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HomeMy WebLinkAboutExeter Times, 1896-5-14, Page 3THE OHURGH GARDEN. A SEASONABLE SERMON PREACHED laY REV. DR. TALMAGE, A thitnering or God's ravioli, a Place of chore Flowers, Select Fruits anti Thorough irrigation -An en_vitation to Enter. ' Washington, May 3. -As the parka in Washington are abloom with hya- cinths, and the gardens are being made, the simile dominant in this sub- ject is very suggestive and preetical D. Talmage's text was Isaiah 11, To shalt be like a watered gar- den." The Bible is a greet poem. We have in it faultless rhythm, and bold im- agery, anti startling antithesis, and rapturous Lytle, and sweet pastoral, and instructive narrative, and devotional psalm -thought express ed in style more solemn than that of Montgomery, more bold Than that of Milton, more terrible than tbatt of Dante, more natural than that of Wordsworth, more impassionat- e1 than that of Pollock, raore ten- der than that of Cowper, more weird than that of Spenser. This great poem brings all the gems Of the eaetli into its corouet, and it weaves the flame of judgment into its garlande, and pours eternal haiN: monies in RS rhythm. Everytbing thie hook touches it makes beautiful, from the plain stones of the sum- mer alarasbing floor to the daughters of Nabor filling the trough for the cemels, from the fish pools of Resin bon up to the psalmist praising God with the diapason of storm and whirl- wind andjob's imagery of Orion, Arc- turus and. the Pleiades. IVIx text leads up into ascene of sum- mer redolence. The world haa had a great many beautiful gardens. Char- lemagne added to the glory of his reign by decreeing that they be estab- lished all through the realm, decid- ing even the names of the flowers to be planted there. Henry IV., at Mont- pellier, esto-blished gardens of bewitch- ing beauty and luxtulance, gathering into them Alpine, P,yreneen and French plants, One of the sweetest spots on earth was the garden of Shenstone, the poet. His writings have made but THE EXETER TIMES hilr down. Do you think I ought to join the church -I Nevertheless, that yen' same man, who was so rash in ins behavior. loved Christ and could not epeak of sacred things without tears of emotion and affection. Thorns without sweetness within- the best spe.cimeti of the Mexican cactus 1 ever eaw. There are others planted, in Christ's garden who are always radiant, al- ways impre.ssive, more like the roses of deep hue that we occa.sionally find called "Giants of Battle;" the Martin Luthers, St. Pa,u1s, Chrysostoms, Wyclifs, Letimers and Samuel Ruther- fords. What in other inert is a spark in them is a, cemflagration. When they sweat, they sweat great drops of blood, When they pray, their prayer takes fire. When they preacb, it is a Penti- cost. When they fight, it is -a Ther- mopylae. When they die, it is a martyrdom. You find a great many roses ea the gareens, but only a few "Giants of Battle," Men say, "Why don't you have mare of them in the ehurch?" I say, "Why don't you have in the world sonae Humboldts and Wel- lingtons?" God gives to same ten talents; to another, one. In this garden of the aura, which Christ ha .s planted. I also find the snow -drops, beautiful but cold look- ing, seemingly another phase of winter. I mean those Christianwho are pre- cise in their tastes, unimpassioned, pure as snowdrops and as cold. They never shed any tears, they never get excited, they never say any thing rashly, they never do anythiug pre- cipita,tely. Their pulses never flutter, their nerves never twitch, their in- dignation never boils over. They live longer than most people, but. their life is in a minor key. They never run up to C above the staff. In tbeir music of life they have no staccato passages Christ planted them in the church and they must •be of some service, or they would not be there. Snowdrops, always snowdrops. But I nave not told you of the most beautiful flower of all this garden spoken of in the text. If you see a cAlittlrY Plant, ndatin emotions are start- ed. You ease 'Why this flower has been 100 years gathering up for one bloom, and it will be 100 yeaxs more before other petals will come out." But 1 bave to Tell you of a plant that was gathering up from all eternity, and that 1,900 years ago put forth its bloom never to wither. It is the pas - elm plant of the, orossl Prophets foretold it. Bethlehem sbepberds look- ed upon it in tbe bud, the rocks shook at its bursting, and the dead got up in their winding eheets to see its full bloom. It is a crimson flower -blood at the Toots, blood en the branches, blood on all the leaves. Its perfume is th fill all the, nations. Its breath is heaven. Come, 0 winds, from the north and winds from the south, and winds from tbe east, and winds from the we.st, and bear to all the earth the sweet smelling savor of Christ, my Lord 1 His worth if all the nations knew, Sure the whole earth would. love Him little impression on the world. but his garden. 