Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1886-07-05

rences. Christ to them has been the con
! 4ueror on the white horse, or the sun ol
righteousness, setting everything ablaHe with
IlGht; or the Bridegroom, coming with lantern
ana torches. 70 me 1t has been a very quiet
ana undemonstratlve experience. 1t has been
| somclhlng very sweet but very still. How
shall describe itY | have 1t now: MY be-
loved is unto me as a clusterof campfire from
the vineyards of En- gedi."
But remark further: This campfire plant
OF the text was symbol of Christ in the fact
that 1t gives coloriug. From the Mediterranean
10 the Ganges the people of the East gathered
~ aired the leaves, pulVeriLed them. and
lheh useV them as dye for beautltytng gar
lnents or their own persons. IL was that fact
thdt gave the campfire plant of the text lts
commercial value in the time of King Solo
mon. type of my Lord Jesus. who beauties
ana adorns and cOlOrs everything He touches.
nave no fatth in that mans conversion
whose reilglon does not color his entire life. .
1t was intended so TO do. II a man has the
grace Of God in his heart IT ought to
show Itself in the life. There ought TO be this
"cluster of campfire" in the ledger, in the
roll of government securities, In the medical
prescription, in the law book A religion Is
OF no value to merchant unless 1t Keeps him
from putting false labels on his goods or TO
the plasterer unless 1t keeps him from putting
up ceiling which he knows VIII crack in SIX
months; or To the driver unless it keeps him
from lashing his horses to eight miles an hour
when the thermometer is at ninety; or to the
iarmer unless 1t teeps him from putting the
only sound pppin on the top OF the barrel;
or to the shoemaker unless it keeps him from
substituting brown paper for good leather in
the soles. In other words the religion of
christ is good for every thing or 1t is good for
nothing. The grace of God never
Affects US by piecemeal II the heart
Is changed the head is changed, and the liver
ls changed, and the spleen Is changed, and the
hands are changed, and the feet are changed,
ana The store is changed, and the house is
changed, and everything over which the man
has any influence comes to a complete and
radical change. The religion of the Lord
Jesus Christ ls not a pot of hyacinth to be set
IN parlor bay window for passers-b to look
at, and TO be examined only by ourselves
when we have company; but II is to be per-
fume filling all the room of the heart as "a
cluster of campfire from the vineyards of
En-gedi." The trouble Is men do not take
their religion with them. The merchant
leaves ii outside the counter lest 1t disturb the
goods. The housekeeper VIII not let her re-
lgion trail its robes in the kitchen on wash
ing gay. The philosopher Will not let his re-
lgion come in amid the batteries, lest it get
Ralvanic shock. But / tell YOU, unless your
religion goes with You everywhere, 1t goes no.
where. That religion was intended to color
all The heart and the life.
But, mark you, it was n bright color. For
the most part it was an orange dye made of
this camphire5plant, one of the most brilliant
of all the colOrs, and so the religion of Jesus
Christ casts no backnes7 or gloom upon the
soul, 1t brIghtens up lie, 1t brightens up
everything. There Is no more relg on in
funeral than there is in wedding. no more
FtllElOn IN TEARS t0dn IN EHllDB. IDANlU was
no better when he said he cried out of the
depths Of hell Than he was when he said that
his mouth was filled with laughter and his
Tongue with singing. The best men that
have ever known have laughed the loudest.
Religion was intended to brighten up ali our
character. Take out the sprig of cypress
from YOUR coat and put in "a cluster OF cam
phlre from the VINEYARDS of En- gedin Re
liglon's ways are ways of peasantness and
all her paths are peace | have found it so.
