The Yale expositor., 1895-02-15

s See t sPs,u dssr AMID AMID
royal conservatory. No. 1t Is the bath-
er's orchard and everywhere there are
bars that we may let down and gates
that we may swing open.
In my boyhood, next to the country
school house. there was an orchard OF
apples. owned by a very lame man.
who. although there were apples In the
place perpetually decaying, ana py
scores and scores Of bushels, never
would allow any of US to touch the
fruit. One day. in the sinfulness or
nature inherited from our first parents
who were ruined by the same tempta-
ton, some of US invaded that orchardi
but we soon retreated, for the man
came after US at a speed reckless Oh
making his lameness worse, ana crleu
out: Boys, drop those apples. or III
set the dog on you'll"
Well, my friends, there are Christian
men who have the church under severe
guard. There Is fruit IN this orchard
for the whole world but they have
rough and unsympathetic way or &C
costing outsiders, as though they mao
no business here though the Lord
wants them all to come and take the
largest and ripest fruit on the premises.
Have you an idea that because you
were baptized at thirteen months or age
and because you have all your life been
under hallowed influences, that there
fore you have a right to one whole side
OF the Lords table. spreading yourseir
out and taking up the entire room
l tell you no. You Will have to haul In
your elbows, Tor l shall place on either
side OF you those whom you never ex-
pected would sit there; for. as Slrlst
said to his favored people long ago,
so he says to you and to me: "Other
sheen 1 have which are not OF this
fold"
Macdonald. the Scotchman. has four
or five dozen head os sheep. Some OF
them are browsing on the heather
some of them are lying down under the
trees, some of them are in his yard;
they are scattered around In eight or
ten different places. Cameron, his
neighbour, comes over and says: Il see
you have thirty sheep; / have just
counted them" NO" says Macdonald
II have a great many more sheep than
that. Some are here and some are else
where They are scattered all around
about. 1 have four or five thousand In
my flocks. Other sheep l have which
are not in this fold"
So Christ says to us. Here Is knot
of Christians and there is knot OF
Christians but they make up small
part Of the flock. Here is the Episcopal
fold, the Methodist fold. the Lutheran
fold, the Congregational fold. the Pres
byterian fold, the Baptist and the Pedo-
Baptist fold the only difference between
these last two being the mode Of shs~Y
washing; and so they are scattered all
over; and we come with our statistics
and say there are so many thousands OF
the Lords sheep: but Christ responds:
mo, no; you have not seen more than
one out of a thousand Of my flock. They
are scattered all over the earth. Other
sheep / have which are not Of this
fold"
Christ, in my text. was prophesying
the conversion OF the Gentiles with as
much confidence as though they were
already converted, and he Is now, in
the words of my text, prophesying the
coming of a great multitude of outsid-
ers that you never supposed would
come In, saying to you and saying to
me: "Other sheep 1 have which are not
of this fold
In the first place, remark, that the
heavenly Shepherd will find many of
his sheep among the non-church goers.
There are congregations where they
are all Christians. and they seem to be
completely finished. and they remind
one of the skeleton leaves which, by
chemical preparation have had all the
greenness and verdure taken off them
and arc left cold and white and delicate,
nothing wanting but a glass case to
put over them. The minister of Christ
has nothing to do with such Christians
but to come once a week and with ost-
rich feathers dust off the accumulation
of the last six days, leaving them bright
and crystalline as before. But the
! other kind of a church is an armory
with perpetual sound OF drum and fife
gathering recruits for the Lord of Hosts
/ We say to every applicant: do you
want to be on Gods side, the safe side
and the happy side? If so, come in the
armory and get equipped. Here is a
! bath in which to be cleansed. Here are
sandals to put upon your feet. Here
| is a helmet for your brow Here is a
breast plate for your heart. Here Is G
sword for your right arm. and yonder Is
the battle field. Quit yourselves like
men"
There are some here who say: 81
stopped going to church ten or twenty
years ago" My brother. is II moi
strange that you should be the first
man / should talk to to-day? / know
all your case; know 1t very we'll YoJ
have not been accustomed to come into
religious assemblage. but have a sur
prlslng announcement to make to you
you are going to become one of the
Lords sheep. "Ah," you say. ut Is i'm
possible. You don't know how far
am from anything OF that kind"
know all about It, 1 have wandered VI
and down the world and / understand
your case. have a still more startling
announcement to make In regard 4
you; you are not only going to becom,
one of the Lords sheep. but you will
become one to-day. You will stay aftei
this service to be talked with abou
your soul. People OF God. pray for tina
man! That is the only use for you
here. shall not break of so much as {
crumb for you. Christians. in this ser
mon, for / am going to give II all e
the outsiders. "Other sheep ] hav,
which are not OF this fold"
When the Atlantic went 20 pieces OF
Mars Rock. and To- people clambereC
4 uDon the beach, why did not that heroic