'The Leasowes," will be im- mortal. To the natural. advantage 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 csrowning.. Oak and yew and. hazel put forth tbete ricbest foliage. There was Mg life raore diligent, no soul more in- genious, tban that of Shenstone, and all that diligence and genius be brought to the enerament of that one treasured spot. lie gave 4300 for it; he sold it. for £17,000. And yet I am to tell you to -day of a richer garden than any bave mentioned. It is the garden spok- en of in my text, the garden of the ebursh, wbieh belongs to Christ. He bought it, Ile planted. it. He owns it, and ale shall have it, Walter Scott, in his outlay at Abbotsford, ruined his fortune, and now,. in the crimson flow - of those gardens, you can almost think or imagine that you see the blood of that old man's broken heart. The payment of the last 4100,000 sacrificed him. But I have to tell you that Christ's life and Christ's death were the outlay of this beautiful garden . the clench of which my textspeaks. Ole /sow many eighs and tears and Pangs and agonies I Tell me, ye wo- men who saw Ibm hang! Tell rae, ye executioners who lifted Him and let Hina &rani Tell me, thou sun that didst hide, ye rocks that fell! Christ love4 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, tben, 0 blessed Jesus, to -day; walk up and .down these &isles and pluck what Thou wilt of sweetness for Thyself. The church, in my text,. IS appro- priately compared to a garden because it is the place of choice flowers, of :elect fruits and of thorough irriga- tion. That would be a strange garden in which there were no flowers. If nowhere else, they would be along the boaters or at the gateway. The home- liest taste will dictate something if it be.. only the old-fnehioned hollyhock or dahlia or daffodil, but if there be larger means then yoa 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 flowered upon the world. Some of them are violets, inconspieuous,.. but sweet as heaven. You ,,have to search and find theme' Yon do not see them very often perhaps, but you find where they have been by the brightened face of the invalid and the spring of gerani- um an the stand and the new window curtains keeping out the ,glare of the sunlight. They are perhaps more like the ranunculus, creeping sweetly along amid the throns and briers of life, giving kiss for sting, and many a men who has had in his way some geeat black rock of trouble has found that sehey bave covered it all over with ilowery jasmine, running in and out amid the thorns and briers of life, Christ's garden are not, like the sun- flower, gaudy in the light, but wher- ever darkness hovers over a soul that needs to be comforted there they stand night blooming oereuses. But in Chriet's garden there are plants that may be better compared to the Mexican caetus-thorns without, loveliness within, m.en with, sharp points of character. They would al- most every one that touches them. They are hard to handle. Men pro- nounce them nothing but thorns, but Christ loves them notwithittanding all their sharpnesses. Many a man has had a very hard ground to cultivate, and it has even been through severe trial he has raised even the smallest crop of grace. A very harsh minister . was talking to a very placid elder, - and the placid elder said to the harsb minister, "Doctor, I do wish you would control your texaper." "Ah," said the minister to the elder, "I control more temper in, five matinee than you do in five years." It is harder for some men to do right than for other raeia to do right. The grace that would elevate you to the seventh heaven might not keep you* brother from knocking a man down. 1 had a friend who came to me and said, "1 dere not join the church," I said, "Why II" "Oh," he said, "I have such a violent temper I Yesterday rnorniug I was crossing very early at the Jersey City ferry, and I saw a milkman pour a large quantity of water into the inilk can, and 1 mid to him "I think that twill lo," and he Limited me, and 1 knocked That/ is like the •oleura. The church is a garden in the midst of a great des- ert, of sin and suffering, but it is well irrigated, for "our eyes are tinto the hills from whence cometh our help." Front *the mountains of God's strength Mere flow down rivers of endues% " There is a river tee etreem whereof shall make glad theoity of God." Preaching the gospel is one of the acme - ducts. The .Bible is another. Baptism and the Lord's supper are aqueducts. Water to slake the thir' st, water to wasla the unclean, water tossed high up in tbe light of the Sun of Right- eousness, showing; us thtu rainbow around the throne. Oh, was there ever a garden so thoroughly irrigated I You, know that the beauty of Versailles and Chateworth depends very much upon the great supply of wa,tex. 1 came to the latter place, Chatsworth one day when strangers are not to be admitted, but by an Inducement which always seemed as potent with an Englishman as an American, I got in, and then the gardener went fax up above the stairs •of stone and. turned on the water I saw it gleaming on the dry pavement: comixig down from step to step until it came so near I could hear the musical rush, and all over the high broad stairs it came, foaraban, flashing, roaring down, until sunlight and wave in glee- some wrestle tumbled at my feet, So it, is with the church of God. Every- thing comes from above -pardon from above, joy from above, adoption from above, sanctification from above. Hark! I hear the latch of the gar- den gate, and I lotuk to see who is com- ing. I hear the voice of Christ, "I am come jet° my garden." I say: "Come in, 0 Jesus! We have been waiting* for Thee. Walk all tbrough the paths. Look at tbe flowers, look at the fruit' pluck thot which. Thou wilt for Thyself." Jes- us comes into the garden, and up to that old man and touches him and says: Almost home, father; not many more achis for thee. I will never leave thee; take courane a little longer, and I will steady thy tottering steps, and I will soothe thy troubles and give thee re.st. Courage, old ream." Then ()lariat noes up another garden path, and He comes to a soul in trouble and says: "Pence 1 All is. well. I have seen thy tears; I bave heard thy prayer. The sun shall not smite tbee by day nor the moon by night. The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil; Be will preserve thy soul. Courage, 0 troubled. spirit 1" too. Again