The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-04-27
HOODS
arsaparilla

beautiful flower Of all this garden spoken
of I'm the text. If you see century plant
your emotions are started You say,
why. this flower has been a hundred
years gathering up for one bloom, and IL
VIII be a hundred years more before 9th
er petals VIII come out" But l have TO
tell you of a plant that was gatherlng
up from all eternity, and that nineteen
hundred years ago put forth its bloom
never to wither It is the passion-plant
of the Cross Prophets foretold il; Beth
lehem shepherds looked upon it in the
bud; the rocks shook at its bursungi ana
the dead got up IN their winding-sheets
to see its full bloom. 1t IS crimson
tiower-blood at the. roots, blood on the
branches, blood on all the leaves. Its per-
fume is to fiji all the nations. Its breath
is heaven. Come, o winds from the north
and winds from the south and winds from
the east and winds from the west and
bear to all the earth the understanding
SAVIOR of Christ, my Lord!
His worth II all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love him, too
Again. the church may be appropri-
ately compared to garden, because 1t
is a place of fruits. That would be
strange garden which had in it no berries,
no plums, or peaches, or apricOts. The
coarser fruits are planted in the orchard,
or they are set out on the sunny hill
side; but the choicest fruits are kept in
the garden. So in the world outside the
church. Christ has planted great many
beautiful things-patience, charity, gen.
crosby, integrity; but he intends the
choichest fruits to be in the garden, and
if they are not there, then shame on the
church.
Religion is not a mere sentimentality. It
is a practical, life-giving, healthful fruit
not posies, but apples. oh" says some
body, Il don't see what your garden of
the church has yielded" in reply ask
where did your asylums come from? and
your hospitals? and your Institutions of
mercy2 Christ planted every one of them;
he planted them in his garden. When
rFrlF Nfs.tu lot 4
cornerstone to every blind asylum that
has ever been built When Christ soothed
the demOniac of Galilee he laid the corner
stone OF every lunatc asylum that mas
ever been established. When Christ said to
the sick man, Take up thy bed and
walk" he laid the cornerstone of every
hospital the world has ever seen. When
Christ said, Il was in prison and We visit
ed me-" he laid the cornerstone of every
prison-reform association that has ever
been organized. The church Of Christ
is a glorious garden, and it is full of fruit.
l know there is some poor fruit in II.
know there are some weeds thar ought to
be thrown over the fence. l know there
are some crab apple trees that ought to be
cut down. l know there are some wild
grapes that ought to be uprooted; but are
you going to destroy the whole garden be-
cause of a little gnarled fruit? You Will
find worm-eaten leaves in Fontainbleau,
and insects that sting in the fairy groves
of the Champs Elysees. You do not tear
down and destroy the whole garden be-
cause there are a few specimens of gnarled
fruit. l admit there are men and women
but let us be just as frank and admit
the fact that in the church who ought not
to be there; there are hundreds and thou
sands and tens of thousands of glorious
Chris tian men and Women-holy, blessed,
useful, consecrated and triumphant. There
is no grander, nobler collection IN all the
earth than the collection of Christians.
There are Christian men in this house
whose religion is not matter of psalm
singing and church-going. Tomorrow
morning that religion will keep them just
as consistent and consecrated in their
worldly occupation as it ever kept them at
the communion table. There are women
here to-day of a higher type of character
than Mary of Bethany. They not only sit
at the feet of Christ, hut they go out into
the kitchen to help Martha in her work
that she may sit there, too. There is a
woman who has a drunkard husband, who
has exhibited more faith and patience and
courage than Ridley in the fire. He was
consumed in twenty minutes. Hers has
been a twenty years martyrdom. Yonder
is a man who has been nfteen years on his
back, unable to feed himself, yet calm and
peaceful as though he lay on one of the
green banks of heaven, watching the oars
men dip their paddle in the crystal river!
| Why, ii seems to me this moment as If St.
| Paul threw to us a pomoogists catalogue,
| of the fruits growing in this great garden
| of Christ-love, JOY, peace, patience, char
| ity, brotherly kindness, gentleness, mercy;
| glorious fruit, enough to fill all the bas-
| kets of earth and heaven.
Again, the church in my text is appro-
| priately called a garden, because it is thor
/ oughly irrigated. No garden could prosper
! long without plenty of water. have seen
| a garden in the midst of a desert, yet
| blooming and luXuriant. All around us
| was dearth and barrennesS; but there were
/ pipes aqueducts, reaching from this gar
/ den up TO the mountains, and through
! those aqeducts the water came streaming
down and tossing up into beautiful foun-
tains, until every root and leaf and flower
was saturated. That is like the church.
The church is a garden in the midst of a
great desert of sin and suffering; but it is
| well irrigated; for our eyes are unto the
! whence he From
| the mountains of Gods strength there flow
| down rivers of gladness. There is a
| river the stream whereof shall make glad
| the city of our God" Preaching the COS
| pei is one of the aqueducts. The Bible is
| another. Baptism and the Lord 5 Supper
| are aqueducts. Water to stake the thirst.
| water TO wash the uncean. water tossed
high up in the light of the sun of right
! eOusness. showing us the rainbow around
| the throne. oh, was there ever gar
den so thoroughly irrigated You know
| that the beauty of Versailles and Chats
| worm oepenus very HluCh upon lhe great
supply OF water came to the latter
! place, ChatswOrth. one day when stran-
| gers are not to be admitted, but by an in
/ ducement which always seemed as potent
! with an Englishman as an American / got
| in. and then the gardener went far uu
| above the stairs OF stone and turned on the
| water. / saw IL cleaning on the dry
| pavement, coming down from step to step
! until IN came so near ! could hear the
musical rush. and an over The high, broad
| stars IL came roaming nashing, roaring,
| down, until sunlight ana wave in gleesome
! wrestle tumoled az my feet. So ID is with
the church OF God. Everything comes
| from above; pardon from above. joy from
above, adoption from above. sanfihcation
/ from above.
Hark, / hear the latch OF the garden
| gate, and ] look 10 See who Is coming
| hear he voice OF Christ. Il ann come into
! my garden" / say. Come In q Tesusi
we have been waiting for fhee. walk an
I through ihe paths. Look an the h0wers.
/ look al me fruit; pluck that which th0u
! VIII Tor myself Jesus comes into ne
I = IN
touches Aim, and says. Almost home,