Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1900-09-07
GARDEN OF THE KING
DR. TAlmAGE IlKENS IT UNTO THE
CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Christ the Founder nad Gardener.
The Flowers and Fruits of ReIi-
Eious Devotion - che Beauty OF
Right Living.

The Flowers and Fruits of Reli-
Eious Devotion The Beauty OF
Right Living.
WASHINGTON. Sept. 2.-This sermon
DIR. Talmage sends from hating
place In his Journey through the val
legs OF Switzerland. 1t seems to have
been prepared amid the bloom and
aroma of garden midsummer. The
text is Song OF Solomon V, 1, 81 am
come into my garden
The Bible is a great poem. We have
in its faultless rhythm and bold i'm
agery and startling antithesis and rap
turous lyric and sweet pastoral and in
structive narrative Esd devotional
psalm; thoughts expressed i'm style
more solemn than that of Montgomery,
more bold than that of Milton, more
terrible than that of Dante. more nat
ural than that Of Wordsworth, more
impaSsioned than that of Pollok, more
tender than that of Cowper, more
weird than that of Spenser. This great
poem brings all the gems of the earth
into its coronet and il weaves the
flames of Judgment into it's garlands
and pours eternal tarmonies in its
IL makes beautiful. from the plain
stones of the summer thrashing floor
to the daughters of Major filling the
troughs for the camels; from the fish
pools of Heshbon up to the pSalmist
praising God with diapaSon of storm
and whlrlwind. and Jobs imagery of
Orion. Arcturus and the Pleiades
My text leads us into scene Of sum.
mer redolence. The world has had
great many beautiful gardens. Charlie
magne added TO the glory of his reign
by decreeing that they be established
all through the Misunderstanding 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 impress
sion ON the world: but his garden. 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 dill
gence and genius he brought TO the
adornment of that one treasured spot
He gave $500 for it; he sold it for
$4,000. And yet. am to tell you to-
day of richer garden than any have
mentioned. 1t is the garden spoken
of In my text. the garden of the church.
which belongs TO Christ. for my text
says SO. He bought it. he planted II.
he owns 1t. and he shall have it.
Walter Scott. i'm his outlay at Abbots-
ford. ruined his fortune: and now. i'm
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 sacrificed him. But have to
tell you that Christ's life and Christ's
death were the outlay of this beautiful
garden OF the church. OF which nv
text speaks. oh. how many signs and
tears and pangs and agonies. Tell me,
We women who saw him hang, Tell
me. we executloners 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," IL the garden of the
church belongs TO Christ. certainly he
has right TO walk In it. Come. then.
o blessed Jesus. today; walk up and
down these aisles, and pluck what thou
wilt or sweetness for thyselfl
The Church ms "a Garden
The church. In my text. is appro-
priately compared to garden, because
IL is place or choice flowers. of select
fruits and OF thorough irrigation.
That would be n strange garden in
which there were no flowers. II no.
where else. they would be along the
borders or ut the gateway. The home
Hest taste Will dictate something. If IL
DE only the old fashioned hollyhocl or
dahlia or daffodil: but IL there be larger
means. then you will find the Mexican
cactus and blazing azalea and cluster
ing oleander. Well. now. Christ comes
TO his garden and he plants there
some or the brightest spirits that
ever lowered upon the world Some of
them are violets, inconsplcuous. but
sweet rs 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
or the invalid and the sprig of gera-
MUM on the stand and the new window
curtains keeping cut the glow OF the
sunlight They are. perhaps. more like
the ranunculus. creeping sweetly along
amid the thorns and briers OF life,
giving kiss for sting: and many n man
who has had in his way some great
black rock OF trouble has found that
they have covered it all over with
howery jasmine running in and out
amid the crevices.
These flowers In ChriSt's garden are
not. like the sunhower. gaudy in the
light. but wherever darkness hovers over
q soul that needs TO be comfortcd, there
they stand. night blooming cereuses.
But i'm Christ's garden there are plants
that may be better compared TO the
Mexican cactus-thorns without. love-
illness within: men with sharp points of
character. They wound almost every
one that touches them. They are hard
TO handle. Men pronounce them moth
ing but thorns. but Christ loves
them Notwithstanding all their sharp
nesses. Many man has had n very
hard ground TO cultivate. and it has
only been through severe trial he has
raised even the smallest scrap of grace.
y very harsh minister was talking to
very placid elder. and the placid
elder said 10 the harsh minister: Doc
tor' 90 WISH you would control your
temper "Ah.' said the minister to
the elder. Il control more temper in
hve minutes than you do in five years."
IL Is harder for some men 10 do right
than for other men 10 do right. The
grace that would elevate you to the
seventh heaven might. not keep your
brother from knocking man down. I
had friend who came to me and said.
Il dare not join the church" | said,
WHY "Oh," he said. Il have such a
violent temper. Yesterday morning /