the chunal may be appro- priately compared to a garden because it is a place of fruits. That would be a strange garden which had in if no berries, no plu.ms, or peaches or apri- cots. The coarser fruits are pla,nted in the orchard or they are set out in the sunny hillside, but the choicest fruits are kept in the garden. So, in the world outside the church, Cbrist. has planted a great many beautiful things - patience, charity, generosity, integrity -but He intend iu the choicest fruits to be in the garden, and, if they are not there, then shame on the ahureh. Religion is not a mere sentimen- tality. It is a practical life, life-givbag healthful fruit -not posies, but apples "Ob," says somebody, "1 don't see what your garden of the ohurch has yielded." In reply I ask. Where did your asylumns come from, and your hospitals, and your institutions of mercy? Christ planted every one of them; He planted them in His garden When Christ gave sight to Bar- tiraeus, Be laid the cornerstone to every blind asylum that has ever been built, When Christ soothed the de- moniac of Glilee, He laid the eorner- stone of every lunatic asylum that bas ever been established. When Christ said to the sick man, "Take up thy bed and walk," He laid. the cor- nerstone of every hospital the world has ever seen. Wbert Christ said, "I was in prison and ye visited me," Ile laid the cornerstone of every prison reform association that has ever been organized. The church of Christ is a glorious gardennnd it is full of fruit. I know there is some poor fruit in it. know there are some weeds that ought to be thrown over the fence, I know tbere are some crab apple trees that aught to be cut down. know there are some wild grapes that ought to be upeooted. But are you going to de- stroy the whole garden because of a little gnarled fruit? You will find worm eaten leaves in Fontainbleau, and insects that sting in the fairy groves of the Champs Elysees. You do not tear down and destroy the whole garden because there are a few speci- mens of gnarled fruit. I admit there are men and women in the church wilo ought not to be there, but let us be just as frank and admit the fact that, there are hundreds and thou- sands: and tens of thousands of glo- rious Christian men and women -holy, blessed,useful, conseerated and trium- phant. There is no grander, nobler collection in all the earth than the collection of Christians. There are Christian men and women in this house whose religion is not a matter of psalm singingand church going. To -morrow morning that relig- ion will keep them just as consistent and consecrated in their worldly occu- pation as it ever kept them at the communion table. There are women here to -day of a higher type of charac- ter than Mary of Bethany.They not only sit at the feet of Christ, but they go out into the kitcben to help 111,artha, too. There is a WOMall who has a drunken husba,nd who has exhibited more faith and patience and courage than Ridley in the fire. He was con- sumed in twenty minntes. Reis has been a twenty years' martyrdom. Yon- der is a mart who has been fifteen years on his back, unable to feed himself, yet cairn and peaceful as though he Jay on one of the green banks of heaven watching the oansmeau dip their paddles in the crystal river. Why, it seems to me this moment as if St, Paul threw to us a pemologist's catalogue of the fruits growing in this great garden of Christ - love, joy, peaoe, patience; charity, brotherly kindness, gentleness, mercy -glorious fruit enough to fill all the baskets op earth and heaven. • Agein the alturch in my text is ap- propriately called a garden because it is thoraaghly irrigated. No garden could prosper long -without plenty of water. I have seen a ,garden in the midst of a desert, yet blooming and luxuriant. .A.11 around us were dearth and barrenness, but there were pipes, aqueducts, reaching from this garden up to the mountains, and through those .aqueducts the water came •streaming dawn and tossing up into beautiful fountains, until every root and leaf an. flower •was saturated. Her bell. tolls. The planke thunder back in the gangway. She talaovee off. She floats out toward the great ocean of eternity. Wave farewell to your last chance for heaven. "Oh, Jerusa- lem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thee as a hoe gathered her brood under bar wings, a,nct ye would not! Behold. your house is Loft unto you. desolate!" Invited to revel in a garden you. die ,ia a desert! Mcy God Al- mighty before it is to late, break that infatuation. THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. 11.4, INTERNATIONAL LESSON, MAY V. ",erasable or tbe Pounds." Luke in Ines. Gowen Text, Luke 1640, 16. Tbe first. "The reports of three only are givere that being enough to exbibit the whole method and spirit of the trial."- Bliss. Thy pound bath gained ten pounds. Literally, "Rath earned in addition." as tbough he de- served no credit for cendueting the financial plan. But what a splendid Percentage of profit was ibis! Our business is to make our single pound go the farthest possible, and to work the. best results.. It has been profound- ly saki by Dr. Jac.ohus that tile great man in Cbriet's service is not the man of ten talents, but the man whose one talent has gained ten. Notice, also, that it is"Ihy pound." It is God's grace working in us that accomplishes good ABOUT THE lIATABELES, 'rim INTERESTING HOME 0 WARRIOR PEOPLE. M.O. Curious Facts About an 014 South Artelean rribe-Ilow the etatatties Settled In the country They OeCUPY*11, neautiful. and Fertile country. Of the many savage noes existing on tbe faoe of the eartb, none have of late aroused SO 1011Ch interest in the DISCOVERIES I LABRADOR. The !foramen, wart 01 tite Suipposen Peninsula is 0 Great. Jelafld The existence Of cuee a the, greatest known deposits of iron are and the fat that the Iaxgest poltion of the suppos- ed Labrador peninsula is in reality an island are among the latest discoveries of Mr. A. P. Low of the Dominion Geo- logical Survey. These exploretiOna were made in June, July, Augusts and September, 1805, in that part of minds of English speaking peoples en central Labrador in which the rivers among men. the atabeles, a race living in South Peribonca, Ontario. M.aniconagan, and. M 17. Faithful in a very little. See eerie,' whose sudden uprising the the Big River of liudsoa Bay take their Luktu 12. 