,transcribers ,note3 ,page #g cocoanut changed to cocoa nut ,page #g overtops changed to over tops ,page #cc ensample changed to example ,page #fh reoice changed to rejoice ,page #fh ,bastile changed to ,bastille ,page #gb in-coming changed to incoming ,page #gc undercurrents changed to under-currents ,page #ajg caldron changed to cauldron ,page #aaa strengeneth changed to strengthenth ,page #aab scarifice changed to sacrifice ,page #aea inclosed changed to enclosed ,page #aeb usally changed to usually ,punctuation has been moved inside enquotes where it was outside ,the ,palm ,tree ,blessing ,a discourse on the various characteristics of the palm tree1 illustrating the many features of the sanctified1 ,christian life4 ,by ,evangelist ,w4 ,e4 ,shepard ,author of ,wrested ,scriptures ,made ,plain ,etc4 ,,nazarene ,,publishing ,,house ,,kansas ,,city1 ,,mo4 ,,copyright1 #aiac ,,nazarene ,,publishing ,,house ,,contents ,,chapter ,,one ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,beauty #g ,,chapter ,,two ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,straightness #aa ,,chapter ,,three ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,perennial ,,freshness #ad ,,chapter ,,four ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,fruitfulness #ai ,,chapter ,,five ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,sweetness ,,of ,,its ,,fruit #bf ,,chapter ,,six ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,bears ,,fruit ,,in ,,its ,,old ,,age #cd ,,chapter ,,seven ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,utility #da ,,chapter ,,eight ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,appreciated #ef ,,chapter ,,nine ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,will ,,grow ,,in ,,the ,,desert #ff ,,chapter ,,ten ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,finds ,,the ,,water #ga ,,chapter ,,eleven ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,gets ,,others ,,started #gf ,,chapter ,,twelve ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,mounts ,,heavenward #ha ,,chapter ,,thirteen ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,peculiar ,,in ,,its ,,growth #hf ,,chapter ,,fourteen ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,has ,a ,,rough1 ,,coarse ,,exterior1 ,,but ,,is ,,soft ,,at ,,the ,,heart #hi ,,chapter ,,fifteen ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,at ,,the ,,center #if ,,chapter ,,sixteen ,,the ,,palm ,,branch ,,is ,,the ,,symbol ,,of ,,victory #aac ,,chapter ,,seventeen ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,will ,,not ,,admit ,,of ,,grafting #abh ,,chapter ,,eighteen ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,adapted ,,to ,,warm ,,climates #adb ,,chapter ,,nineteen ,,palm ,,tree ,,peculiarities #adf a4 ,the ,explosive ,flower4 b4 ,the ,living ,sacrifice4 c4 ,the ,foreign ,missionary4 d4 ,differences in ,size and ,form4 ,introduction ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree4--,psalm #ib3ab4 ,wherever the ,holy ,spirit in the inspired ,word has made any statement concerning anything1 whether in regard to flowers1 fruit1 agriculture1 horticulture1 stock raising1 minerals1 earth1 sea1 sky1 stars1 science1 religion1 or what not1 rest assured that statement is absolutely correct4 ,there may be some statements which are hard to understand at first1 but which may become perfectly clear when proper light is thrown upon them4 ,the ,word of ,god abounds in comparisons4 ,it says the wicked are like the troubled sea1 the backslider like the dog turned to his own vomit again2 and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire4 ,in the first ,psalm it says the ungodly are like the chaff which the wind driveth away1 but on the other hand the godly are like a tree planted by the rivers of water1 that bringeth forth his fruit in his season2 his leaf also shall not wither2 and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper4 ,wherever ,god has compared the godly or the ungodly with anything1 ,he certainly understood the case and made no mistake4 ,if one is not sure of his spiritual standing1 it might be well to select something to which ,god has likened him1 and then note the difference4 ,among the most beautiful comparisons in the ,word is this3 ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree4 ,the object of this little book is to show some of the characteristics of the palm tree blessing4 ,let the reader not forget to keep before his mind the thought of measuring up1 and in that way be able to determine whether he belongs to the class mentioned4 ,please do not think of neighbor ,so-and-so1 but keep your thought on your own personal experience4 ,the ,palm ,tree ,blessing ,,chapter ,i ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,beauty ,it is certainly one of the most beautiful trees in nature4 ,that is why so many are used in decorating the premises4 ,people do not plant scrub oaks in their gardens1 but they plant nature's beauties4 ,in the palm tree realm we have a large variety1 of different sizes1 such as date1 fan1 and cocoa nut1 and in them all it seems that ,god laid ,himself out to make something charming to behold4 ,when ,he compared the saint with the palm tree1 it signified that there is something in him that is beautiful4 ,one may be counted homely1 or disfigured by some mark of nature or accident2 but in spite of all he can have ,god's beauty shining out from his face and life4 ,it matters not how he may be marked with some naturally undesirable feature1 in spite of all1 the palm tree saint has the effulgence of the upper-world glory1 which over tops it all1 and there shines forth real1 heavenly beauty4 ,so there is hope for all4 ,that beautiful daughter of ,king ,david1 and sister to ,absalom1 who was the finest looking man of his day1 was called ,tamar1 which is the ,hebrew word for palm4 ,doubtless she was called ,tamar on account of her beauty4 ,absalom named his daughter ,tamar for this same reason3 ,and unto ,absalom there was born three sons and one daughter1 whose name was ,tamar3 she was a woman of a fair countenance4 ,moses was so close to ,god and heaven during those days on the mount1 that his face literally shone4 ,and just in proportion as people today get close to the upper world1 will ,god cover them with ,his celestial cosmetics4 ,this far surpasses the paint and powder and ,circassian cream of a frivolous and fashion-loving world4 ,if people only knew it1 the more of these--and of dead birds1 rag posies1 and glittering gewgaws--they put on1 the more unbecoming they appear1 and the more any natural beauty they chance to have is covered up4 ,whenever a woman besmears her face with paint and powder1 hoping to cover up what she may think to be unseemly1 she might as well carry a placard bearing this inscription3 ,to whom it may concern3 ,this is to certify that ,i am homely1 and am trying to cover up the fact by the use of paint and powder1 thus hoping to deceive the public4 ,,signed--,o4 ,c4 ,,pride4 ,the ,king's daughter is all glorious within4 ,and because of this it works out1 and so1 with ,god's glory upon one1 surely there is no need of the world's adornments to supplement ,god's handiwork4 ,the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit is the adorning which all should seek1 and all may obtain4 ,the climax of trinket wearing is to be found in the heathen world4 ,there they deck themselves literally from head to heel4 ,they puncture ears1 lips1 and nose to find more room for their jewelry4 ,god's arraignment of ,his people in the third chapter of ,isaiah for patterning after the heathen customs is appalling1 and we wonder that the translators of the ,bible had the ingenuity to ferret out all the different kinds of trumpery in that dead language and find their proper expression in ,english4 ,when the writer was a boy going to a country school1 he was told by the teacher that barbarians wore jewelry1 and in proportion as people did the same today they were barbarian4 ,we once stepped into a restaurant in the city of ,omaha1 and noticed a woman seated at one of the tables4 ,the sight of her hand eclipsed anything we had ever seen4 ,there were rings galore4 ,we do not remember the number on her fingers1 but she had so many1 it looked as if she had not room enough on her fingers1 so she actually had one on her thumb4 ,doubtless she thought this added to her beauty4 ,we once saw a fortune teller with large rings in her ears1 three chains around her neck1 seven rings on her fingers and eight bracelets on the wrists4 ,how different is all this from the beauty which the ,holy ,spirit gives6 ,we have seen the faces of some saints that verily shone with the brightness of the indwelling ,christ within4 ,sometimes in deathbed scenes ,god has lifted the curtain just enough to let a little of heaven's halo fall across the features1 and how it lighted up the face and made it radiant with a glory which at once was known to be unearthly4 ,god surely knows how to beautify ,his people4 ,,chapter ,,ii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,straightness ,there is something in the very nature of this remarkable production1 that scarcely allows of any departure from the perpendicular4 ,the palm tree will grow straight4 ,one seldom sees a crooked one4 ,we remember seeing one1 but it was dead4 ,now1 if we have the palm tree blessing1 we are spiritually straight4 ,god's people are straight4 ,they are straight in their homes1 in the church1 in their business1 with the world1 with each other and with ,god4 ,in their business deals they will not stoop to any underhanded trickery either on a big scale or little4 ,they will even swear to their own hurt and change not4 ,they will put themselves out to hunt up the conductor in order to pay their nickle fare before they leave the car4 ,they never leave the counter with a surplus of change if they know it4 ,they are careful about not using many words in buying and selling4 ,they never cover up the defects and make prominent the good points in their deals4 ,they endeavor to observe the ,golden ,rule1 doing unto others as they would have others do to them4 ,they will surely overcome any stingy element in their makeup1 if previously possessed with such a factor4 ,they will not lavish their homes and let ,god's cause languish4 ,their earthly store belongs to ,god1 and they recognize ,his right to draw upon them whenever ,he chooses4 ,one of the greatest stumbling blocks to the world today is the crookedness of so many