The Penn's Grove record., 1896-05-01
REV. DR.. TaLuAGE.
The Eminent Divine's Sunday
Sermon.
Subject: The Church Garden"

den."-isaian, lviii., ~.
The Bible is a great poem. We have It IN
faultless rhythm and bold imagery and start
ling antithesis and rapturous lyric and sweet
pastoral and instructive narrative and de-
v~otional psalm, thoughts expressed In style
more solemn b that of Montgomery
more bold than that OF Milton. more ferri-
BILE than that of Dante, more natural than
that of Wordsworth, more impassioned than
that OF Pollock, more tender than that OF
Gov per, more weird than that of Spenser.
This great poem brings all the gems OF the
earth into its %ooronet, and 1t weaves the
flames OF Judgment into it's garlands, and
pours eternal harmonies In Its rhythm.
Everything this book touches 1t makes beau
tlful, from the plain stones OF the summer
thrashing floor to the daughters OF Major
filling the 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 imagery Of Orion Arc
turus and the Pleiades.
My text leads us into a scene OF summer
redolence. The world has had great many
beautiful gardens. Charlemagne added to
the glory Of his reign by decreeing that they
be established all through the realm, decid-
ing even the names Of the flowers to be
planted there. Henry ~. at Montpelier es-
tablished gardens Of bewitching beauty and
luxuriance. gathering into them Alpine,
Pyrenean and French plants. One OF the
sweetest spots on earth was the garden OF
shenstone, the poet. His writings have
made but little impression on the world, but
his garden, "The ~Leasowers," will be i'm
mortal To the natural advantage Of that
place was brought the perfection OF art. Ar
Dor and terrace and slope N rustic temple
and reservoir and urn Inc fountain here had
their browning. Oak and yew and hazel put
forth their richest foliage. There was no
lANn o4N-a tlN.a- - A~r --~-~
than that Of Shenstone, n all that dill
gence and genius he brought to the adorn-
ment Of that n treasured spot. He gave
$500 for 1t. He sold It for Ell, 900.
And yet l am ito tell you to-day
Of a richer garden than any I have
mentioned. It Is the garden spoken OF IN
my text, the garden Of the church, which
It, He ownsi 1t, and He shall have It. Walter
Scott, In his outlay at Abbotsford, ruined
his fortune, n 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 f100, 900 sacrificed him. But I have
to tell you that Christ's life and Chrtst'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 agonies! Tell me, ye women who saw
Him hang! Tell me, ye executioners who
lifted Him and let Him down. Tell me, thou
sun that didst hide! Ye rocks that fell
Christ loved the church and gave Himself
for 1t. II the garden Of the church belongs
10 Christ. certainly He has a right to walk
In II. Come, then, o blessed Jesus, to-day,
walk up and down these aisles and pluck
what Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyseff.
The church In my text Is appropriately
compared to a garden BECAUSE It 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, II 1t be only the
old fashioned hollyhock or dahlia or daffo-
dill, but IL there be larger means then you
will find the Mexican cactus, and blazing
~azalea, and clustering oleander. Well, now,
Christ m to His garden, and He plants
there some OF the brightest spirits that ever
flowed upon the world. Some Of them are
violets, fnconspicuous, 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 of the invalid, and the sprig OF gsranium
on the stand, and the new window curtains
keeping out the glare of the sunlight. They
are perhaps more like the %canunculus, creep
Ing sweetly along amidthe 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 fiowery Jasmine,
running in and out amid the ~orevioaa. These
flowers In Christ's garden are not, like the
sunfiower, gaudy In the light, but wherever
darkness hoyers over q soul that needs to be
comforted there they stand, night blooming
cereuses.
But in Christ's garden there are plants that
may be better compared to the Mexican cac-
t~us-thorns without, loneliness within, men
with sharp points of character. They wound
almost every one that touches them. They
are hard to handle. Men pronounce them
nothing but thorns. but Christ loves them
Notwithstanding all their -sharpnesses. Many
q man has had a very hard ground to Guilt
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 q very placid elder, n the placid fielder
said to the harsh minister. nDoctor. I do
wish you would control your temper"
"Ah," said the minister to the elder, 81 con-
troi more temper In i've 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
q man down. l had a friend who came to
me and said, II dare not Join the church,
l said, "Why2" 'Oh," he said, ~ have suoh
a violent temper. Yesterday morning I was
crossing very early at the Jersey City ferry,
and 1 saw a milkman pour a large quantity
OF water into the milk car, and 1 said to
him, 4 think that will do and he insulted
me, and l knocked him down. Do you think
l ought to Join The church," Nevertheless
that very anne 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
w~ithin-the best specimen OF the Mexican
cactus l ever saw.
Thereare Others planted in Christ's garden
who are always radiants, always Impressive.
more like the roses OF deep hue than we oc-
casionally find, callet ''Giants of Battle"
the Martin Luthers, st. Pauls, Chrysostoms,
Wyclfs, Latimers and Samuel Rutherfords
h In other men is a spark In them Is q
coniagration. When they sweat, they sweat
great drops OF blood. When they pray, their
prayers take fire. When they preach, il Is a
Pentecost. When they f1ght, It "a a Thermo-
pyla. When they die, 1t Is q murtyrdom.
You find a great many roses In the gardens,
but only a few 'Gianfs of Battle" Men say.
"Why don't you have more Of them In the
church," I say, 'Why don't you have In
the world more Humboldts and WellinRtons?
God gives to some ten talents; to another
one.
In this garden OF the church which Christ
has planted l also find the snowdrops. beau
tful, but cold-lookinR, seemingly another
phase of winter. / mean those Christians
who are precise in their tastes, min
passtonei, pure as snowdrops and as cold.
They never shed any tears; they never get
excited; they never say anything rashiy,
they never do anything precipitataly. Their
pulses never fiutter; their nerves never
witch; their indignation never boils over.
They live longer than most people. but their
life Is In a minor key. They never run up
to O above the STAFF. In their music of life
they have no staeeato passages. Christ
planted them in the church, and they must
be Of some service or they would not be
there-snowdrops, always snowdrops.
But / have not told you Of the most beau
tiful flower of all this garden spoken OF In
he text. II you sse a century plant, your
emotions are startled. You say, "why, this
flower has been 100 years gathering up for
N bloom. and 1t will be 100 years more be-
lore other petals will come out" But I
have to tell you of q plant that was gather
Ing up from all eternity, and that 1900 year
ago rut forth Its bloom never to wither. d
Is the passion plant of the crossi Prophet
toretoid II, Bethlehem shepherds looked up
on It IN theb bud, the rocksshook at Its burst
Ing and the dead got up in its winding
sheets to SEQ its full bloom. II Is a crimson
nower-blood az the roots, blood on thu
knaahAkoadan-Au thu lsa1ak-Mpen