48; 16..10. nave thou author- ity was over ten cities. "Authority"other day caused a momentary panic over and in one of the rapids of the Mani- a city would, of course, include its re - and a certain loss of life in tb.eir venra ue as well as its rulership. Here, ediate neighborbood. ThismacemaKan one of Mr. Low's eanonne GENERAL STATEMENT,n babits what is known as Matabeleland, was drowned, and neither the canoe no tbe body of the Indian was seen again. Jesus is journeying toward the final ea' again, our Lord was repeating histori- reiwafra(cite,a fol3•IsArliabiethurat.fit onadiVereurtsturny a country situated on a high plateau acts of his life at Jeru.salem. He is 31aniconagan River was *amid- aseigning to theta the govern- in South Africa, between the Zarabe,si passing out of the city of Jericho, where mein: of eities. But what a rich and the Limpopo rivers. Their count- ed for Lak 3,1000nenesa from rhlais mon.ncc itth, to as he bas given sight to Bartimeus and reclined as a, guest at the table of Zee- faeoT."arititu was e ptuegtectv try J. bounded on the north by the found em iblegfor. a loneg distanrewto Addle Portugese Bast Af- follow the stream, on account of ita cheus. An' eager naultatade throngs ten cities. Our reward as ,Christiane rica lies to tbe east of it. It is servant buy earned them. he receives Zambesi, jest -rapid character and tbe high, rocky tanks,. whien preclude portaging. For about him, expecting the instant es- will be relatively as great; for to each north es the Tranavaai, and forni over six miles the river descends be- establibsment of the Messianic kingdom, 01 181 e'cl.15" 43e,Prenuse: "Ye sball alge part of the large expanse of territory teveea almost vertical walls in a con - with honors and offices for all Christ's reign witb e. followers. He aloite of all that company knows bow soon the hosannas will be turned. into curses, Within ten days will come the agony of Gethsemane, the crown of thorns, and a deat/a of auntie, Ceuturies must pass before his kingdom, with its weapon, not car- nal, but spiritual, will conquer the hearts of the world. To open the dull eyes of bis disciples be relates this parable, the imagery would be pecu- liarly suggestive to the oriental mind. Then I see Jesus going up another garden path, and I see great excite- ment among thrn leaves, and I hasten up that garden path to see what Jesus is doing there, and lol He is breaking off flowers, sharp and clean from Lbe stem, and I sea, "Stop, Jesus; don't kill those beautiful flowers." Ile turns to me and says, "I have come into my garden to gather lilies, and I mean to take these up to a higher terrace, for the garden Around my palace, and there I will plant them, and in better soil and in better air they -shall put forth brighter leaves and sweeter redo- lence, and no frost shall touch them for- ever," And I looked up:into His fate and said; "Well, it is His garden, and He has a night to do what Ile will with it. Thy will be none "-the, hardest pranex mai ever made. It has seemed as if Jesus Christ took the beet. From many of your house- holds the beet one is gone. You know that she was too good for this world; she was the gentlest in her ways, the deepest in her affections, and when at last the sickness came you had no faith in ineelicines. You knew that the hour of parting had come, and when, through the Inch grace of the Lord. Jesus Christ, you surrendered that treasure you said: "Lord Jesus, take it. It is the best we have; take A. Thou art worthy 1" The others in the household may iaave been of grosser naold. She was of the finest. The heaven of your little ones will not be fairly begun until you get there. All the kindness shown them by immortals will not make them for- get you. There they are, the radirint throngs that went out from your bomes. I throw a. kiss to the sweet darlings. They are all well now in the palace. The erippled child has a sound foot now. A little lame child sena "Ma, will I be lame in heaven?" "No, my darling; you won't be lame in heaven." A little sick child says "Ma, will I be sick in heaven?" "No, my deer; you won't be sick in heaven." A little blind. child says, "Ma, will I be blind in heaven?" 'No, my dear; you won't be blind. in beaven. They are all well there." I notice that the fine gardens some- times have high fences around them and yoa cannot get in. It is so with a king's garden. The only glimpse you ever get of such a garden is when the king rides out in Inc splendid carriage. 14 18 not so with this garden, this King's garden. I throw wide open the gate and tell you. all to come m. 1 mo- nopoly in religion. 