There are hundreds in this house who have
found ii so.
| remark again, that the camnhre- plant Of
the text was a symbol of Jesus Christ, because
it is a mighty restorative. You know that
there is nothing that starts respiration SO soon
in one who has tainted as camphor, as we have
it. Put upon sponge or handkerchief, the
effects are almost immediate. We'll, this
campfire plant of the text, though somewhat
different from that W hich we have, was a pun
gent aromatic, and in that respect 1t becomes
a type OF our Lord Jesus Christ, who is the
mghtiest of all restoratlVes. | have carried
this campfire plant into the sick room, after
the doctors had held their consultation and
said there was no hope and nothing more could
be done, and the soul frightened up under the
spiritual restorative. There is no fever, no
marasmus. no neuralgia, no consumption, no
disease of the BODY that the grace of God will
not help. | wish that over every bed of PAIN
and through every hospital of distress we
night swing this 'cluster of campfire from
the vine ards OF En- -gedi." Christ's hand is
the softest PILLOW, ChrIsps pardon is the strong
est stimulus, CNflsi & comfort Is Lne mlgnJieBt
anodyne, Christ's salvation is the grandest
restorative. 1t makes man mlghtier than
his physical distress.
"Art thou weary? Art thou languid9 Art
thou sore distressed?
Come to me- saith One-'and coming, be at
rest
If ask Him to receive me, will He say me nay?
Not till earth and not till heaven pass away.
Finding, following. keeping, struggling, is lie
sure to bless?
Saints, apostles, prophets, martyrs answer
'Yesp"
Nero tarred and put pitch upon the Christ
ians of his day, aud hen set them on fire that
they might illumlDe the night round about
the palace, but while they we're burning and
the crowd beneath were jeerng, louder than
all the noise went up the song of praise and
triumph from the dying martyrs. John Brad
ford came out in the presence OF the instru-
ment OF torture that was 20 put him TO death
aud said: 81 am Christian now. have
never been before" And SO, again and again,
the Lion Of Judah's tribe has torn to pieces toe
wild beasts of martyrdOm.
This grace is also a restorative for the back
slider Who do YOU mean bv thatY YOU saw
! mean you who used to frequent the house Of
God, but seldom go there now; you who
once used to pray but never pray now; you
who once sat at the holy communion, but
take not the LORDS cup now: mean you who
once rejoiccd in Christian society, but now
sit amid sc0ffers. Backslider! On, what a
suggestive word! BaCkslIder! From what
nave you Hill DdCEf I on nave Hlll DdfH from
your fathers faith, from your early good
habits. You have been sliding back from
Christ, from the crOss-sldng back from
heaven. When man begins TO slide he
knows not where he will 20. You have been
sliding back toward darkness. You have been
sliding back toward an unblessed grave,
toward precipice, the first 10 coo 600 m les Of
which downward are only a small part of the
eternal plunge. You were, perhaps, pro-
fessOrs in the country; you have made ship
wreck in the town. 1t may be that the club
blasted you; IL mAy be that fashionable so
ciety destroyed you; IL may be the KIND Of
wife whom you married. You have no more
hone for heaven now than If you had lived
in Central Asia and never heard Of Christ and
the Judgment. on, where is that Bible you
used to rcad2 Where l- that room where you
used to pray? What have you done with that
Jesus whose voice you once heard2 Oh, MUIR
dcred hours! Oh massacred privileges! on.
dead opportunities! Wake up now and
shrek In that mans ear until he shall rouse
himself from the horrible somuambullsm,
walking as he does, fast asleep. within an
inch OF he'll, Oh, that he might cry out now;
'GOlden Sabbaths. come backl Communion
seasous, come back! Woolngs OF the Holy
Ghost, come back!' But they VIII not come.
Gone! gone! gone! Sorrow Will come, but
not they, Oh, that you might save the few
remaining years OF your life, and consecrate
them to Christ! have seen sad sights, have
heard sad sounds; but tell YOU the ghast-
a backslider's death bed. Do you not feel
like having applied to your soul this divine
restorative? DO you not feel Ike crying cut
with David: "Restore unto me the joys OF thy
savationY For great sin, great pardon.
For deep wounds, omnpotent surgery. For