Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1893-05-13
REV. DR.. TALMAGH.
fhs Eminent Brooklyn Divine's Sun.
day Sermon.
Subject. "sravtIme Thouxhis,'

iEST; "A fountain Of gardens, a sreH Of
actng Taters and streams from Lebanon -
Solomon's Song w., Is.
Some OF the finest gardens of olden times
were to be found at the foot of Mount Lee
Damon Snow descended, and winter whitehead
che top OF the mountain. Then when the
warm spring weather came the SHOWS melted
ana poured down the side OF the mountain
ana gave great luxuriance to the gardens at
the loot, and you SEQ now the allusion of nv
text when it speaks of the fountain of gar
dens and streams from Lebanon
Again and again the church is represented
as garden all up and down the word OF God.
and 1t Is figure specially suggestive at this
season OF the year, when the parks and the
orcnards are about to put forth their blossom
and the air is flied with bird voices.
mother wished to impress her child with
the love of God. and SO in the spring-time.
after the ground had been prepared in the
garden, she took handful Of flower seeds
and scattered these seeds in shape of letters
All across the bed OF the garden Weeks passed
by, and the rains and the sunshine had done
their WORK. and one day the child came in
and said, Mother, come quickly to the gar
aen-come now" The mother followed the
child to the garden, and the little child said
Look here, mother. See 1t is spelled ali
over the ground in flowers, God is Love"
Oh, my friends. if we only had faith
enough we could see Gospel lessons ALI
around and about us-lessons in shells on
the beach, lessons in sparkIes on the wave
lessons in stars on the sky, lessons in flowers
dill over the eartn
wen. my friends, you know very well that
mere nave been some beautiful gardens
treated There was the garden of Charlie
nagne, and you remember that this king
oroered gardens laid out all through the
realm and decided by decree of government
Snas Kind OF flowers should be planted in
nose gardens. Henry ". at Montpelier
iecreed that there should be flowers planted
throughout his realm and gardens laid out
md ne specially decreed that there should be-
Alpine pyrana and French plants. Shen-
None, tne poet, was more celebrated for his
saraens than for his poetry. His poetry
nas faded from the ages for the most mari
out MS gardens arc immortal To ali the,
beauty OF his place he added perfection of
art Palisade and arch and arbor and
iountaln and rustic temple had their
most wonderful specimens, and the oak.
ana the hazel, and the richest woods of tae
crest were planted in that garden. He had
genius, and he had industry, and all his gem.
us and all his industry he applied to the
oeautifcation of that garden He gave to;,
$3.50, and he sold it at last for 1856. 600. or
what was equal to that number of dollars.
! II was an expensive garden, laid out with
| great elaboration. And yet haveto tell YOU
/
len spoken Of in my text--a fountain of gar
lens with the streams from Lebanon.
waiter Scott had the great ambition of his
life to build Abbotsford and lay out extensive
gardens round about it, 1t broke his heart
.hat ne could not complete the work as he
leslred 1t. At his last payment of G10O 900.
iIer laying out these gardens and building
mat palace of Abbotsford, at that time his
heart broke, his health failed, and he died
almost an imbeeile
lew years ago, when l walked through
hose gardens and thought at what vast ex-
pense they had been laid out-at the expense
81 that mans hfe-it seemed could see in
the crimson flowers the blood of the old
mans broken heart. But have to tell Won
now OF q garden laid out at vaster expense.
Who can calculate that vast expense? Tell
me, ye women who watched Him hang tell
me- ye executionerS who lifted and let Him
down tell me, thou sun that didst hide and
ye rocks that did fall, what the laying out OF
this garden cost. This morning, amid the
aroma and brightness of the springtime, it IS
appropriate that l show you how the church
OF Christ is garden.
remark first it is a garden because CT the
rare plants in it. That would be a strange
garden In which there we're no flowers. n
you cannot find them anywhere else, YOU will
find them along the paths, and you will fnd
them at the gateway.
