The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1886-08-12

an antidote to all thirst, TO all poison, to
ali sin, to all death--ths smallest cluster
larger than the famous one of Eshchol
which two men carried oh staff between
them. II the one apple in Eden killsd the
race, this one cluster of mercy shall re-
store it.
Again, the church in my text is appro-
priately called garden, because it is
thoroughly irrigated. No garden could
prosper long without plenty Of water.
have seen garden in the midst Of des-
ert, yet blooming and luxuriant. All
around was dearth and barrenness: but
there were pipes, aqueducts, reaching
from this garden Up to the mountains and
| through those aqued ucts the water came
streaming down and tossing up into beau
tiful fountains, until every root and leaf
and flower were saturated. That is like
the church. The church is a garden in
the midst of great desert of sin and suf-
fering; but it 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 gladnsss.
There Is river, the stream wher eof shall
make glad the city Of our God.
Hank! hear the latch OF the garden
gate, and look to see who is coming.
hear the voice of Christ. 81 am come
into my garden"
say: "Come in, o Jesus! we have
been waiting for Thee; walk all through
the paths. Look at the flowers; look al
the fruit; pluck that which thou wilt fol
myself"
Jesus comes into the garden and up tc
that old man, and touches him and says
"Almost home, father, not many more
aches for thee; l will never leave thee;
take courage little longer and ! will
steady thy tottering steps, and I will
soothe thy troubles and give thee rest
Courage, old man."
Then Christ goes up another garden
path, and lie comes to a soul in trout Il
and says. "Peacel all Is we'll. have
seen thy tears. have heard thy prayer
The sun shall not slnite thee by day moi
the moon by night. The Lord shall pre-.
serve thee from all evil; He will preserve
thy soul. Courage, o troubled spi,itl'
Then see Jesus going up another gar
den path, and l see great excitemen
among the leaves, and 1 hasten up tina
garden path to see what Jesus is doins
there, and 10 he is 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: 81 have come
into my garden to gather lilies, and
mean to take these up to higher terrac'
for the garden around my palace, ant
there will plant them; and in better sol
and in better air they shall put for ii
brighter leaves AMI sweeter redolence, and
no frost shall touch them forever"
And looked up into his face and said
"Well, it Is His garden, and He has RICH
to do what He will with Il. Thy win b.
done"-the hardest prayer q man eve
made.
1t has seemed as if Jesus Christ took th
best. From many of your households th,
best one Ia gone. You know that she wa
too good for this world. She was tn,
gentlest In her ways, the deepest in he
affections. And when at the last the sick
ness came you had no faith in medicines
You knew when the hour of parting hat
come, and when, through the rich grac,
Of the Lord Jesus Christ, you surren
|
Jesus, take it. 1t is the best we have
take it. Thou art worthy" The others il
the household may have been of crosse
mold. She was of the finest. One day
man was taking me from the depot to
village. He was very rough and coarse
and very blasphemous. But after Will
he me'lowed down as he began to talk Q
his little son whom he had lost "Oh, sir,
he said, ''tliat boy was different from th
rest of ms. He never used any bad Ian
guage; no, sir. never heard him use
had word in my life. He used to say hi
prayers, and we laughed at him; but
would keep on saying his prayers and
often thought: Il can't keep that child
and said to my wife: Mother, we can
keep that child But, sir, the day he wa
drowned, and they brought him in an
laid hin, down on the carpet, SO white an
80 beautiful. my heart broke, sir, knee
we couldn't keep him."
The Heaven of your little ones will ne
be fairly begun until you get there. A
the kindnesses shown them by immorta
will not make them forget you. Thel
they are, the radiant throngs that weI
: out from your homes. threw kiss
the sweet darlings. They are all well no
in the palace. The crippled child has
sound foot now.
I not ice that the fine gardens sometime
: have high fences around them, and / ca
l not get In. 1t is so with kings gardel
The only glimpse you ever get of such
garden is when the king rides out in b
splendid carriage. 1t is not SO with tn
garden, this kings garden. l throw vic
open the gate and tell you all 10 come il
!, No monopoly in religion. whatsoever wi
9 may. Choose now between desert and
4 garden. Many of you have tried IL
garden of this worlds delight You ba,
: found it has been a chaerin. So it W,
1 with Theodore Hook. He made all Il
t world laugh. He makes Us laugh now wht
t wsread his poems; but he could not NAL
: his own heart laugh. While in the mid
: of his festivities he confronted looking
glass, and he saw himself, and sal,
r "There, that is true. look just az / al
!. done up in body, mind and purse" So
e was of Shenstone, of whose garden | to
a you at the beginning of my sermon.
J. sat- down amid those bowers and said:
have lost my road to happiness. am al
d CRY and envious and frantic, and despi