so-called saints4 ,the world knows when we walk straight4 ,they may call one an old fogy1 brand him as a fanatic1 say he has gone crazy over religion1 but at the same time they will say1 ,he pays his grocery bills4 ,and perchance a sinner is dying and wants prayer1 he will send for the very one he called fanatical and crazy4 ,do you think1 dear reader1 that you would be the one he would call upon for prayer8 ,the story is told of a man who was felling a tree1 and was buried beneath the branches as it fell4 ,on being extricated he was found to be mortally injured4 ,a physician was summoned1 and saw at once that the poor man must soon die4 ,being interested in his spiritual welfare1 he told the man plainly that he could not live1 and advised him to make his preparation to meet ,god1 suggesting at the same time that he send for a certain neighbor who was a deacon in the church4 ,upon the mention of this deacon's name1 the dying man recoiled1 and said1 ,i hate him4 ,he has lived alongside of me for years and has never said a word to me about my soul4 ,it is said that the palm tree has such a natural tendency to grow straight1 that it will not grow crooked though heavy burdens be placed upon it4 ,it will push up in spite of all the load1 and simply remain straight4 ,how like ,god's true saint6 ,satan has many burdens with which to break his back1 or cause him to deviate from the straight course1 but with this blessing1 he is enabled to rise in spite of all and be a perfectly perpendicular pilgrim4 ,praise the ,lord6 ,business burdens1 domestic duties1 religious responsibilities would crowd in and hold us down1 or shift our course upward1 but ,he who carries our cares1 and bears our burdens will bring us up straight if we but look constantly to ,him4 ,,chapter ,,iii ,,it ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,perennial ,,freshness ,the palm tree is an evergreen4 ,it always has a fresh1 green crown on top1 on the heavenly side4 ,some parts may wither2 some leaves fade and fall in time1 but up at the top is a never-fading1 fresh1 beautiful crown that basks in the open sunlight and is a beauty to behold4 ,now1 pilgrim1 press up alongside of this characteristic and see if you have the mark4 ,the palm tree blessing is always a fresh blessing4 ,those who are so fortunate as to have this experience have a freshness about them that makes others desire it4 ,there is nothing stale nor dry in their testimonies or prayers4 ,with this beautiful characteristic1 one does not say over the same old testimony1 repeat the same stereotyped prayer at family worship1 nor ask the same blessing at the table over and over4 ,you might note the next time you say grace at the table1 and then ask yourself if you have the palm tree blessing4 ,how refreshing some people's testimonies always are6 ,we are sure to get something new4 ,even if it is old1 it is set forth in a new garb1 and people enjoy it and get blessed4 ,they have a perennial freshness in their lives1 and a storehouse from which to draw1 so that they are always enabled to bless a congregation whenever they are present4 ,there are some saints that are always in demand in meetings because they are so juicy and blessed4 ,there is such a crown of rejoicing toward heaven in it all1 that the meeting is sure to rise in interest and power whenever they take part4 ,have you ever noticed a meeting that begins to rise with each succeeding testimony8 ,one speaks and the spiritual thermometer goes up a little1 then another in the ,spirit talks out his heart1 and up goes the temperature another degree or so1 and thus it rises till it reaches a good1 warm level1 when suddenly some one arises and instantly down goes the thermometer4 ,the meeting has cooled off several degrees4 ,what was the matter8 ,will you kindly notice the next time you testify1 and see if the thermometer goes up or down8 ,then ask yourself about this blessing1 providing you cooled the meeting off4 ,what is the reason1 when some people talk or pray1 the saints seem to be so glad8 ,they take it for granted that they are going to get something helpful and interesting1 and that the meeting will get a boost4 ,on the other hand1 why is it when certain others take part1 there is a sort of inward sigh1 uttered or unexpressed1 and a settling down to endure the ordeal till he gets through8 ,we will let the reader answer4 ,oh1 to be fresh1 and free1 and full of the ,spirit all the time6 ,the ,word declares that where the ,spirit of the ,lord is1 there is liberty4 ,the liberty of the ,spirit always makes a meeting fresh and helpful4 ,one of the prevailing hindrances in the ,christian life is quenching the ,spirit4 ,the command is1 ,quench not the ,spirit and we have no right to disobey that injunction any more than any other4 ,we have seen people pray through at the altar and get wonderfully blessed and have much of the freedom of the ,spirit1 and after a few days when the ,spirit desired again to manifest ,himself through them1 they have shrunk back through timidity1 quenched the ,spirit and leaked out in their experience4 ,does ,god make provision for any one to have any less liberty and freedom of ,spirit later on in his ,christian life8 ,i trow not4 ,look to it then that you do not frustrate the grace of ,god in your hearts4 ,if you were ever turned loose in a meeting1 or1 under the blessing of ,god you ran off with the meeting1 see to it that you lose not your liberty1 for the ,lord may call upon you some other time to swing loose and take things by storm4 ,the story is told of ,amanda ,smith1 the colored evangelist1 who felt one time that she should lift her hand in the service and say1 ,glory to ,god4 ,at first she wondered if that was best under the circumstances1 but felt the prompting was of the ,lord1 so she lifted her hand and shouted it out4 ,immediately the blessing of ,god was precipitated upon the congregation and a wonderful time of freedom was the result4 ,we knew a brother who said he felt impressed once to do a similar thing1 but he allowed something to hold him back1 and so grieved the ,spirit1 and he declared it took him two weeks to pray back to ,god4 ,it pays to obey ,god4 ,he will surely put ,his ,spirit upon those whom ,he can trust4 ,he will give all the liberty we will use4 ,we never need to pray for freedom in the meetings1 for all we have to do is to help ourselves4 ,imagine a child coming home hungry1 and asking his mother for some bread and butter4 ,his mother says1 ,there is the pantry1 child1 help yourself4 ,the child teases further for bread and butter4 ,once more the kind parent informs him that the cupboard is handy1 and he may help himself4 ,but the child continues to beg4 ,what attitude would that parent finally take8 ,it would probably result in a good spanking4 ,imagine a child of ,god continually teasing the ,lord for liberty1 when ,he is constantly saying1 ,help yourself4 ,the freedom will surely be on hand when we step out and do our part4 ,the amusing story is told of ,frederick ,douglas who rose from slavery to quite a place in history4 ,when in bondage in the ,south1 he was wont to pray the ,lord to give him his freedom4 ,but he said the ,lord did not answer his prayer4 ,again and again he prayed1 but the ,lord did not answer his petition4 ,one night1 said he1 ,i went out and set my eyes on the ,north ,star1 and scratched gravel behind1 and then the ,lord answered my prayer4 ,no wonder the paper he afterwards edited was called the ,north ,star4 ,if more people who are in bondage to fear1 and are longing at the same time for deliverance1 would do as this man of color did--set their spiritual eyes on the pole star of freedom1 and scratch gravel--they would soon find their prayers for liberty answered4 ,,chapter ,,iv ,,it ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,fruitfulness ,in the orient1 where the date palm thrives the best1 it is astonishing the quantity of delicious fruit it bears4 ,it affords one of the chief industries1 and is one of the principal articles of food4 ,seeing the inspired ,word declares that the righteous flourish like the palm tree1 it stands to reason that the righteous bear an abundance of spiritual fruit4 ,fruit-bearing is the chief characteristic of the saint4 ,but now being made free from sin1 and become servants to ,god1 ye have your fruit unto holiness1 and the end everlasting life 7,rom4 #f3 #bc74 ,a nonfruit-bearing holiness is a nonentity4 ,every branch in me that beareth not fruit1 he taketh away3 and every branch that beareth fruit1 he purgeth it that it may bring forth more fruit 7,john #ae3b74 ,in other words1 every ,christian who ceases to bear fruit1 becomes a backslider and is cut off2 while every one that bears fruit1 keeps connected with the ,true ,vine1 and gets cleansed1 or sanctified4 ,this statement simply means1 then1 that one must get cleansed1 or lose what grace he has4 ,these are solemn truths1 and each one should look well to his fruit bearing1 and continue in the same4 ,now the fruit of the ,spirit is love1 joy1 peace1 longsuffering1 gentleness1 goodness1 faith1 meekness1 temperance2 against such there is no law 7,gal4 #e3bb1 #bc74 ,all palm tree saints are in the fruit business4 ,there is no law1 says the text1 against such a business4 ,there is no law written in the ,bible1 or upon our hearts that opposes it4 ,there is no law of nature that runs counter to it4 ,the law of the land does not forbid one having love1 joy1 peace1 or any of the other varieties4 ,even formal ecclesiastical law does not oppose one having love1 joy1 peace1 or the others mentioned2 but sometimes it raises a hue and cry1 and brings forth a storm of persecution when the outward manifestations of this fruit intrude into their graveyard quietness1 and thus disturb their death4 ,god gave the ,israelites specific instructions what to do when they gained the ,promised ,land4 ,he told them when they entered ,canaan they were to take of the fruit of the land and put it into a basket and go to the proper place and say to the priest1 ,i profess this day unto the ,lord thy ,god1 that ,i am come unto the country which the ,lord swore unto our fathers for to give us 7,deut4 #bf3c74 ,the spiritual application is this3 ,when one arrives at ,canaan today1 he should immediately have a fine basket of the fruit of the land1 and go to the church and tell preacher and people1 that in the providence and mercy of ,god he has received a clean heart full of pure love1 or in other words1 he has been sanctified wholly4 ,but he must have his basket of fruit4 ,alas6 too many are testifying these days to being saved and sanctified and sweetly kept1 and when one looks for the basket of fruit1 there is nothing but leaves1 or perchance some peelings1 stems and shells4 ,abraham ,lincoln once said1 ,you may fool some of the people all the time1 and all the people some of the time2 but you can't fool all the people all the time4 ,the palm tree saint does not fool any of the people any of the time4 ,he simply has his basket of fruit with him1 and if one is inclined to doubt his testimony1 all he has to do is to look into his basket and behold the grapes1 figs1 and pomegranates of ,canaan4 ,this is what tells so on others who have not as yet arrived at the station4 ,when they see such delicious displays from the land of ,beulah1 their mouths begin to water1 and there is an inward longing for some of the same kind4 ,but what a stigma upon the religion of ,jesus ,christ1 when one lays claim to ,canaan experience1 and has nothing to show for it but an empty basket6 ,when the spies returned from their ,canaan exploration they brought of the fruit to ,moses and said1 ,we came unto the land whither thou sentest us1 and surely it floweth with milk and honey2 and this is the fruit of it 7,num4 #ac3bg74 ,they carried the unmistakable proof with them4 ,let us see to it that our testimonies are accompanied with their proper proof4 ,there is altogether too much failure in ,christian service1 because of the excuse of lacking in talent4 ,it is true that some have more talent than others1 but does that excuse those of one talent8 ,the terrible punishment inflicted upon the one who nicely wrapped his one talent in the napkin and laid it away1 ought to alarm any who may be tempted to do likewise4 ,those who are favored with more talents are held more responsible to ,god for the use of them4 ,it seems that ,god is not especially hunting for brains to use in ,his service1 as ,he is looking for clean channels4 ,if ,he can get the man of ten talents all consecrated to ,him1 very well and good2 ,he will certainly use him to ,his own glory2 but ,he is also ready to work with and through the simple-minded as well4 ,and frequently we find ,him doing more through such a channel than where there is ten times the talent4 ,we copy the story of what ,god did through a half-idiot boy as printed in the ,herald of ,holiness3 ,one time1 said ,dr4 ,broughton1 ,i remember beginning a meeting in an old1 conservative church in one of the most conservative towns of the ,south4 ,a large crowd had gathered to hear my first sermon4 ,it was not much of a sermon1 however1 that they heard1 but a good deal of proposition making4 ,to begin with1 ,i asked for all fathers who had unsaved sons to stand up4 ,nobody stood1 however1 except a little boy about twelve years old1 who sat far back in the congregation4 ,he arose4 ,he was not satisfied to stand1 he got up on the seat and lifted his hands4 ,he was determined to be seen4 ,everybody laughed at the mistake1 and ,i said1 ',young man1 that will do2 sit down4' ,my next proposition was to mothers1 but not a mother stood4 ,the same little boy stood up1 however4 ',that will do1' said ,i2 'sit down4' ,then ,i went for the brothers and sisters4 ,i made five propositions that night1 and he responded to every one of them1 and he was the only one that paid any attention to them whatever4 ,i went away from that meeting very much humiliated4 ,the same was true of the services on the next night and on through the services of three days4 ,to every proposition ,i made1 he responded1 and he was the only one who did4 ,finally1 a deacon of the church came to me and said3 ',that boy is a half idiot4 ,the fact is1 he is a whole idiot1 and those people are coming to see him perform4 ,that is what they are coming for4' ',well1' said ,i1 'what do you think ,i ought to do about it8' ',why1' said he1 'stop him1 of course4' ,i said1 ',stop him8 ,never6 ,he is the only sign of life ,i have seen in this town4 ,i feel like paying him to go around with me to worry old conservative deacons4 ,talk about that boy6 ,why1 he is the only spark of hope the church has in this town so far as ,i have been able to see4 ,i would not think of putting that light out4' ',well1' said the deacon1 'he has thrown a damper on your meetings4' ,i said1 ',no1 brother1 you can not throw a damper on an icehouse1 and this old thing has been frozen over for twenty years4' ',all right1 said he1 'let the boy go on4' ,so it went on for the rest of the week4 ,now and then some other simple soul would stand for prayer1 but very seldom4 ,at the close of the sermon the next ,sunday morning1 when ,i gave out the invitation for those who wished to join the church to come forward1 that boy walked up to the front4 ,i asked the usual questions and took the vote and he was received4 ,that night as ,i came into the church a man arose and said3 ',brother ,broughton1 ,i want to ask a prayer for a man who is in this house1 one of the honored citizens of our town and a man of eighty-five years of age1 who has not been in a church for twenty-five years until tonight4 ,he has been known as a skeptic1 but ,i see him here tonight1 and ,i think he will pardon me for making this request4 ,i feel so deeply the weight of his soul4' ,as soon he sat down the old man arose and said3 ',friends and neighbors1 ,i am the man you are about to pray for4 ,i want to tell you why ,i am here tonight4 ,this little boy who sits here by my side is my grandson4 ,you know that he is an unfortunate lad4 ,it is because of that we have loved him so4 ,this morning he came home and threw his arms around my neck and said1 ,oh1 grandpa1 ,i have got religion1 and have joined the church4 ,and grandpa1 ,i am so happy that ,i don't know what to do4 ,i wish grandma was here4 ,oh1 grandpa1 you know she went to heaven three months ago and ,i have nobody to talk to about ,jesus4' ,the old man said1 ',just as the child said that1 something struck my heart that had not struck it before since ,i was a boy and left home to go to college4 ,you can call it what you please1 but if you can1 by your prayers1 bring the grace of ,god into my heart1 ,i will be thankful4' ,before we left that night he was converted4 ,the next morning the little fellow went out in the town and climbed over his father's bar counter1 for he was a barkeeper1 and said1 ',papa1 won't you come and go with me to hear our preacher8' ,he promised he would that night1 which he did1 and at two o'clock the father was converted4 ,the next day he went out1 declaring he was going to be a missionary to his fellow saloon keepers4 ,he got them1 every one of them1 to close up their places and come to church4 ,there were seven in number1 and during that week six out of the seven gave their hearts to ,god1 and all of them agreed to close up their business4 ,a great revival broke out in that town which extended all through the county1 and several counties1 and in six months' time there was not a barroom in that county4 ,every barkeeper agreed to quit the business1 and so far as ,i know1 there has never been one in the county until this day4 ,such a gracious revival of religion6 ,how did it all come about8 ,not by preaching2 not by great manipulations2 not by great singing1 valuable as these all may be--they did not bring it about4 ,it came about through a little half idiot boy1 who had no better sense than to trust ,god the best he knew and do his level best4 ,,chapter ,v ,,it ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,the ,,sweetness ,,of ,,its ,,fruit ,all palms are not of the same variety1 but the date palm is the one specially noted for its sweet fruit4 ,when the orientals dry their dates and press them and ship them into our country1 we then learn how nearly akin to sugar they are4 ,the righteous shall flourish in sweetness4 ,full salvation surely sweetens one's life and disposition4 ,a sour holiness is a sham holiness4 ,some professors of religion look and act as if they were pickled instead of preserved4 ,when ,god described the beauties and benefits of ,beulah ,land1 ,he told the people it was a land of honey4 ,honey was one of the leading commodities of ,canaan4 ,one of the prime factors of the palm tree blessing is spiritual honey4 ,it is certainly a sweet experience1 both in its inward enjoyment and outward manifestation4 ,in the various tests of life one will find the inward proclivities making way to the surface1 and out of the abundance of the heart the mouth will speak4 ,sister1 do you find yourself saying1 ,praise the ,lord1 when the clothes line breaks1 or the bread burns8 ,what comes to the surface when your children tug at your apron by the hour in their fretfulness8 ,how is it when your neighbor's chickens clean up your radish and turnip patch8 or husband scolds1 or the older children are disobedient and saucy8 ,it is true one may be tried in these disappointing ordeals1 and have the smile of heaven at the same time1 but is there an overcoming sweetness in it all that convinces others that you have the palm tree blessing8 ,perhaps husband is smiling1 as wife reads these lines2 but how do you feel when the horse balks1 or the cow kicks the milk all over you8 ,what do you say when hammering1 and you hit the wrong nail8 ,how is your equilibrium at the midnight hour in zero weather when wife hunches you under the fifth rib and notifies you that baby has the colic and requests you to get up and make a fire8 ,do you smile and say1 ,certainly1 dear1 or do you growl and let her do it8 ,think of the palm tree blessing next time4 ,a minister once asked his colored servant why he didn't get along better1 while she always seemed so happy4 ,she replied that it was because he read his ,bible wrong4 ,he could not understand that1 for he certainly knew how to read the ,bible4 ,she finally told him1 where the ,bible said ,glory in tribulation1 he read it1 ,growl in tribulation4 ,the grace of gentleness and sweetness under trying circumstances is so scarce in this world1 that it is indeed refreshing when we come in contact with it4 ,it is said of the mother of ,john and ,charles ,wesley1 that one of the children once asked some privilege and was denied with a no4 ,the child was persistent and asked again1 and the answer was again1 no4 ,for some reason the interrogation was requested time and again1 and the patient mother responded no twenty times1 and the last time in the same tone of voice as the first4 ,we might question the propriety