The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1896-06-06
TALMAGE'S SERMON.
The Season of Flowers Suggests
the Garden Of God.
The Beauties of the Floral Kingdom Lik'
ened to the Richness OF Gods Realm
Tho Church Compared te
q Watered Garden

Rev. T. De Witt Talrnage delivered
the following sermon, apropos of the
advent of spring flowers, before his
Washington congregation, taking for
his text:
iyut II.
The Bible is q great poem. We have
in it faultless rhythm and bold i'm
ag cry and startling antithesis and
rapturcns lyric and sweet pastoral and
instructive narrative and 5evotioAal
psalm; thoughts expressed in style
more solemn than that of Montgom-
cry, more bold than that of Milton,
more terrible than that of Dante, more
natural than that of Wordsworth,
more impassioned than that of Pol
lock, more tender than that of Cow
per, more weired than that of Spen-
Ser.
This great poem brings ell the gems
of the earth into IT'S coronet, and it
weaves the fienes of Judgment into its
garlands, and pours eternal harmonies
in its vhythm. Everything this book
touches it makes beautiful, from thc
plain stones of the summer threshing
floor to the daughters of Major filing
the trough for the camels; from the
fish-pools of Heshbon up to the psalm
list preising God with the aiapason of
storm and whirlwind, and Jobs
imagery of eriep, Arcturus and the
PleiadeS
, My text leads us into sene OF saiia-
mer redolence. The world has had 4
great many beautiful gardens. Charlie
magne added to the glory 81 his reign
by decreeing that they be established
all through the realm-deciding even
the names of the flowers to he planted
there. Henry W., 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 Shenstohe,
the poet. His writings have made but
little impression on the World; but his
garden, 1.-THE Leasowes," will be inn
mortal To the natural advantage
of that place was brought the per-
fection of art. Arbor and terrace and
slope, and rustic temple, and reservoir,
and urn, and fountain here had their
browning, Oak and ycw and hazel put
forth richest foliage, There was no
life more diligent, no soul more in
genieus, than that of Shenstone, and
all that diligence and genius be
brought to the adornment of thai one
treasured spot He gave RaOO for it;
he sold it for sly,U0o And yet l am
to tell you to-day of richer garden
than any have mentioned, u Is 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 Abbots-
ford, ruined his fortune; and now, in
the cromson flowers of those gardens,
you can almost think or imagine that
you see the blood of that old mans
broken heart, The payment of the
last E1oo, 900 sacrificed him. But l
have to tell you that Christ's death
were the outlay of this. beautiful
garden of the church, of which my
text speaks, Oh, how many sigh 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
self for it. II the garden of the
church belongs to Christ. certainly He
has right to walk in it. Come, then,
o blessed Jesus, to-day; walk up and
down these aisles, and pluck what
Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyself.
The church in my text, is appropri
ately compared to a garden, because II
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. If no
where else, they would be along thu
borders or at the gateway. The home
liest taste will dictate something, II j
be only the old-fashioned hollyhock
or dnhlia, or daffodil; but il there b.
larger means, then You will find tn
Mexican cactus, and blazing azaiea
and clustering oleander. Well, now
Christ comes to His garden and IL
plants there some of the brightes
spirits that ever lowered upon tn
world. Some of them are violets, in
conspicuous, but as sweet as heaven
You have to search and I'm
them. You do not see them YER
often, perhaps, but you I'm
where they have been by the bright
ened face of the invalid, and the spri
of geranium on the stand, and the ne'
window curtains keeping out the giar
of the sunlight. They are, perhaps
more like the ranunculus, creepln
sweetly along amid the thorns an
briars of life, giving kiss for sting
and many a man who has had in n
way some great black rock OF trouble
has found that they have covered II
over with fiowery jasmine, running
and out amid the crevices. These nov
ers in Christ's garden are not, like u
sunfower. gaudy in the light, b.
wherever darkness hovers over so'
that needs to be comfortcd, there the
stand, night bloom ing cereuses.
But In Christ's garden there a
plants that may be better compared
tho Mexican cactus-thorns withou
Usefulness within; men with shai
mints of character. They wound
most everyone that touches the'
They are hard to handle. Men pr
nounce them nothing but thorns' o
christ loves them Notwithstanding
t.eir sharpness. Many man has nj
very hard ground to cultivate, ana