The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-03-16
soLoMON's MAGNIFICENCE.
DR.. Talmage Likens It to the Glories
of the Christian Religion.
How Jerusalem Was Made the Center Of
Sacred. Regal and Commercial Spleen
dor-The Visit of the Queen Of
sheba and Her surprise-A
Glowing Description.

z: behold the half was not told me-"
The sermon was as follows:
Solomon had resolved that Jerusalem
should be the center of all sacred, regal
and commercial magnifcence. He set
himself to work and monopolized the
surrounding desert as highway for his
caravans. He built the city of Palmyra
around one of the principal wells of the
east, so that all the long trains OF mer-
chandise from the east were obliged to
stop there, pay toll, and leave part OF
their wealth in the hands of Solomon's
merchnts He manned the fortress
Thapsacus at the chief ford of the Eu-
pirates, and put under guard every
thing that passed there. The three
great products of Palestine-wine
pressed from the richest clusters and
celebrated all the world over; oil which
in that hot country is the en- tire sub
stitute for butter and lard, and was
pressed from the olive branches until
every tree in the country became an oil
well; and honey which was the entire
substitute for sugar-these three great
products of the country Solomon ex-
ported, and received in return fruits and
precious woods and the animals of every
cline
He went down to Ezion-geber and or
dered feet of ships to be constructed,
oversaw. the workmen, and watched the
launching of the fotilla which was to
M hor ~
bring home the wealth of the then
known world. He heard that the Egyp-
tian horses were large and swift, and
long-maned and round-limbed, and he
resolved to purchase them, giving $s5
apiece for them, putting the best of these
horses in his own stall, and selling the
surplus to foreign potentates at great
profit
He heard that there was the best of
timber on Mount Lebanon, and he sent
out 1870, 900 men to hew down the forest
and drag the timber through the noun
tain gorges, to construct it into RATS to
be floated to Joppa, and from thence to
be drawn by OK teams twenty-five miles
across the land to Jerusalem. He
heard that there were beautiful flowers
in other lands He sent for them,
planted them in his own gardens, and
to this very day there are flowers found
in the ruins of that city such as are to
be found in no other part of Palestine,
the lineal descendants of the very flow
ers that Solomon planted. He heard
that in foreign groves there were birds
of richest voice and most luxurant
wing. He sent out people to catch them
there, and he put them into his cages.
Stand back now and see this long
train of camels coming up to the kings
gate, and the ox-trains from Egypt,
gold and silver and precious stones, and
beasts of every hoof, and birds of every
wing, and fish of every scale! See the
peacocks strut under the cedars, and
the horsemen run, and the chariots
wheel! Hark to the orchestra! Gaze
upon the dance! Not stopping to look
into the wonders of the temple, step
right on to the causeway, and pass up
to Solomon's palace!
Here we find ourselves amid a collec-
ton of buildings on which the king had
lavished the wealth of many empires.
The genius of Hiram, the architect, and
of the other artists is here seen in the
long line of corridors and the suspended
gallery and the approach to the throne.
Traceried window opposite traceried
window. Bronzed ornaments bursting
into lotus and lily and pomegranate.
Chapters surrounded by network Of
leaves in which imitation fruit seemed
suspended as in hanging baskets. Three
branches-so Josephus tells us-three
branches, sculptured on the marble, so
thin and subtle that even the leaves
seemed to culver. A laver capable of
holding 500 barrels of water on 600 bra
zen OK heads, which gushed with water
and filed the whole place with GOODNESS
and crystalline brightness and musical
plash. Ten tables chased with chariot
wheel and lion and cherubin. Solomon
sat on a throne of ivory. At the seat
ing-place of the throne, on each end of
the steps, brazen lion. Why, my
friends, in that place they trimmed
their candles with shutters of gold, and
they cut their fruits with knives of gold,
and they washed their faces in basins
of gold, and they scooped out the ashes
with shovels of gold, and they stirred
the altar fires with tongs of gold. Gold
reflected in the water! Gold flashing
from the apparel! Gold blazing in the
crown. Gold! gold! gold!
Of course the news of the affluence
of that place went out everywhere by
every caravan and by wing of every
ship, until soon the streets of Jerusa.
lem are crowded with curiosity seekers.
What is that long procession approach
ing Jerusalem? think from Che pomp
of it there must be royalty in the train.
smell the breath of the spices which
are brought as presents and l see the
| dust-covered caravan showing that
they come from far away. Cry the
news up to the palace. The Queen
of Sheba advances. Let all the
people come out to see. Let the
mighty men come out ON the palace
corridors. Let Solomon come down the
stairs of the palace before the queen
has alighted. Shake out the cinnamon
and the saffron. and the calamus, and
the frankincense, and pass it into the
treasure house. Take up the diamonds
until they glitter in the sun.
The Queen of Sheba alights. She en-
tiers the palace. She washes at the
bati'. She sits down at the banquet
The cupbearers bow. The meat smokes
You hear the dash of waters from the
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