of allowing a child to be so persistent1 but we could not question the propriety of suffering long1 with kindness on the farther end of it4 ,we have been struck before now at the agitation and seeming impatience of some leading holiness preachers when some disturbance was made in the meeting2 when a child cried1 some one went out1 or some unusual noise or commotion occurred4 ,almost anybody can keep sweet when everything goes their way1 but the time to prove that a part of one's stock in trade is honey1 is when the trying ordeals of life press in1 and people are looking on to see if he has what he has been shouting over in the meeting4 ,there is a clause in the ,bible that reads thus3 ,the ,god of all grace4 ,i do not know how much our ,god has1 but it says in another place1 ,he giveth more grace4 ,we believe that in every exigency of life1 the grace of our ,god is sufficient4 ,if a policeman on the street of some large city met with some opposition as he was endeavoring to do his duty1 he would have the privilege1 if unable to cope with the opposition alone1 to call upon another officer4 ,if these two were unable to overcome1 they could have the whole police force of the city at their disposal4 ,if this power was not sufficient they could have the state militia1 and perchance this should fail1 the whole government is back of him1 and would call out the regular army4 ,that police officer has the whole government ready to back him up in doing his duty4 ,so it is with the faithful child of ,god4 ,when he is suffered to pass through some trying ordeal1 and the present stock of grace is not sufficient1 ,he giveth more grace1 and the ,god of all grace is at his disposal1 and ,god is able to make all grace abound toward him1 and ,he would call out the whole stock of grace of heaven before ,he would allow the faithful soul to fail who relied upon ,him4 ,these testing trials are what make solid ,christian character4 ,what would the giant oak on the mountain side amount to1 if it were not for the storms that surge against it8 ,these storms cause the roots to take stronger hold1 and thus they grapple with earth and rock and become practically immovable4 ,when the storms of trial and persecution sweep up against the pure in heart1 they cause them to cleave the more to their ,protector and send the roots of faith and love deeper into the ,rock beneath4 ,what does the ,word mean when it says1 ,that the trial of your faith1 being much more precious than of gold that perisheth8 ,does it not mean that these testings of faith are worth much more than gold nuggets which one might find in the street8 ,then why do we not act that way8 ,imagine one walking along the road and stumbling against a big chunk of fine gold1 and then looking down at the mouth and complaining at his misfortune4 ,no1 if such a one had been discouraged just before1 we think this sudden find would dispel all his sorrow4 ,how would it do for us to act as if we had found a nugget of gold1 the next time some great trial crosses our path8 ,would it be inconsistent to shout ,glory to ,god6 ,i have something that is worth more to me than gold tried in the fire8 ,count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations1 for ,blessed is the man that endureth temptation4 ,suppose one should come into a meeting and testify that he had more trials than anybody in the world4 ,we have heard testimonies that tend in that direction4 ,usually the witness looks as if it were about true4 ,but what does ,god's ,word say about it8 ,my grace is sufficient for thee4 ,we believe that all true pilgrims1 as they journey through life1 have at times all they can stand of trials and testings4 ,and yet1 there hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man3 but ,god is faithful1 who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able2 but will with the temptation also make a way to escape1 that ye may be able to bear it 7#a ,cor4 #aj3ac74 ,now1 in the light of these ,scriptures1 we see1 that in proportion to one's trials1 temptations1 and testings1 ,god puts alongside the sufficient grace to bear them4 ,if one has more trial than another1 and holds true to ,god1 it only shows that he has more grace than another4 ,now1 why doesn't the brother in the meeting who testifies that he has more trials than anybody else1 look up and shout himself hoarse at the abundance of grace the ,lord has for him8 ,let us not be infidels1 but actually believe the ,word of ,god1 and act as if we believed it4 ,amen6 ,if the ,devil can get us to grunt and growl when he kicks us1 it encourages him to kick the more4 ,notice those pestiferous boys at school4 ,see them poking fun at that crying lad who declares he is going to tell his mother4 ,the more he cries the more encouraged they feel to impose upon him4 ,now watch them as they ply their game on some independent chap4 ,he just laughs at them and says1 ,i don't care4 ,their fun is spoiled and one of them says1 ,come on1 boys1 we can't have any fun out of him4 ,why not try this method on the ,devil8 ,instead of crying and complaining1 and pitying yourself1 just shout1 ,glory to ,god6 when he kicks you4 ,he may try it again1 but shout ,hallelujah6 right in his face4 ,methinks he will say1 ,i don't understand that ,christian2 the more ,i kick him1 the more he praises the ,lord and shouts4 ,the explanation of ,psa4 #dj3aa by that sunny1 happy-hearted ,christian known as ,aunt ,sophia may not be far out of the way4 ,let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me4 ,aunt ,sophia said1 ,dat just like de deah ,lawd4 ,he puts ,his trusting children right in de big saucepan of ,his lub1 and ,he sweetens dem wif de sweetness of ,his grace1 so dey nebber get sour4 ,and when you see one who is cross and fretful and gloomy1 bress you1 honies1 dey is not preserved2 dey's only pickled6 ,there is nothing in the ,scriptures that would indicate that any part of the ,christian life was made up of sour material4 ,vinegar never catches flies1 and a sour1 long-faced professor of religion is certainly a poor sample of ,christ's handiwork4 ,when the sweetness of the palm tree blessing enters the soul1 the long face in the direction of north and south1 shortens up1 and lengthens out east and west4 ,a preacher once entered a grocery store1 and casting his eyes about1 he discovered some packages on a shelf1 with the following label on them3 ,warranted to keep sweet in all climates4 ,the company sending out the goods1 evidently had much faith in their enduring qualities4 ,they surely knew that the contents might be subjected to heat and cold1 wet and dry1 high and low altitudes1 at home and abroad4 ,yet they were ready to put on the goods1 ,warranted to keep sweet in all climates4 ,surely1 when our ,preserver has put the finishing touches on ,his goods1 ,he has included an element of grace which warrants them to keep sweet in all climates4 ,it does not seem hard for some to keep sweet when all goes their way2 when nothing crosses their path2 when all is fair sailing2 but let the nagging1 disappointing1 galling trials incident to this life press in upon the soul1 and the look1 tone and talk are changed4 ,the preserves have been changed to pickles4 ,such a one could not well influence another by his life and example to become a follower of the meek and lowly ,jesus4 ,we may not always be aware of it1 but surely others are watching us4 ,can we say with ,paul1 ,brethren1 be followers together of me1 and mark them which walk1 so as ye have us for an example8 7,phil4 #c3ag74 ,again1 ,those things which ye have both learned1 and received1 and heard and seen in me1 do3 and the ,god of peace shall be with you 7,phil4 #d3i74 ,,chapter ,,vi ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,bears ,,fruit ,,in ,,old ,,age ,it is a very long-lived tree4 ,at the age of about thirty it seems to have reached its height in fruitfulness1 but will continue its prolific yield for seventy years more under proper conditions1 so that at the century mark it is still flourishing4 ,it is said that it bears its very sweetest fruit in its old age4 ,in the realm of grace ,god has not planned for spiritual declension in old age4 ,the free grace of ,god is just as willingly bestowed then as in decades before4 ,the next verses which follow the statement3 ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree1 bring out this glorious truth4 ,those that be planted in the house of the ,lord shall flourish in the courts of our ,god4 ,they shall still bring forth fruit in old age2 they shall be fat and flourishing 7,psa4 #ib3ac1 #ad74 ,do we not often see old people1 after they have possibly professed holiness for many years1 in their declining days1 take on a fretful1 cross1 murmuring spirit1 and make it hard to get along with them8 ,instead of the little children delighting to be around them1 if they should express themselves1 they would say1 ,what is the matter with grandpa2 he is getting so crabbed and cross8 ,one of the saddest and also one of the most dangerous calamities that can befall an old ,christian1 is to lose the sweetness and juice and fruitfulness of early piety4 ,the trees of the ,lord are full of sap4 ,this sap life is characteristic of the palm tree1 and he who lacks the sweet juice of fresh life bubbling up in his heart should inquire into his experience4 ,one of the most encouraging and soul-inspiring examples to young converts is the victorious faith and activities of the aged saints4 ,how it blesses our souls when we stand in the presence of such an octogenarian4 ,the fire still burning within1 he is ready to pray1 shout or testify at a moment's notice4 ,there are many of ,god's old palm trees1 though they may have the word superannuated attached somewhere1 yet they are ever active in bringing forth fruit4 ,like the old horse that was superannuated from the fire department1 and was used in a delivery wagon1 when he heard the fire bell ring1 he champed his bits and struck off down the road and never stopped till he had backed up to the fire4 ,live meetings and revival fires set some of these old war horses going1 and one would think they were surely renewing their youth4 ,they love the way and will not rust out with advancing years4 ,look at the unceasing and untiring activities of ,john ,wesley1 much of it after he had crossed the line of fourscore years4 ,the following information concerning him is current in religious papers3 ,,how ,,john ,,wesley ,,worked ,his travels were immense1 amounting to about #bij1jjj