'Whosoever will, may. Choose now between a desert and a garden. Many of you have trietl the garden of thie world's delight. You have, ,found it has been a chagrin. So it was with Theodore Hook. He made all the world laugh. He makes us laugh now when we read his poems, but he could not make his own heart laugh. While in the midst of his fes- tivities he confronted a looking glass, and. he saw -himself and said: "There, that is true! I look just as I am -dons up in body, mind and purse." So it was of Shenstone, whose garden I told you at the beginning of my ser- mon. He eat down amid those bowers and said: "1 bave lost my road to happiness. I am angry and envious and frantic and despise everything =Trend me, just as it becomes a mad- man to do." - 0 ye weary souls, come into Christ's garden to -day and pluck a little hearts- ease. Christ is the only rest and the only pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do you not tbink your chance has almost come? You men and women who have been waiting year after year for some good. opportunity hi which to accept Christ, but have postponed. it 5, 10, 20, 30 years, do you not feel as if now your hour of ,deliveranee and pardon and salvation fias come? 0 man, what grudge bast thou against thy poor soul that thou wilt not let it be saved? I feel as if salvation must come to -day in some of your hearts. Some years ago a vessel struck on the rocks. They bad only one life boat. In that life boat the passengers and crew svern getting ashore. The ve,ssel bad foundered and was sinking deeper and deeper, and that one boat -could n.ot take the passengers very swiftly. A little girl stood on the deck waiting for her turn th get into the boat. The boat came and went, came and went, but her turn did not seem to come. After awhile she could wait no longer, and she' leaped on the taff- rail and then sprang into the sea, or to the boatman: "Save me next: Save me nextl" .0h, how many have gone ashore into God's mercy, and, yet you axe clinging to the wreck of sin! Others have accepted. the pardon. of Christ, but you are in peril. Why not this moment make a rush for your im- mortal rescu.e, crying until Jesus shall bear you. and laneven and eerth ring with the cry: "Save me nextl Save me next!" Now is the day 01 salvation! Now! Now! • Thie Sabbath is the last for some of you. It is about to sail away forever. PRACTICAL NOTES. Verse 11. And as they beard these things, he added and spake a parable. This phrase shows the close conneetion of this story wit b the incident which had preceded. it -the salvation of Zac- cbeue. "They" means the multitude; "these things" means the conversation an the chief publican's house. Because he was nigh to Jerusalem. Only twenty miles or so from the holy city; only ten days or so from the agony in the garden the crown of thorns, and the cross. Because they thought that the kingdom of God should immediate- ly appear. By the term "kingdom of God" people generally understood the restoration of national independence under a God-ordeined king. Galileans and. Judeans alike were eager fax libera- tion from the bondage of Rome. To seeure this. they believed, was the mission of the Messiah; and it was well-nigh impossible for them to recog- nize tha.t this great prophet and won- der -worker had in any sense "come from God," without pouring forth romantic, enthusiasm in mad endeavor to make him kiug. So now we have three ea -uses or reasons for the telling of this story: 1. The, incident of Zoe- cheus ; 2. The coming events at Jer- usalem; 9. T.he 'misconception of tbe populace. 12. This parable, tbough at some points resembling the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25, 14-30), differs in its audience, circuanstanc,es, and applica- tion. It contains thre.e "sets of les- sons:" 1. That differeut degrees of zeal and industry for God's Jaw bave dif- ferent degrees of reward; 2. That eter- nal loss and shame is the portion of God's slothful and unfaithful servants; 3. That the doora of God's enemies is immeasurably more terrible. A cer- tain nobleman went into a fax coun- try to receive for aimself a kingdom, a.nd rtuturn. As our Lord spoke he stood under the shadow of a splendid palace his talents the more talents are in- built by Archelaus, the wicked son of Herod the Greet.; and a beautiful fresh force comes into this parable when we recall that Herod the Great and Arche- taus had different times left this very city of Jericho to woes. the ecu to a fax country and receive from Caesar a kingdom. That by the nobleman our Lord typified. himself, by the kingdom 1a, 19. Thy pound bath rained five pounds. Each man had re.cedved the t same sum to invest, and tins man had done just OOP. half as well as the first ' servant; he therefore gets one half of the first servnata reward, five cities; and the king who enthusiastieally sem "Well, thou good servant" to the first, , mere y announces secand. Marthew Henry quaintly oh - serves tha..t we ne.re learn that in heav- en every vessel will be alike full het not alike large, and glory there svill be in degree according to usefulness: here. 20t 21. And another came. Re.pre- senting a, third class of servants. :First the heroes are described, second the faithful eervatate, and thied the legal Claristiens who have. not tasted grace and bave. no zeal to work for the Masien I feaxed thee. And therefore he del not love him. 1 John 4. 18. An austere man. Hard and unjust. Thou takest up that thou layetlet not down. A course of :action flagrantly uniuste and dietinetly forbidden by both 3ew- isla anti Greek laws, Tbis servant de- ntin that tile master le his master. 22. Out of thine own mouth will judge thee. As if he said; Your claims are not just and your assertions are not true, hut I will prove that you are inconsistent even with them. Thou vvicked servant. But. a servant, and neither diseharged from eervice nor pumsbed like an enemy. Thou • k.newest I 'was austere man. This does not, however, int I mat e t he noblema,n was austere; he ie simply using the vvords of the servant inter- rogatively. 