The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1891-05-13
AOUEEN'S VISIT TO A KING.
SOLOMON AND THE RULER OF sHEBA.
The Second TAlmAxs Sermon In the New
Tabsrnaole-A Truth Seeker with
Frankincense and spiees-The
Sweetness of Christian Work.

The capacity of the new tabernacle was
fully tested Sunday morning by the
vast audience which assembled to hear
the Rev. DR.. Talmage in his handsome
andspacious church. He is now preach
ing there morning and evening and the
Christian Herald services in New York
have been discontinued. This has caused
much regret to many people in that city.
A memorial was prepared and signed by
influential citizens asking the Rev. DR..
Talmage to continue the services. He
could not see his way to comply at the
time, but, as he was evidently impressed
by the warmth of the welcome given him
in the metropolis, and deeply moved by
the good that was done, it is not i'm
probable that, in the near future, he will
again be found duplicating his usefulness
by ministering to two congregations, as
he has been doing during the past seven
months. His subject this morning was
"Humdrum Abolished" and his text III
Chronicles, TX, 9: "Of spices great album
dance: neither was there any such spice
as the queen of Sheba gave King Solo,
mon"
What is that building out yonder, gilt
tering in the sum- Have you not heard!
II is the house of the Forest of Lebanon.
King Solomon has just taken to 1t his
bride, the princess of Egypt. You see the
pillars of the portico, and a great tower,
adorned with one thousand shields of gold
hung on the outside Of the tower-fye
hundred of the shields of gold manufact-
ured at Solomon's order, five hundred
were captured by David, his father, in
battle. See how they blaze in the noon
day sun.
Solomon goes up the ivory stairs of his
throne, between two 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 at
PENDANTS of the king are so many that the
caterers of the palace have 10 provide
every day one hundred sheep and thir-
teen oxen, besides the birds and the veni-
con. / hear the stamping and the 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 Solomon was an early riser, tradition
says, and used to take a ride out at day
break; and when, in his white apparel,
behind the swiftest horses of the realm,
and followed by mounted archers in pur-
pie, as the cavalcade dashed through the
streets OF Jerusalem, l suppose 1t was
something worth getting up at D o'clock
in the morning to look at.
Solomon was not like some OF the kings
of the present day-crOwned 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. Peacocks from India strutted
the basaltic walk. and apes chartered in
the trees, and deer stalked the parks and
there were aquariums with sailed fish,
and aviaries with foreign birds; and tradi-
ton 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 a great reputa-
ton for the conundrums and riddles that
he made guessed. He and King Hiram
his neighbor, used to sit by the hour and
ask riddles, each one paving in money if
he could not answer or guess the riddle.
The SolomOnic navy visited all the world
and the sailors, of course, talked about the
wealth of their king, and about the rid
dies and enigmas that he made and solved !;
and the news spread until Queen Balkis,
away off south, heard of it, and sent mes
sengers with a few riddles that she
would like to have Solomon solve, and q
few puzzles which she would like to have
him find out. She cent among other
things to King Solomon, a diamond with
hole so small that q needle could not
penetrate it, asking him to thread that
diamond. And SOlomOns took a worm
and put it at the opening of 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 the sky and did not rush out from
the earth, and Immediately Solomon put
q ei:ve on the back of swift horse and
Halloped 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 Sol
onion 800 boys in girls dress, wondering
If he would be acute enough to find out
the deception. Immediately Solomon,
when he saw them wash their faces, knew
from the way they applied the water that
Il was all cheat.
Queen Balkis was so pleased with the
ecuteness of Solomon that she said: "Ill
Just 60 and see him for myself" Yonder
II comes-the cavalcade-horses and drom-
edaries, chariots and characters, jingling
harness and Gathering hoofs, and blazing
shields, and flying ensigns, and clapping
cymbals. The place is saturated with the
perfume. She brings cinnamon, and SAT-
iron, and calamus, and frankincense, and
all manner of sweet spices. AS the retinue
sweeps through the gate, the armed guard
fnhale the aroma. "Halt" cry the char
ioteers, as the wheels grind the gravel in
front of the pillared portico of the king.
Queen Balkis alights in an atmosphere be-
Uitched with perfume. AS the drome-
daries are driven up TO the kings store
houses, and the bundles of camphor are
unloeded, and the sacks of cinnamon, and
the boxes of spices are opened. the pur-
veyors of the palace discover what my
text announces: "0f spices. great abund-
ance; neither was there any such spices
ss the queen of Sheba gave to King Solo
mon"
Well, my friends, you know that all the
ologians agree in making Solomon a type
of Christ, and making the queen of Sheba
type OF every trutb.seeker; and / shall
take the responsibility of saying that all
the spikenard and cassia, and frankincense
which the queen OF Sheba brought to
King Solomon 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 dry statistics.
Our religion is compared to frankincense
and to cassia, but never to night-shade.
Ii is a bundle of nyrrh. 1t is a dash of