Wauwatosa news. [volume] (Wauwatosa, Wis.) 1900-1948, 1901-09-07

| dttle HuHlllauon! 7On, YOU say, uh-
| til that man takes the first step l will
never be at peace with him. Nothing will
| be done until he is ready TO take the first
! STEP! You are a 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
getting a knotty scourge with which to
whip your antagonist, your enemy, you
had better 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, leav-
ing 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 doctrines, you are no
! Christian.
| Health tor Mind and Soul.
But my text goes further. 1t says, Go
up into the mountain ana fetch olive
branches and 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
go south every year? 1t is not merely to
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 helpfulneSs of our holy religion. 1t
is full Of health--health for all, health
for the mind, health for the soul knew
an aged man who had no capital of ph5
steal health. He had had all the diseases
You could imagine. He did not eat enough
TO keep Il child alive. He lived on a 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 a healthy religion-healthy
for the eye. healthy for the hand, healthy
for the feet healthy for the heart,
healthy for the liver, healthy for the
spleen, healthy for the whole man. 1t
gives man such peace, such quietness.
such Independence of circumstances, such
holy equipoise. Oh. that we all possessed
It, that we possessed ii now! mean 1t is
healthy if man gets enough of it. Now,
there are some people who get just
enough religion TO bother them, just
|
a man take full, deep round inhalation
of these pine branches OF the gospel ar
Dor he will find it buoyant, eXuberaut,
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 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
sharpcst, coolest winter OF misfortune
and disaster it is as good a religion as il
is i'll 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 trouble But
there are some OF you who have especial
trouble God only knows what you &c
through with. Oh, how many bereaye-
ments, how many poverties, how many
prosecutions, how many misreprescnta-
tons And now, my brother. you have
tried everything else. why do You not try
this evergreen religion? LIT 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 like Muckle
| Bnckie, the fisherman. who was chded
one day because he kept on working. al
| though that very day he buried his child.
They came to him and said, 1T is indie
cent for you to be mending that boat
when this afternoon you buried your
/ child And the fisherman looked IN and
said: Sir, it is very easy for you gentle
folks to stay in the house with your
/, handkerchief to your eyes in grief: but.
sir, ought | to let the other five children
! starye because one of them is drowned?
! No. sir. We maun work, we maun work.
i though our hearts beat like this hammer"
You may have had accumulation of
! sorrow and misfortune Thcr come in
/ Eocl,s, they come in herds, upon your
! soul, and yet have 10 tell sou that this
! religion can console YOU, that it eau help
| you, that it can deliver you if nothing
! else will. DO you tell me that the iches
! aud the gain of this world can console
/ you! How was il with the cccl~ la,ttt.
! who had such a fondness for mon. .a5t
| when he was sick he ordered a ba-.l .
| gold pieces to be brought to him. and ne
! 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
! tanment. All, the gold and silver. the
honors, tho emoIumcnts Of this world,
| are poor solace for pcrturbcd 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. lie 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
IL 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 ancicnts. 1t
had $50 different uses. The fruit was
conserved, the sap was a beverage, the
stems were ground up for food for cam
els. The base Of the leaves was turned
tvsts. hnfa a,y.I ~