/
pecial means, you will find there the holly.
hook, and the daffodil, and the dahlia. II
there be no especial taste and no especial
means, you will find the Mexican cactus, and
the bluebell, and the arbutus, and the clus-
tiers of oleanders
Flowers there must be in every garden, and
l have to tell you that in the garden OF the
church are the rarest plants Sometimes
you will find the violet, inconspicuous. but
sweet as Christian souls with NO pre-
tense, but of vast usefulness, comparatively
unknown on earth, but to be glorious in
celestial spheres. Violets and violets all tho
time. You cannot tell where these Christians
nave been save by the Frightening face of the
Invalid, or the steaming tureen Of the stand
near the sick pillow or the new curtain that
keeps out the glare of the sun from the poor
mans cot. Such characters are perhaps bet
ter typihed by the ranunculus which goes
creeping between the thorns and the brfers OF
! this life, giving kiss for a sting, and many
/ man has thought that life before him was a
black rock OF trouble and found it covered
all oTer with delightsome jasmine of Chris.
tian sympathy
| In this garden Of the Lord find the Mexi-
| can cactus. loneliness within. thorns with.
OUT, men with great sharpness OF behavior
and manner, but within them the peace OF
God, the love of God. the grace of God.
They are hard men to handle, ugly men to
toucn, very apt to strike back when you
strike them, yet within them all loyeliness
and attraction, while outside so completely
unfortunate. Mexican cactus all the time
said placid elder to Christian minister.
Doctor. you would do better to control your
temper. "Ah," said the minister to the
p.acid elder, 81 control more temper in five
minutes than you do in five years" These
| people, gifted men, who have great exaspera-
ton OF manner and seem to be very different
from what they should be, really have in
their souls that which commends them to the
Lord. Mexican cactus all the time. So a
man said to me years ago 'sDo you think
| ought to become member of the church?
have such a violent temper
Yesterday l was crossing Jersey CITY
ferry. 1t was very early in the morning and
saw milkman putting large quantity OF
water into his can, and | said That is
enough, sir, and he got off the cart and in
suited me, and l knocked him down. Well"
said he, do You think could ever become
Christianr' That man had in his soul the
grace OF the Lord Jesus, but outside he was
null OF thorns, and full of brambles and full
OF exasperations, but he could not hear the
story OF Saviour mercy told without hav-
ing the tears roll down his cheek There was
loneliness within, but roughness outside.
Mexican cactus all the time
But remember in boyhood that we had in
our fathers garden what we called the Giant
u Daetitf u pocuuhf TuSe, very red ana very
fiery. Suggestive flower, it was called the
Giant OF Battle. And so in the garden of the
Lord we find that kind OF fiower-the Pauls
and Martin Luthers. the Wyclifs. the John
knoxes-giants of battle. What in other men
Is spark, in them is a confagration When
they pray. their prayers take fire when they
suHer, they sweat great drops of blood when
they preach, it is pentecost: when they
hight, 1t is Thermopyle; when they die,
IL Is martyrdom-giants of battle You say.
why have we not more of them in the church
OF Christ at this timer" l answer your oues-
ton by asking another. ''Why have we not
more Cromwells and Humboldts in the world?''
God wants only a few giants OF battle. They
DO their work, and they do it well.
hut find also in the church of God a
plant that l shall call the snowdrop. yery
beautiful, but cold. 1t is verv pure-pura "a
The snowdrop, Beautiful as the snowdrop
| and as cold as the snowdrop No special
sympathy. That kind of man never loses
his patience; he never weeps, he never
I flashes with anger he never utters rash
word. Always cold, always precise, always
| passive-beautiful snowdrop, but don't ike
him. would rather have one Giant of Bat
| tie than 5000 snowdrops.
takes in his ardor for the Lords service
/ rather than that kind of nature which spends
its whole life in doing but one thing. and
| that ia keeping equilibrium. There are snow
Hrnr,s in al tha Wit hnre ~