The Iola register. [volume] (Iola, Allen County, Kansas) 1875-1902, 1894-07-06
ROYAL GARDEN"
The World Has a Great Many Beauti.
full Gardens,
But Nothing to Compare to the Garden of
the Church, Which Belongs to Christ
He Bought 1t, He Planted 1t, He
Owns It-Dr. Talmage's Sermon.

Rev. Dr.. Talmage selected as tn
subject for his sermon through tn
press Sunday 1.-The Royal Garden, tn
text being taken from Solomon's Son.
v. 1, 81 am come into my garden"
The world has had a great man
beautiful gardens. Charlemagne adde,
to the glory of his reign by decreeins
that they be established all through
the misunderstanding even the names
of the flowers to be planted there
Henry w., at Montpelier, established
gardens of bewitching beauty and lux
uriance, gathering into them Alpine
Pyrenean and French plants. One o.
the sweetest spots on earth was the gar
den of Shenstone, the poet. His writ
ings have made but little impression
on the world, but his garden, "Ths
Leasowes, will be immortal. To the
natural advantage of that place wa.
brought the perfection of art. Arbo,
and terrace and slope and rustic temple
and reservoir and urn and fountain
here had their browning. Oak and
yew and hazel put forth their richest
foliage. There was no life more dill
gent, no soul more ingenious than that
of Shenstone, and all that diligence
and genius were brought to the adorn.
ment of that one treasured spot. He
gave e30O for it. He sold it for Ell. 900.
And yet / am to tell you of richer
garden than any / have mentioned II
is the garden spoken of in my text, the
garden of the church, which belongs
to Christ, for my text says so. He
bought it, he planted it, he owns it,
and he shall have it. Walter Scott, in
his outlay at Abbottsford, ruined his
fortune. And now in the crimson
flowers of those gardens you can al
most think or imagine that you see
the blood of that old mans
broken heart. The payment of
the last 100000 sacrificed him. But
have to tell you that Christ's life and
Christ's death were the outlay of
this beautiful garden of the church of
which my text speaks. Oh, how many
signs and tears and pangs and agoniesl
Tell me, We women who saw him hangl
Tell me, We executioners who lifted
him and let him drop! Tell me, thou
sun that didst hide We rocks that fell!
Christ loved the church and gave him
self for it" If, then, the garden of
the church belongs to Christ, certainly
he has right to walk in it. Come,
then. o blessed Jesus. this morning,
walk up and down these aisles and
pluck what thou wilt of sweetness for
myself
The church, in my text, is appropri-
ately compared to a garden, because it
is place of choice flowers, of select
fruits and of thorough irrigation.
That would be strange garden in
which there were no flowers. If no.
where else, they will be along the Dor
ders or at the gateway. The homeliest
taste will dictate something, if it be
the old fashioned hollyhock or dahlia
or daffodil or coreopsis, but if there be
larger means then you will find the
Mexican cactus and dark veined arbu-
telion and blazing azalea and clustering
oleander. Well, now, Christ comes to
His garden, and he plants there some
of the brightest spirits that ever flow
cred upon the world. Some of them
are violets, unconspicuous, but sweet in
Heaven. You have to search for such
spirits to find them. You do not see
them very often perhaps, but you find
where they have been by the brighten
ing face of the invalid, and thdHprig of
geranium on the stand, and the win
dow curtains keeping out the glare of
the sunlight. They are, perhaps,
more like the ranunculus, creeping
sweetly along amid the thorns and
briers of life, giving kiss for sting, and
many man who has had in his way
some great black rock of trouble has
found that they have covered it all over
with Towering jasmine running in and
out amid the crevice. These Chris |
tians in Christ's garden are not like
the sunfower, gaudy in the light, |
but whenever darkness hovers |
over a soul that needs to be comforted |
there they stand, night blooming GER
euses. But in Christ's garden there are |
plants that may be better compared to
the Mexican cactus-thorns without,
loneliness within-with sharp points |
Of character. They wound almost ev-
cry one that touches them. They are
hard to handle. Men pronounce them
nothing but thorns, but Christ
owes them, Notwithstanding all their
sharpness. Many a man has had very
hard ground to culture, and it has only
been through severe toll he has raised
wen the smallest crop of grace.
A very harsh minister was talking
With a very placid elder, and the placid
.lder said to the harsh minister: DOC
or, l do wish you would control your
"Ah," said the minister to
he elder, II control more temper in
i've minutes than you do in five
ears" 1t is harder for some men
o do right than for others to do
light. The grace that would ele-
ate you to the seventh heaven
night not keep your brother from
hooking man down. l had friend
Tho came to me and said: Il dare
ot join the church" 1 said,
Why?" oh" he said, 81 have such [
violent temper. Yesterday morning
was crossing very early at the Jersey
ity Ferry, and l saw a milkman pour
large amount of water into the milk
an, and l said to him, L think that {
ill do and he insulted me, and 1
nocked him down. Do you think l l
ught to join the church," Nevertbe-
ess that very same man, who was so g
arsh in his behavior, loved Christ and l
ould not speak of sacred things with
ut tears of emotion and affection. s
horns without INIT Sxraa&paeS ,,-;tb;- I
the best specimen of Mexican cactus
ever saw. &
There are others planted in Christ's S
arden who are always ardent, t
ways radiant, always impressive t
more like the roses of deep i
ne that we occasionally find called | I