Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1896-05-08

on the sunny hillside, but the choicest fruit
are kept IN the garden, so In the world out
side the church Christ has planted grea
many beautiful things-patience, charity
generosity, integrlty-but He intends tn
choicest fruits to be In the garden, and
they are not there. then shame on the
church,
Religion Is not mere sentimentalty,
ls practical, life giving, heaIthfdl fruit
| not posies. but apples. "Oh," says some
| body, II don't see what your garden Of the
| did your asylums come from, and your hos
| pitfalls, and your institutions OF mercy
| Christ planted every one of them. He plant.
| ed them In His garden. When Christ gave
sight to Bartimeus, He laid the cornerstone
to every blind asylum that has ever been
built. When Christ Boothed the demoniac
OF Galilee, He laid the cornerstone Of every
lunatlc asylum that has ever been estab.
lished. When Christ said to the sick mans
Take tip thy bed and walk" He laid the
cornerstone Of every hospital the world has
ever seen. When Christ said: II was In
prison and ye visited Ne, He laid the corr
herstohe Of every prison reform association
that has ever been organized. The church
Of Christ is q GLORIOUS gar1en, aud 1t Is full
Of fruit.
1 know there is some poor fruit in It, /
know there are some weeds that ought to be
thrown over the fence. know there are
some crab apple trees that ought to be cut
down. / know there are some wild grapes
that ought to be dprooted but are you going
to destroy the whole garden because OF a
little gnarled fruit2 You will flnd worm
eaten leaves In Fontainebeau ana insects
that sting in the fairy groves of the Champs
Eiysees. You do not tear down and destroy
the whole garden because there are a few
specimens Of gnarled fruit l admit there
are men and women In the church who
ought not to be there, but let us be just as
frank and admit the fact that there are hum
dreds and thousands and tens of thousands
of glorious Christian men aud 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 sing
ing and church going. Tomorrow morning
that religion will keep them Just rs consis-
tent and consecrated In their worldly occu-
patton as 1t ever kept them at the COM
munion table. There are women here to-
day OF higher type OF char cter than Mary
OF Bethany. They not only sit at the feet OF
Christ, but they 20 out Into the Kitchen to
help Martha la her work that she may sit
there too. There Is woman who has a
drunkard husband who has exhibited moro
faith and patience and courage that Ridley
In the fire. He was consumed in twenty
minutes. Hers has been a twenty years
martyrdom. Yonder is q man who has been
fifteen years on his back, tnableto feed him.
self, yet calm and peaceful rs though he lay
on one Of the green banks Of heaven, watch.
Ing tho oarsmen dip their paddle In the crys.
tai rverl Why, 1t seems to me this moment
rs II st. Paul throw to us o pomologlst's
catalogue OF the fruits growing in this great
garden OF Ohrlst-loye, Joy, peace, patience,
charity, brotherly kindness, gentleness,
mercy, glorious fruit, enough to fill all the
baskets o. earth aud heaven.
Again, the church in my text is app
propriately called garden because 1t Is
thoroughly irrigated. No garden could
prosper long without plenty Of water. I
have seen gardehin the midst of desert,
yet blooming and luxuriant. All around US
were dearth and barrenness, but there
were pipes, aqueducts. reaching from this
garden up to the mountains aud through
those aqueducts the water came streaming
down and tossing mp INTO beautiful foun1
tains, until every root AMI leaf and flower
was saturated. That Is like the church.
The church Is a garden In the midst of q
great desert OF sin aud suffering, but 1t Is
W6lt tTrlBdtoIj iOr 'OuC eyes arc uutO luo
hills from whence cometh our help" From
the mountains OF Gods strength there flow
down rivers OF gladness. "There is q river
the stream whereof shall make glad
the city of our God" Preaching the
gospel is ono of tho aqueducts. The
Bible Is another. Baptism and the Lords
supper arc aqueducts. Water to Stake the
thfrs-, water to wash the uncleau, water
tossed high up in the light of the Son Of
Righteous, showing US the rainbow. around
the throne. Oh, was there ever garden so
thoroughly irrigated You know that the
beauty of Versailles and Chatswofth depends
very much upon the great supply of water.
came to the latter place, Chatsworth, one
day when strangers are not to be admitted,
but by an inducement which always seemed
as potent with an Englishman as an Amerl-
can got In, and then the gardener went far
up above the stairs of stone and turned on
tho water. 1 saw 1t cleaning on the dry
pavement coming down from step to step un-
ill ii came so near could hear the musical
rush and all over the high, broad stairs 1t
came foaming, flashing, roaring down, UNI
til sunlight and wave In geesome wrestle
tumbled at my feet. SO 1t Is with the church
of God. Everything comes from above
pardon from above, Joy from above, adoption
from above, santifcation from above.
Hank? hear the latch OF the garden gate,
and look to see who Is coming. hear the
voice Of Christ. II am come into My gar
den." / say: "Come in, o Jesusl we have
been waiting for Thee. Walk all through the
paths. Look at the flowers, look at the
fruit; pluck that which Thou wilt for Thy
eelf," Jesus comes into the garden and up
to that old man and touches him, and says:
almost home, father; not many more aches
Tor thee l will never leave thee. Take
courage little longer and | will steady thy
lettering steps, and 1 will soothe thy trou-
bIes and give thee rest. Courage. old man."
Then Christ goes up another garden path,
aud He comes to a soul In trouble and says:
"Peace! All is well. have seen thy tears.
[ have heard thy prayer. The sun shall not
smite thee by day nor the moon by night.
The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil.
He will preserve thy soul. Courage, o trou-
bled spiritl'
Then l see Jesus going up another garden
path. and I SEQ great excitement among the
leaves. and l hasten up that garden pa'h to
see what Jesus is doing there, and 10! He is
breaking off flowers sharp and clean from
the stem, aud say, "Stop, Jesus; don't kill
those beautiful flowers" He turns to mo
and says: ~ have come into My garden to
gather lilies, and mean to take these up to
higher terrace for the garden around lily
palace, and there will plant them, and In
better soil and in better air they shall put
forth brighter leaves and sweeter redolence.
and no frost shall touch them forever" And
looked up into His face and said "Well, 1t
is His garden, and He has q right to do what
He will with 1t. Thy will BIO donel' tho
hardest prayer ever man made.
: 1t has seemed as il Jesus Christ took the
best; from many of your households the
best one Is gone. You know that she was
too good for this world; she was the gem
tlest In her ways, the deepest in her affec-
tions. and when at last the sickness came