Daily tobacco leaf-chronicle. (Clarksville, Tenn.) 1890-1895, 1892-04-11
THE PALM BRANCHES.
SUBJECT OF DR.. TALMA6E'S REGU-
LAR SUNDAY SERMON.


xii, 10.
BROOKLYN, April 10.-This day is rec
ognized as Palm Sunday throughout the
world, and that fact gave direction to
DR.. Talmage's sermon. Among the
hymns sung was the hymn
Clad in raiment pure and white,
Victor palms in every hand
Text, John xii, IS, "They took branches
of palm trees and went forth to meet
him."
How was that possible? How could
palm branches be cast in the way of
Christ as he approached Jerusalem?
There are scarcely any palm trees in
central Palestine. Even the one that
was carefully guarded for many years
at Jericho has gone. | went over the
very road by which Christ approached
Jerusalem, and there are plenty of olive
trees and fig trees, but no palm trees
that could see. You must remember
that the climate has changed. The palm
tree likes water, but by the cutting down
of the forests, which are leafy prayers
|
to the palm tree. Jericho once stood in
seven miles of palm grove. Ohvet was
crowned with palms. The Dead sea has
on its banks the trunks of palm trees
that hoated down from some old time
palm grove, and are preserved from de-
cay by the salt which they received from
the Dead sea. Let woodmen spare the
trees of America, if they would not ruin
ously change the climate and bring to
the soil barrenness instead of fertility
Thanks to God and the legislatures for
| Arbor Day, which plants trees, trying to
atone for the ruthlessness which has de-
stroyed them. Yes, my text is in har-
mony with the condition of that country
on the morning of Palm Sunday. About
| three million people have come to Jeru-
salem to attend the religious festivities
| Great news! Jesus will enter Jerusalem
today. The sky is red with the morn
ing, and the people are focking out to
the foot of Olivet, and up and on over
the southern shoulder of the mountain
and the procession coming out from the
citym the procession escorting Christ
as he comes toward the city. There is a
| turn in the road, where Jerusalem sud
denly bursts upon the vision.
We had ridden that day all the way
| from Jericho and had visited the ruins
of the house of Mary and Martha and
Lazarus, and were somewhat weary of
sight seeing, when there suddenly arose
| before our vision Jerusalem, the reli-
gious capital of all Christian ages. That
was the point of observation where my
text comes in. Alexander rode Buceph-
alus, Duke Ellie rode his famous Marche-
gay, Sir Henry Lawrence rode the high
| mettled Conrad, Wellington rode his
proud Copenhagen, but the conqueror
of earth and heaven rides colt, one
that had been tied at the roadside. 1t
was unbrOken, and | have no doubt
fractions at the vociferation of the popu-
lace. An extemporized saddle made out
of the garments Of the people was put
on the beast. While some people
gripped the bride of the colt, others
reverently waited upon Christ at the
mounting. The two professions of peo-
pie now become one-those who came
out of the city and those who came over
the hill. The orientals are more de-
monstrative than we of the western
world, their voices louder, their gesticu-
lations more violent, and the symbols
by which they express their emotions
more significant. The people who left
Phocea in the far east, wishing to make
impressive that they would never re-
turn, took red hot ball of iron and
threw it into the sea and said they
would never return to Phocea until that
ball rose and fioated on the surface. Be
not surprised, therefore, at the demon
stration in the text As the colt with
its rider descends the slope of Olivet,
the palm trees lining the road are called
upon to render their contribution to the
scene of welcome and rejoicing. The
branches of these trees are high up, and
some must needs climb the trees and tear
off the leaves and throw them down,
and others make OF these leaves an en-
erald pavement for the colt to tread on
THE PALM TYPICAL OF TRIUMPH.
Long before that morning the palm
tree had been typical of triumph. Herod-
otus and StrabO had thus described it,
Layard finds the palm leaf cut in the
walls Of Nineveh with the same signif-
canoe. In the Greek athletic games the
victors carried palms. ] am very glad
that our Lord, who five days after had
thorns upon his brow, for little while,
at least, had palms strewn under his feet.
Oh, the glorious palm! Amarasinga, the
Hindoo scholar, calls it 'the king among
the grasses" Linneus calls it ''the
prince OF vegetation" Among all the
trees that ever cast shadow or yielded
fruit or lifted their arms toward heaven,
it has no equal for multitudinous uses.
Do you want flowers? One palm tree
will put forth hanging garden of them
one cluster counted by scientist con-
tanning 207 900 blooms. Do you want
food? 1t is the chief diet of whole ma
tions. One palm in Chill will yield ninety
gallons of honey. In Polynesia it is the
chief food of the inhabitants. In India |
there are multitudes of people dependent
upon it for sustenance. Do you want
cable to hold ships or cords to hold wild |
beasts? 1t is wound into ropes unbreak-
able. Do you want articles of house
furniture? 1t is twisted into mats and |
woven into baskets and shaped into
drinking cups and swung into ham
mocks? Doyou want medicine? It's nut |
is the chief preventive of disease and the
chief cure for vast populations. Do you
want houses? It's wood furnishes the