miles1 or about twelve times the circumference of the globe1 making about #e1jjj miles a year4 ,he preached before the days of steam or electricity1 twenty sermons a week1 and often more4 ,most of these sermons were preached in the open air1 and often amid showers of brickbats1 rotten eggs1 and personal violence calculated to test the strongest nerve4 ,a ,baptist preacher recently celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of his pastorate4 ,it was announced as an unusual fact that he had preached an average of three sermons a week during the fifty years4 ,but ,john ,wesley preached on an average1 for fifty-four years1 three sermons a day4 ,the ,baptist clergyman had preached during the time a little over #h1jjj sermons4 ,mr4 ,wesley preached in fifty-four years1 more than #dd1jjj sermons4 ,this did not include numberless addresses and exhortations on a great variety of occasions4 ,for many years he was editor of the ',arminian ,magazine1' a periodical of fifty-six pages--the work of one man in these times4 ,he wrote and published a commentary on the whole ,bible in four large volumes4 ,he compiled and published a dictionary of the ,english language--no small undertaking4 ,he wrote and published a work of four volumes on natural philosophy4 ,he wrote and published a work of four volumes on ecclesiastical history4 ,he wrote and published comprehensive histories of ,england and ,rome4 ,he wrote grammars of the ,hebrew1 ,latin1 ,greek1 ,french1 and ,english languages4 ,he wrote1 abridged1 revised1 and published a library of fifty volumes known as the ',christian ,library1' and some time after he re-read1 revised1 corrected1 and published the whole in thirty large volumes4 ,this library contains one of the richest collections found in the ,english language4 ,he wrote a good-sized work on electricity4 ,he prepared and published for the common people three works on medicine4 ,he published six volumes of church music4 ,his poetical works1 in connection with his brother ,charles1 amounted to not less than forty volumes4 ,charles wrote most of them1 but they passed under the keen revision of ,john1 without which we doubt if ,charles ,wesley's hymns would have been what they are--the most beautiful and soul-inspiring to be found in the ,english language4 ,in addition to these multiplied publications1 we have seven large volumes1 including sermons1 journals1 letters and controversial papers known as ',wesley's ,works4' ,it is claimed that ,mr4 ,wesley's works1 including abridgments and translations1 amounted to at least two hundred volumes4 ,it is difficult to understand how a man could have found time to accomplish so much literary labor while perpetually on the wing4 ,in addition to all this1 ,wesley was a pastor and did more real pastoral work than nine-tenths of the pastors of these times4 ,one has only to read his journals to be convinced of this4 ,for a time he visited all the class and band meetings1 and had special charge of the select societies4 ,he appointed all the class and band leaders1 stationed all the preachers1 and had a general oversight of the many thousands of his followers4 ,he improved every moment of the day4 ,mr4 ,fletcher1 who was for some time his traveling companion1 says of him1 ',his diligence is matchless4 ,though oppressed with the weight of seventy years1 and the care of #cj1jjj souls1 he shamed still1 by his unabating zeal and immense labors1 all the young ministers of ,england1 perhaps1 of ,christendom4 ,he has frequently blown the gospel trumpet and rode twenty miles before most of the professors who despise his labors have left their downy pillows4 ,as he begins the day1 the week1 so he concludes them1 still intent upon extensive service for the glory of the ,redeemer and the good of souls4 ',from four o'clock in the morning until ten at night every moment was occupied in loving efforts to save the lost2 and he never lost ten minutes from wakefulness at night1 as he himself affirmed4 ,his motto was1 always in haste1 but never in a hurry4 ,leisure and ,i have taken leave of each other4 ,ten thousand cares are no more to me than ten thousand hairs on my head4 ,i am never weary with writing1 preaching or traveling1 are a few of the utterances of this remarkable man4 ,and in the midst of all this wonderful activity he says1 ,i enjoy more hours of private retirement than any man in ,england4' ,no wonder he could shout on his dying bed with the heavenly halo around his head and say1 ,the best of all is1 ,god is with us4 ,look at that apostle of faith1 ,george ,muller1 after he had prayed in millions of dollars1 cared for thousands of orphans1 preached in many lands and sent missionaries throughout the world1 still active for ,god between eighty and ninety years of age4 ,thomas ,mayhew was one of those early missionaries to the ,north ,american ,indians4 ,when on his way to the old country to seek further aid for his work1 he was lost at sea4 ,his old father1 then past his seventieth year1 regarded this sad bereavement as ,god's call for him to fill the place made vacant by the death of his son4 ,he immediately began to study the ,indian language1 and went forth to carry on the mission of his son1 which he did until his death at the age of ninety-three4 ,in his travels1 the old man would often have to walk twenty miles through the woods to preach to the ,indians4 ,surely1 this was better than idle sorrow4 ,it was bringing forth fruit in old age4 ,he had the palm tree vitality and blessing4 ,i am thinking just now of an aged minister4 ,for over half a century he has served ,god in the regular ministry1 and now although over six years past the allotted time of life1 he is untiring in his work and zeal for ,god4 ,he is up to date in all the departments of the work4 ,he is superintendent of the home department of the ,sunday school1 and does work like a pastor in his regular visitations4 ,he enters open doors and preaches many sermons4 ,he is a most zealous advocate of prohibition1 and stands in the forefront ranks in pushing that important work1 and is president of the prohibition work in his community4 ,his zeal for the foreign missionary field is most inspiring1 and by faith1 with all the other blessings of giving that he takes upon himself1 he has just taken a native missionary to support from his limited means4 ,while he is so active on all the live issues of the church1 and is at his post to push and pull1 yet he is seemingly most at home in the battle for souls4 ,you can count on him at the revival unless he is providentially hindered4 ,and when the seekers line up at the altar1 he is at hand to pray and shout the battle on4 ,he has the word superannuated applied somewhere1 but we think it a misnomer and that a more appropriate word would be superabundant4 ,,chapter ,,vii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,noted ,,for ,,its ,,utility ,the uses to which the different palm tree varieties are put are something marvelous in the extreme4 ,there is nothing like it in all the vegetable world4 ,all parts are utilized1 from the trunk and branches to the sap4 ,from the branches they make cages for poultry1 and fences for gardens4 ,from the leaves they manufacture couches1 baskets1 bags1 and mats4 ,from the fiber they make thread1 ropes1 and rigging4 ,from the sap is manufactured a drink1 while seeds are ground up for provender for camels4 ,the following will show some of the many uses of the various kinds of palms3 ,fuel1 clothing1 building material1 tents1 cages1 crates1 fences1 thatching1 bridges1 masts1 boats1 oars1 canes1 umbrellas1 umbrella sticks1 couches1 baskets1 bags1 matting1 mattresses1 hammocks1 pillows1 cushions1 carpets1 sail cloth1 oakum1 paste-board1 kites1 thread1 fishlines1 bowstrings1 ropes1 rigging1 tables1 stands1 chairs1 bedsteads1 cradles1 window blinds1 brooms1 brushes1 utensils1 cooking vessels1 weapons1 shields1 tools1 hooks1 spear tips1 arrow heads1 needles1 fans1 ornaments1 hats1 bonnets1 musical instruments1 paper1 writing paper1 candles1 wax1 resin1 tannin1 dying materials1 medicines1 tonics1 refreshing drinks1 vinegar1 sugar1 starch1 meal1 bread1 sago1 syrup for cooking1 substitute for salt1 oil for butter1 oil for light and lubrication1 and for making soap4 ,and the carnal ingenuity of depraved man has even discovered how he can get drunk on the fermented juices4 ,besides all these a substance is used in tanning leather4 ,the shell of the stems is used for making gutters1 timber for flooring and wharf material1 stems for blowpipes for poisonous arrows4 ,one kind of palm is used in the construction of rude suspension bridges4 ,another affords a substitute for ivory4 ,one part is used for fattening hogs4 ,it is said that the various uses are declared to be three hundred sixty4 ,thus we see that it could be of some use about every day in the year4 ,reader1 are you flourishing like this1 and good for something every day in the year8 ,god certainly intends us to be useful4 ,it means something to fill one's sphere in the world as ,christ intended4 ,there is something more to do than to plow corn1 milk cows1 and feed hogs2 something more than to keep house1 wash clothes and scrub floors4 ,there is more at hand than the mere avocations of life1 necessary as some of them are4 ,god never called anybody to labor alone for the perishable things of this life4 ,a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth4 ,the real business of every ,christian is primarily to serve ,god1 and glorify ,him2 the other services are merely incidental4 ,the old shoemaker had it right4 ,when asked what his business was1 he replied3 ,my business is to serve the ,lord2 but ,i make boots and shoes to pay expenses4 ,even those who are shut indoors through feeble health may find avenues for usefulness1 and do service that will tell for eternity4 ,in ,pasadena1 ,cal41 is a blind girl1 and almost entirely deaf1 yet she applies herself to the ,lord's work1 and makes articles for sale1 devoting the proceeds to the foreign missionary work4 ,a remarkable story has been published in the ,ladies' ,home ,journal of ,march #a1 #aiaa1 showing what a girl can do without hands and arms4 ,through the kindness of ,the ,curtis ,publishing ,company1 we are permitted to insert the article in this book4 ,it was written by the young lady herself4 ,i was not born a cripple4 ,even as a child ,i did not always have to make hands of my feet4 ,indeed1 till ,i was nine years old1 ,i not only had arms and hands like other children1 but ,i was