Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1889-07-15
THB SAFETY, THE HBALTHPULNBSS. THB
BEAUTY OF THE GOSPEL BOOTH.
The Olive, the Palm and The Pine Tree Intsriwinsd
Thar Branchsi-Place, Food and Strength
to The Christian-Dr. Talmags's
Tabernacle Sermon.
spee.al 7tlenam 70 he Rsnisler.

anu AdNO NNe VII biNC lnnCDC6g anu Dul
them on their shoulders, and they
come forth now into the streets of Jerusa-
lem, and on The house tops, and they
twist these tree branches into arbors OF
booths. Then the people come forth from
their comfortable homes, and dwell for
seven days in these booths or arbors.
Why do they do that? Well. il is O
great festal time. 1t is the feast of tabel-
nscles; and these people are going to cele-
brate the desert travel of their fathers aud
their deliveTance from their troubles, the
experience of their fathers when, travelling
in the desert, they lived in booths on their
way 10 the land of Canaan. And 80 these
bootha also became highly suggestive-I
will not say they are necessarily typical,
but highly suggestive-of
OUR MARCH TOWARD HEAVEN,
and of the fact that we are only living
temporarily here, as it were in booths or
harbOrs, on our way to the Canaan Of
eternal rest.
And what was said to the Jews literally
may to-day be said figuratively to all this
audience. Go forth into the mountain,
and fetch olive branches, and pine
branches, and myrtle branches, and palm
branches, and branches of thick trees to
make booths. Yes, we are only here in q
temporary residence. We are marching on.
The merchant princes who used to live in
Bowling Green, New York, have passed
away, and their residences are now the
fields of cheap merchants. Where are the
men who fifty years ago owned New York?
Passed on.
There is no use in our driving our stakes
too deep into the earth; We are on the
march. The generations that have pre-
ceded us have gone sc far on that We can
not even hear the sound of their footsteps.
They have gone over the hills, and we are
to follow them. But, blessed be God, we
are not in this world left out OF doors and
unsheltered. There are good booths, or
gospel arbors, in which our souls are to be
comforted. Go forth unto the mountain,
and fetch olive branches, and pise branch
es, and myrtle branches, and palm branch
es, and branches of thick trees, and build
booths.
BEAUTIFUL WAY OF SAYING "PEACE."
Well, now we are to-day to construct a
gospel arbor, or gospel booth; and how
shall we construct.it? Well, we must get
all the tree branches and build. Accord
ing to my text we must 20 up into the
mount and bring olive branches. What
does that meaDP
The olive tree grows in warm climates,
ard it reaches the highth of twenty or
twenty-five feet, a straight stem, and then
an offshoot from that stem. And then
psOple come, and they strip of these
branches sometimes, and when it time of
war the general of one army takes one Of
these olive branches and goes out to the
general of another army, what does that
mean? Why, it means, unsaddle the war
chargers. 1t means hang up the war
knspsacks 1t is but beautiful way of
saying, Peace
Now, if we are to-day going to succeed
in building this gospel arbor, we must 90
into the Mount of Gods blessing, and
fetch the olive branches, and whatever else
we must have, we must have at least two
olive branches-pease with God and peace
with man. When l say peace with God,
do not meau to represent God as bloody
chieftain, having a grudge against us, but
do mean 10 sffirm there is no more antag-
onism between hound and hare, be-
tween a hawk and pullet, between ele-
phsnt and swine, than there is hostility
between holiness and sin. And if God is
all holiness, and we are all sin, there
must be a readjustment, there must be
reconstruction, there must be treaty,
there must be stretching forth OF olive
branches.
THERE IS HEALTH IN IT.
But my text goes further. 1t says: Go
up into the mountains and fetch olive
branches and pine branches. Now what is
suggested by the pine branches. The pine
tree is healthy; it is aromatic; it is ever
green. How often the physician says to his
invalid patients, "Go and have breath of
the pine That will invigorate you"
Why do such thousands OF people 20 south
every year? 1t is not merely to get to a
warmer climate, but to get to the influence
of the pine. There is health in it, and
this pine branch of the text suggests the
healthfuluess of our holy religion; it is full
of health, health for sll, health for the
mind, health for the soul.
knew an aged man who had no CAPT
tai of physical health. He had had all
the diseases you could imagine; he did
not eat enough to keep a child alive; he
lived on beverage of hosannas. He lived
high for he dined every day with the king.
He was kept alive simply by the force of
our holy religion. 1t is healthy religion;
healthy for the eye, health for the hand,
healthy for the feet, healthy for the heart,
healthy for the liver, healthy for the
spleen, healthy for the whole man. 1t
gives man such peace, such quietness,
such independence of circumstances, such
holy equipoise. On that we al possessed
it, that we possessed it now. l mean that
it is healthy if a man gets enough of 1t.
Now, there are some people who get just
enough religion to bother them, Jnst
enough religion to make them sick; but If
a man take full, deep, round inhalation
of these pine branches of the gospel arbor,
he will find it buoyant, exuberant, INDY
iug, immortal health.
A PRACTICAL TRUTH.
But this pine branch of my text also
suggests the simple fact that it is an ever
green. What does this pine branch care
for the SLOW on its brow? 1t is ouly
crown of glory. The winter cannot freez9
it out. The evergreen tree branch is IS
beautiful in the winter as it is in the sum-
mer. And this is the characteristic OF our
holy religion; in the sharpest, coldest win.
ter of misfortune and disaster, it is as good
a religion ss it is in the bright summer
Sunshine. Well, now that is practical
truth. For if l should 60 up and down
these aisles, I would not find 10 this house
fifty people who had had no trouble. But
there are some of you who have especial
trouble. God only knows what
YOU 20 through with. On
how many bereavements, how
many poverties, how many prosecutions!
How many Misrepresentation And now
nv brother, you have tried everything
else, why don't you try this evergreen re-
ligionP 1t is just as good for you now as
it was in the days Of your prosperity; 1t IL
better for you. Perhaps some of you isei
almost like Muckle Backie, the fisherman,
who was chided one day because ne kept
on working, although that very day he
buried his child. They came to him and
said: 1T is indecent for you to be mend
ing that boot when this afternoon you
buried YOUR child" Aud the fisherman
looking up said: ''Sir, it is very easy for
you gentle folks to stay in the houss win
your haudkerchiefs to your eyes in griefi