Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1901-09-06

that you ought to do but for the glory
of God.
Usefulness is typi6ed by the palm, tree.
All, we do not want in the church any
more people that are merely weeping Wi,
lows. signing into the water standing and
admiring their long lashes in the CLASSY
epringi No wild cherry dropping bitter
fruit. We want palm trees. holding
something for God, something for angels,
something for man l am tired and sick
Of this fiat. tame insipid. satin slippered
namby Dambv. highly tightly religion! 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
standard; in ten years 10000 of them
you'd take the whole earth for God.
But when are we going to begin? We
al 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
brought before the Geographical Society
IF Great Britain, and they wanted him
20 make some explorations in Africa, and
shey showed him all the perils and all
The hard work and al 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
to get ready. Well, now, you tell me
you want to be useful in Christian service.
When are you going to begin? Oh, that
you had the decision to say, Nov;
now!" Oh, 60 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
his eye on us; he wants to keep U.S. But
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 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 dust, and we say, Victory, vic.
tory, through our Lord Jesus Christi"
sin underfoot and a wasted life behind
our backs! Blessed is he whose trans
erosion is forgiven and whose sin is
covered"
Some one says, GLOW about the fu-
ture?" What, says the man, | feel SO
sick and worn out with the ailments of
life. 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. j,
who have so many ailments and heart.
aches, going to be more than conqueror
Yes, unless you are so self-conceited 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 back seat? ooh,
no." you say: ~ want God to be my lead
en-" Well, then, you will be more than
conqueror. Your last sickness will come,
and the physicians in the next room will
be talking about what they will do for
you. What difference will it make what
they do for you? You are going to be
well. everlastinQly well. And when the
spirit has fed 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!
Do you not think we had better 1egin
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
ha &c NJ x.ybax, oh IL
be more than conouerors? Had we not
better begin the rehearsal on earth?
My text brings us one step further.
it says 60 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 WE'LL make this remark I'M
der the head of branches OF thick trees
that a 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 doctrine; not only love,
but justice; not only invitation, but
warning. 1t is q mighty gospel; it is an
omnipotent gospel. These are the stout
branches of thick trees.
/ remember what Mr.. Finney said in
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 schoohouse, 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
mighty gospel; not only an invitation,
but a warning, an omnipotent truth;
stout branches of thick trees.
Well, my friends, you see | have
omitted one or two points, not because
| forgot to present them, but because
| have not time to present them. /
have shown you here is the olive branch
of peace, here is the pine branch of
evergreen gospel consolation, here the
palm tree branch of usefulness and of
victory and here are the stout branches
of thick trees The gospel arbor is done.
The air is aromatic of heaven. The
leaves rustic with the gladness of God
Come into the arbor. Come into the
booth. I went out at different times with
fowler to the mountains to catch
pigeons, and we made our booth and we
sat in that booth and watched for the
pigeons to come And we found hocks in
Che sky and after awhile they dropped
into the net, and we were successful. So
[ come now to the door of this gospel
booth. l look out. 1 see focks of
souls flying hither and thither. Oh, that
they might come like clouds and as doves