Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-05-08
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
The Eminent Washington pivine's
Sunday Sermon.
Subject: "The Church Garden"


iaultless rhythm and DO d imagery and start.
ling antithesis and rapturous lyric and sweet
pastoral and instructive narrative and de-
rotionai psalm, thoughts expressed in style
more solemn than that of Montgomery,
more bold than that OF Milton, more terri
Die than that Of Dante, moro natural than
that of Wordsworth, more impassIoned than
that Of Pollock, moro tender than that OF
Coy per, more weird than that of Sponsor.
This great poem brings all the gems Of the
earth into its coronet, and II weaves the
flames OF Judgment Into It's garlahds, and
pours eternal harmonies In It's rhythm.
Everything this book touches It makes beau
tiful, from tho plain stones of the summer
thrashihg floor to the daughters Of Major
hilihs the trough for the carnels, from the
hsh pools Of Heshbon up to the psalmIst
praising God with the diapason OF storm and
'whiriwind, and Jobs imagery of Orion Arc
turlis and the Pleiades.
My text leads us into q scenB Of summer
redoence. The world his had a great many
beautiful gardens. Charlemagne added to
the glory of his reign by decreeing that they
no established all through the realm, decid1
ing even the names OF the flowers I'd 10
planted there. Henry w. Mt Montpelier 90.
tablished gardens Of bewltching beauty and
luxurience. gathering into them Alpine,
Pyrenean and French plants. One of the
sweetest spots on earth was the garden of
ShenstoDe, the poet. His writings have
made but little impression on the world, bit
his garden, "The Leasowers," will Be inn
mortal. To the natural advantage of that
place was brought the perfection OF art. Ar
Dor and terrace and slope and rustic temple
and reservoir and urn and fountain here had
their browning. Oak and yew aud hazel put
forth their richest foliage. There was no
life more dillgent, no soul more ingenious,
than that of Shenstone, and all that dill
gence and genius he brought to the adorn-
ment OF that one treasured spot. He gave
E3OO for it. Ho sold 1t for Ell, 900.
And yet l am 10 tell you to-day
OF richer garden than any I have
mentioned. 1t is the garden spoken OF in
belongs TO Christ. He bought It, He pIantel
1t, He owns It, and He shall have IT, Waiter
Scott, In his outlay at Abbotsford, ruined
his fortune, and now, In the crimson flowers
OF those gardens you can almost think or
Imagine that you can see the blood of that
old mans broken heart. The payment of
the last 91OO, 00O sacrificed him. But have
to tell you that Christ's life and Chttst's
death were the outlay of this beautiful gar-
den OF the church of which my text speaks.
Oh. how many signs and tears and pangs
and agontesl Tell me, We women who saw
Him. hang. Tell mo, ye executioners who
lifted Him and let Him down! Tell me. thou
sun that didst hide! Ye rocks that foil
Christ loved tho church and gave Himself
for 1t. II the garden of the church belongs
10 Christ, certainly He has right to walk
In It, Come, then, o blessed Jesus. to-day,
walk up and down these alses and PLUCK
what Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyseff.
The church In my text is appropriately
compared to garden because 1t is the place
OF choice flowers, of select fruits and OF
thorough irrigation. That would be strange
garden in which there were no flowers. If
nowhere else. they would DO along the
borders or at the gateway. The homellest
taste will dictate something, lift be only the
old fashioned hollyhock or dahlia or daffo-
dill, but If there be larger means then you
will find the Mexican cactus, and blazing
azalea, and clustering oleander Well, now,
Christ comes to His garden, and He plants
there some of the brightest spirits that ever
flowed upon the world. Some of them are
vlolets, inconspicuous, but sweet as heaven.
You have to search and find them. You do
not see them very often perhaps; but you
find where they have been by the frightened
face oftheinvalid. and the sprlg OF gsranium
on the stand, and the new window curtains
keeping out tho glare of the sunlight. They
are perhaps more like the canunculus, creep
ing sweetly along amid the thorns and briars
OF life, giving kiss for sting, and many a man
who has had in his way some great black
rock OF trouble has found that they have
covered 1t all over with fowery jasmine,
running In and out amid the crevlces. These
flowers In Chrlst's garden arc not, like the
sunflower, gaudy In the light, but wherever
darkness hovers over q soul that needs to be
comforted there they stand, night blooming
eereuses.
But in Christ's garden there are plants that
may be bettor compared to the Mexican cac-
without, loneliness within, mon
with sharp points OF character. They wound
almost every one that touches them. They
arc hard to handle. Men pronounce them
nothing but thorns. but Christ loves them
notwithstanding all their sharpnesses. Many
q man has had very hard ground to cult
vate, and 1t has only been through severe
trial he has raised even the smallest crop OF
grace. A very harsh minister was talking
to very placid elder, and The placid elder
eaid to the harsh minister, doctor, l do
wish you would control your temper"
"Ah, said the minister 10 the elder, IL con-
troll more temper in five minutes than you
do in five years.
1t is harder for some men to do right than
for other men TO do right. The grace that
would elevate you to the seventh heaven
might not keep your brother from knocking
p man down. had u friend who came to
mo and said, 81 dare not join the church."
| said, "Whyr" "Oh, he said, Il have such
O violent temper. Yesterday morning was
very early at the Jersey City ferry.
and saw milkman pour a large quantity
Of water into the milk can, and said to
him, Il think that will do and he insulted
me, and knocked him down. Do you think
I ought to join The church," Nevertheless
that very same man, who was so harsh in his
behavior, loved Christ and could not speak
of sacred things without tears of emotion
and affection. Thorns without. sweetness
wlthin-the best specimen OF the Mexican
cactus ever saw.
There are others planted In CD lists garden
who are always radlants, always impressive,
more like the roses OF deep hue than we oc-
find, calle1 "Giants of Battle"
the Martin Luthers, st. Pauls, Chrysostoms,
Wyclifs Latimers and Samuel Rutherfords.
What IN other men is spark In them Is
When they sweat, they sweat
great drops of blood. When they pray, their
prayers take fire. When they preach, 1t is
Pentecost. When they fight, 1t Is Thermo-
pylp. When they die, 1t is q martyrdom.
You find great many roses in the gardens,
but only a few "Giants of Battle" Men say,
'Why don't you have more Of them in the
church," 1 say, "Why don't you have in
tho world more Humboldts and Welingtons2
God gives to some ten talents; to another,
he.
In this garden of the church which Christ
has planted also find the snowdrops beau
tiful, but cold-looking, seemingly another
phase Of winter. l mean those Christians
who are precise In their tastes, unim-
passione1, pure as snowdrops and as cold.
They never shed any tears; they never get
excited; they never say anything rashly;
LhOY mover do ANYTHING precipitatalY Their