Decorah public opinion. (Decorah, Winneshiek County [Iowa]) 1895-1928, 1896-05-05

| t9 poaiAh, lhOut3hso w
pressed in style
more solemn than that of Montgomery.
more bold than that of Milton, more ter
rible than that of Dante, more natural
than that of Wordsworth, more impas-
stoned than that of Pollock, more ten
der than that OF Cowper, more weird
than that Of Spencer.
| This great poem brings all the gems
Of the earth into its coronet, and 1t
weaves the flames of judgment into It's
garlands, and pours eternal harmonies
in its rhythm. Everything this book
touches 1t makes beautiful, from the
Plain stones of the summer threshing-
floor to the daughters OF Major filling
he trough for the camels; from the fish
pools Of Heshbon up to the Psalmist
praising God with the diapason of
storm and whirlwind, and Jobs mag
Try of Orion, Arcturus and the Pleiades.
| My text leads US into scene OF sum
mer redolence. The world has had a
great many beautiful gardens. Charlie
by decreeing that they be established
Sll through the realm-decidirg even
the names of the flowers to be planted
here. Henry w., at Montpelier, estab-
lished gardens of bewitching beauty
and luxuriance, gathering into them AL
pine, Pyrenean and French plants One
Of the sweetest spots on earth was the
garden of Shenstone, the poet. His
writings have made but little impress
sion on the world; but his garden, THE
Leasowes," will be immortal. To the
natural advantage Of that place was
brought the perfection of art. Arbor
and terrace and slope and rustic temple
and reservoir and urn and fountain mere
had their browning. Oak and yew and
| hazel put forth their richest foliage.
There was no life more diligent. no soul
| more ingenious, than that Of Shenstone,
and all, that diligence and genius he
brought to the adornment Of that one
treasured spot. He gave three kun-
| dred pounds for 1t; he sold it for seven
teen thousand. And yet l am to tell
you today of a richer garden than any
/ have mentioned. 1t is the garden
spoken of in my text, the garden of the
Church, which belongs to Christ. He
bought it, he planted it. he owns it, and
he shall have it, Walter Scott, in his
outlay at Abbotsford. ruined his tor
tune; and now, in the crimson flowers
or imagine that you see the blood of
that old mans broken heart. The
payment of the last one hundred thou
sand pounds sacrificed him. But l
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
gighs and tears and pangs and agonies!
Tell me, We women who saw him hang!
Tell me, we executioners who lifted him
and let him down! Tell me, thou sun
that didst hide; We rocks that fell!
Christ loved the Church, and gave HIM
Belf for 1t. If the garden of the Church
belor gs to Christ, certainly he has
right to walk in it. Come, thou, o
blessed Jesus today; walk up and down
these aisles and pluck what thou wilt of
iweetness for myself.
The Church, in my text, is approDri-
ately compared to a garden, because 1t
Is the place of choice flowers, of select
fruits, and of thorough irrigation. That
would be a strange garden in which
there were no flowers. II nowhere else,
they would be along the borders or at
the gateway. The homeliest taste will
dictate something. il 1t be only the old
fashioned hollyhock, or dahlia, or daffo-
dill; but II there be larger means. then
you will find the Mexican cactus, the
blazing azalea. and clustering oleander.
Well, now, Christ comes to his garden
md he plants there some of the bright
eft spirits that ever lowered the world.
;ome of them are violets. inconspicu-
Gus, but sweet as heaven. You have to
search and find them. You do not see
them very often, perhaps, but you see
where they have been by the frightened
face of the invalid, and the sprig of
geranium on the stand, and the new
window curtains keeping out the glare
of the sunlight. They are, perhaps,
more like the ranunculus, creeping
sweetly along amid the thorns and
briars of life, giving kiss for sting; and
many a man who las had in his way
some great black rock of trouble, has
found that they had covered it all over
with fowery jasmine, running in end
out amid the crevices. These flowers
IN Christ's garden are not, like the sun
lower, gaudy in the light, but wherever
darkness hovers over soul that needs
to be comforted, there they stand,
| right-blooming cereuses.
But in Christ's garden there are
plants that may be better compared to
the Mexican cactus-thorns without,
loneliness within; men with sharp
points Of character. They wound al
most everyone that touches them.
They are hard to handle. Men pro-
nounce them nothing but thorns, but
Christ loves them Notwithstanding all
their sharpness. Many man has had
very hard ground to cultivate, and it
as only been through severe trial he
aas raised even the smallest crop of
grace. A very harsh minister was talk
Ing to very placid elder, and the placid
elder said to the harsh minister, "Doc-
tor, do wish you would control your
temper" "Ah." said the minister to the
'lder, II control more temper in FIVE
trutec than Won In n five weave