23. Wherefore then gayest not thou my money into the lank. There is no man in all this world doomed to inac- tivity and uselessness; there is some opportunity to use -bis talent offered. to the humblest and obscurest. I might have required mine own with usury. naight have drawn my money, together with the interest upon it. Legal interest under the Romans stood at eight per cent.; but in usurious transactions Jewis h bankers some - tunes loaned it as high as even forty- eight. 24. T.hera that sine/. by. "Not the other servants, but the guards."- Lange. Take from him the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds. Here there is nothing of darkness, or gnashing of teeth, or slaying, such as was the pnnishment of the iiing's en- emies; it is simply deprivation. in- stead of ten eities,this poor servant. is deprived of the single pound he had. And what an eternity of lass does this prefigurel Mental endowment, time, spiritual power -none of them bring may gain unless utilized, and all are ltnt. by negleet. (live it to him that hatb ten pounds. The more one uses trusted to him. Tbis is so in every sphere of life. "The kingdom of God. shall be taken from you, and given to the nation bringing forth the fruits thereof." 25. They said unto him, Lord, he bath ten pounds. !This may be part of tbe story, and. refer to the noble - maxis counselors, who thus exprese his dominion over heeres, and be Inc their surprise at his decision; or it servants all souls that are morally en- may bave been an interruption on the dowed and responsible, we raay read- part of some of our Lord's hearers. ily perceive. 26. This maxim, that unto every one 13. His ten servants. Better "ten which bath (who uses what he has) servants of las. Such a noble in those : shell be given, etc., is frequently re- deye would have an enormous number ! peated by our Lord. He uses it ha of slaves. Ten pounds. One to each ser- . the parable of the sower, and in that vant. In nominal value t he pound, cue i of the talents. It is a law which pre - mina, was worth from seventeen to . vails everywhere in human smiety,and, nineteen dollars. These were very I indeed, througbout. nature. The careful small sums for such a ;lanai noble to I use of any faculty increases: its power invest; but many a amen in Roman I -as the sailor's vision, the athlete's 1 days was rich in slaves but poor in mon- strength, the artist's skill, the mis- ey. Besides, it is possible that our Lord. sionary's power. The horizon widens as was hinting at the poverty and hum- we climb. If you do not claim your illation of Inc own life. Archelaus,when ' propexty in real estate for a certain he went to Rome, left money in charge of a number of his servants, and one of them, named Philippus, was especially intrusted with large sums. Occupy till number 01 years you lose it; if you do not exercise your arm it loses its pow- er. And. so there is a kind of compound interest in the world of morals. The I come. Rather, negotiate, trade. See disuse of opportunity brings less oppor- 1 Peter 4. 10. In England a pe.ddler tunny; its use, greater. used to be called aix "occupier." The 27. But those mine enemies. Up to purpose of the nobleman's action was this point the, king has been judging to test his servants, -to try their cap- the unfaithful servant; he now turns acity and disposition, so that, when he returned to his king- dom they should be given fitting offices in his administration. 14. His citizens lusted him. As the steag goes on its incidents t become more and more familiar to our Lord's hea,rers. The "citizens" of Eferod the Great, of Arehelaus, of Herod Antipas, and of Pilate with equal asperity hated their rulers. And espe,oially the citi- rens who hated Archelaus sent not only a message bat messeogers after hira- a hostile delegation to argue before the emperor against his claims. There may have been some present who un- derstood something of the bitterness against +-Theist of the Pharisees and to those who had opposed his claim to the kingdom. Everyone familiar with the story of Archelaus in Josephus knows thet his punishment of his op- posers was severe and prompt. Slay them before me. It does not do to make up a fresh tenet in theology upon every little feature of a parable, for many such were doubtless introduced for the sake of picturesqueness; but it is not going too far to say that the -wrath of this king, described in these four words, is also in harmony with the law which prevails both in the natur- al and the spiritual world. Not that God has any vindictiveness, but that "those who will not bave him to reign over them are deliberately shutting love priestly authorities, by whose design out of their hearts, and, having shut Oa° orucifixion was presently brought love out, they will ultimately them - about. Sent a message after him. The selves be shut out from love." -Plump - embassy. of the Sews to ple.ad against Arohelaus befare Caesar numlaerecl fif- ty, and they were met on their arrival at Rome by eight thousand Jews. The deeper meaning of this passage may be that the Jews despised Jesus fax the meanness of his birthnind his tmworld- Ire. "Except ye believe that tam He, ye shall die in your sins." GLASS FOR BEARINGS. Should not something more be done liness, and that already the shadow of than is being clone experimentally if his rejeotion was creeping over the not practically, in Le use of glass for Saviour's soul. Already they were be - orybearings? Some experts speak highly of . "Wwill not b,a,va this ginning to e Man to reign over us." • And yet if it for wood,working machi-aery. It is Jesus had onlY Promised toestablish a* said to require less care t,han any oth- er material, running with