The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1896-05-02

never do anything precipitately. Their
pulses never ~futter, their nerves never
twitch, their Indignation never boils
over. They live longer thar most peo-
pie, but their life is in a minor key.
They never run up to C. above the
staff. In their music of life they have
no s~taccato passages. Christ planted
them in the church, and they must be
of some service or they would not be
there; neutrality-suspicious. snowdrOps.
But 1 nave not told you of the most
beautiful flower of all this garden
spoken of in the text. If you see a
century plant your emotions are start
ed. You say, why, this flower has
been a hundred years gathering up for
one bloom, and it will be a hundred
years more before other petals will
come out" But 1 have to tell you of
a plant that was gathering up from all
eternity, and hat l 300 years ago put
forth it's bloom never to wither. 1t is
the passion plant of the crossl Proph-
cts foretold it; Bethlehem shepherds
looked upon it in the bud; the rocks
shook at its bursting, and the dead
got up in their winding sheets to
see it's full bloom. 1t is a crimson
fower-blood at the roots, blood on the
branches, blood on all the leaves. Its
perfume is to fill all the nations. Its
breath is Heaven. Come, o winds
from the south and winds from the
east and winds from the westand bear
to all the earth the sweet-smelling
SAVIOR of Christ, my Lord!
His worth if all the nations knew,
Sure the whole earth would love Him, too.
Again, the church may be appro-
- 20 n ro-1nn hn.
cause it is a place of fruits That
would be a strange garden which had
in it no berries, no plums, or peaches,
or a~pricots. The coarser fruits are
planted in the orchard; or they are set
out on the sunny hillside; but the
choicest fruits were kept in the garden.
So in the world outside the church.
Christ has planted a great many beau
tiful things-patience, charity, gen.
erosity, integrity, but He intends the
choisest fruits to be in h garden, and
if they are not there, then shame on
the church. Religion is not a mere
sentimentality. 1t is a practical, life
giving, healthful fruit-not posies, but
apples. "Oh," says somebody, II don't
see what your garden of the church
has yielded" In reply, 1 ask where
did your asylums come FROM and your
hospitals? and your institutions of
of them. He planted them in
His garden. When Christ gave
sight to Bartimeus He laid the
corner stone to every blind asylum that
has ever been built. When Christ
soothed the demoniac of Galalee He
laid the corner stone of every lunatic
-z-l.-. Nhnt hoo nuar hnan Stah1iShaH
When Christ said to the sick man,
Take up thy bed and walk" He laid
the corner stone of every hospital the
world has ave seen. When Christ
said. 81 was in prison and ye visited
me-" He laid the corner stone of every
prison reform association hat has ever
been organized. The church of Christ
is a glorious garden, and it is full of.
fruit.
know there is some poor fruit in it.
l know there are some weeds that
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 because of a
little gnarled fruit? You will find
WOrm-6dUeu ledVcS III nOicdu,
and insects that sting in the fairy
groves of the Champs Elysees. You
do not tear down and destroy the
whole garden because there are a few
specimens of gnarled fruit. 1 admit
there are men and ONE in the
church who ought not to be there,
but let us be just as frank and admit the
fact that there are hundreds and thou
q o,,1o nd tame ~ fhnnca nd of 0lnrinDc |
Christian men and women-holy,
blessed, useful, consecrated and tri-
umphant There is no grander, nobler
collection in all the earth than the
collection of Christians. There are
Christian men in this house whose re-
ligion is not a matter of psalm-singing
and church-going. Tomorrow morn
ing 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, but they go out int 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 20 minutes. Hers
has been a 20 years ~martyrdom. Yon-
der is a man who has been Is years on
back, unable to feed himself, yet
calm and peaceful as though he lay on
one of the green banks of Heaven,
the oarsman dip their paddle
the crystal riverl Why, it seems to
this moment as if st. Paul threw
to us a pomologist's catalogue, of the
growing in this great garden of
C~hrist-love, joy, peace, patience,
brotherly kindness, gentle
ness, mercy; glorious fruit, enough to
ill all the baskets of earth and Heaven.
Again, the church in my tie KIT is APP
called a garden, because it
is thoroughly irrigated. No garden
prosper long without plenty of
water. l have seen a garden in the
midst of desert, yet blooming and
uxuriant. All around us was dearth
b%arrenness, but there were pipes,
reaching from this garden
Up to the mountains, and through
nose aqueducts the water came
down and tossing up into
fountains, until every root
md lea n flower was saturated.
That Is like the church.
The church is a garden in the midst
# a great desert of sin and suffering;
it is well irrigated; for Our eyes
re unto the hills from whence cometh
lelp." From the mountains of Gods
there flow down rivers of
There is a river the stream
shall make glad the city of
Preaching the gospel is one of
he acqueducts. The Bible is another.
and the Lords supper are
Water to Stake the thirst,
water to wash the unclean, water
ossed high up in the light of the Sun
f Righteousness, showing us the rain
low around the throne. oh, IA there
yer a garden SO thoroughly irrigated
know that the beauty of
yersailles and Chatsworth depends
cry much upon the great supply
f water. / came to the latter place,
one day when strangers
not to be admitted; but by an in
which always seemed as
otent with an E~nglishman as an