New Ulm weekly review. [volume] (New Ulm, Minn.) 1878-1892, 1889-07-24

eases you could imagine; he did not eat
enough to keep a child alive; he lived on q
beverage hosannas. He lived high, for he
dined every day with the king. He was kept
alive simply by the force of our holyreligion.
3 1t is a healthy religion; healthy for the eye,
healthy for the hand, healthy for the feet,
healthy for the heart, healthy for the liver.
healthy for the spleen, healthy for the whole
man. It gives a man such peace, such quiet
ness, such independence OF circumstances.
such holy equipoise. Oh, that we all posses
sed it., til at we possessed it now. mean that
it is healthy i a man gets enough oft. Now.
there are some people who get Just enough
religion to bother them, just enough religion
to make them sick; but if q man take q full,
deep, round inhalation of these pine branches
of the gospel arbor he will find it buoyant,
exuberant, undying, immortal health.
But this pine branch of my text also sug
gests the simple fact that it is an evergreen
What does this pine branch care for the snow
on its brow? It is only acrown of glory. The
winter cannot freeze it out. This evergreen
tree branch is as beautiful in winter as it is in
summer. And that is the characteristic of
our holy religion in the sharpest coldest
winter aisles of misfortune and disaster it is
as good a religion as 1T is in the bright sum-
mer sunshine. Well, now that is a practical
truth For if should go up and down these
allies would not find in this house fifty peo-
pie who had had no trouble. But there are
some of you who have especial trouble God
only knows what you go through with. Oh,
how many bereavements, how many power
ties, how many prosecutions, how
my brother, You have tried every
thing else, why don't you try this evergreen
religion? It is just as good for you now as
it was in the days Of your prosperity; it IS
betterfor you. Perhaps some of you feel al
most like Muckle Backle, the fisherman, who
was chided one day because he kept on
working, although that very day he buried
his child. They came to him and said: sit
is indecent for you to be mending that boat
when this afternoon you buried your child"
And the fisherman looked up and said: Sir,
it is very easy for you gentlefolks to stay in
the house with your handkerchief to your
eyes in grief; but, sir, ought to let the 9TH
er five children starve because one of them is
drowned? No, sir; we maun work, we maun
work, though our hearts beat like this ham
mer.''
You may have had accumulation OF sor-
row and misfortune. They come in focks,
they come in herds upon your soul; and yet
have to tell you that this religion can con-
sole you, that it can help you, that it can
deliver you if.nothing else will. Do you tell
me that the riches and gain of this world can
console you? How as it with the man who
had such a fondness for money that when
he was sick he ordered a basin of gold pieces
to be brought to him, and he put his equity
hands down among the gold pieces, cooling
his hands off in them, and the rattle and
tolling OF these gold pieces were his amuse-
ment and entertainment. All, the
gold and silver, the honors, the
emoluments Of this world are poor solace
for perturbed spirit. You want something
better than this world can give. A young
prince, when the children came around to
play with him, refused to play. He said: II
will play only with kings" And it might be
supposed that you would throw away all
other solace before this regal satisfaction,
this imperial joy Ye who are sons and
daughters of the Lord almighty ought only
to play with kings
The hill Of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
But my text takes further step and says,
eco into the mountain and fetch olive
branches, and pine branches, and palm
much honored by the ancients. 1t had $50
different uses. The fruit was conserved, the
sap was beverage; the stems were ground
up for camels: the base of the
leaves was turned into hats and mats
and baskets, and the leaves were carried in
victorious procession: and from the root to
the top o, the highest leaf there was useful
ness. The tree grew eighty-fve feet in height
sometimes, and it spread broad leaves four
and five yards long; it meant usefulness and
it meant victory; usefulness for what it pro-
duced, victory because it was brought into
celebrations OF triumph. And oh, how much
we want the palm branches in tho churches
of Jesus Christ at this time! A great many
Christians don't amount to anything. You
have to shove them out of the way when the
Lords chariots come along. We don't want
any more of that kind of Christians in the
church.
The old maxim says: s'Do not put all
your eggs into one basket" butt have to
tell you in this matter of religion you had
better give your all to God, and then get in
yourself. "Oh," says some one, ''my bust
ness is to sell silks and cloths.'' Well, then,
my brother, sell silks and cloths to the glory
ofGod. And some one says: MY business
is to raise corn and carrots. = Then, my
brother, raise corn and carrots to the glory
is to manufacture horseshoe nails" Then
manufacture horseshoe nails to the glory of
God. There is nothing for you to do that
you ought to do but for the glory of God.
Usefulness is typifed by the palm tree.
All, we don t want in the church any more
people that are merely weeping willows, sigh
ing into the water, standing and admiring
their long lashes in the CLASSY spring. No
wild cherry, dropping bitter fruit. We want
palm trees, holding something for God,
something for angels, something for man. i
am tired and sick of this fat, tame insipid,
highly tightly religion! 1t is worth nothing
for this world, and it is destruction for
eternity.
Give me 500 men and women fully conse-
Grated to Christ and we will take any city
for God in three years Give me 10000 men
and women fully up to the Christian stan
dard; in ten years 10000 of them take the
whole earth for God. But when we are 60
ing to begin
Ledyard, the great traveller, was brought
before the Geographical Society of Great
Britain and they wanted him to make some
explorations i'll Africa and they showed him
all the peris and all the hard work and all
the exposure, and after they had told him
what they wanted him to do in Africa they
said to him: .sNow, Ledyard, when are you
ready to start?" He said: Tomorrow
morning" The learned men were astonished
they thought he would take weeks or months
to get ready. Well, now, you tell me you
want to be useful in Christian service When
are you going to begin9 Oh; that you have
the decision to say: To-day, now!' 90
now into the mount and gather the palm
branches. But the palm branch also meant
victory. In all ages, in all lands, the palm
! 4 u -