little oil and keeping cool. In methods of shaping and eutthag glass such advances have beet made that it should be now a cora- which he eslred for, but the coveted paranvely simple matter to adapt it bile of lung was 'refused htm. Re com- mended. these servants to be called un- to him. It is easy to picture this scene dramatically. "We must all be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ." That he might know bow might beca.11ed, eould probably be em - much every man had gained bsr trad- played with great satisfaction. Glass ing. "Give an account of thy stew- would probably be better adapted to ardship." • high speeds than to heavy leads. secular kmgdem, and expel the ROMallS• thO people would. gladly have made him king. , 15. Having received the kingdom. Arcbelaus received the government general use. Glass sleeves c,ould, of course, 'Ise easily furnished, perfectly true, both inside and out; and there are nunaerous places 'wheee such sleeves, bushes, • thimbles or whatever they belonging to the chartered company of Britisia South Africa. They were at first much further The expedition discovered that the are at present. Be, main arewn at the Maniconagan is the taaerigichdtchaarigmeasot on nthteho Wt4dre. south than they attackedxnit inageyNs.e4. foivbeyd other rtifelb:un, irtovrery 1vheery, s°gree of north latitude. Its northern tiouous Ite.avy rapid. The first portage of a mile and a ball bas a rise of over 6000 feet,. had chosen fax themselves. Mosele- katse, wily was a great warrior, had escaped from Zululand when a young man, and gathered around him a num, ber of followers, all brave and bardy adventurers, ready to risk anything, deelia,rge, which Is of about the .Saille vollinie, enters into the first of a num- ber of long narrow lakes that are fi.nal- ly drained into Lake Caniapecow, and so reaela the .Kotsoak or Ungave River, that disebarges into Ungava Bay, arid that, togetber wittt tbeMunieoxiagau and its connecting waters cuts off With these he conquered the country the whole northwestern part of Labra - now occupied by the Boers of the dor and the northeast territory. and Transvaal, who, on their trip north. 11.1,0,arrrndsoift15iiaiLiooviacin unxislaendmicieosn.tainieg up- waru o g maxi, a zierse both the Matabeles and tbe Zulus. Many a bkxely massacre is on record 18 whicia these two tribes took a band. The Boers, however, eventually proved THE BETTER MEN, and forced the Mataleles to the far- ther north, where they gathered around the epee berm borders of the Zambesi, settling south of Maelionalaiiii. Moseleketse died in 1870, and after bis death there was an interregnum for some time of his eldest son, Kuruman, having fled from the kingdom teem( In the centee watershed, where the Maniconagan, the Caniapscow, the On - tardy, tbe Peribonca, and the Big River Lake their sources, the hills rise above the tree line. and tbe country is a bar- ren waste. In the Maniconagan River yaliey, on tne other hand, below Lake Moneltalagan, mato- large trees at white erne* are fouad, which would make excellent timber. Leke Monchalagan is over forty miles long, and is remarkable for its greet dept b of water. Soratt soundings cif 630 feet have been taken in it, making it at least 200 feet deeper than any pre- viously known lake in Labrador. Below this lake the Maniconagan tens, lefore his father's death. He had Rivers flow in a deep, anetent valley aroused the wrath of the latter by ao. Lira a quarter of a mile to two mina -dons which had been constracted into wide, oath steep, rocky walls rising rebellion. Nobody knew where he from 500 to 1,5011 feet above the water, was, or whether he was alive or dead, read Usually flanked Ninth high terraces but his brother, Lemingole, ens very 0,f :gratified sands, grayel, and clay, careful not to seize upon the throne, ',toward its mouth the river is broken bv a number of falls and elautes, where lest Huruman should some day return the ehannel narrows. greatly and the to wreak vengeance upon bini for the, Warp:alone So the country was for large volume of water pours in a swirl - some time. ruled over by the wisest eil,,,rrarock,,10,,,,,z,Ini,k...a.437.d. bextrefelienmpe. reports, and best of the cbiefs who bad served late king, the virtual regent however, that none of its canons team - under the Kurnman's absence being a warrior pare with those of the Koksoak and, called taralegn. Lopingole at last got litunheilttnienpil.rslivwerso. tired of for ins brother to res r f iron ore reported by ltouNrnvers, aniatel hdaeLparmg In.atriltriwngmfakorceehohnsf lt oMfThu.1„.tattetrtisrdebe,,,tisnedeTialtacheonhaegaacin srviavteerrss. king. A terrific battle ensued bee 18 oTflwquearret z,°cfeetilsrpas aantignageissnectoimtepo; saslided tween the two forcesan which tniabego and most of his retainers svere sia.m, taceording to the proportion of raegne- and Lopingole assumed the sovereignty, tite present grades from ferruginous Ever SUMe then the annabeles have gneiss into am almost pine iron ore of high grade. This bed, m great thiek- been a senate of great annoyance to can be traced along the strike of the Boers. who never knew just when the reeks for upward of thirty miles. they were safe from the depredations of this w-arlike people. land there is an marcense mountain of The country of the ala,tabeis les at alniost pure metal, called by the In- times • (lions the "shining mountaan," be- cause of the glistening of the ore faces SINGULARLY BEAUTIFUL. in the :sun, when. they present a most It is well drained by the Zambesi. In,- dazzling appearance. The provincial yeti and other rivers. Tile lnyati river Government is expected at once to send runs right through the centre ef thie mining