also a strong1 healthy1 normal child like my two brothers1 who were older than ,i1 and my sister1 who was two years younger4 ,our family was in poor and humble circumstances as far back as ,i can remember4 ,my parents were both ,english1 but my father became naturalized as a citizen of this country in #ahhb--the year in which ,i was born4 ,since ,i grew up ,i have learned that my father and mother were in good circumstances at the time of their marriage1 and for some ten or twelve years afterward2 that my father was a steady1 hard-working1 kindly man2 and that he and my mother were devoted to one another and were very happy together4 ,but after the birth of my brothers my mother was taken ill and was in poor health for a long time4 ,then1 just as she was at the worst of her illness1 my father lost his position1 and matters speedily began to go from bad to worse4 ,a tendency to strong drink1 which he had kept well curbed for my mother's sake1 now began to get the better of him4 ,her failing health made it impossible for her to look out for him as she had hitherto done4 ,the new work which he succeeded in obtaining was hard and distasteful1 and the family grew poorer and poorer until at last there were times when we had not enough of food and clothing1 and the charitable societies of ,chicago1 where we lived1 began to look after us4 ,in the summer just before my ninth birthday1 ,i was one of a number of children who were sent into the country for a two-weeks' outing by the managers of a fresh air fund4 ,those were the two pleasantest weeks of my life4 ,the beautiful1 green country1 the grass1 flowers1 trees1 and birds delighted me4 ,i was well and robust1 and ,i ran and picked flowers and played and enjoyed myself to the utmost4 ,a few weeks after ,i came home from this wonderful outing my mother died1 and ,i became the housekeeper of the family4 ,i was then just nine years old4 ,i did the work as well as ,i could1 although there was not much to do nor much to do it with1 in the bare place which we called 'home1' in the basement of a small city dwelling4 ,soon after ,i had lost my mother's companionship ,i lost my sister's also1 for she was adopted by well-to-do people1 whose identity ,i did not know and have never learned4 ,on the afternoon of the following ,thanksgiving day1 while my brothers were playing outdoors and my father and ,i were alone in the house1 ,i was puttering about when ,i found a bottle filled with what ,i afterward knew must have been whisky4 ,being only a child1 and possessed of a child's thoughtless curiosity1 ,i took a long drink from the bottle4 ,the effect was almost instantaneous4 ,i grew weak and stupefied4 ,at that moment my father1 who was in an adjoining room1 told me to go and put some wood on the kitchen range4 ,i said that ,i felt sick and could not go1 but he insisted and ,i obeyed4 ,no sooner had ,i got the lids off the range1 however1 than the combined effect of the liquor and the heat overpowered me1 and ,i fell forward upon the open fire1 unconscious4 ,my younger brother1 who came in from play and lifted me off1 saved me from death4 ,but at the hospital it was found necessary to amputate both my arms4 ,the burns about my neck and chest were severe1 but not serious1 and two months later ,i was discharged from the hospital4 ,a state society for the care of children had already arranged with my father to take full control of me4 ,a fund contributed to by generous people far and near was raised for my support and education1 and after spending some months in a nursery ,i became an inmate of the ,home for ,destitute ,crippled ,children in ,chicago4 ,in this home ,i was given instruction in the common school studies1 and ,i learned to write and sew with my feet4 ,after four years ,i was transferred by the ,illinois ,home ,society to the care of a private family in ,wisconsin1 where ,i lived for eight years1 going to the public school and practically completing the high school course4 ,during all this time ,i continued to learn how to make hands of my feet1 and ,i have kept on perfecting myself in this necessary acquirement ever since4 ,it has1 of course1 taken a great deal of perseverance and determination1 and has required constant effort and practice1 coupled with no little physical skill and suppleness4 ,but it must be borne in mind that for nearly twenty years ,i have been without hands and arms1 and that during most of this time ,i have had to wait on myself4 ,so my feet have been in almost continual training4 ,i have never found a task too hard to undertake nor too tedious to finish1 and no one appreciates the truth of the old saying1 ',where there's a will1 there's a way1' better than ,i do4 ,as a result1 ,i have learned to dress myself1 almost completely4 ,i can take a bath by myself1 wash my face1 brush my teeth1 put on most of my clothes1 and comb my hair when it is not too long4 ,i can put on and take off my eyeglasses4 ,i can use the scissors to cut paper1 cloth1 or any other material with which ,i am working1 and then thread the needle1 knot the thread and do the necessary sewing4 ,i can sweep and dust1 mop and scrub1 and even blacken stoves4 ,i can sketch and draw1 although ,i have never had a lesson in these accomplishments and have acquired the little knowledge and skill ,i possess in this art solely by practice4 ,in the same way ,i have also learned to sharpen my own pencils1 opening and closing the knife myself4 ,i have even made articles of furniture1 such as small bookcases and writing desks1 sawing all the lumber1 driving the nails1 putting on the hinges1 and finally varnishing the completed article4 ,in short1 ,i do with my feet almost anything that others do with their hands4 ,at the close of my high school course ,i found myself1 at the age of twenty-one1 left practically on my own resources4 ,the fund which had been raised for me was exhausted1 the obligation of the state society which had taken charge of me had ceased1 my father had passed away1 my brothers were poor and could not help me1 and my sister had gone out of my life4 ,for a while ,i earned a little money by selling my drawings1 name-cards and other work4 ,then ,i gave exhibitions1 in homes and elsewhere1 of my skill with my feet4 ,eventually ,i found it possible to attend ,taylor ,university at ,upland1 ,indiana1 and while there the hope ,i had long cherished of some day being able to be of some help to poor1 deserving1 crippled children took shape and my life work was made plain to me4 ,a ,home for ,disabled ,children was planned and eventually started in ,maywood1 ,illinois4 ,i took special studies to qualify me to handle properly and capably the work of financial secretary of the ,home4 ,during the year and a half between the starting of the ,home and the writing of this article five children have been cared for and a great deal of improvement has been observed in all of them4 ,it is not the intention to overcrowd the ,home with children1 or make it institutional in any way1 but to give them a real home with good care and ,christian training1 and also an education which will enable them to become self-supporting4 ,in this way ,i hope to show that even a girl without arms1 born and raised under the most unfavorable circumstances1 can accomplish much good by lending a 'helping hand' to other cripples1 and thus make their lives better1 sweeter and more useful4 ,this lady's name is ,kittie ,smith1 and the written article would be much more interesting could we accompany it with the dozen or more illustrations in the ,ladies' ,home ,journal1 where she is seen writing a letter1 using the telephone1 making fancy-work1 drinking water at dinner1 using the typewriter and cutting out material for a dress4 ,pictures of her drawings1 the desk1 the table and quilt she made are also given4 ,here is a lady1 educated1 trained1 and equipped for a life of special usefulness1 who has had to battle through difficulties which would tend to discourage the stoutest hearts4 ,yet1 in spite of all1 she is engaged in ,christian work and proving to the world what one is enabled to do who will4 ,we have lately seen the half-tone picture in ,popular ,mechanics1 of a man who had lost both legs and both arms in a railroad accident1 yet he makes his living by selling the pictures which he paints4 ,he brings into requisition his chin and the stump of his right arm in handling the brush4 ,about fifty years ago there was a member of the ,british ,parliament by the name of ,cavanaugh4 ,this man was born with no legs whatever and with no arms1 save stumps half way up to his elbows4 ,his penmanship was good1 using a false hand for his writing4 ,he was wheeled in each time by a valet1 and was the only member who was allowed to address the ,parliament without standing4 ,there are some men who will not down1 even from the standpoint of the world4 ,may we not take a lesson from these unfortunates and rise above every impediment1 and yet succeed in the kingdom of ,god8 ,how many powerful revivals have occurred1 when it was discovered that they were the result of the faithful1 intercessory praying of some shut-in saint1 who had on the prayer list the very ones who got saved6 ,let me cite a quotation from ,charles ,g4 ,finney's ,revival ,lectures3 ,a pious man in the western part of this state 7,new ,york7 was sick with consumption4 ,he was a poor man1 sick for years4 ,an unconverted merchant in the place had a kind heart1 and used to send him now and then something for his comfort1 or for his family4 ,he felt grateful for the kindness1 but could make no return1 as he wanted to do4 ,at length he determined that the best return he could make would be to pray for his salvation4 ,he began to pray and his soul kindled1 and he got hold of ,god4 ,there was no revival there1 but by and by1 to the astonishment of everybody1 this merchant came right out on the ,lord's side4 ,the fire kindled all over the place1 and a powerful revival followed1 and multitudes were converted4 ,this poor man lingered in this way for several years1 and died4 ,after his death1 ,i visited the place1 and his widow put into my hands his diary4 ,among other things1 he says in his diary3 ',i am acquainted with about thirty ministers and churches4' ,he then goes on to set apart certain hours in the day and week to pray for each of these ministers and churches1 and also certain seasons for praying for the different missionary stations4 ,then followed1 under different dates1 such facts as these3 ',today1' naming the date1 ',i