Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1901-09-04
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God, peace with man. Ii you cannot
take those two doctrines, You are no
Christian.
Health for Mini and Soul.
But my text goes further. Ii says, Go
up into the mountain and fetch olive
branches and pine branches" Now. what
is suggested by the pine branchy The
pine tree is healthy, it is aromatic, it is
evergreen. How often the physician says
to his invalid patients: Go and have a
breath Of the pines. That will invigorate
you. Why do such thousands Of people
20 south every year: 1t is not merely 10
/ get to warmer climate, but to get the in
| huence Of the pine. There is health in it,
and this pine branch of the text suggests
| the hepfulness of our holy religion. IL
is full Of health--health for all, health
for the mind. health for the soul. knew
an aged man who had no capital of ply
steal health. He had had all the diseases
you could imagine He did not eat enough
to keep u child alive. He lived on bever-
age of hosannas He lived high. for he
| dined every day with the King He was
kept alive simply by the force of our holy
| religion. 1t is healthy religion healthy
for the eye, healthy for the hand, healthy
tNA thN iNtls HthituN IbI tLt AiGulA,
healthy for the liver, healthy for the
spleen, althy for the whole man. 1t
gives Il man such peace, such quietness.
| such independence of circumstances, such
holy equipoise. Oh. that we all possessed
it. that we possessed it now. | mean it Is
healthy if Il man gets enough of it. Now.
there are some people who get just
enough religion to bother them, just
| enough religion to make them sick, but il
a man take full. deep, round inhalation
of these pine branches of the gospel ar
Dor he will find it buoyant. exuberant,
| undying, immortal health.
But this evergreen of my text also sug-
gests the simple fact that religion is
evergreen. What does the pine branch
care for the snow on its brow! 1t is
| only a crown of glory. The winter can
not freeze it out. This evergreen tree
branch is as beautiful in winter as it is
in the summer. And that is the charac-
teristic of our holy religion. In the
| sharpest, coolest winter of misfortune
and disaster it is as good a religion as it
| is in the bright summer sunshine. Well,
now, that is a practical truth. For sup
| pose if | should go up and down these
aisles | would not find in this house fifty
! people who had had no troGhle. But
| there are some of you who have especial
trouble. God only knows what you go
| through with. Oh, how many bereave-
ments, how many poverties, how many
| prosecutions, how many misrepresenta-
| tions. And now, my brother, you have
| tried everything else, Why do you not try
! this evergreen religion? 1t is just as good
| for you now as it was in the day of
| prosperity. 1t is better for you. Per
haps some of you feel almost lil-e Muckle
Backie, the fisherman who was chided
one day because he kept on working. al
| though that very day he buried his child.
| They came to him and said, ut is indie
cent for you to be mending that boat
when this afternoon you buried your
| child" And the fisherman looked up and
said Sir it is very easy for you gentle
| folks to stay ia the house with your
handkerchief TO your eyes in grief; but.
sir, ought | to let the other FIVE children
starve because one of them is drowned!
| Ne, sir. we maun work, we maun work,
| though our hearts beat like this hammer"
| You may have had accumulation of
| sorrow and misfortune. They come in
| hocks, they come in herds upon your
/ ,
| religion can console you, that it can help
you, that it can deliver you if nothing
| else will. Do you tell me that the riches
and the gain of this world can console
| YOU? How was it with the ecclesiastic
who had such a fondness for money that
when he was sick he ordered IA basin of
gold pieces to be brought to him, and he
put his equity hands down among the
gold pieces. cooling his hands off in them.
and the rattle and rolling of these gold
pieces were his amusement and enter
tainment All, the gold and silver, the
honors, the emoluments of this world,
are poor solace for perturbed spirit.
! You want something better than this
world can give. A young prince when
the children came around to play with
him, refused to play. He said. II will
play only with kings" And it would
be supposed that you would throw away
all other solace before this regal satisfac-
ton, this imperial JOY.
The Significance of the Palm.
But my text takes a step further, and
it says, Go into the mountains and fetch
olive branches and pine branches and
palm branches. Now, the palm tree WAS
very much honored by the ancients. 1t
had $50 different uses. The fruit was
conserved, the sap was Il beverage, the
stems were ground up for food for cam
els The base of the leaves was turned
into hats and mats and baskets, and from
the root to the top of the highest leaf
there was usefulness The tree grew
eighty-iye feet in height sometimes, and
it spread leaves four and five feet long.
1t meant usefulness and it meant victory
usefulness for what il produced and vic
tory because it was brought into cello
brations Of triumph. And oh. how much
we want the palm branches in the
churches of Jesus Christ at this time, y
great many Christians do not amount to
anything You have TO shove them eli
the track to let the Lords chariots come
along.
know the old plan was, the plan now
is, in regard TO worldly Investments
you hear it, merchants tell you--do not
put everything into one thing do not put
all your eggs into one basket But | have
to tell you in this matter of religion you
had better give your all to God ana then
get in yourself. Oh says some one. My
business is to sell silks and cloths. Well,
then, my brother sell silks and cloths to
the glory of God. And some one says
My business is to raise corn and ca
rots. Then, my rother. raise corn AMI
carrots to the glory OF God. And some
one says MY business is to manufa-
ture horseshoe nails" Then manufacture
horseshoe nails TO the glory Of God. There
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