Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1900-09-12

1 oh, says somebody, Il don't see what
the garden of the church has yielded"
your hospitals. and your institutions Of
mercy? Christ planted every one OF
them. Hc planted them in His garden.
When Christ gave sight to Bartimeus, He
laid the cornerstone of every blind asy.
lum that has ever been built. When
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 glorious garden,
and it is full of fruit. I know there is
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 sonie wild grapes that
ought to be uprooted. But are you going
to destroy the whole garden because of
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-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 ehurch
whose religion is not matter of psalm
morning that religion will keep them just
| as consistent and consecrated in their
| worldly occupation as 1t 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 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 twenty years
| martyrdom Yonder is a man who has
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
good while ago. When that tree was
planted. it was so split and bruised and
upon it, but no sooner had that tree been
planted than 1t budded and blossomed
and fruited, 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 1t 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. If the
LII hN
one cluster of mercy shall restore:
Again, the church in my text is appro-
priately called a garden because 1T is
thoroughly irrigated. No garden could
prosper long without plenty of water
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 tM 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. Io'i
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
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 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 l be lame in heaven" No, my
J darling, you won't be lame in heaven.
, A little sick child says, Ma, will be
won't be sick in heaven 4 little blind
child says, MA, will l 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
cannot get in. 1t is so with king
, garden. The only glimpse you ever get o.
J such garden is when the king rides out
in his splendid carriage.
!, 1t is not so with this garden, thi:
.. Kings garden. l throw wide open thu
gate and tell you all to come in. Nc
may. Choose now between desert and
! a garden. Many of you have tried thu
garden of this worlds delight. You have
found it has been chagrin. So it was
, with Theodore Hook. He made all the
world laugh. He makes US laugh nov
when we read his poems, but he coulo
, not make his own heart laugh. While IL
,, the midst of his festivities he confronted
, a looking glass, and he saw himself anC
: said: "There, that is true: l look jus
! as l 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 bower:
! and said: Il have lost my road to hap
piness. I am angry and envious anC
i, frantic and despise everything around mt
just it becomes madman to do
, o ye weary souls, come into Christ
, garden to-day and pluck little hearts
I ease! Christ is the only rest and the only
, pardon for a perturbed spirit. Do yor
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
l have postponed 1T fve, ten, twenty, thIrt.
years-do you not feel as if now your houl
of salvation had come? Q man, what
, grudge hast thou against thy poor sou
that thou wilt not let it be saved?
Some years ago vessel struck on the
| rocks They had only one lifeboat Ir
1, that lifeboat the passengers and crew
were getting ashore. The vessel haC
deeper, and that one boat could not tax,
the passengers very swiftly A little cir
, stood on the deck waiting for her turT
,, to get into the boat. The boat came and
went, came and went, but her turn did
5 not seem to come. After awhile she could
, wait no longer, and she leaped on tho
taffrail and then sprang into the sea, cry
3 ing to the boatman: Save me next! Saw,
3 me next" Oh, how many have gone
!, ashore into Gods mercy, and yet you are
clinging, to the wreck of sin. Others have
I, accepted the pardon of Christ, but yor
are in peril Why not this moment make
rush for your immortal rescue, cryini
: until Jesus shall hear you and heaven anC
I earth ring with the cry: Save me next!
, Save me nextw Now is the day of saliva
] tionl Now! Nowl