Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-07-18

antagonist, your enemy, you had better
get up on the radiant mount where
Christ suffered for His enemies, and just
take an olive branch, not stripping off
the soft, cool, fragrant leaves, but leav-
ing them ali on, aud then try on them
that gospel switch. 1t won t hurt them,
and it viii save you, Peace with God;
peace with man. If you cannot take
those two doctrines you are no Christian.
Blest be the tie that binds
Our hearts in Christian love;
The fellowship of kindred minds
Is like to that above.
From sorrow. toll and pain,
And sin we shall be free;
And perfect love and friendship reign
Through all eternity.
But my text goes further. 1t says:
Go up into the mountain 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 evergreen. How often the physician
says to his invalid patients: EGO and
have a breath of the pines. That will
invigorate you Why do such thous-
ands of people go 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 healthfulness of
our holy religion; it is full of health
health for all, health for the mind,
health for the soul.
DINED DAILY WITH THE KING.
I 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 a beverage of hosan-
mas. He lived high, for he dined
every day with the king. He was kept
alive simply by the force of our holy re-
ligion. 1t is healthy religion; healthy
for the aye, 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. 1t
gives a man such pelce, such quietness,
such independenceSo of circumstances,
such holy equipoise. Oh, that we all
possessed it, that we possessed it now.
l mean that it is healthy if man gets
enough of it. Now, there are some peo-
pie who get just enough religion to
bother them, just enough religion to
make them sick; but if Il man take full,
deep, round Inhalation of these pine
branches of the gospel arbor he will find
it buoyant, exuberant, undying, i'm
mortal health.
But this branch Of my text also sug-
gests the simple fact that it is an ever
green. What does this pine branch care
for the snow on its brow? 1t is only
crown of glory. The winter cannot
freeze il out. This evergreen tree branch
is as beautiful in winter as it is IN the
summer. And that is the characteristic
Of our holy religion; in the sharpest,
coolest winter of misfortune and disas-
fnp IL q a IA JS ia
bright summer sunshine. Well, now
that is a practical truth. For if l should
go up and down these aisles 1 would not
find in this house fifty people who had no
trouble. But there are some of you who
have especial trouble. God only knows
what you 90 through with. Oh how many
bereavements, how many pOyerties,
how many prosecutions! How many
Misrepresentation! And now,S my
brother, you have tried everything else,
why don t you try this evergreen religion?
It is lust as good for you now as it was in
the days of your prosperity; it is better
for you. Perhaps some OF you feel al
alike Muckle Backie, TIE fisherman,
who sNas chided one day because he kept
on w king, although that very day he
buritA his child. They came to him and
said: cit is indecent for you to be mend
ing that boat when this afternoon you
buried your child - And the fisherman
looked UP and said: "Sir, it is very easy
for you gentle folks to stay in the house
with your handkerchief to. your eyes in
grief but, sir, ought 1 10 let the other
five children starve becauH one of them
is drowned? No, sir: we Fhaun work, we
maun work, though our htarts beat like
this hammer.
RELIGION CAN HELP YOU.
You may have had accumulation of
sorrow and misfortune. They come in
fiocks, they come IN herds upon your
soul; and yet have to tell you that this
religion can console you, that it can help
you, that it can deliver you If nothing
else viii. Do you tell me that the riches
and the gain of this world can console
YOU? How was it with the man who had
such a fondness for money that when he
was sick he ordered 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 ana rolling
of these gold pieces were his amusement
and entertainment. All, the gold and
silver, the honors, the emoluments of
this world are poor solace for per-
turbed spirit. You want something bet
ter than this world can give. A young
prince, when the children came around
to play with him, refused to play; he
said, 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 to play only with
kings.
The hill Of Zion yields
A thousand sacred sweets,
Before we reach the heavenly fields
Or walk the golden streets.
THE HoNoRED PALM TREE.
But my text takes a step further, and
it saws, EGO into the mountain, and
fetch olive branches, and pine branches,
and palm branches. Now the palm
tree was very much honored by the an
clients. It had 500 different uses. The
fruit was conserved; the sap was bev-
erage; the stems were ground up for food
for camels; the base of the leaves
was turned into hats, and mats,
and baskets, and the leaves were carried
i'm victorious professions, and from the
root to the top OF the highest leaf there
was usefulness. The tree grew eighty
FIVE feet in height sometimes, and it
spead broad leaves four and five yards
long; il meant usefulness, and 1t meant