The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1899-08-09
THE IVORY PALACES
Dr.. TaImage on the GIories Of the
World to Come.
ATTRAcTlVENES OF CHRIST
Who Opens the Way For His
Faithful Followers. The Chris
tian's Guide to Heaven.

and the attractiveness Of the Christ,
who opens the way; text, Psalms xiv,
s, "All thy garments smel! OF myrrh
and aloes and cassla out OF the IVORY
palaces.
Among the grand adornments Of the
city of Paris is the Church OF Notre
Dame, with its great towers and elaoocc
rate rose windows and sculpturing OF
the last judgement, with the trumpet
ing angels and rising dead; its battle
nents of quatre foil: its sacristy, with
ribbed ceiling and statues Of saints.
BIT there was nothing in ali that bulld-
ing which more wildly appealed to my
plain republican tastes than the costly
vestnents which lay in oaken presses,
robes that had been embroidered ~lth
gold and been worn BY popes ano arch-
bishops on great occasions. IheTe was
robe that had been worn by Plus Il
ct the crowning of the first Napoleon;
There was also vestment that had
been worn at the baptism Of Napoleon
II. As our guide opened the oaken
presses and brought out these vest
mepts of fabulous cost and lifted them
up the fragrance Of the puDgent arom-
atics in which they had been preserv-
ed filed the place with sweetness
that was almost oppressive. Nothing
that had been done in stone more VIVID
" impressed me than these things that
had been done in cloth and embroidery
and perfume. But today open the
drawer of this text and l look upon the
Lingly robes of Christ, and as lift
them, flashing with eternal jewels, the
whole house is filed with the aroma OF
these garments, which smell of myrrh
and sloes and cassia out Of the ivory
palaces"
In my text the King steps forth.
His ropes rustic and blaze as he advan-
ces. His pomp and power and glory
oyermas,er the spectator. More brllll-
ant is he than Queen Vashti. moving
smid the Persian princess: than Marie
Antoinette on the day when Louis XVI
put upon her the necklace Of 500 ola-
nonds; than Anne Boleyn the day
when Henry VIII welcomed her to his
palace-all beauty and al pomp forgot.
ten while We stand in the presence Of
this imperial glory, King Of Zion, King
of earth, King Of heaven, King forever
His garments not worn out, not dust
bedraggled, but radiant, and jeWeled,
and redolent. 1t as if they must have
been pressed a hundred years amid the
flowers Of heaven. The wardcobes fram
which they have been taken must have
been sweet with clusters Of campfire,
and frankincense, and all manner Of
precious wood. Do you not inhale the
odors? Aye, aye, 'They smell Of
myrrh and aloes and cassla out OF the
ivory palaces"
Your first curiosity is to know why
the robes Of Christ are cdorous with
myrrh. This was bright leafed Ab-
yssinian plant. 1t was trifoliated:
The Greeks, Egyptians, Romans and
Jews bought and sold 1t at a high
price. The first present that was ever
given TO Christ was sprig Of myrrh
thrown on his infantile bed in Bethle-
hem, and the last gift that Christ ever
had was myrrh pressed into the cup OF
his crucifxion. The NATIVES would
take stone and bruise the tree, and
then it would exude gum that would
saturate sll the ground beneath. This
gum was used for purposes OF merchan-
disc. One piece Of it no larger than a
chesnut would Whelm whole room
with odors. 1t was put in closets, IN
chests, in drawers, in rooms, and IT.
perfume adhered almost interminably
to anything that was anywhere near IT..
So when in my text read that Christ S
garments smell Of myrih I Immediately
conclude the exquisite sweetness OF Je-
sus.
I know that to many he is only like
any historical persoD-another John
Howard, another philanthropic Oberlin,
another Confucius, grand subject for
painting, he. oic theme fer a poem,
a beautiful form for statue, but to
those who have heard his voice and
heard his voice and felt his pardon AID
received his benediction he is music
and light aud warmth and thrill and
eternal fragrance, sweet as friend
sticking to you when all else betray,
lifting you up while others try to push
you down, not so much like morning
glories that bloom only when the sun
is coming up, nor like '::four o'clock's' )
that bloom only when the sun is going
down, but like myrrh, perpetually ar
omatic, the same morning, noon and
night, yesterday, today, forever. 1t
seems as if we cannot wear him out:
We put on him all our burdens and
ahiict him with all our griefs and set
him foremost in all our battles, and
yet he is ready to lift and to sympathize
and to help. We have so imposed up.
on him that one woule think IL, eternal
= afront he would quit our soul, and yet
today he addresses US with the same
tenderness, dawns upon US with the
same smile, pities US with the same
compassion.
There is no name like his for US. 1t
is more imperial than Caesars, more
musical than Beethovens, more con-
quering than Charlemagnes, more elo-
quent than Cicero's. 1t throbs with
all life. It weeps with all pathos. 1t
groars with all pain. 1t breathes with
ali perfume. Who like Jesus to set a
broken bone, to pity homeless orphan,
to nurse sick man, to take prodigal
back without any scolding, to illumine
cemetery all ploWed with graves, to
make queen unto God out Of the lost
woman, to catch the tears Of human
sorrrow in lachrymatory that shall
never be broken? Who has such an
eye to see our need, such a lip to kiss
away our sorrow, such hand to snatch
US out Of the fire, such foot tc trample
our enemies, such heart to embrace
all our necessities? | struggle Cor some
metaphor with which to express him