The Penn's Grove record., 1900-09-07
DR. TALMAGES SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE HY THE NOTED
DIVINE.

Subject : The Garden Of the King-Christ
h ounde and Gardener-The Flow
ers and Fruits OF Religious Devotion
The Beauty OF Right Living
~tCopyrieht iaSA.i
WASHINGTON, b. C.-This sermon DR..
Tlalnaga sends from a hating place in
his Journey through the valleys Of Swift
erland. It seems to have been prepared
amid the bloom and aroma of q garden
midsummer. The text is Song Of Solo,
MOI v, | II am come into my garden"
The Bible is a great poem. We have in
1t faultless rhythm. and bold imagery and
startling anthithesis and rapturous lyric
and sweet pastoral and instructive nara
tive and devotional psalm; thoughts ex-
pressed In style more solemn than that
OF Montgomery, more bold than that
Of Milton, more terrible than that of
Dante, more natural than that of Words
worth, more impassioned than. that of
Pollok, more tender than that Of CcKpef;
more weird than that Of Spenser. This
great poem brings all the gems Of the
earth into its e6ronet, and it weavcs the
Haines OF judgment into it's garlands and
pours eternal harmonies in it's rhythm.
Everything this book touches Is makes
beautiful, from the. plain stones Of the
~ DILL 11OOl W Vic uduRuCClS
Of Major filing Che troughs for the cam
els, from the fish pools Of Heshbon up to
the psalmist praising God with diapason
of storm and whirlwind, and Jobs inn.
agery of Orion, Arcturus and the Pleiades.
My text leads us into a scene of sum-
mer redolence. The world has had a
great many. beautiful gardens. Charlie
magne added to the glory of his reign by
decreeing that they be established all
thVDv4rh thu Ioo1-. 1oJ.n- --- H.
names Of the flowers to be planted there,
Henry w, at Montpelier, established
gardens Of bewitching beauty and luxu-
rance, gathering into them Alpine, Py-
renean 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, .s"The Leasowes," will be
immortal. To the natural advantages of
that place was brought the perfection of
art. Arbor and terrace and slope and
rustic temple and reservoir and urn and
fountain here 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 ge-
MUS he brought to the adornment of that
one treasured spot. He gave f300 for it;
he sold it for Ell 600. And yet l am to
tell you to-day Of a richer garden than
any I have mentioned. 1t is the garden
church, which belongs to Christ, for my
text says so. He bought it, He planted it,
He owns it, and He shall nave it.
Walter Scott, in his outlay at Abbots-
ford, ruined his fortune, and now, in the
crimson 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 100000 sacri-
feed him. But / have to tell you that
Christ's love and Christ's death were the
outlay Of this beautiful garden of the
how many signs 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
Himself for It." If the garden Of the
church belongs to Christ, certainly He
has a right to walk in it. Come, then,
Q blessed Jesus, to-day; walk up and
wilt of sweetness for Thyself!
The church, in my text, is appropriately
compared to a garden, because it is a
place of choice flowers, of select fruits
and of thorough irrigation.
That would be a strange garden in
which there were no flowers. If nowhere
else, they would be along the borders or
at the gateway. The homeliest taste will
dictate something, if it be only the old
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 Powered upon the world. Some
Of them are violets, inconspicuous, but
sweet as heaven. You have to search and
find them. You do not see them very Of
ten, perhaps, but you find where they
hove been by the frightened face of the
invalid and the sprig of geranium on the
stand and the new window curtains keep.
ing out the glow Of the sunlight. They
are, perhaps, more like the %ranunculus,
creeping swiftly along amid the thorns
and briers of life, giving kiss for sting.
n many a man who has had in his way
some great black rock of trouble has
found that they have covered it all ovel
with howery jasmine running in and Out
amid the %crevices.
These flowers in Christ's garden are moi
like the s%unfower, gaudy in the light, but
wherever darkness hovers over a soul that
needs to be comforted, there they stand
night blooming cereuses. But in Christ's
garden there are plants that may be bet
ter compared to the Mexican cactus
thorns without, loneliness within; mer
with sharp points Of character. They
wound almost every one that touches
them. They are hard to handle. Mer
pronounce them nothing but thorns, but
Christ loves them Notwithstanding al
their sharpnesses. Many a man has hat
a very hard ground to cultivate, and il
has only been through severe trial he ha.
raised even the smallest scrap of grace
A very harsh minister was talking to {
very placid elder, and the placid elder
said to the harsh minister: doctor, l d.
wish you would control your temper
"Ah," said the minister to the elder, g
control more temper in five minutes thar
you do in five years." 1t is harder fol
some men to do right than for other mer
vate you to the seventh heaven might no
keep your brother from knocking a mai
down. 1 had a friend who came to mt
and said. II dare not join the church"
said, "Why?" "Oh," he said, 81 hav,
such a violent temper. Yesterday morn
ing | was crossing very early at the Jerse.
City ferry, and / saw a milkman pour
large quantity of water into the milk can
and ! said to him: I think that will do,
down. Do you think / ought to join tn
church," Nevertheless that very sam,
man, who was so harsh in his behavior
loved Christ, and could not speak of sa
cred things without tears of emotion an,
affection. Thorns without, sweetness
within-the best specimen of Mexican
cactus I ever saw.
There are others planted in Christ
garden who are always radiant, Away
impressive-more like the roses of dee
hue that we occasionally find, Gale,
giants of battle;" the Martin Luthers
St. Pauls, Chrysostoms. Wycliffes, Lat
mers and Samuel Rutherfords. What il
other men is a spark in them is a confa
grafton. When they sweat, they swea
great drops of blood. When they pray
their prayer takes fire. When they preac
it is a Pentecost. When they fight, it is
T~hermopylae. When they die, it is
martyrdom. You find a great many rose
in the gardens, but only a few giants 9
battle" Men say, "Why don't you hav
more of them in the church," I say
why don't you have in the world NOR
Humboldts and Wellingtons?" God give
to some ten talents, to others one.
Again, the church may be appropriated
compared to a garden, because it is
place of fruits. That would be a strane
garden which had in it no berries, n
plums or peaches or apricots. The coarse
fruits are planted in the orchard or the
are set out on the sunny hillside, but til