St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1901-09-28

ence 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 hal.
leluial 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
q sword or q cavalry stirrup OF
| t--isted 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 L-.rist,
and no other kind of peace is worth
anything.
But my text takes step further,
| and it says, Go into the mountain
and fetch olive branches and pine
branches and palm branches. Now, the
| palm tree was very much honored
by the ancients. It had $50 different
uses. The fruit was conserved, the
sap was a beverage, the stems were
ground up for food for camels. 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 IS feet in height sometimes,
and it spread leaves four and five feet
long. It meant usefulness, and it
meant victory-usefulness for what
it produced and victory because it
was brought into celebrations of
triumph. And oh, how much we want
the palm branches in the churches
of Jesus Christ at this time! A
great many Christians do not amount
to anything. You have to shove
chariots come along.
I know the old plan was, the plan
row is, in regard to worldly invest
ments-you hear it, merchants tell
you-do not put everything into one
thing, do not put all your eggs into
one basket. But I have to tell you
in this matter of religion you had
better give your all to God and 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 carrots Then,
my brother, raise corn and carrots to
the glory of God. 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 typifed by the palm
tree. All, we do not want in the
church any more people that are
merely weeping willows, signing into
the water, standing and admiring
their long lashes in the CLASSY spring.
No wild cherry, dropping bitter fruit.
We want palm trees, holding some
thing for God, something for angels,
something for man. am tired and
sick of this fiat, tame, insipid, satin
slippered, nambypamby, hightytighty
religion! It is worth nothing fo1 this
world, and it is destruction for eter-
nifty. 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
standard. In ten years 10000 of
them would take the whole earth for
God. But when are we going to be-
gin? 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 begin?
But the palm branch also meant
victory. You all know that. In all
ages, in all lands, the palm branch
means victory. Well, now, we are by
nature the servants of satan. He
stole us, he has his eye on US, he
wants to keep us. But word comes
from our Father thai if we will try
to break loose from this doing of
wrong our Father will help us, and
we look the black tyrant in 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
gust, and we say, ''Victory, victory.
through our Lord Jesus Christi" Oh
what a grand thing it is to have sin
under our foot and a wasted life be-
hind our backs. BLESSED is he whose
transgression is forgiven and whose
sin is covered"
Do you not think we had better
begin 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 fash
toned 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, friends, 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 be-:
gin the rehearsal on earth? 'They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst
any more; neither shall the sun
light on them, nor any heat. For the
Lamb which is in the mist of the
throne shall feed them and shall lead
them to living fountains of waters;
and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes"
L T. ~