The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-07-18


will find worm-eaten leaves in Fontsineblean
and insects that sting in the fairy groves 81
Champs Elysees. You do not tear down ana
destroy the whole garden because there are a few
specimens of gnarled fruit admit there arc
men and women in the church who ought not to
be there but let us be just as frank and admit
the fact that there are hundreds and thousands
and tens of thousands of glorious Christians, men
and woinen-holy blessed, useful, consecrated,
and triumphant There is grander collection
IN all the earth than the collection Of Christians
have not told you of the better tree in this
garden and of the better fruit 1t was planted
just outside Jerusalem good while ago. When
that tree was planted it was split, and bruised,
and barked men said nothing would ever grow
upon it: out no sooner had that tree been plant
ed than it budded, and blossomed. aud fruited,
and the soldiers spears were the only clubs THAI
struck down that fruit, and il fell into the lap
of the nations, and men began to pick it mp and
eat it; and they found in it an antidote to all
thirst to all poison, to all sin, to all death-tha
smallest cluster larger than the famous one OF
Eshcol, which two men carried on staff boz
tween them. If the one apple in Eden killed
the race. shis one cluster of mercy shall re-
store it.
Again, the church in my text is appropriately
called a arden, because it is thoroughly irrl-
gated. No garden could prosper long without
plenty or water have seen garden IN the
midst of desert, yet blooming and luyurant-
all around was dearth and barrenness, but there
were pipes, aqueducts. reaching from this gar
den up TO the mountains, and through these
aqueducts the water came streaming down and
tossing up into beautiful fountains, until every
root, and leaf, and flower were saturated. That
is like the church The church is a garden
10 the midst of great desert Of sin and suffer
ing but is we'll irrigated for ''our eyes are unto
the hills from whence cometh our help" From
the mountains of Gods strength there flow down
rivers of gladness. There is river the streans
whereof shall make glad the city of our God.a
Preaching the gospel is one of these aqueducts.
TN ~ D. 40 IAw|la
Supper are aqueducts. Water to Stake the thirst.
water to wash the unclean, water tossed high up
in the light Of the sun of righteousness, showing
US the rainbow around the throne Oh, was
there ever garden so thoroughly irrigateds
Hank! / hear the latch of the garden gate.
and I look to see who is coming. hear the
voice of Christ II am come into my garden"
say, "Come in, o Jesus we have been waiting
for thee; walk all through the paths. Look as
the flowers: look at the fruit pluck that which
Thou wilt fer Thyself." Jesus comes into tha
garden and up to that old man, and touches him
and says: almost home father; not many mora
aches for theesI will never leave thee; take cour
age little longer and l will steady thy
tottering steps, and / will soothe thy
troubles and give thee rest. Courage. old man.
Then Christ goes up another garden path. and
he comes to a soul in trouble and says: "Peacei
all is we'll have seen thy tears. l have
heard thy prayers. The sun shall not smite
thee by day nor the moon by night. The LORD
shall preserve the from all evil He will preserve
thy soul Courage, o troubled spiritn Then
see Jesus going up another garden path, and
see great excitement among the leaves, ana
| hasten up that garden path to see what
Jesus is doing there, and 10! he IL
breaking off flowers. sharp and clean from
the stem, and say: ''Stop Jesus; don't kill those
beautiful flowers" He turns TO me and says
~ have come into my garden to gather lilies,
and mean to take these mp to higher terrace.
for the garden around Ny palace, and there ]
will plant them; and in better SOIL and IN bettef
air they shall put forth brighter leaves ane
sweeter redolence, and no frost shall touch them
forever And l looked up into His face and
said: ''Well. it is His garden and He has Q
right to do what He will with it. Thy will be
done!"-the hardest prayer man ever made
1t has seemed as if Jesus Christ took the best
from many of your households the best one Is
gone. You know that she was too good for this
world; she was the gentlest in her ways; tina
deepest in her affections; and when at last this
sickness came you had no faith in medicines
You knew that the hour of parting had come,
and when, through the grace of the Lord Jesus
Christ you surrendered that treasure, you saids
Lord Jesus take tit is tho best we have;
take it. Thou art worthy! The others in the
household may have. been of grosser
day a man was taking me from
the depot to a village. He was very rough ana
coarse, and We lasphemous; but after awhile
he melJowed' as he began to talk OF his little
son, whom lost 20 sir" he said, that
nd I'D ~*.. hoo language: ma Aia ! never heard
him use bad word in my life. He used to say
his prayers and we laughed at him; but he
would keep on saying his prayers and / often
thought. can't keep that child and | said to
wife, Mother, we can't keep that child But,
sir. the day he was drowned, and they brought
him in and laid him down on the carpet SO white
and so beautiful, my heart broke, sir. knew
We couldn't keep him"
The heaven of your little ones will not be
fairly begun until you get there. All the kind
nesses shown them by the immorta.s will not
make them forget you. There they are, the RAJ
diant throngs that went out from your homes.
throw kiss to thesweet darlings They are all
we'll now In the palace. The crippled child has
sound foot now. A little lame child says: Ma.
won't be lame in heaven" A little sick child
says: INA, will be sick in heaven2" mo, my
dear, you won't De sick in heaven little
blind child says: "Ma, will be blind in heavenT
mo, my dear, You won't be blind IN heaven
They are all well there
l notice that the fine gardens sometimes have
high fences around them, and cannot get In
It is so with kings garden. The only glimpse
you ever get of such garden is when the king
rides out in his splendid carriage 1t is not SO
with this garden-this kings garden. throw
wide open the gate, and tell you all to come 10.
No monopoly in religion. Whosoever will may.
Choose now between a desert and garden.
Many of you have tried the garden of this
worlds delight You have found it has
been a chagrin. SO it was with Theodore
Hook. He made all the world laugh. He makeG
us laugh now when we read his poems but he
could not make his own heart laugh. While In
the midst of his festivities he confronted a look
ingelass and he saw himself and said: 'TherA,
that is true. / look just as / am-done up il
body, mind and purse" So it was of Shenstone.
of whose garden told you at the beginning oil
my sermon. He sat down amid those bowers and
said: II have lost my road to happiness l am
angry, and envous, and frantic and
despse everything around just a.
it becomes madman to do" O
ye weary souls! come into Christie
garden to-day and pluck little heartseasa
Christ is the only rest and the only pardon for
perturbed spirit. Do you not think your chance
has almost comet You men and women who
have been waiting year after year for some good
opportunity in which to accept Christ, but have