF us most need is to have the hum
drum driven out of our life and the hum
drum out 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 sayin he was getting up for
(. his paper symposium from many clergy
men, discussing among other things, why
do not people 90 to church, and he wapted
my opinion, and gave it in one sentence,
People do not go to church because they
cannot stand the humdrum." The fact i
that most people have SO much humdrum II
their worldly calling that they do not wan
to have added the humdrum OF religion. w,
need In all our sermons and exhortations ant
songs and prayers more of what Queen Bal
kis brought to Solomon namely, NOR
spice.
The fact Is that the duties and cares OF thi
life coming tous from time to time, ar
stupid often and inane and intolerable. Her
are men who have been bartering and ne
gotiating, climbing, pounding, hammerinl
for twenty years, forty years. nifty years
One great long drudgery has their lite been
Their face anxious, their feelings benumoeu
their days u1onotonous. w hat Is necessar
(. to brighten up that man s lite, and to sweete
that acid disposition, and to put sparkle mt
the mans spiritss The spicery Of our hoi
religion. Why, II between the losses OF NJ
there dashed CLEAN OF an eternal gam;
N between the befrayas Of life there came 81
CLEAN OF the undying friendship OF Chris
K il dull times In business we found MINI
terine spirits flying to and fro "a our ono
\ anu store and shop, everyday lite, nstea ~ \.
being stupid monotone, would % g'oi
an insDiration, pendu'uming between car
~ tlofaction and high rapture !.
II Hon INV woman Keeps house wltnoub =
Ss s.Ii9rto,, AZ {Shrfnf 10 help her Ia mystery