have been enabled to offer what ,i call the prayer of faith for the outpouring of the ,spirit on----church and ,i trust in ,god there will soon be a revival there4' ,under another date1 ',i have today been able to offer what ,i call the prayer of faith for such a church1 and trust there will soon be a revival there4' ,thus he had gone over a great many churches1 recording the fact that he had prayed for them in faith that a revival might soon prevail among them4 ,of the missionary stations1 if ,i recollect right1 he mentions in particular the mission of ,ceylon4 ,i believe the last place mentioned in his diary1 for which he offered the prayer of faith1 was the place in which he lived4 ,not long after noting these facts in the diary1 the revival commenced1 and went over the region of country1 nearly ,i believe1 if not quite in the order in which they had been mentioned in his diary2 and in due time news came from ,ceylon that there was a revival of religion there4 ,the revival in his own town did not commence till after his death4 ,its commencement was at the time when his widow put into my hands the document to which ,i have referred4 ,she told me that he was so exercised in prayer during his sickness1 that she often feared he would pray himself to death4 ,the revival was exceedingly great and powerful in all the region2 and the fact that it was about to prevail had not been hidden from this servant of the ,lord4 ,according to ,his ,word1 ',the secret of the ,lord is with them that fear him4' ,thus1 this man too feeble in body to go out of his house1 was yet more useful to the world and the ,church of ,god1 than all the heartless professors of the country4 ,standing between ,god and the desolations of ,zion1 and pouring out his heart in prevailing prayer1 as a prince he had power with ,god1 and prevailed4 7,finney's ,lectures1 pp4 #aab1 #aac74 ,fanny ,crosby was blind1 yet see how she has blessed the world with her thousands of beautiful hymns1 written even down to her old age4 ,let the weak ones look up and take on fresh courage4 ,my grace is sufficient for thee1 and ,he giveth more grace1 are promises that should encourage those who are seemingly shut off from opportunities of service4 ,whatsoever thy hand findeth to do1 do it with thy might4 ,the avenue to ,god in prayer1 and the way to hearts are still open4 ,be of some service still4 ,like the palm tree1 every ,christian can be of much use in the world4 ,three young ladies had just graduated from school and were talking over their ambitions in life4 ,one said her great ambition was to be an author and write some great book4 ,another said her ambition was to be an artist and paint some great picture which might be hung up in some gallery for people to see4 ,the other young lady was silent1 and hung her head4 ,her teacher saw her and remarked that she had not yet expressed her ambitions in life4 ,finally1 she replied3 ,i know that ,i do not amount to much1 and that ,i have not much talent1 but ,i was just thinking that my greatest ambition is so to live in this world1 that when ,jesus finally sees me coming1 ,he can say1 ',there comes one who has filled just the niche in the world that ,i wanted her to fill4' ,as all parts of the palm tree are utilized1 so will all of the palm tree saint be consecrated to ,god1 so that ,god may call upon him at any time for any service which ,he in ,his infinite wisdom may require4 ,but it will take a complete yielding up of all one's parts2 his spirit1 soul and body2 his hands to work1 his feet to walk1 his eyes to see1 his ears to hear1 his tongue to talk1 his mind to think1 his heart to love1 his talents1 time1 and earthly store at ,god's disposal1 his family1 his service1 his all simply abandoned to the ,holy ,ghost4 ,reader1 this is the way to be useful1 and the way to have all there is of you used4 ,if you are not thus consecrated1 look into your experience4 ,fifty years ago seven shoemakers in a shop in the city of ,hamburg said1 ,by the grace of ,god we will help to send the gospel to our destitute fellow-men4 ,it is said that in twenty-five years they had established fifty self-supporting churches1 had gathered ten thousand converts1 had distributed four hundred thousand ,bibles and eight million tracts1 and had carried the gospel to five million of their race4 ,how many men would it take like that to carry the gospel to the world in twenty-five years8 ,mrs4 ,adelaide ,l4 ,beers1 wife of ,rev4 ,alexander ,beers1 principal of the ,free ,methodist ,seminary at ,seattle1 ,wash41 has furnished the following information concerning a family who moved to ,seattle a number of years ago4 ,it beautifully illustrates the thought before us of utility in the ,christian life4 ,it not only illustrates utility itself1 but like the palm tree1 utility of all parts4 ,mr4 and ,mrs4 ,m----1 formerly of ,goldendale1 ,wash41 had a family of six boys and two girls4 ,having received the blessing of entire sanctification1 and wanting their children educated for ,god1 they felt they could not endanger their souls by placing them in worldly1 ,christless schools4 ,they owned a farm at ,goldendale1 but had little means available4 ,they were not daunted1 however1 by the difficulties in the way1 but with the heroic spirit of the ancient worthies1 they arranged to move to ,seattle4 ,the mother took the train1 while as many as could1 rode in a large wagon1 and the others walked1 leading several horses and cows4 ,in turn they rode and walked1 making the wearisome journey across the mountains1 filled with hope and courage for the future4 ,soon after the mother's arrival in ,seattle1 a girl baby was born1 being the ninth and last child4 ,the first year of their stay in their new home was one of great hardship and self-denial4 ,they lived on the plainest food1 while every member of the family except the baby worked very hard to obtain a livelihood4 ,the two older girls were already saved and sanctified and were placed at once in the ,free ,methodist ,seminary4 ,the boys were soon entered as students1 and one by one converted to ,god4 ,two of the little boys1 with knee trousers were clearly saved in the children's meeting which was regularly conducted by ,mrs4 ,beers4 ,a few years of consecrated service and ,christian education have passed and we sum up the results4 ,a faithful father and mother have trained their family for heaven1 and gladly yielded their all to ,christ4 ,the mother has left the toils and cares of earth1 and has gone to be with ,jesus4 ,one is now at the head of the ,free ,methodist missionary work in ,china4 ,another has been accepted as a missionary to ,china by the ,general ,missionary ,board and is to labor with his brother4 ,one of the daughters is a successful missionary1 laboring with her husband1 who is at the head of the missionary work in ,japan4 ,she received her call while a student in the ,seattle ,seminary4 ,another heard the ,macedonian call and gladly left all to go to ,china4 ,one son is filling the principal's chair at the ,free ,methodist ,seminary at ,spring ,arbor1 ,mich41 while another is principal of a high school in ,seattle4 ,all the family are saved1 and are proving the ,scripture true3 ,train up a child in the way he should go1 and when he is old he will not depart from it4 ,while ,sister ,m---- has finished her work and gone home to heaven1 her children rise up and call her blessed4 ,,chapter ,,viii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,appreciated ,search the world over2 call for a consensus of opinion in civilized countries and heathen lands1 and ask them what is the most appreciated tree in the world1 and see if they do not with one voice exclaim1 ,the palm tree4 ,in the civilized portions of the globe where the various kinds are not brought into requisition for their extensive utility1 yet the beauty of the trees demands that they have a place in the front yards to decorate their surroundings4 ,if any tree at all is used to beautify the place1 it is quite sure to be a palm4 ,and when the climate does not admit of outside growth1 the hothouse will have its various kinds4 ,but where is there a tree in the world that furnishes so much material for practically all the necessities of life where the palm is indigenous8 ,when we think of the great variety of food1 and furniture1 building material1 and the hundreds of useful articles of every description that are made from some part or other of this most valuable tree1 it stands to reason that it occupies the very foremost place of utility and appreciation4 ,there are some places in the world that the inhabitants practically live from the products of the palm4 ,the appreciation of it could hardly be estimated4 ,take it away and the people perish4 ,in the realm of grace1 there is an experience that is most appreciated4 ,it is appreciated most by those who are the most familiar with it4 ,it appeals little to those in spiritually frigid zones1 who are utterly foreign to its utility2 but by those of a warmer climate who know of its valuable properties1 it is prized above rubies and diamonds4 ,just as the ,icelander or ,greenlander cares nothing for the palm1 and perhaps knows nothing of its merits1 so the people who dwell in spiritual ,arctics do not appreciate the possibilities of this full salvation grace4 ,ask the possessor of the palm tree blessing what it is worth1 and language at once fails4 ,it becomes his very life from day to day4 ,it furnishes his spiritual necessities of life4 ,cut off its supplies and he would be stranded as quickly as the islander in the tropics1 without his real palm4 ,let the definite seeker after this blessing reach the point of actual possession1 and he will have to pass the station of utmost desire and appreciation4 ,he will reach a want in his soul that will surpass every other desire4 ,he will sell all to purchase that field4 ,it is the pearl of great price to him4 ,why do not more people obtain it8 ,because they are not willing to part with that which stands in the way of its possession4 ,when ,god says1 ,blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness2 for they shall be filled1 ,he gave us a divine philosophy concerning the proper seeking4 ,he wants a seeker to appreciate what he is after4 ,that which costs nothing is rarely properly appreciated4 ,that which costs a struggle and all that he hath1 will be held in high esteem4 ,the crucifixion route which results in the death of the old man1 and the incoming of the fulness of ,god1 puts one where he