Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1900-09-13
DIR. TALMAGE'5 SERMON.
SUNDAYS DISCOURSE BY THE NOTED
DIVINE,
Subject: The Garden OF the KIng-Christ
the Founder and Conference.-The Flow
ers and Fruits of Religious Devotion
The Beauty or Right Living.
iCopyrlsht 1900. !

iCopyrlsht lsOUi
WASHINGTON, d. C.-This sermon DR..
Talmage sends from a halting place in
his journey through the valleys Of Switz-
erland. 1t seems TO have been prepared
amid the bloom and aroma of garden
midsummer. The text is Song of Solo
mon V, !, Il am come into my garden
The Bible is great poem. We have in
it fauitess rhythm and bold imagery and
startling anthithcss 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 tnan that of Cowper,
more weird than that of Spenser. This
great poem brings all the gems Of the
earth into it's coronet, and it weaves the
flames of judgment into its garlands and
pours eternal harmonies in its rhythm.
Everything this book touches it makes
beautiful, from the plain stones OF the
summer thrashing floor to the daughters
els; from the fish pools OF Heshbon up to
the psalmlst praising God with diapason
OF storm and whirlwind. and Jobs inn
agery OF Orion, Arcturus and the Peades.
My text leads us into 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
through the realm-deciding even the
names of the flowers to be planted there.
Henry w., at Montpelier, established
gardens of bewitchng 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, The Lcasowes." will be
immortal 70 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 crownng. 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 $500 for it;
he sold it for fl7,O0o. And yet | am to
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 it,
He owns it. and He shall have it.
Walter Scott, in his outlay at Abbots-
ford, ruined his fortune, and now, in the
crimson flowers of those gardens, you can
dHuOSl tHIilh vi ltldRitc lHdl you Ste lHe
blood of tina. old mans broken heart.
The payment of the last El00,000 sacri-
feed him. But / have to tell you that
Christ's love and Christs death were the
outlay of this beautiful garden of the
church, OF which my text speaks. Oh,
how many sighs and tears and pangs and
Him hang! Tell me. ye cxecutioners 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, Ii the garden OF the
church belongs to Christ, certainly He
has right to walk in it. Come, then,
down these aisles. and pluck what Thou
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 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
fashioned hollyhock or dahlia or daffodil.
but il 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 howered upon the world. Some
OF them are violets, nconspicuous, 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
have been bv 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 brers OF lie, giving kiss for sting.
and many II man who has had in his way
some great black rock OF trouble has
found that they have covered it all over
with iowery jasmine running in and out
amid the crevices.
These flowers in Christ's garden are not
like the suntlower, 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, loveliness within; men
with sharp points ot 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 sharpncsses Many man has had
q very, hard ground to cultivate. aud 1t
has only been through severe trial he has
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. | do
wish you would control your temper"
"Ah." said the minister 10 the elder. Il
ccrtrol more temper IN five minutes than
you do in tire years" IL IL harder ior
SOME men to do right than for other men
to do right. The grace that would ele-
vate you To the seventh heaven might not
Keep your brother from knocking man
down | had friend who came To me
and said, II dare not Join the church |
said. Why" oh" he said. II have
such violent temper. Yesterday morn.
ing was crossing very early at the Jersey
City ferry, and | saw mlkman pour a
large quantity Of water into the milk eau.
and | said H. him; i think that will do
aud he insulted me and ! knocked him
down. DO You think | ought to join the
church," Nevertheless that very same
man. who was harsh in his behavior.
loved Christ. a, could not speak of -.
cred things via Il tears ol emotion aud
affection Tho. without. sweetness
within. the best specimen OF Mexican
cactus | ever saw.
There are others planted in thrist's
garden who are always radiant, always
Impressive more like the rose. ol drr,4