The Penn's Grove record., 1893-05-12
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'S SUM-
DAY SERMON.


IS's VIZ tiHe
.TEvT founidin Of gardens, u ,-e! U,
airing icdterS and streams from Lebanon. ~
solomon's Song w., Is.
Some of the finest gardens oil olden time
We're to lie found at the foot oil Mount Lee
nahon. snow descended and winter whitened
the top OF the mountain. Then when the
warp spring weather came the SHOWS melted
ana poured down the side OF the mountain
ana gave great luXuriance to the gardens at
the foot, and you see now the allusjon of nv
teSt when 1t speaks Of the fountain OF gar.
aehs and streams from Lebanon.
AGAIN and again the church is represented
as q garden all upand down the word of God,
ana II is a figure specially suggestive at this
season Oh the year, when the parks n the
orchards are about to put forth their blossom
and the air is filed with bird voices.
"A mother wished to impress her child will
me love OF God, and so in the spring-time,
after the ground had been prepared In the
garden, she took a handful OF flower seeds
and scattered these seeds in shape of letters
an across the bed ofthe garden. Weeks passed
Dy, and the rains and the sunshine had done
their work, and one day the child came Ia
ana said, Mother, come quickly to the gar
deh-come now" The mother followed the
enid TO the garden, and the little child said
Look here, mother. See! 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 sparkIes on the wave.
lessons IN stars on the sky, lessons in flowers
ali over the earth.
Well, my friends, you know very well tina,
mere nave been some beautiful gardens
created. There was the garden Of Charlie
magne, and you remember that this king
ordered gardens laid out all through the
realm and decided by decree Of government
what kind of flowers should be planted in
those gardens. Henry ". at MontpeIlier
decreed that there should be flowers planted
throughout his realm and gardens laid out,
and he specially decreed that there should be
Alplne pyrana and French plants. Shen-
stone, the poet, was more celebrated for his
gardens than for his poetry. His poetry
mas laded from the ages for the most part,
but his gardens are immortal. To ali the
beauty OF his place he added perfection of
art. Palisade and arch and arbor and
fountain and rustic temple a their
most wonderful specimens, and the oak,
and the hazel, and the richest woods of the
forest were planted in hat garden. He had
genius, and he had industry, and all his gem
lus and all his industry he applied to the
Identification of that garden. He gave for
1t $500, and he sold it at last for $50, 900, or
what was equal to that number of dollars.
a. muo an tAptI5lRe garden, lAlu out Win
great elaboration. And yet / haveto tell you
now OF a garden Of vaster expanse-the gar
den spoken OF in my text-a fountain of gar
lens with the streams from Lebanon.
Waiter Scott had the great ambition OF his
fife 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 1t. AT his last payment of G100, 900,
after laying put these gardens and building
that palace Of Abbotsford, at that time his
heart broke, his health failed, and he died
lmost an imbecile.
A few years ago, when I walked through
those gardens and l thought at what vast ex-
pense they had been laid out-at the expense
Of that mans life-it seemed I could see in
the crimson flowers the blood of the old
mans broken heart. But l have to tell you
now OF a 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
If Christ 10 a garden.
remark first it is a garden because of the
tare plants in it. That would be a strange
garden in which there were no flowers. II
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 es
pecial means, you will find there the holly
hook, and the daffodil, and this dahlia. II
there be no especial taste and no especial
means, you will find the Mexican cactus, and
the hluehell, and the arbutus. and the Saa.
es OF oleanders.
Flowers there must be In every garden, and
[ have to tell you that in the garden of the
church are the rarest plants. Sometimes
you will find the violet, i~nconcpicuous, but
sweet as heaven-Christian souls with no pre-
tense, but Of vast usefulness, comparatively
unknown on earth, but to be glorious In
celestial spheres. Violets and vioiets all the
time. You cannot tell where these Christians
have 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 r~anunculus which goes
creeping between the thorns andthe briers Of
this life, giving a kiss for a sting, and many
o man has thought hat life before him was q
black rock of trouble and found it covered
all over with delightsome jasmine of Chris
sian sympathy.
In this garden of the Lord I find the Mexi-
CAN cactus, loneliness within. thorns with
out, men with great sharpness Of behayio,
and manner, but within them the peace o.
God, tho love of God, the grace of God
They are hard men to handle, ugly men Il
touch, very apt to strike back when YOU
strike them, yet within them all lovelinesi
and attraction, while outside 80 completely
unfortunate. Mexican cactus all the time. :
Said a placid elder to a Christian minister
"Doctor, you would do better to control YOU
temper" "Ah," said the minister to the
P'aH'd e'dar, II control more temper 10 ave
minutes than you do in five years" These
people, gifted men, who have great exaspera.
ton of manner and seem to be very diferen,
from h they should be, really nave in
their souls that which commends them to the
Lord. Mexican cactus all the time. So q
man said to me years ago: "Do you think
| ought to become a 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 a milkman putting a large quantity OF
water into his can, and 1 said That Ia
enough, sir, and he got off the cart and in
suited me. and / knocked him down. Well"
said he, "do you think 1 could ever become
a Christian?" That man had in his soul 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 q Saviour 8 mercy told without hav-
ing the tears roll dow his cheek. There was
loveliness within, but rouShness outside.
Mexican cactus all the time.
But l remember in boyhood that we had In
our ldLner > garden WIFI we called the Giant
of Battle, a peculiar rose, very red and very
fiery. Suggestive flower, it was called the
Giant of Battle And no in the garden Of the
Lord we find that kind of fower-the Pauls
and Martin Luthers, the Wyclifs, the John
Knoxes-giants OF battle. What in other men
is a spark, in them is a conlagration. When
they pray, their prayers take fire when they
suffer, they sweat great drops Of blood when
they preach, it is a pentecost when they
fight, it is ThermopylB; when they die,
1t 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 ques-
ton by asking another, 'Why nave we not
more Cromwells and Humioldts In the world2"
God wants only a few giants of battle. They
do their work, and they do it well.
But l find also in the church of God a
plant that l shall call the snowdrop, very
beautiful, but cold. II Is very pure-pure as
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
flashes with anger; he never utters q rash
word. Always cold, always precise, always
passive--beautiful snowdrop, but l don't like
him. / would rather a one Giant Of Bat
tie b 5000 snowdrops.
Give me q man who may make SOM mis-
kakpa in hls ardor for the Lord's service