Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1891-05-22
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIViNES sun
DAY SERMON.
Subject: "Humdrum Abolished"

TEXT " Of Spices great abundance
neither aeds there any such Spice as tn,
Queen Of Shebn gaze King Solomon."-u
Chronicles, tx, 9.
What is that building out yonder glitter
ing in the sun? Have you not heard? 1t i,
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-fve hundred OF these
shields of gold manufactured at Solomon's
order, five hundred were captured bv David
his father, in battle. See how they blaze in
the monday sun!
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
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
and 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
che straw and the barley for these horses
King Solomon was an early riser tradition
says, and used to take a ride out at daybrea <:
and when in his white apparel, behind the
swiftest horses of all the realm and followed
by mounted archers in purple. as the caval-
cade dashed through the streets of Jerusalem
suppose it was something worth getting I'D
at five o'clock in the morning to look at
Solomon was not like some of the kings of
the present day-erowned imbecility. All
the sDlendOr of his palace and retinue was
eclpsed by his intellectual power. Why, he
seemed to know everything. He was the first
great naturalist the world ever saw. Pea
cocks from India strutted the basaltic walk
and apes c!atted in the trees and deer stalked
the parks, and there were aquariums with
foreign fish and aviares with foreign birds,
and tradition says these birds were so we'll
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. 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
monte navy visited all the world, and the
sailors of course, talked about the wealth of
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
riddles that she would like to have Solomon
solve, and few puzzles which she would like
to have him find out. She sent among other
things to King Solomon a diamond with
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 tbs
diamond.
The queen also sent 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
q slave on the back of a 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
filed. 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 decap-
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" Yonder it
cOmes-the cavalcade--hOrSeS and dromeda-
ries, chariots and characters, jingling 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 calanlus and frankincense and all man
ner of sweet spices. AS the retinue sweeps
through the gate the armed guard inhale the
aroma. Halt" cry the characters, as the
wheels grinds the gravel in front of the pill
Jared portico of the king. Queen Balkis
ahghts in an atmosphere bewitched 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 abun-
dance; neither was there any such spices as
the Queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon"
Well my friends, you know that all the
ologianS agree in making Solomon type of
Christ and making the Queen of Sheba
type of every truth seeker, and shall take
the responsibility of saying that all the
spikenard and cassia and frankincens which
the Queen of Sheba brought to King Solo
mon are nightly suggestive of the sweet
spices of our holy religion. Christianity is
not a collection of sharp technicalities and
angular facts and chronological tables and
Wy statistics. Our religion is compared to
.ankincense and to cassia, but never to
nightshade 1t is bundle of myrrh. 1t is
dash of holy light 1t is sparkle of cool
fountains. 1t is an opening of opaline gates.
1t is 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 10 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 a change.
An editor from San Francisco a 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 so to church%' and he wanted
my opinion, and I 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 Bal
kis brought to Solomon-namely, more
spice,
The fact is that the duties and cares of this