The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1885-08-20

az the full standard of Christian zeal could
take this whole earth for Christ in ten
years My brother, when are you going
to work, and when am l going to work?
| Ledy ard, the great traveller, had set be-
fore him by geographical society a very
| important work of exploration in Africa,
| and after they had shown him what they
wanted him to do the learned man looked
up in his face and said: "Well, when will
| you start on this expedition" He re-
piled: "To-morrow morning." And when
ask you what are you going to do for
God and Christ and you tell me that you
want to serve him with eagerness and con-
secratlon, ask you when are you going to
start? want you within your soul to say
To-day; this moment; now" Go up into
the mount and fetch palm branches to
build booths.
"But how about the future?" you say.
Oh, you dear souls, do not bother about
that. st. Paul says that you are to be
more than conquerors. Did st. Paul
write that merely for the purpose of say =
ing something poetic and high sounding?
No. 1t means that there Is nothing
between here and Heaven that by the
grace Of God we can not beat. Chow about
Slckness" you say. "More than con-
querors." How about slanderous abuse?''
More than conquerors." How about
poverty" more than conquerors." GLOW
| about death itself?" "More than conquer
ors." "Well," you say, "that seems to
take all trouble away" Why, that is what
l came here for, in Christ's name. want
to gather your troubles i'll great pile and
set them on fire, and ask gales from Heaven
to blow even the ashes away. What is the
use of your fretting and stewing about the
present and about the future when God has
promised to take all your affairs in his
hands and manage them for the very best.
DO you think he can do it? or are you so self
conceIted that you think it will be better
II you take care of your own matters? Do
you want to drive and insist upon God
taking back seat? "No," you say; 81
want the Lord to be my leader and guide. F."
Then you are going to be more than con-
querors. Your last sickness ill come, and
the consulting physicians in the next room
Will be talking about what they had better
do for you. What difference will it make
to you what they do? You are going
to be well anyhow-everlastingly well.
After the breath has gone from the
body your friends in the next room will
be consulting as to where they had better
bury you. What difference will it make to
you where they bury you, for the Lord of
the resurrection would as lief pick you out
OF the dust in one place as in another, and
all the cemeteries are in Gods acre.
One stem furtbar and INV i,
that in the making of this Gospel arbor
we shall get branches of thick trees. You
know that booth or arbor is of little worth
unless there be stout poles at the corners,
or the wind will upset the booth; and YOU
will be worse off than without shelter I'M
less you have strong branches of thick
trees. And want to tell you that Cos
pei that is all mellowness and sweetness
VIII have no strength to withstand the
blast of temptation and trial and trouble.
we want brawny Christianity. We want
a Gospel with warnings as well as with
invitations. While olive branches are
good in their places. and the palm branches
and the myrtle branches, we want the
stout branches of thick trees. The tempest
OF temptation will come down after awhile;
the hurricane of death will blow; the ever
lasting storm will come up believing from
the lost world and alas for that man who
has not his soul sheltered under the stout
branches of the thick trees. So that,
while we preach the invitations of the
Gospel and the love of the Gospel, we must
tell men that unless they repent and unless
they turn they must die. 1 like what Mr..
Flnney said in the school, house in a viii
lage in New York State which they nick
named Sodom because of it's wickedness:
and there was only one good man in the
village and they called him Lot. When
Mr.. Finney preached in the school house
he took his text from the destruction of
Sodom, and told the people to get up out
of that place, as the Lord would rain fire
and birthstone upon them unless thew re-
pented; and they ground their teeth and
they clenched their fists while he was
speaking; but after awhile they were
melted and they fell on their faces and
cried for mercy while mercy was to be
had. We want just such Gospel as that
"a Gospel full of love and alarm; and
while we present the rewards we must
also present the retributions.
But what am 1 to do with nv text?
When | announced it you knew not what
was going to make out of it. Now you
see. There is enough in it for a lifetime
of preaching; but 1 will skip the rest.
We find in it enough of the olive branch
of peace, and the pine branch of ever
greens, and the myrtle branch of beauty,
and the palm branch of victory, and the
stout branch of the thick trees to make an
arbor for all the people. Oh, come into
the booth. The air is aromatic with
Heaven. The branches distil the blossom
of life; the leaves rustic with the gladness
of God. Come into the booth-the Gospel
booth. went out with an old hunter be-
fore daybreak and we got on the mount
aims before the sun arose, and we set our
trap to catch pigeons or doves, and then
we retired into a booth, for it was very
chilly and we must be hidden, and re.
member the tapestry of the leaves of that
booth was richer than the tapestry
of Kings bedchamber. Seated
there in the booth we looked out
and watched for the game, the
pigeons or doves, and after awhile there
was flock in the sky, and they dropped
into the net, or trap, and our excursion
fri