The free press. (Poplarville, Miss.) 1890-19??, 1900-09-13

mas planted great many DeduCilui 'iiiio'
patience. charity, generosity, integrity,
but He intends the choicest fruits to be
in the garden, and if they are not there,
then shame on the church.
Religion is not a mere Towering sentl-
mentality 1t is a practical, life giving,
healthful fruit-not posies, but apples.
oh" says somebody. Il don't see what
the garden of the church has Yielded,
Where did your asvlums come from, and
your hospitals. and your institutions OF
mercy? Christ planted every one OF
them. He planted them in His garden
When Christ gave sight to Bartimeus, lie
laid the cornerstone of every blind asy-
lum that has ever been built. When
Christ soothed the demoniac OF Gahlee,
He laid the cornerstone OF every lunatic
ASYLUM that has ever been established
When Christ said to the sick man, Take
up thy bed and walk" He laid the. cor
nerstone of every hospital the world has
ever seen. When Christ said. 81 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 a glorious garden,
and it is full of fruit. | 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. 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
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 a few specimens of gnarled fruit.
/ admit there are men and women IN
the church who ought not to be there,
but let us be frank and admit the fact
that there are hundreds and thousands OF
glorious Christian men and women-hoiy,
blessed, useful, consecrated and triumph,
ant There is no grander collection in all
the earth than the collection of Christians.
There are Christian men in every church
whose religion is not a matter OF psalm
singing and churchgoing 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
go out into the kitchen to help Martha
in her work, that she may sit there too
There is a woman who has a drunken hus-
band who has exhibited more faith and
patience and courage than Ridley in the
fire. He was consumed in twenty mini
utes Hers has been a twenty years
~
been fifteen 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 oarsmen dip their
paddles in the crystal river!
l have not told you of the better tree
in this garden and OF the better fruit 1t
was planted just outside Jerusalem a
planted it was so split and bruised and
barked men said nothing would ever grow
upon it, but no sooner had that tree been
planted than it budded and blossomed
and fruted, and the soldiers spears were
only the clubs that struck down that
fruit, and it fell into the lap of the ma
tions, and the men began to pick it up and
eat it, and they found in it an antidote to
all thirst, to all poison, to all sin, to all
death, the smallest cluster larger than
the famous one of Eshcol, which two men
carried on a staff between them Ii 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 it is
prosper long without plenty of water
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
is the best we have. Take it. Thou art
worthy" The others in the household
may have been of grosser 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. l throw a kiss to
the sweet darlings They are all well now
in the palace The crippled child has a
sound foot now: A little lame child says,
Ma, will | be lame in heaven" No, my
darling, you won't be lame IN heaven"
sick ' n I heave sna SsSSs my d E yo os
won't be sick in heaven" A little blind
child says, Ma, will be blind in heav,
en-" No, my dear, you won't be blind
in heaven" They are all well there
l notice that the fine gardens some
times have high fences around them, and
l cannot get in. 1t is so with kings
garden. The only glimpse you ever get Of
in his splendid carriage.
Kings garden. l throw wide open the
gate and tell you all to come in. No
monopoly in religion. Whosoever will,
may Choose now between desert and
garden. Many of you have tried the
garden of this worlds delight. You have-1
found it has been a chagrln. So it was
with Theodore Hook. He made all the
world laugh. He makes us laugh now
when we read his poems, but he could
not make his own heart laugh While in
the midst of his festivities he confronted
looking glass, and he saw himself and
said. There, that is true. l look just
as | am, done up in body, mind and
purse" So it was of Shenstone, of whose
garden told you at the beginning of my
sermon. He sat down amid those bowers
and said; Il have lost my road to hap
piness. l am angry and envious and
frantic and despise everything around me
lust as it becomes a mailman to do"
O We weary souls, come into Christ's
garden to-day and pluck little hearts
ease! Christ is the only rest and the only
pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do you
not think your chance has almost come?
You men and women who have been wait
ing year after year for some good oppor-
tunity in which to accept Christ, but