Fort Worth daily gazette. (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1886-07-12

knocked him down. 10 you think l
ought 10 Join the church, Nevertheless, !
that very sAnse man, who WAS 50 harsh In i
his behavior, loved Christ aud could not |
speak Oi sacred things without tears OF
emotion and affection, Thorns without, |
sweetness within--the best specimen Of
cactus ever saw.
There are others planted in Christ's
garden who are always radiant, always
impressive--more like the roses OF deep
hue that we occasionally find called
'siants OF hattle;n the Martin Luihers,
st. Pauls, Chry sostoms, Wickllhs, Lati-
mers aud Samuel Ruthcrfords What IN
other men is q spark, in them Is con-
Migration. When they sweat, they sweat
great drops Of blood. When they pray,
their prayer takes flre. When they
preach, IL is a Pentecost. When they
fight, II is q Thermopylae. When they
die, il is martyrdom. You hnd great
many roses in the gardens, but only
few ''giants of battle.n Men say why
don't you have more OF them In the
church?v say uWhy don't you have
IN tho world more Humboidts and well
hngtons?n God gives to some, ten tall
ents; to another, one.
In this garden Of the church which
Christ has planted ] also ilnd the snow
drops, beautiful but cold looking, seem
ingly another phase Of winter. | mean
those Christians who are precise in their
tastes, unimpassioned, pure as snowdrops
and as cold. They never shed eny tears,
they never get excited, they never say
anything rashly, they never do anything
precipitately. Their pulses never fintter,
their nerves never twitch, their indig.
nation
NEVER BoILs ovER.
They live longer than most people, but
their life is in minor key. Tney never
run up to "Cn above the stad. In their
music Of life they have no staccsto
passages Christ planted them In the
church, and they must be OF some service
or they would not be there; snowdrops,
always snowdrops.
/ But have not told you of the most
beautiful flower in all this garden spoken
OF in the text. II you see century plant
/ your emotions are started You say;
"Why, this flower has been hundred
years gathering up for one bloom, and II
will be hundred years more before other
petals win come out" But | have TO
tell you of a plant that was gathering up
from all eternity, and that 1900 years ago
put forth Its bloom never to wither. II
! is the passlon-plant Of the cross! Proph-
cts foretold it; Bethlehem shepherds
looked upon 1t in the buds the rocks
shook at its bursting, and the dead got
up in their winding sheets to see It's full
bloom. 1t Is crimson flower-blood M
the roots, blood on the branches, blood
on ell the leaves, Its perfume is to Ill
all the nations Its breath is heaven
Come, winds from the north, and winds
t from the south, and winds from the east,
and winds from the west, and bear to all
the earth the sweet-emelling SAVIOR OF
| Christ, my Lord!
ellis worth II all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love Him too "
Again: The church may be appropriate.
ly compared 20 garden, because 1t is a
place of select fruits. That would be O
strange garden which had In 1t no berries,
no plums, or peaches, or apricots. The
coarsesi fruits are planted in the or
chard or they are set out on the sunny
hillside; but the choicest fruits are kept
in the garden. So in the world outside
the church, Christ has planted great
many beautiful things-patience charity
generosity, integrity; but he intends the
choicest fruits to be in the garden, and J.
they are not there, then shame on tn,
church, Religion is not mere Towering
sentimentality. 1t Is practical, life-giy
ing, heSlthful fruit--not posles, hut APP
pies. co." sdys somebody, al don't sec
what your garden Of the church has yield
ed" Where did your asylums com,
from4 and your hospitals and your instl
tutions OF mercy2 Christ planted every
one OF them; He planted them In hi
garden. When Christ gave sight TO Bar
timeus He laid the corner stone of ever,
blind asylum that has ever been built
When Christ soothed the demoniac o
Galilee He laid the cornerstone OF ever,
lunatlc asylum that has ever been estab
lished. When Christ said TO the sicl
man: "Take up thy bed and walk" HI
laid the corner. stone Of every hospita
the world has ever seen When Chris
said 81 was in prison and ye visite,
Me-" lie laid the cornerstone of ever
prison-reform association that has eve
be en- formed. The church of Christ Is
, glorious garden, and 1t is full OF fruit.
know there is some poor fruit In II
know there are some weeds that ough
/ TO be thrown over the fence. knoN
} there are some crab-apple trees tina
+ ought TO be cut down. | know there ar
some wild grapes that ought to be up
rooted, but are you going to destroy tn
whole garden because OF little gnare
] fruit? You will find worm-eaten leave
3 in Fontainebleau, and insects that stin
] in the fairy groves Of the Champs Elysees
You do not tear down the whole garde
because there are few specimens O
/ gnarled fruit. admit there are men an
I women In the church who ought not to b
. there; but let Us be Just as frank and ad
. init the fact that there are hundreds an
. thousands and tens OF thousands OF gle
. rlous Christian men and women holy
, blessed, useful, consecrated and tr
/ umphant. There is no grander collectio
J in all the earth than the collection c
/ Christians. There are Christian men
I this house whose religion is not matte
, OF psalm singing and church going TIC
morrow morning that religion will kee
them Just as consistent and consecrate
in their worldly occupation as 1t eve
kept them at the communion table. Their
are women here to-day of