The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1892-04-27


David. my servant, to say: 1.-The right
eous shall flourish like a palm tree.
Oh. Lord God, give us more palm trees
men and women made for nothing
but to DE useful; dispositions, all
abloom; branches of influence laden
with fruit; people good for everything,
as the palm tree. If kind words are
wanted, they are ready to utter them.
If helpful deeds are needed, they are
ready to perform them. If plans of use
fulncss are TO be laid out, they are ready
to project them. If enterprises are to
be forwarded, they are ready to lift
them. People who say: Eyes! yes!"
when they are asked for assistance by
word or deed, instead of mo! MOI"
Most Of the mysteries that bother
others do not bother me, because | adj
journ them. but the mystery that really
bothers me is why God made so many
people who amount to nothing so far as
the worlds betterment is concerned.
They stand in the way. They object.
They discuss hindrances. They suggest
possibilities of failure Over the road
of life, instead of pulling in the traces,
they are laying back in the breechings.
They are the everlasting No.
They are bramble trees; they are will
lows, always mourning, or wild cherry
trees, yielding only the bitter, or crab
apple trees, producing only the sour,
while God would have us flourish like
the palm tree. Planted in the Bible
that tree always means usefulness
But, how little any or all of us accom-
plish in that direction. We take twenty
or thirty years to get fully ready for
Christian work, and in the afterpart of
life we take ten or twenty years for the
gradual closing of active work, and that
leaves only SO little time between open
ing and stopping work that all we ac-
complish is so little an angel Of God needs
to exert himself to see it at all. Nearly
everything ! see around beneath and
above in the natural world, suggests use
full service. If there is nothing in the
Bible that inspires you to usefulness, go
out ard study the world around you this
spring-time and learn the great lesson
of usefulness. What art thou doing up
there. little star? Why not shut thine
eye and sleep, for who cares for thy
shining?" No" saith the star, II will
not sleep. guide the sailor on the sea.
| cheer the traveller among the mount
aims. l help tip the dew with light.
Through the window of the poor
mans cabin l cast beam of
hope, and the child on its moth
er's lap asks il glee whittier l
come and what ] do and whence 60.
To CLEAN and glitter God set me here.
Away! have no time to sleep" The
snowflake comes struggling down.
''Frail, tickle wanderer, why CONTEST
thou here?" II am no idle wanderer,"
replied the snowflake. High up in
the air was born, the child of the rain
and the cold, and at the Divine behest
come, and l am no straggler, for God
tells me where to put my crystal heel.
To help cover the roots OF the grain
and grass, to cleanse the air, to make
sportsnen more happy and the ingle
fire more bright l come. Though so
light am that you toss me from your
muller and crush me under your foot, |
am doing my best to fulfill what was
made for Clothed in white, | come on
a heavenly mission, and, when my work
is done and God shall call, in the morn
ing vapor shall go back, drawn by the
fiery courses of the SUM-" what
doest thou, insignificant grass-blade
under my feet?" II am doing a work."
says the grass-bladc, ''as best I can.
help to make up the soil beauty
of field and lawn. am satisfied it,
with millions of others no bigger than
l, we can give pastures to the tiocks
and herds. l am wonderfully made
He who feeds the ravens gives me susie
nance from the soil and breath from
the air. and He who clothes the lilies of
the field rewards me with this coat of
green. "For what, lonely cloud goest
thou across the heavens?' Through the
bright air voice drops from afar, say
ing: 'Up and down this sapphire floor
pace to teach men that, like me, they
are passing away. | gather up the
waters from lake and sea, and then,
when the thunders roll. refresh the
earth, making the dry ground to laugh
with harvcsts of wheat and fields of
corn. / catch the frown of the
storm and the hues of the rain
bow. At evening-tide on the
western slopes l will pitch my
tent, and over me shall dash the saffron
and the purple and the fire of the sun
set. A pillar of cloud like me led the
chosen across the desert, and surround
ed by such as the Judge of Heaven
and Earth will at last descend, for,
Behold, He cometh with cloudsr"
Oh, my friends if everything in the
inanimate world be useful, let us i'm
mortal men and women be useful, and,
in that respect, be like the palm tree.
But l must not be tempted by what
David says of that green shaft of Pal
estine, that living and glorious pillar in
the eastern gardens, as seen in olden
times-the palm tree; l must not be
tempted by what the Old Testament
says of it to lessen my emphasis of what
John, the Evangelist, says of it in my
text.
Notice that it was beautiful and
lawful robbery of the palm tree that
helped make the Christ's triumph on
the road 20 jerusalem that Palm Sun
day. The long, broad, green leaves
that were strewn under the feet of the
colt and in the way of Christ were torn
off from the trees. What pity, some
one might say, that those stately and
graceful trees shoald be despoiled. The