The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1893-05-10
IN FIELD AND. WOOD.
REV. Or. TALMAeE'S THOUGHTS SUG-
GESTED BY MAYTIME.

Beautiful Imagery of the Bible Drawn
From the Woods and Fields-The Gar
den of the Lord Open to All Who VIII
Enter.
PHILADELPHIA, May REV. DR.. Tai
mage is in this city today, participating in
the services at the ordination of his son,
Rev. Frank Talmage, TO the ministry. He
has dictated the following sermon on a
timely and seasonable topic, "Maytime
Thoughts" the text selected being the
beautiful words of Solomons Song iv, Is,
"a fountain of gardens, 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 Leb-
anon Snow descended, and winter whit
ened 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 great luxuriance to the
gardens at the foot, and you see now the
allusion of my text when it speaks of the
fountain of gardens and streams from Leb-
anon
Again and again the church is repre-
sented as a garden all up and down the
word Of God, and it is a figure specially
suggestive at this season of the year, when
the parks and the orchards are about to
put forth their blossom and the air is filed
with bird voices.
A MOTHERS DEVICE.
A mc<Aer 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 the shape
of letters scross 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 garden-come now" The
mother followed the child to the garden,
and the little child said: Look here,
motherI Seel 1t is spelled all over the
ground in flowers, God Is Love-"
Oh, 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 sparkles on the wave
lessons in stars on the sky, lessons in flow
ers all over the earth.
Well, my friends, you know very well
that there have been some beautiful gar
dens created There was the garden of
Charlemagne, and you remember that this
king ordered gardens laid out all through
the realm and decided by decree of govern
ment what kind Of flowers should be planted
in those gardens. Henry " at Montpel-
lier decreed that there should be flowers
planted throughout his realm and gardens
laid out, and he specially decreed that there
should be Alpine pyrena and French plants
ShenstOne the poet, was more celebrated for
his gardens than for his poetry. His poetry
has faded from the ages for the most part,
but his gardens are immortal. To all the
beauty of his place he added perfection of
art. Palisade and arch and arbor and foun-
10 Ia1 &I,s,.
derful specimens, and the oak, and the hazel
and the richest woods of the forest were
planted in that garden. He had genius. and
be had industry, and all his genius and all
his industry he applied to the Identification
Of that garden. He gave for it 81 500, and
he sold it at last for SIS, eco, or what was
equal TO that number OF dollars. 1t was an
expensive garden, laid out with great elab-
oration. And yet l have 10 tell you now of
garden of vaster expense, the garden
spoken of in my text, a fountain Of gardens
with the streams from Lebanon.
AFFECTING STORY OF WALTER SCOTT.
Walter Scott had the great ambition Of
his life TO build AbbOtsfOrd and lay out ex-
.ensive gardens round about it. 1t broke
his heart that he could not complete the
work as be desired it. At his last payment
IF 100000, after laying out those gardens
and building that palace of Abbotsford, at
that time his heart broke, his health failed,
and he died almost an imbecile
y few years ago, when l walked through
those gardens and | thought at what vast
expense they had been laid out-at the ex-
pense of that mans life-it seemed | could
see in the crimson flowers the blood Of the
Did mans broken heart But have TO tell
You now of a garden laid out at vaster ex-
pense-whC can calculate that vast expense?
Tell me, ye women who watched him hang;
ell me, We executioners who lifted and let
nim down; tell me, thou sun that didst
hide and We rocks that did fall what the
laying out Of this garden cost? This morn
ing, amid the aroma and brightness of the
springtime, it is appropriate that l show
you how the church of Christ Is a garden.
l remark first it is a garden because Of
the rare plants in it. That would be a
strange garden in which there were no flow
srs. If you cannot find them anywhere
Else, you Will find them along the paths,
and you viii find them at the gateway.
If there be no especial taste and no espe-
sial means, you will find there the holly
hook, and the daffOdil, and the dahIia- If
there be no especial taste and no especial
means, you will find the Mexican cactus,
and the bluebell and the arbutus, and the
clusters of olesnders.
Flowers there must be in every garden,
and have TO tell you that in the garden of
the church are the rarest plants. Some
times you viii find the violets, inconspicu-
ous, but sweet as Decentralization souls
with no pTetense, but of vast usefulness,
comparatively unknown on earth, but to be
glorious in celestial spheres. NiOlets and
ViOlets all the time You cannot tell where
these Christians have been save by the
Frightening face of the invalid, or the steam
ing tureen on the stand near the sick pill
low, or the new curtain that keeps out the
glare of the sun from the Door mans cot
such characters are perhaps better typiied
by the rsnunculus which goes creeping be
tween the thorns and the briers of this life
giving a kiss for a sting. and many man
nas thought that life before him was a
black rock of trouble and found it covered
all over with delightsome jasmine Of Chris
tian sympathy.
In this garden Of the Lord find the Mex
lean cactus, lOveliness within, thOrns with
put, 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 10
touch, very apt 10 strike back when you
strike them, yet within them all loneliness
and attraction, while outside 50 completely
unfortunate. Mexican cactus all the time
Said placid elder TO a Christian minis
ter, Doctor, you would do better To con
troll your temper" "AhP' said the minis
ter To the placid elder Il control more tenn