The Brookhaven leader. [volume] (Brookhaven, Miss.) 1883-1891, 1889-07-25

glory of God. There is nothing for you
to do that you ought to do but for the
glory of God.
Usefulness is typiied by the palm tree.
All, we don't want in the church any more
people that are merely weeping willows.
signing into the water, standing and adj
miring their long lashes in the CLASSY
spring. No Wild cherry dropping bitter
fruit We " ant palm trees, holding some-
thing for God, something for angels,
something for man. l am tired and sick
of this fiat, tame, insipid, satin slippered,
namby- -pamby, highly tightly religionl II
is worth nothing for this world, and it Is
destruction for eternity.
Give me five hundred men and women
fully consecrated to Christ, aud we will
take any city for God in three years. Give
me ten thousand men and women fully
up to the Christian standard, in ten years
ten thousand of them would take the
whole earth for God. But when are we
going TO begin:
Ledyard, the great traveller, was
brought before the Geographical Society
of Great Britain, and they wanted
him to make some explorations III At
rica, and they showed him all the perils,
and all the hard work, and all the expos
ure, and after they had told him what
to do in Africa, they said to him:
''Now, Ledyard, when are you ready to
start?"
He said:
TO- morrow morning"
The learned men were astOnishcd; they
thought he would take weeks or months
10 get ready. Well, now, you tell me you
want to be earnest for Christ; you want
to be useful in Christian service. When
TO hot baN
the decision to say: "To-day, nowW Go
now into the mount and gather the palm
branches.
But the palm branch also meant victory.
In all ages, in all lands, the palm branch
means victory. We are by nature the
servants Of Satan. He stole Us: he has
his eye on us: he wants to keep us. The
word comes from our Father that il we
will try to break loose from this doing OF
wrong our Father will help us; and some
day we rouse up, and we look the black
tyrant i'll the face, and we fly at him, and
we wrestle him down, and we put our heel
on his neck, and we grind him i'll tho
dust, and we say: "VictOry, victory,
through our Lord Jesus Christw Oh
what grand thing il is to have sir under
foot and wasted life behind our backs
blessed is lie whose transgress'on l.;
forgiven, and whose sin is covered"
But" says tho man, Il feel so sick and
worn out with the ailments of life"
You are going to be more thal con
queror.
"Bat," says the man,"l am so tempt
ed, SO pursued in life"
You are going to be more than con
querOr.
81, who have so many ailments and
To, I, han
queror;"
Yes, unless you are so self conceitcd
that you want to manage all the affahs Of
your life yourself, instead of letting God
manage them. Do you want to drive and
have God take back seat? On, no, you
say; | want God to be my leader. Well,
then, you will be more than conqueror
Your last sickness will como, and the
physicians in the next room will be talk
ing about what they will do for you.
What difference will it make what they
do for you? You are going to be well,
everlas tingly well. And when the spirit
has fed the body your friends will bo
talking as to where they shall bury you.
What difference does it make to you
where they bury you? The angel of the
resurrection can pick you out OF the dust
anywhere, and all the cemeteries of the
! earth are III GOd'S care.
Oh, you are going to he more than con-
queror. Don't you think we had better
begin now to celebrate the coming vic
tory? In the Old meeting house at Sum-
merville my father used to lead the sing
ing, and he had the old ia shioned tuning
fork, aud he would strike it upon his
knee, and then put the tuningfork to his
ear TO catch the right pitch and start the
hymn. But. friend, don't you think we
had better be catching the pitch of the
everlas ting song, the song of victory
when we shall be more than conquerors:
| Had we not better begin the rehearsal on
earth? They shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more; neither shall the
sun light on them, nor any heat. For the
| lamb which is in the midst of the throne
shall feed them, and shall lead them to
| living fountains of wafer; and God shall
wipe all tears from their eyes"
| City of Eternity, to thy bridal halls
From this prison would fee;
All, glory! that's for you and me.
My text brings up one step further. II
says 60 forth into the mount and fetch
olive branches, and liue branches, and
myrtle branches, and branches of thick
| trees. Now, you know very we'll that
booth or arbor made of slight branches
tempest would PROSTATE it. SO, then, the
booth or arbor must have four stout poles
to hold up the arbor or booth; and hence
for the building of the arbor or booth of
this world we must have stout branches
of thick trees.
And so it is in the Gospel arbor.
| Blessed he God that we have a brawny
Christianity, not on easily upset. The
storms of life will come upon us, and we
want strong doctrine; not only love, but
Justice; not only invitation, but warning;
1t is mighty Gospel; it is an onuipotent
Gospel. There are the stout branches of
thick trees.
remember what Mr.. Finney said in q
school-hOuse in this State. The village
was so bad it was called SOdom, and it
was said to have only one good man in
all the village. and he was Lot; aud Mr..
| Finney, preaching, described the destruc:
tion Of Sodom, and the preacher declared
that God would rain destruction upon his
hearers 1nless they, too, repented. And
the people in the school house sat
aud ground their teeth in anger and
clinched their fists in indignation; but
before he was through with his sermon
they got down on their knees and cried
for mercy while mercy could be found.
Oh, it is mighty Gospel; not only an in
| vitation, but a warming; an omnipotent
truth, stout branches OF thick trees.
Well, my friends, / have shown you
here is the olive branch of peace, here is
the pine branch of evergreen Gospel con-
ISOLATION, here the palm tree branch of