The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1900-09-19

He laid the cornerstone of every lunatlo
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, II was in
prison, and ye visited Me-" He laid the
cornerstone of every prison reform assoo-
citation that has ever been organized.
The church of Christ is a glorious garden,
some poor fruit in it. I 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 few specimens of gnarled fruit.
I admit there are men and women in
the church who ought not to he there,
| but let US be frank and admit the fact
that there are hundreds and thousands OF
glorious Christian men and women-holy,
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 wom:
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
20 out into the kitchen to help Martha
in her work, that she may sit there too.
There is woman who has drunken hus.
band, who has exhibited more faith and
patience and courage than Ridley in the
fire. He was consumed in twenty min.
utes. Hers has been q twenty years
martyrdom. Yonder is a man who has
been fifteen years on his back, unable to
feed himself, yet calm and peaceful as as
though he lay on one of the green banks
paddles in the crystal river!
I have not told you of the better tree
in this garden and Of the better fruit. 1t
was planted just outside Jerusalem a
good while ago. When that tree was
planted, it was so split and bruised and
| barked men said nothing would ever grow
upon it, but noI Sponer had that tree been
! planted than kudded and blossomed
and and fFgs s1Sisss lsf spears S.an TSss tSss
only, tnessSiuyS. stiIdV y5eruCh oo"n 'no'
fruit and 1T fell into the lap of the ma.
eat Il. aid they found in t an antidote to
all thn,t TO all poison, to all sin, to all
death, the smallest, cluster larger than
| the famous one Of Eshcol, which two men
carried on staff between them. If the
one apple in Eden killed the race, this
one cluster ofsmercyS shall restore.
Again, the church in my text is appro-
priately called garden because it is
thoronghly irrigated. No garden could
prosper long withept plenty of water.
3I have psen assarden in the midst Of a
desett, VET blooming and luxuriant. All
around wa dearth and barrenness, but
this GARDEN up to the mountains, and
through these, aqueducts the water came
Streaming down and tossing up into
beau ntifui fountains until every root and
| leaf and Hover was saturated.
That Is like the church. The church is
Ia garden in the midst IF great desert Of
sin and suffering, but it 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 q
river the stream whereof shall make glad
the city of OR God" -.
Preaching the gospel is one Of the aque-
ducts. The Bible is 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. On,
was there ever garden so thoroughly
| irrieated? \! -. .'%
Then I see Jesus going, up another gar
den path, and see great excitement
among the leaves, and hasten up to- that
garden path to see what. Jesus is doing
there, and, 10, He is breaking OH 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 My garden to gather, lilies,
and I mean to take these up to higher
and there I 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 I looked up into His face and said:
"Well, it is Thy garden, and Thou hast
right to do what Thou wilt with it. Thy
will be done"--the hardest prayer man
ever made. - q.
It has seemed as if Jesus Christ took
the best. From manz Of your households
the best one is gone. Vou 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: "1ord Jesus take tit
is tie best we have. Take it. Thou art
worthy" The others in the household
may have been of grosser mold. She was
Of the finest. g.. -,
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: throw, KISS to
the sweet darlings: They are all well now
in the palace. The crippled child has,
sound foot now. A little lame child says,
"Ma. will I be lame in heaven?" "No, my
| darling, YOU won't be lame in heaven"
| I notice that the fine gardens some.
times have high fences around them, and
I cannot get in. 1t is so with a Kings
garden. The only glimpse you ever get OF
such garden is when the king rides out
in his splendid carriage.
| It is not so with this garden, this
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 a desert and
a garden. Many of you have tried, the
garden of this worlds delight. You have
found it has been q chagrln. so It was
with Theodore Hook. He made all the
world laugh. He makes US laugh nov nov
when we read his poems, but ne could
not make his own heart laugh. While in
the midst of his festivities he. CONFRONTED
| y Iool,;nn oIoss and he saw himself and