Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1901-09-12
FAITH IS EVERGREEN
DR.. TALMA6E'S SUNDAY SERMON.
Bough of Consolation, the Palm
Branch Gf Victory.
WAINWRIGHT 1901. I

DIR. Talmaee Is full OF the breath OF the
hills and fields and is a summer sermon
text, Nehemiah, viii, Is. Go forth unto
the mountain and fetch olive branches
and palm branches and branches OF thick
trees to make booths"
1t seems as if Mount Olivet were un-
moored. The people have gone into the
mountain and have cut off tree branches
and put them on their shoulders and they
come forth now into the streets OF Jeru-
salem and on the housetops and they
twist these tree branches into arbors or
booths. Then the people come forth from
their comfortable homes and dwell for
seven DAYS in these booths or arbors.
Why do they do that Well. it is a great
fastal time 1t is the feast OF tabernacles,
and these people are going to celebrate
the desert travel OF their fathers and their
deliverance from their troubles, the expe-
rienca of their fathers when, travelling in
the desert, thew lived in booths on their
way to the land Of Canaan. And so these
booths also became highly suggestive-of
our march toward heaven and OF the TACT
that we are only living temporarily here,
as it were, in booths or arbors, on our
way to the Canaan of eternal rest. And
what was said to the Jews literally may
he said fguratively to all this audience.
Go forth into the mountain and fetch
olive branches and pine branches and
myrtle branches and palm branches and
branches of thick trees to make booths.
Yes. we are only here in a temporary
residence. We are marching on. The
merchant princes who used to live IN
Bowling Green. New York, have passed
away, and their residences are now the
fields of cheaD merchants Where are
the men who fifty years ago owned Wash
ington and New York? Passed on. There
is no use in our driving our stakes too
deep into the earth; we are on the march.
The generations that have preceded us
have gone so far on that we cannot even
hear the sound Of their footsteps. They
have gone over the hills, and we are to
follow them.
But. blessed be God. we are not in this
world left out of doors and unsheltered.
There are gospel booths or gospel arbors
in which our souls are to be comforted.
Go forth unto the mountain and fetch
olive branches. and pine branches, and
myrtle branches, and palm branches and
branches of thick trees and build booths
Well, now, we are to-day to construct a
gospel arbor or gospel booth, and how
shall we construct it? Well we must
get all the tree branches and build. Ac-
cordng to my text, we must go up into
the mount and bring olive branches. What
does that mean? The olive tree grows in
warm climates and it reaches the height
Oh twenty or TWENTY-FIVE feet, straight
stem and thea an offshoot from that stem.
And then people come and they STIR p off
these branches sometimes, and when in
time of war the general of one army takes
one Of these olive branches and goes out
to the general of another army, what does
that mean? Why, it means unsaddle the
war chargers: it means hang up the war
knapsacks. 1t Is but a beautiful way of
saving peace!
Now, If we are to-day going to succeed
in building this gospel arbOr we must 60
into the mount of Gods blessing and fetch
the olive branches. and whatever else we
must have we must have at least two olive
branches-peace with God and peace with
man. When ! say peace with God | do
not mean to represent God as an angry
chcftaln having n grudge against us, but
| do mean to afiirm that there is no more
antagOnlsm between a hound and hare,
between a hawk and pullet, between Gle
phant and swine than there is hostility
between holiness and sin.
And if God is all holiness and we are all
SIN there mus be a rGadlustment, there
must be a reconstruction, there must be a
treaty, there must be stretching forth
of olive branches.
There is a great lawsuit going on now,
and it is a lawsuit which man is bringing
against his Maker; that lawsuit is now on
the calendar. 1t is the human versus the
divine: it is iniquity versus the immacu-
=
Man began it; God did not begin the law
suit. We began it; we assaulted our Ma
ker and the sooner we end this part of
the struggle in which the finite attempts
to overthrow the infinite and omnipotent
the sooner we end it the better. Trav-
elers tells there is no such place as
Mount Calvary: that it is only hill. only
an insignificant hill. but ] persist in calling
it the mount of Gods divine mercy and
love. far grandcr than any other place on
earth, grander than the Alps or the Hi
maiayas, and there are no other hills az
compared with it; and I have noticed in
every sect where the cross of Christ is set
forth it is planted with olive branches.
and all we have to do is to get rid OF
this war between God and ourselves, of
which we are all tired. We want to back,
out of the war; we want to get rid of this
hostility. All we have to do is just to get
up on the mount OF Gods blessing and
pluck these olive branches and wave them
before the throne Peace through our
Lord Jesus Christ!
Oh, it does not make much difference
what the world thinks of you! But come
into the warm. intimate glowing and
everlasting relationship with the God of
the whole universe; that is the JOY that
makes Il halleluah seem stupid. Why do
we want to have peace through our Lord
Jesus Christ? Why, if we had gone on in
10000 years of war against God we could
not have captured so much as sword or
q cavalry stirrup or twisted off one of the
wheels of the chariot of His omnipOtence
but the moment we bring this olive branch
God and all heaven come on our side
Peace through our Lord Jesus Christ and
TO other kind OF peace Is worth anything.
But then we must have that other olive
hranch-peace with man. Now, it is very
easy to get up a quarrel. There are gun
L
match OF provocation will set them off
1t is easy enough to get up quarrel But.
my brother, do You not think You had
better have your horns sawed off? Had
not you better make an apology? Had
not you better submit to little humilia-
ton? Oh. you say, until that man
taxes the first step | will never be at
until he Is ready to take the first step"
You are pretty Christian. When would
this world be saved if Christ had not
taken the first step? We were in the
wrong; Christ was in the right, all right
and forever right, and yet He took the
FIRST step. And instead of going and get
ting knotty scourge with which to whip
YOUR antagonist, Your enemy. you had bet
ter get up on the radiant mount where
Christ suffered for His enemies and Just
take an olive branch, not stripping off the
SOFT cool, fragrant leaves. leaving them all
on, and then try on them that gospel
switch 1t will not hurt them, and it will
save you. Peace with God; peace with
man. If you cannot take those two doe
trines, you are no Christian.
But my text goes further 1t says, Go
up into the mountain and fetch olive
branches ard pine branches Now. what
is suggested by, the pine branch? 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
80 South every year? 1t is not merely to
get to warmer climate, but to get tie in
fuence of the pine. There is health in it,
and this pine branch of the text suggests
the helpfulness of our holy religion. 1t is
full Of health. health for all, health for
the mind, heath for the soul. l knew an
aged man who had no capital OF physical
health. He had had all the diseases you
coa'd imagine. He did not cat enough to
keen a child alive: he lived on beverage
of hosannas: he lived high, for he dined
every day with the King; he was kept