The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1900-09-07


nersione OF every hospital the world has
ever seen. When Christ said. Il was in
prison. and We visited Me-" He laid the
cornerstone of every prison reform asso-
citation that has ever been organized.
The church of Christ is glorious garden,
and II is full OF fruit. | know there is
some poor fruit in H. / know there are
some weeds that ought 10 be thrown over
the fence. know there are some crab
apple trees that ought 10 be cut down. 1
know there are some wild grapes that
ought 20 be uprooted. But are you going
TO destroy the whole garden because OF a
little gnarlea fruits You Will ind worm
eaten leaves in Fontainebleau 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 few specimens OF gnarled fruit.
L admit there are men and women IN
the church who ought not 10 be there,
but let US be frank and admit the fact
that there are hundreds and thousands of
glorious Christian men and women-holv,
blessed. useful conseerated and triumph.
ant. There Ia no grander collection IN all
the earth than the collection Of Christians.
There are Christian men in every church
whose religion Is not matter of psalm
singing and ehurchgoing. 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 WON.
en- with Us to-day of higher type of
character 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 a woman who has drunken hus.
band, who has exhibited more faith and
patience and courage than Ridley IN the
hre. He was consumed in twenty min
utes. Hers has been twenty years
martyrdom. londer is a man who has
been fifteen years on his back, unable 20
feed himself, yet calm and peaceful as
though he lay on one of the green banks
of heaven, watching the oarsmen dip their
paddles in the crystal riveri
] have not told you of the better tree
in this garden and of the better fruit. lt
was planted just outside Jerusalem a
good while ago. When that tree was
| planted, IL was so split and bruised and
barked men said nothing would ever grow
| upon II, but no sooner had that tree been
| planted than il budded and blossomed
| and fruited. and the soldiers spears were
| only the clubs that struck down that
| fruit, and il fell into the lap of the ma
tions, and the men began TO pick II up and
eat It, and they found in II an antidote TO
! all thirst, to all poison, 10 all SIN, To all
| death, the smallest cluster larger than
the famous one of Eshcol, which two men
| carried on a staff between them. III the
one apple in Eden killed the race, this
one cluster of mercy shall restore.
Again, the church in my text is appro-
priately called garden because IL il
thoroughly irrigated No garden could
prosper long without plenty OF water.
i have seen .ardon IN the midst OF
| desert, yet blooming and luxuriant. All
around was dearth and barrenness, but
there were pipes, aqueducts reaching from
| this garden up to the mountains, and
| through these aqueducts the water came
| streaming down and tossing up INTO
beautiful fountains until every root and
| leaf and flower was saturated.
| That is like the church. The church is
garden in the midst oi a great desert OF
| sin and suffering but II Is well irrigated,
| for "our eyes are unto the hills from
whence cometh our help" 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 gospel is one of the aque-
| ducts. The Bible IL another. Baptism
and the Lords supper are aqueducts.
| Water to slake the thirst, water to wash
| the unclean, water tossed high up in the
| light OF the sun of Righteousness showing
us the rainbow around the throne. Oh,
! YVES there ever garden SO thoroughly
| irrigatedy
Then | see Jesus going up another gar.
| den path and j see great excitement
among the leaves. and | hasten up TO that
! garden path TO see what Jesus ~ doing
| there. and 10, He ~ breaking of flowers,
| sharp and clean from the stem, and | say:
stop, Jesus. DO not kill those beautiful
| flowers" He turns TO me and says, Il
have come into Ny garden to gather lilies,
and ! mean TO take these up To a higher
! terrace, for the garden around My palace,
and there / will plant them. and in better
| nj IN L,f a,r haIl t,nt Ia
! brighter leaves and sweoter redolence,
and TO frost shall touch them forever"
| And | looked up into His face and said:
! We'll it is Thy garden, and Thou hast
a right TO do what Thou wilt with IL. Thy
VIII be done"-the hardest prayer a man
| ever made
1t has seemed as if 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
gentlest in her ways, the deepest IN her
! affection, and when at last the sickness
| came you had no faith IN medicines. You
| knew that the hour OF parting had come,
| and when, through the rich grace OF the
| Lord Jesus Christ, you surrendered that
| treasure you said: Lord Jesus take tit
| IL the best we have. Take II. Thou art
worthy" The others in the household
may have been OF crosser mold. She was
of the finest.
The heaven Of your little ones will not
| be fairly begun until you get there. All
the kindnesses shown them by fmmor-
tails will not make them forget you. There
| they are, the radiant throngs that went
| out from your homes. i throw a kiss TO
the sweet darings They are all well now
in the palace. The crippled child has
sound foot now. A little lame child says,
| Ma, will / be lame IN heaven mo, my
! darling you won't be lame in heaven"
/ notice that the fine gardens some
| times have high fences around them, and
| cannot get in. IL is 50 with kings
garden. The only glimpse you ever get OF
such a garden IL when the king rides out
IN his splendid carriage.
| IL is not 80 with this garden. this
| Kings garden. j throw WIDE open the
gate aad tell you all TO come in. No
monopoly in religion. Wbosoever will,
may. Choose now between a desert and
| a garden Many OF you have tired the
| garden of this worlds delight. You have
| found il has been a chagrin. So II was
with Theodore Hook. lie made al the
world laugh. He makes us laugh now
when we read his poems, but be could
not make hrs own heart laugh. While IN
the midst Of his festivities he confronted
a looking glass. and be saw himself and
said: There, that - true. look just
az ! am, done up in body, mind and
purse" So II was Of Shenstone, of whose
| garden ! told you at the beginning OF my
| sermon lie sat down amid those bowers
| and saId. II have lost my road 20 hap
| piness. / am angry and cnviOus and
frantic and despise everything around me
just a. II becomes a madman 20 do
| q ye weary souls. come into Christ :
| garden to-day and pluck a little hearts
| ease Christ ~ the only rest and The only
/ fcr s..rFuskad erffrf DO Won