The Globe-republican., 1893-05-12

the hill nd turned on the water, and
1t came flashing down the broad stairs
of stone, until sunlight and wave in
gleesOme wreStle tumbled at my feet.
And so it was with this garden of
| Christ. Everything comes from above
pardon from above, peace fran
above. comfort from above. sancti-
tication from above. Streams from
Lebanon. oh, the consolation in
this thought. Would God that the
gardeners turned on the fountain of
salvation until the place where we sit
and stand might become Elm with
twelve wells of water and three score
and ten palm trees. But l hear his
sound at the garden gate: hear the
lifting of the latch of the gate. Who
comes there? 1t is the gardener who
passes in through the garden gate. He
comes through this path of the garden,
and he comes to the aged man and he
says: ''Old man. come to help thee,
come to strengthen thee. Down TO
hoary hairs l will shelter thee. will
give thee strength at the time of Old
age; will not leave: I will never for
sake thee. Peace. broken-hearted old
man, l will be thy consolation forever"
And then Christ. the gardener, comes
up another path of the garden and he
sees soul in great trouble, and he
says: Hush, troubled spirit the sun
shall not smite thee by day, nor the
moon by night: the Lord shall preserve
thee from all evil; the Lord shall pre-
serve thy soul" And then the garden
er comes up another path of the garden.
and he comes where there are some
beautiful buds. and l say, stop. oh
gardener, do not break them Off" But
he breaks them off, the beautiful buds
and l see great tiutter among the
leaves, and l wonder what he
is doing, and he says, II do
not come to destroy these flow
ers: l am only going t. plant
them in higher terrace. and in the
garden around my palace. have come
into my garden to gather lilies. Unjust
take back whole cluster of rosebuds.
Peace, troubled soul. all shall be well.
Suffer the little children to come unto
me. and forbid them not. for of such is
the kingdom of Heaven" Oh, glorious
gardener of the church. Christ comes
to it now. and he has a right to come.
We look into the face of the gardener
as he breaks off the bud, and we say:
Thou art worthy to have them: thy
will be done" The hardest prayer
bereaved father or mother ever uttered
THY will be done
But you have noticed that around
every kings garden there is a high
wall. You may have stood at the wall
of kings court and thought: How
l would like to see that garden"
and, while you were watching. the gar
dener opened the gate and the royal
equipage swept through it. and you
caught a glimpse of the garden but only
a glimpse, for then the gates closed.
bless God that this garden of Christ
has gates on all sides: that they are
opened by day, opened by night. and
whatsoever will may come in. Oh. how
many there are who die in the desert
who might revel in the garden. How
many there are who are seeking in the
garden of this world that satisfaction
) which they can never find.
1t was 500 with Theodore Hook, who
made all nations laugh while he was
living. And yet Theodore Hook on a
certain day, when in the midst of his
revelry he caught glimpse of his own
face and his own apparel in the mirror,
said: That is true. look just as
AMIDST, body. mind, soul and estate,
LOST And SD it was with Shenstone
about his garden, of which l spoke in
the beginning of my sermon. He sat
down amid all its beauties and wrung
his hands and said: Il have lost my
wav to happiness, am frantic: l hate
} everything; hate myself as a mad man
ought to-" Alas. so many in the gar
, dens of this world are looking for that
, flower they can never find except in tho
) garden of Christ.
Substantial comfor: will not grow
In natures barren soil
All We can boast till Christ we know
Is vanity and toll
How many nave tried all the fount-
aims of this worlds pleasure. but never
tasted OF the stream from Lebanon.
How many have reveled in other gar
dens. to their souls ruin, but never
plucked one flower from the garden of
our God, | swing open all the gates of
the garden ard invite you in. whatever
your history. whatever your sins. what
ever your temptations. whatever your
trouble. The invitation come, no more
TO one than - all: ~ hoSever Will let
him come.
The flowers of earthly gardens soon
fade. but blessed he God, there are gar
lands that never wither. and through
the grace of Christ Jesus we may enter
into the joys which are provided for us
> at Gods right hand. Oh. come into the
garden. And remember. as the closing
thought. That God not only brings Us
into garden mere, but it is a garden
: all the way with those who trust anc
love and serve him. a garden all through
:, the struggles OF this life, u garden al
: up the slope OF HeavcI-.
, There everlasting spring abides
And Eeyer-wi, h.ring flowers
Del.h. Ike a narros stream, divides
G Tha, He.v, II land from ours
-------
! Not Satisfied.