experts to report upon the de - district. There is never winter in Mee ' poen, but little can be done toward de- tabelelanti, and no rain fax nine atoning veloping it until a railway is built to it. of the year. Owing to the high aide s. tude t he clinnt e is never sultry ANTITOXINE FOR SNAKE -BITES. through the dry. season, and the rivers, whieh overflew in the time of the rains, always manage to keep part of tbor An 1:"4413`4° PhYsillwa 8ue"g("45 a New beautiful supply of water for the days Treatment tor the cure or Foisonous when there is no rain. It is a very suaheotites. fertile country, arid vegetation grows in India tens of thousands of natives with surprising regularity. It is much more settled now than m the daye of annually lose their lives by the deadly Moselekatse, but it is yet a forest couns bites of poisonous serpents with whien try. In feet, it is all forest, except in the jungles swarm. The Government open spaces around the forts that have nits sought in vain for an infallible, been built hy the Boers throughout it, and around the native villages, where cure fax enake-bite, and offers of large clear ground is man:eery for cultivas. sums of money have heretofore failed tion. In the days of the great king to produce one. all sons el animals roamed through Recently an English physician, Prof. the heavy jungles, the lion, the giraffe, Fraser. hire announced that he has dis- the zebra, the buffalo, the thin:teems. the elephant. the koetle, and 1 he eland, covered one. It is merely the adapta- but the advance of the white man tion of anthoxine treatment to another and civilization has gradually driven malady tuonsequ.ent upon blood -poison - these into the interior. ing. The real difficulty, the London traveller writes of a tree which Graffie suggests, lies in. a different di - he found in the Matabele forest while rection; How could the Indian pope - visiting the country during the seven -e Itstion be influenced to submit to ino- ties. It lied this peculiarity that,even, culation with "tartivenene," even if during the dry season, water trickles • its efficacy as an antidote to snake from it down the trunk, and raoistens poison were conclusively demonstrat- continually the ground around it. The trees in this region are mostly of the thorn species. This same traveller writes of ' THE PEOPLE THEMSELVES as being brave,intelligent and heel- eni able. If he s still alive he will by this time, have, in all probability, changed his mind in regard to their hospitality. They are certainly brave enough and very waxlike, but their revelling charact'eristic seems to isa treachery. They diffee widely in appearance from what is generally meant by negro. In fact, it is said that many of them, both male and fe- male, are very handsome, some of the women have 'narked cbaracteristics of a Greek profile. They do not bother themselves very much about dress, a loin oloth being sufficient for ordinaey occasions. In common with other savage tribes, they are fond. of ornaments, and take an eepe.,oial de- light in decorations of beadework. By nature they are pastoral as well as , warlike, and look after vast herds of • sheep. But the Matabelee do not work theraselves, for they have all their la.. bor done by slaves, of whom they have a great number. lt is an interesting fast to note that years ago, wails in the height of their power, the Matabeles had an ahnoet superstitious feeling that the day would ! come when the white man would sue persede them, and deprive them of their strength and influence, that the Eng, lish would eventually take their c%011:11i- try from them. History h,as juste- fied this pre,monitio,n, though there est yet power let in this warrior mac. EXPLAINED AT LAST. The oldest of the Seven Sleepers stir- red uneasily, Ile axose and went to the mouth of the cave and. looked oat. Rause ye 1 he called exultantly to his soratailerit brethren; the sermon is aver I 0 wind, if winter comes, can spring be fax behind f-Slielley. ed? There are two distinct obstacles standing in the way; while fatalism makes the Asiatic fax more careless and even reckless in taking care of his health than the average European is, tbe Ilindoes would be sure to imagine that • the treattneet concealed some -trick for converting them to Christian- ity. The vast majority svould mueh pre- fer to stand the chance of cobra bates, to risking caste on no better security* than the Sahib's glowing talk. But be- fore matters come to that ahoaost in- evitable impasse it will be in.caxmbent on believers in "antivenene" to ascer- tain whether it is alleged antidotal 01 - fent bas permanent or only temporary endurance. If one operation afforded insurance for the whole of life, inocu- lation during infancy might possibly be enforced by the State !without raising religious tumult. WOMEN DETECTIVES, Some little time ago a famous firra of London solicitors found it necessary, in a case involving large interests, to have some detective work of a cliffioult and delicate nature done in this city, and inetea.d of employine the regular agencies put it in the hands ot an America.n woman of good social stand- ing in private life. • She undertook the task and has been so completely suc- cessful in the performa,nce of it that the firm employing her has not only thanked ber, but sent her °check fora handsome sum. The employment of WO - men of education and position for de- licate cletedWe work has became com- mon in England, but thus fax few wc- men have been an employed on this side. If they go into tbe basinees, how- ever, it is pretty safe to say thth at ey will succeed m it. As late as IMO, 40,000*4frioan slaves were annually transported from the Dark Continent to Cuba.