The Fulton County news. [volume] (McConnellsburg, Pa.) 1899-current, 1906-06-20
Sssxx s~erssss sss-s~rss
SUNDAY SERMON
y " y y
A Scholarly Discourse BY
Rev VIM. T. Best
Observation-Disclosures


the eloquent divine, the Rev. William
Il. Best. He took for his text, "The
righteous shall flourish like the palm
tree" and said:
Look al the wonderful way in which
the Holy Spirit works on man. Just
think OF n man whose throat is an
open sepulchre.' his mouth full of
cursing." his feet swift TO shed inno-
cent blood, his heart "deceitful and
desperately wicked" spreading him
self like green bay tree "a tree that
is good for nothing, but to keep the
sunlight out of the marsh. the very
place where it ought to sinner. and
then think of the Holy Spirit taking
hold OF that man. bringing him "from
darkness TO light" from the power of
sin aud Satan 10 God putting new
song in his mouth placing his feet i'm
the way Of peace taking away the
stony heart and giving him an ''heart
OF flesh" changing him from IA hard,
fruitless, g0od-for-nothlng bay tree into
IN upright. useful, victorious palm
tree. Ii is wonderful wonderful! but
that is not all,
For God viii give him all things"
Christ will never leave nor fOrsake
him; the Holy Ghost will lead and
guide him into "all TRUTH" the angels
OF Heaven Will have charge concerning
him to keep him in all his ways. HE
shall be like "A tree planted by the riv-
ers OF water, that hringeth forth his
fruit IN his season; his leaf also shall
nos wither and whatsoever he doetl
shall prosper" He shall flourish in
the courts of God" he shall flourish
"like the palm tree "he shall still
bring forth fruit IN old age, he shall be
fat and iourshlng.'
The palm tree is the prince of the
vegetable Kingdom. so named from its
noble aspect; 1t sometimes rises one
hundred feet, unbroken by branches.
bearing at its summit Il magnificent
and graceful crown Of large. fan
shaped and feathery leaves. in the
shadow Of which are suspended great
clusters Of fruit No tree can look
more lordly or beautiful II is not.
however, only beautiful. for. from the
bottom of its lowest root TO the top
OF its highes, leaf, it is useful; from its
leaves, baskets bags, mats and brushes
are made; from its trunk, fences. canes.
poultry cages. building material and
fuel are obtained while from its
fibrous webs thread is procured. which
may be twisted Into ropes ana rigging.
1t furnishes food. shelter. clothing,
fibre, starch. paper. wood sugar, oil.
wax, tannin. Oyeing materials. resin
and Il host OF other things, IN all. max
ing three hundred ana sixty. In Egypt,
Arabia and Persia many of the inhab-
itants subsist almost entirely on its
fruit For more than one hundred
years it maintains its yigor and beauty,
and there is no more charming nor
majestic sight than this king among
the trees of the plain,' "as it looks far
away in the distance and gazes into the
face of the sun, a symbol of life in the
midst Of Il world of death"
The Christian may be compared to
the palm tree In the following respects:
l. The palm tree is of humble
growth, its stem being thick in proper
tiou to its height and is not more COM
plicated in structure than that of the
common butcher-broom. Sometimes it
produces series Of adventtious roots.
which thrust themselves into the soil
and serve to steady 1t. On account
of its weakness Pliny says. they will
sometimes plant three or four of them
together forming one strong, lofty aud
beautiful tree. They were planted in
the courts Of the temple.
The little things of to-day are the
great things of tomorrow. The King
dom Of Heaven rs like a grain Of mus
tard seed. which a man took and cast
into his garden; aud it grew and waxed
great tree When a man is born
into the Kingdom Of God. he is but a
babe in Christ and looks to those
around him for help, but how often he
is disappointed and finds that they,
who should be his best friends, are
often his greatest foes. This teaches
him the great lesson of taking his eyes
off men ana placing them on Christ
and by prayer and faith 10 reach out
and take hold OF the solid rock. so that
when the winds Of temptation and
floods of doubt come he is enabled to
stand The great privilege, however, is
open TO him Of uniting with the Chris
tan Church. and thus with people like
himself, planted in the house Of the
Lord, grow up into a beautiful Chris
tian character
ii. The palm tree grows in the
purest soil il viii not grow and four
ish in filthy places like some trees" &"
Its heart is soft and tender and is fed
by hidden springs, that flow beneath
the surface Of the ground. It's roots
drink deep, ana are sustained, while
they send mp the moisture into the
leaves and branches. and they are re-
freshed and inyigOrated. Its pres
ence. travellers assure Us, indicates that
water is near, aud may be obtained
from springs, or by digging; according
y. Israel found twelve springs and
seventy palm trees at Elm"
The palm tree Christian grows In the
purest soil, where the Gospel is
preached in its purity. David said.
WHO shall ascend into the hill Of the
Lord He that hath clean hands and
= pure heart The Saviour said.
BLESSED are the pure in heart. for
they shall see God" The blessing of
pure heart and the blessing OF
holiness are one and the same thing;
pure means unmlxed. holiness means
Wilderness, both mean perfectness God
said to Abraham, Il am the Almighty
God; walk thou before Me, and be thou
perfect" David said Mark the per-
feet man and behold the upright, for
the end Of that man Is peace" Jesus
said to ne young ruler. If thou wilt
be perfect, 90 and sell that thou hast,
and give 10 the poor" BE ye there.
for perfect, even as your father. which
is In Heaven, is perfect" Some men
say they do not believe in perfection,
but what man believes he believes
is very different from what he does
believe" No man will cut the sleeve
out Of his coat or the toe out Of his