Republican news item. [volume] (Laport, Pa.) 1896-19??, 1901-09-19

l.
aged man who had no capital of physical
health. He had had all the diseases you
could imagine He did not eat enough to
keep child alive; he lived on a beverage
OF hosannas; he lived high, for he dined
every day. with the King; he was kept
alive simply by the force of our holy reli-
glon 1t is 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
Tor the whole man. 1t gives a man such
peace, such quietness, such independence
OF circumstances such holy equipoise Oh,
that we all possessed it; that we possessed
it now!
And some one says. "My business is
to manufacture horseshoe nails" Then
manufacture horseshoe nails to the glory
OF God. There is nothing for you to do
that you ought to do but for the glory
of God
Usefulness is typied by the palm tree.
An, we do not want in the church any
more people that are merely weeping viii
lows, signing into the water standing and
admii1ng their long lashes in the CLASSY
spring! No wild cherry dropping bitter
fruit. We want palm trees. holding
something for God, something for angels,
something for man | am tired and sick
OF tins fiat, tame. insipid. satin slippered,
namby Dambv. highly tightly relieioni 1t
is worth nothing for this world, and it
Is destruction for eternity. Give me 500
men and women fully consecrated to
Christ, and we will take this city for
God in three years; give me 10000 men
and women fully up to the Christian
standards; in ten years 10000 of them
would take the whole earth for God
But when are we going to begin? We
all want to be useful. There is not a
man in the pews that does not want to
be useful. When are we going to be-
gin?
Ledyard. the great traveller. was
tIoughc before the Geographical Society
OF Great Britain, and they wanted him
they, showed him all the perils and all
the hard work and ali the exposure, and
after they had told him what they want
ed him to do in Africa they said to him.
Now. Ledyard. when are you ready to
START He said, Tomorrow morning"
The learned men were astonished They
thought he would take weeks or months
You want to be useful in Christian service
When, are YOU going to begin? Oh, that
you had the decision to say, Now;
now" Oh. go into the mount and gather
the palm branches
But the palm branches also mean VIC
tory. Well, now, we are by nature the
servants of satan He stole us: he has
word comes from our Father that if we
will try to break loose from this doing of
wrong our Father will help us and some
day we rouse up, and we look the black
tyrant III the face, and we fly at him,
and we wrestle him down, and we put
our heel on his neck, and we grind him
in the dust. and we say, ''Victorv, vic
tory, through our Lord Jesus Christi"
oh, what grand thing it is to have
sin underfoot and wasted life behind
our backs! blessed is he whose trans
gression is forgiven and whose sin is
covered"
Some one says, Glow about the fu.
tureF' What, says the man, / feel so
sick and worn out with the ailments of
HE. You are going to be more than
conqueror. But, says the man, | am so
tempted, | am SO pursued in life. You
are going to be more than conqueror. /,
who have so many ailments and heart
aches gong to be more than conqueror?
Yes, unless you are selfconceited that
you want to manage all the affairs of
your life yourself instead of letting God
manage them, Do YOU want to drive
and have God take a back seat? 'Oh,
no." you say: Il want God to be my lead
er." Well, then, you will be more than
conqueror. our last sickness will come
and the physicians in the next room will
be talking about what they will do foI
You. What difference will it make what
they do for you? You are going to be
we'll everlastingly well. And when the
spirit has fled the body your friends will
be talking as to where they shall bury
YOU What difference does it make to
you where they bury you? The angel of
the resurrection can pick You out of the
dust anywhere. and all the cemeteries OF
the earth are in Gods care. Oh, you are
going to be more than conqueror!
n IL l. L I
now to celebrate the coming victory? In
the old meeting house at Somerville my
father used to lead the singing. and he
had the old fashioned tuning fork. and
he would strike it upon his knee and then
put the tuning fork to his ear to catch
the right pitch and start the hymn. But,
friend. do you not think we had better
be catching the pitch of the everlasting
song, the song of victory, when we shall
be more than conquerors? Had we not
better begin the rehearsal on earth?
My text brings us one step further
1t says go forth into the mount and
fetch olive branches, and pine branches,
and myrtle branches, and palm branches
and branches of thick trees. Now you
know very well-I make this remark un
der the head of branches of thick trees
that booth or arbor made of slight
branches would not stand. The first blast
of the tempest would PROSTATE it. So,
then, the booth or arbor must have four
stout poles to hold up the arbor or
booth, and hence for the building of the
arbor for this world we must have stout
branches of thick trees. And so it is
in the gospel arbor.
Blessed be God that we have brawny
Christianity. not one easily upset. The
storms of life will come upon us, and
we want strong doctrines not only love,
but justice; not only invitation, but
warming 1t is a mighty gospel; it is am
omuipotent gospel. These are the stout
branches of thick trees
| remember what Mr.. Finney said in
a schoolhouse The village was so bad
it was called Sodom, and it was said to
have only one good man in all the village,
and he was called Lot, and Mr.. Finney
was preaching in the schoolhouse, and
he described the destruction of Sodom;
how the city was going to be destroyed
unless they repented, and that there
would be rain from heaven of sorrow and
destruction unless they, too repented
And the people in the schoolhouse sat
and ground their teeth in anger. and
clinched their fists in anger. but before
he got through with his sermon they got
down on their knees and cried for mercy
while mercy could be found. Oh. it is
a mighty gospel; not only an invitation,