Milford chronicle., 1905-02-03
Ca(maoe
Sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talmase, D. D.

Incidental reference to an ancient or
entail marriage custom the preacher Il
this sermon draws lessons applicable
TO modern life. The text is Psalm xiv
8, "All thy garments smell Of myrrl
and alOes and cassia out Of the ivory
palaces"
The marriage bells are Ginning. The
glorious robes of a klngly bridegroom
and of his bride. the daughter Of q
queen. and the garments Of her many
bridesmaids are rustllng. Royal jew
els are flashing. The most skillful Of
musicians are playing. And as the
wedding march sounds forth the mar
riage procession is approaching the
kings throne room over boulevards of
gold. The numberless inhabitants of
the metropolis of the universe, with
Ats walls of jasper and its gates Of
pearl and its palaces Of spOtless ivory,
are making the wellkin ring with halle
luiahs of never ending joy. The ban
quoting house is prepared with the
wedding supper for the coming guests,
for the Divine Bridegroom of my text
is bringing his queenly bride to her
place at his side, over which hangs the
banner that his hands have placed
there, the banner Of love. Never on
earth nor in heaven has been seen and
never shall be witnessed a wedding
procession like unto this. Gorgeous
ness infinite, wealth and power unlim-
tied, splendOr and magnihcence pass
ing all understanding will there be
manifested on every hand.
Earth has beheld some wonderful
wedding pageants. When the present
Emperor William of Germany was
married to the beautiful Princess Au-
gusta Victoria the representatives of
ait the civilized governments Of the
earth were there. Among Berlin's
guests at that time were the king and
queen of SaxOny, the Grand Duke
Alexis of Russia, Crown Prince Ru-
dOlph Of Austria, the crown prince of
Sweden, the present king of England,
the late Duke Of Aosta of Italy and
scores of other nOtables. The young
bridegroom came from POtsdam at the
head Of his gigantic foot guards to
meet his bride. On the day of the GER /
emOny the homes and the stores and /
the public buildings were decorated. |
When the nuptial vows were taken the /
cheers of the people who crowded the |
streets about the royal palaces echoed |
the thirty-six salvOs of artillery which |
thundered the news to the world that |
Prince William and Princess Augusta |
Victoria were one.
When Napoleon III. in 1858 rode to /
the Cathedral of NOtre Dame to be |
united in marriage with Eugenie, the |
most beautiful woman in Europe, the
progress was one continuous ovation.
Seated in the wonderful glass coach
that had been built for the coronation
Of his illustrious uncle, the emperor
passed through long lines of his ell
thusiastic subjects, who rent the air
with their wives. When the young
queen of England became the bride of
Prince Albert in the royal chapel of st.
James nothing that the money, the
wealth and the love of a nation could
do to make the wedding ceremony i'm
pressive and joyous was left undone.
Memorable SDectacIes.
Memorable in the annals of the world
are such spectacles, in which all that
human ingenuity could conceive has
been done to render the nuptials of the
rulers of nations scenes of overwhelm-
ing magniGcence. But the elimination
has yet to come-nOt here. but in that
rrf1 fv, hn 7 f,v,l ,f
Hosts has set his throne. The mar
riage of the Lamb will be the grandest
and most glorious of all unions, when
Christ takes to himself his church,,
which he has redeemed with his pre-
cious blood. "a glorious church. not
having spot or wrinkle or any such
thing. holy and without blemish."
Human imagination fails to conceive
Of spectacle so glorious. Let us in
stead Of dwelling on the marvellous
scene take but one detail of its beauty,
7 he wonderful garments with which
ne Divine Bridegroom is to be robed
4 that glorious occasion. The psalm
ist mentions them in the words Of my
tc:;t They are wedding robes that
J we the aroma of myrrh and aloes
and cassia. Let us try to describe them
and to learn few practical gospel les
sons from them.
The ro~al robes Of the Divine Bride ,
5.rooEi wl.l be the most expensive of
al garments. Costly was the wedding
appare. of Louis NV, which he wore
when he was married to Maria There
ga Of Spain: of Prince Ferdinand when
he stood by the side of his bride Isa-
bella of CASTLE; of the dauphin of
France, who, as Prince Francis mar
ried the beautiful Mary. queen Of
Scots; Of Emperor Nicholas H., who in
1894 gave his heart and hand in mar
riage to the beautiful Princess Alix Of
Hesse; of Napoleon Bonaparte when
in 1910 he welded Marie Louise in the
place of the dethroned and exiled
Josephine. But the robes of the Heav-
enly Bridegroom will surpass all these
in their value. How do we know?
The oriental Imagery of the text .signi-