Orange County observer., 1896-05-09
fore other petals will como out" But I

fore other petals will como out" But I
have to tell you Of a plant tfef ves getre.
ing rr from I'll eternity, and that 1900 years
is the passion plant OF the cross! Prophets
foretold it. Bethlehem shepherds looked up
OF it in the bud, the rocks shook at its burst
ing and the dead got up IN It's Wlnolns
sheets to see its full bloom. II Is crimson
flower-blood at the roots. blood on the
branches, blood on all the leaves. 1ts per
| fume is TO ill all the Nations. Its creath Is
heater. Come 9 winds from the north, ana
Eisds from the south. and winds from the
| east and winds from the west. ana pear %
| all the earth the sweet-snellirg saTot 81
| Christ, my Lord
His worth Ii ali the Nations knew.
sure the whole earth would love Him too.
Again. the church may appropriately be
| compared to a garden because 1t Is place OF
| fruits. That would be a strange garden
| which had In II no berries. no plums or
planted In the orchard. or they ere set ott
| OF the sunny hillside, but the choicest fruits
are kept in the garden. SO in the world out
! side the church Christ has planted great
many beautiful things-patience. charity.
generosity, integr;ty-but He intends the
|
they are ret there. then shame on the
| church,
Religion is not mere sentimentality. It
| is practical life giving, healthful fruit
not posies. but apples. "Oh," says some
body. Il don't see what your garden Of the
church has rlie'dsd. ! reply | ask where
did sour asylums come from, AM your hos
pi:als. and your institutions OF mercy?
Christ planted every one OF them. He eplant-
ed them in His garden. When Christ gave
| sight to Bartimeus He laid the cornerstone
| to every blind asylum that has ever been
of Gallee, He laid the cornerstore Of every
| lurat.d asy1un, tliat has ever been estab:
iished. 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 ye visited Me-" He laid the cor
nerstone of every prison reform association
that has ever been organized. The church
"f Cf,.:t i giourous garden, and it Is tuil
OF fruit
l 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. | 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 :ruit2 You will hnd worm
eaten lea~es ir Fdntainhh.eau and insects
that sting IN the fairy groves of the Champs
Eiysees. You do not tear down and destroy
the whole garden because there are few
specimens of gnared fruit. / 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
tfeds ana thousands and tens OF thousands
! Of glorious Christian men and women holy,
blessed, useful, cOnsecrated and triumphant
There is no grander. nobler collection in all
| |, !, {b,p ${no - Nh,c%
There are Christian men in this house
whose religion is not g. matter Of psalm sing
ing and church going Tomorrow nlorniE9 &
ttat {o,igion will keep them just rs consis-
tent and consecrated in their worldly eccu-
patton as it 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 90 out into the kitchen to
help Martha in her work that she may sit
there too. There is d woman who has q
; dfunkard husband who has exhibited more
f faith and patience and courage that Ridley
Q in the fire. He was consumed in twenty
f minutes: Hers has been twenty years
9 nartyrdon1; Yonder is man who has been
t fifteen years on his back. unableto feed him
6 self, yet calm and peaceful as though he lay
on one Of the green banks Of heaven: watch
i ing tho oarsmen dip their paddle in the erys.
8 tai river! Why, it seems to me this momen,
, as If st. Paul threw to .us a pomologist'
S catalogue Of the fruits growing in this great
r garden of Christ-love, joy, peace, patience
g charity, brotherly kindness. gentlene@
/. mercy, glorious fruit, enough to fill all tht
o baskets of earth and heaven.
u Again, the church in my text is ap
d propriately called Il garden because it il
n thoroughly irrigated. No garden coult
8 prosper long without plenty of water.
y have seen garden in the midst of a desert
y yet blooming and luxuriant. All around u
5 were dearth and barrenness; but ther
n were pipes; aqueducts, reaching from thi
k garden up to the mountains; and throug
e those aqueducts the water came streaming
>. down and tossing up into beautiful foun
80 tains, until every root and leaf and fiowe
% was saturated. That iss.like the church
r The church is garden in the midst of
'e great desert Of sin and suffering, but it
8 we'll irrigated, for "our eyes are unto tn
hills from whence cometh our help" Fror
1t the mountains of Gods strength there flo
= down rivers of gladness. "There is 4 rive
d the city Of our God Preaching th
y gospel is one Of tho aqueducts. Th
n Bible is another. Baptism and the Lord
n supper are aqueducts. Water to slake tt
y thirs., water to wash the unclean. watt
l. tossed high up in the light of the Son
e Righteous, showing US the rainbow aroun
If the throne. Oh, was there ever garden
x thoroughly irrigated! You know that th
ar beauty of Versailles and Chatsworth depenc
10 very much upon the great supply of waite
)" | came to the latter place, Chatsworth. or
Il day when strangers are not to be admitte
II but by an indncenent which always SCENE
as potent with an Englshman as an Amer
n can got in, and then the gardener went fl
at up above the stairs of stone and turned O
N the water. / saw 1t cleaning on the d1
lg pavement coming down from step to step Vi
10 til it came SO near I could hear the music
y rush and all over the high. broad stairs
n came foaming. flashing. roaring down. u
as til sunlight and wave in geesome wrest
Y. tumbled at my feet so it is with the chure
ty Of God. Everything comes from above
to pardon from above. JOY from above. adoptie
I'd from above, santifcation from above
* Hark? l hear the latch of the garden cat
SIS and | look to see who is coming. hear Il
is voice of Christ. II am come into NY ga
ak den." l say: Come in, o Jesus, We ha
on been waiting for Thee. Walk all through Il
ss paths. Look at the flowers, look at Il
an fruit. Dluck that which Thou uilt for TT,