Audubon County Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Audubon Co., Iowa) 1885-1894, 1893-05-11


adelphia-A Fountain of Gardens, n
Well of Living Waters and Streams
from Lebanon.
PHILADELPHIA, May Z, 1S93-Rev. DR..
| Talmage is in this city to-day, participat-
ing in the services at the ordination of his
son. Rev. Frank Taimage, to the ministry.
He has dictated the following sermon on n
timely and seasonahle topic, "May-Time
Thoughts the text select d being the beau
tiful words OF Solomon'S Song, 4:l5, "A
fountain of gardens, a well OF living waters,
| and streams from Lebanon"
Some of the finest gardens of olden
times were to be found at the foot of
Mount Lebanon. Snow descended
and winter whitcned the top of the
mountain; then, when the warm spring
! weather came. the SHOWS melted and
poured down the side of the mountain,
| and gave g. cat luxuriance to the gar
dens at the foot; and you see now the
allusion of my text, when it speaks of
the fountain of gardens, and streams
from Lebanon.
Again and again the church is rep
resented as a garden, all up and down
! the Word of God, and it is a figure
|
| the year, when the parks and the
! orchards are about to put forth their
! blossom, and the air is filled with bird
voices
A 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
a handful of fower-seed and scattered
! l.
! across the bed of the garden. Weeks
passed by, and the rains and the sun
shine had done their work, and one
day the child came in and said,
Mother, come quickly to the garden
come now" The mother followed
the child to the garden, and the little
child said, Look here, mother! see, it
is spclt all over the ground in flowers,
God is Love-"
O my friends, if we only had faith
enough, we could see Gospel lessons
all around and about us-lessons in
shells on the beach, lessons in sparlIles
on the wave, lessons in stars on the
sky, lessons in flowers all over the
earth.
Walter Scott had the great ambit on
of his life to build Abbotsford and lay
out extensive gardens round about it.
1t broke his heart that he could not
complete the work as he desired it. At
his last payment of ElOg.OOO. after lay
ing out those gardens, and building
that palace of AbbOtsford at that
time his heart broke, his health failed,
and he died almost an imbecile.
few years ago, when | walked
through those gardens, and | thought
at what vast expense they had been
laid out, at the expense of that mans
life, it seemed ! could see in the Grim
son flowers the blood of the old mans
broken heart. But have to tell you
now of a garden laid out at. vaSter
eXpense-whO can calculate that vast
expense. Tell me, We women who
watched him hang, tell me, We execu-
toners who lifted and let him down;
tell me, thou sun that didst hide, and
yc rocks that did fall, what the LAYING
out of tn garden cost? This morn
ing, amid the aroma and brightness of
the Spring-time, it is appropriate that
| show you how the Chuich of Christ
is a garden.
remark first, it is n garden because
of the rare plants in it. That would
BE- a strange garden in which there
were no flowers, If you cannot find
them anywhere else you will find them
along the paths, and you will find
them at the gateway.
If there be no especial taste and no
especial means, you will find there the
hollyhOeil, and the datfodil. and the
dahlia. Ii there be no especial taste
and no especial means, YOU will find
the McXican cactus, and the blue-bell.
and the arbutus, and the clusters of
Oleanders.
Flowers there must be in every gar
den, and | have to tell you that in the
garden of the church are the rarest
plants Sometimes yOI will find the
violet, inConspicuOUs, but sweet as
heayen-Christian souls, with no pre-
| tepcc, but of vast usefulness. compare
lively unknown on earth, but to be
glorious in celestial spheres. Niolets
/ and violctS all the time. You cannot
tell where these Christians have been,
save by the frightening face of the in
valid, or the steaming tureen on 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 better typified
. by the ranunculus which goes creeping
! between the thOrns and the briars of
this lire, giving kiss for a sting, and
! many man has thought that life be-
| fore him was black rock of trouble.
/ and found it covered all over with de-
! lightsOmc jessamine of Christian sym
! pathy.
/ In this garden of the Lord | find the
| Mexican cactus, loveliness within,
| thOrns without, men with great sharp
/ ness of behavior and manner, but with
( in them the peace of God. the love of
/ God, the grace of God. They are hard
men to handle, ugly men to touch, very
| apt to strike back when YOU strike
them, yet within them all loneliness
and attraction, while outside so com
| pleteIy unfortunate. Mexican cactus
| all the time.
Said placid elder to a Christian
minister, Doctor, you would do bet
tor to control Your temper" All"
said the minister 10 the placid elder.
Il control more temper in five minutes
| than You do in five years" These peo-
pie, gifted men, who have great cxas-
. pcratiOn of manner, and seem TO be
very different from what they should
be, really have in their souls that
which commcnds them to the LORD.
Mexican cactus all the time. So a man
'7eAA't W INV NtlA UBos III you IllHk 1
ought to become Il member of the
church, have such Client temper?
Yesterday l was crossing Jersey
City Ferry. 1t was very early in the
morning, and | saw a milkman putting
large quantity OF water into his can,
and, said, That is enough sir and
he got off the cart and insulted me,
and knocked him down. Well, " said
he, do you think could ever become
Christian?' That man had in his
sonl the grace of the Lord Jesus, but
outside he was full of thorns and full
of brambles, and full of exasperations:
but he could not hear the story of a
Saviour S merry told without having
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 of Battle, a peculiar
rose, very red and very fiery. Sugges-
tive flower, it was called the Giant of
& Ru+t Al -. &. 4.