The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1893-05-13

it covered all over with delightsome jas
mine Of Christian sympathy.
CONTROL OF TIE TEMPER.
In this garden of the Lord l find the
Mexican cactus, loneliness within, thorns
without, men with great sharpness of
behavior and manner, but within them
the peace of God, the love of God, the
grace of God. They are hard men to
handle, ugly men to touch, very apt to
strike back when you strike them, yet
within them all loneliness anGA attraction,
while outside so completely unfortunate.
Mexican cactus all the time.
Said placid elder to Christian min
lister, doctor, you would do better to
control your temper" "Ahp said the
minister to the placid elder, 81 control
more temper in five minutes than you do
in five years y These people, gifted men,
who have great evaporation of manner
and seem to be very different from what
they should be, really have in their souls
that which commends them to the Lord.
Mexican cactus all the time. So man
said to me years ago: 'Do you think I
ought to become member of the church?
Iahave such violent temper.
Yesterday was crossing Jersey City
ferry. It was very early in the morn
ing, and saw milkman putting largo
quantity of water into his can, and I
said, That is enough, sir and he got of
the cart and insulted me, and knocked
him down. WE'LL" said he, edo you
think could ever become Christian
That man had in his soul the grace of the
Lord Jesus, but outside he was full Of
thorns, and full Of brambles, and full of
exasperations, but he could not hear the
story of Saviour's mercy told without
having the tears roll down his cheek.
There was loneliness within, but rough
ness outside. Mexican cactus all the
time.
But I remember in boyhood that we
had in our fathers garden what we
called the Giant of Battle, a peculiar
rose, very red and very fiery. Suggestive
flower, it was called the Giant of Battle.
And SO in the garden Of the Lord we find
that kind of fower-the Pauls and Mar
tin Luthers, the Wyclifs, the John
Knoxes- giants of battle. What in other
men is o spark, in them is confagra-
ton. When they pray, their prayers take
fire; when they suffer, they sweat great
drops of blood; when they preach, it is a
pentecost; when they fight, it is Their
mopylae; when they die, it is martyrdom
giants of battle. You say, "Why have
we not more Of them in the church of
Christ at this timer" I answer your
question by asking another, stWhy have
we not more Cromwells and Humboldts
in the world?" God wants only a few
giants of battle. They do their work,
and they do it well.
NEED OF JEALOUS MEN.
But find also in the church of God a
plant that 1 shall call the snowdrop,
very beautiful, but cold. 1t is very pure
pure as the snowdrop, beautiful as the
snowdrop and as cold as the snowdrop.
No special sympathy. That kind of man
never loses his patience; he never weeps,
he never flashes with anger, he never ut
tiers rash word. Always cold, always
precise, always passive--beautiful snow
drop, but don't like him. would rath-
er have one Giant of Battle than 5000
snowdrops.
Give me man who may make some
mistakes in his ardor for the Lords serv-
ice rather than that kind of nature which
spends its whole life doing but one thing,
and that is keeping equilibrium. There
are snowdrops in all the churches men
without any sympathy. Very good; they
are in the garden of the Lord; therefore
I know they onght to be there, but al
ways snowdrops.
You have seen in some places perhaps
century plant. I do not suppose there
! is a person in this house who has ever
seen more than one century plant in full
bloom, and when you see the century
plant your emotions are stirred. You
look at it and say, "This flower has beer
gathering up it's beauty for whole cen
fury, and it will not bloom again for an
other hundred years" Well, have tt
tell you that in this garden of the church
spoken of in my text, there is century
plant.
It has gathered up it's bloom from ali
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it put forth its glory. It is not only {
century plant, but passion flower
the passion flower of Christ, crimson
flower, blood at the root and blood or
the leaves, the passion flower of Jesus
the century plant Of eternity. Come, {
winds from the north, and winds from
the south, and winds from the east, ani
winds from the west, and scatter the per
fume of this flower through all nations.
His worth, if oil the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love him too.
Thou, the Christ of all the ages, has
garments smelling of myrrh and aloe
and cassia out Of the ivory palaces.
A GARDEN IN THE DESERT.
I go further and say the church o
Christ is appropriately compared to 1
garden because of its thorough irriga
tion. There can be no luxuriant garde,
WITHOUT plenty of water. I saw a garden
In ste midstof the desert amid the Rock,
mountains. I said, GLOW is it possibl
YOU have so many flowers, so much ricl