would rather part with life itself than this pearl of great price4 ,we have been amazed at seekers at the altar of prayer2 at the listless1 lifeless way they have sought4 ,many times they fail even to make an audible prayer4 ,this is prima facie evidence of a lack of appreciation4 ,when the hunger reaches practical starvation1 and the desire becomes sufficient1 then the seeker will lay aside all conventionalities and press his claims regardless of people present or opposing foes1 and lay hold on the precious prize4 ,how often have we observed the half-hearted seeker make his indifferent prayer and wait awhile and go away without the blessing sought1 when at a later time1 when intensity took the place of listlessness1 and hunger pressed the soul1 the agonizing heart pressed through spiritual chloroform1 broke loose the padlock from the lips1 and soon was rejoicing in the freedom of full salvation6 ,one time the writer was conducting a meeting in ,knoxville1 ,tenn41 and a sister came to the altar a number of times4 ,she wanted the blessing1 but did not seem to be enough in earnest1 although she prayed aloud each time she came4 ,finally1 we said to the sister1 ,if you will do what ,i ask you to do1 you will get through in five minutes4 ,of course she wanted to know what that was and she certainly would like to get through4 ,we told her to pray like a house afire4 ,immediately1 she took us at our word and started in according to our suggestion4 ,it occurred so suddenly that we wondered if we had not made a mistake and had a fear that it would not be as predicted4 ,to make sure1 and unbeknown to the sister1 we took out our watch1 and timed the prayer4 ,in just three and a half minutes the fire fell and our seeker obtained her heart's desire4 ,while pastor in the city of ,los ,angeles we had a member who was seeking the blessing of holiness periodically4 ,she would come to the altar and weep and make a nice little prayer1 but failed to reach the line of intensity adequate for the blessing4 ,obtaining nothing she would depart and not be at the altar again for perhaps a couple of months4 ,when a service would reach a specially high tide of power and victory this lady would be down with others seeking holiness4 ,revival meetings were in progress and she was at the altar one evening1 and1 as usual1 was not receiving4 ,we tried to show her that she should constantly seek till she found2 that she should come to the altar every time she had an opportunity till she got through4 ,finally1 we asked her if she would promise to come to the altar one hundred times in succession without a letup1 if she did not get the blessing before the hundred times were expired4 ,after awhile she promised thus to do4 ,immediately we took out our pencil and right under her face we wrote the number #ajj on the altar rail1 and pointing to it1 said1 ,you have now promised to come to this altar one hundred times in succession providing you do not get through before4 ,she assented4 ,the following night she was faithful to her promise and got through that night4 ,intensity1 desire1 appreciation and determination are all factors in real seeking4 ,why do so many fail8 ,there is a reason4 ,here is a soul that seeks one1 two1 three1 or more nights and then ceases4 ,on being asked why the seeking ceased the answer is1 ,well1 ,i tried and ,i did not get anything1 and what is the use of trying further8 ,now1 the ,lord took that all in at the start4 ,he knew that the seeking was going to let up1 and of course could not consistently bestow the gift under such conditions4 ,if the ,lord can look down the road and see that the seeker is going to give up at the end of a week or a month1 ,he certainly has not the gift for one who does not value it more than that4 ,but if ,he can look down the road and see a pile of bleached bones1 or in other words1 one who will die in the attempt before he will give up1 ,he sees a heart that is about prepared to receive it now4 ,we once heard the story of a man who was real hungry for holiness4 ,he was in attendance at some spiritual gathering where a number of people were professing the experience4 ,he cast about in his mind to find some holy man whom he might get to pray with him4 ,after selecting his man1 he asked him if he would go into the woods and pray with him that he might obtain the experience of sanctification4 ,the brother was only too glad to go and was ready for the trip at once4 ,the anxious seeker said1 ,i have made up my mind that if ,i do not obtain the blessing at once ,i am going to remain all night in prayer4 ,will you stay with me8 ,the brother responded in the affirmative4 ,but wait1 said the seeker4 ,if ,i do not obtain the first night ,i am going to remain the second night4 ,will you remain with me8 ,after a little thought he again answered in the affirmative4 ,he was ready to start1 when the seeker declared he was going to remain the third night1 then the fourth1 until it amounted to a whole week4 ,when he obtained the promise of his friend to stay by him1 they started for the woods4 ,after looking about for a good1 grassy spot1 and one that was nicely sheltered from the dew of the night he said1 ,this is a good place2 let us pray4 ,his knees scarcely touched the grass when he shouted1 ,glory to ,god1 ,i've got it6 ,certainly6 ,a good week of solid prayer ought to clear the way for anybody to enter in1 and that honest1 determined soul had virtually done that thing by faith1 and ,god saw that he was bound to pray through1 and so ,he cut the work short in righteousness and bestowed it upon him on the spot4 ,there is something about an intensified determination that ,god honors4 ,the fact is1 that ,he honors faith1 and when the seeking soul gets into the state of mind where he feels that he wants the grace more than life1 and is determined to have it at any cost1 it invariably opens up the way of faith1 and the victory at once is his4 ,we once heard of a young man at a campmeeting who was seeking the ,lord4 ,when he came to the altar he curled up with his head in his arms and was perfectly mute4 ,he would neither pray nor answer a question4 ,while others were saved around him1 he remained silent1 and would leave without any help4 ,this was repeated time and again4 ,he always curled up the same way1 and would never say a word to ,god or man4 ,finally1 the workers1 seeing they could not get anything out of him nor help him in any way1 agreed among themselves to let him entirely alone4 ,after this he came as usual to the altar1 took his usual position1 and while others around were praying through1 he obtained nothing and went away4 ,after a while it seemed to dawn upon his benighted mind that everybody had forsaken him1 and that he had better pray for himself4 ,accordingly1 he threw up his hands and screamed for help at the top of his voice4 ,the merciful ,christ1 who said1 ,him that cometh to me1 ,i will in no wise cast out1 was right present to take him in4 ,in an instant he had the victory and leaped to his feet and shouted1 ,glory to ,god6 ,if it had not been for ,jesus ,christ1 ,i never would have been saved4 ,certainly not4 ,when all earthly hopes are gone1 and one is thrown out alone on the merits of ,jesus ,christ1 it is then that faith takes hold and the victory comes4 ,it is certainly a sad sight at the altar when some daughter is crying her way to ,god in a penitential grief1 to have her foolish mother kneel down beside her and begin to stroke her and say1 ,my dear child1 you have always been a good girl4 ,immediately note how the girl drops the ,lord and goes to leaning on her mother4 ,the repentance stops at once1 self-pity takes its place1 a soul is arrested in getting saved and may possibly be lost forever4 ,and yet this is being done continually4 ,mr4 ,charles ,g4 ,finney tells of a woman in one of his meetings who was much burdened on account of her sins4 ,mr4 ,finney was stopping at her house and daily he was called upon to come and pray for the woman4 ,he responded from time to time and prayed for her the best he knew how1 but found out that it was doing no good4 ,finally1 the ,lord showed him that the woman was depending upon his prayers instead of the ,lord4 ,the next time she asked him to come and pray for her1 he said1 ,i will pray for you no more4 ,heartbroken and alarmed she threw herself on the mercy of the ,lord and was saved at once4 ,christ must be depended upon alone4 ,other props must go4 ,he needs no earthly help to save a sinner or sanctify a believer4 ,and when the struggle is over and the pearl of full salvation is found1 it will be observed that the harder the struggle and the more it cost1 the more will it be appreciated4 ,it is quite apparent that the cause of the fearful decadence of religion on every hand is the failure of obtaining the real thing on the one hand1 and the failure to appreciate on the other4 ,how some can claim ,christ today and sell ,him out tomorrow1 is a marvel4 ,the way to appreciate anything is to note what one will be with it1 and what he will be without it4 ,what is one with this great pearl in his possession8 ,he is safe for both worlds4 ,he is saved from inward and outward sin4 ,he has joy unspeakable and full of glory4 ,he has a life of usefulness ahead and a certainty of everlasting bliss in glory1 where he will bear the palm of victory1 wear the crown of glory1 walk the gold-paved streets of the ,new ,jerusalem1 enjoy the presence of ,christ and the angels and redeemed loved ones1 and sing and shout and shine and serve forevermore4 ,this surely will pay4 ,on the other hand1 to fail1 means a life of sin and sorrow and suffering here1 a loss of souls which one might win to ,christ1 an awful death bed1 a frightful judgment day1 and an eternity of remorse and horror and darkness and death and damnation4 ,reader1 how much is ,christ worth8 ,how much do you appreciate ,his gift8 ,let us ask some who let it slip4 ,judas1 what is it worth8 ,what is ,christ worth to you8 ,the answer is1 ,sixteen dollars and ninety-six cents4 ,that was his price for the ,savior2 the price of a slave in the olden times if he were killed by a beast2 the lowest price placed upon a human being4 ,demas1 how much is it worth8 ,the answer is1 ,the love of this present world1 for that is what he obtained4 ,saul1 what is your salvation worth8 ,the gratifying of a jealous disposition1 for he sold out on that line1 till it turned to anger1 then hatred and then murder1 till finally he was utterly forsaken by ,god1 and he turned into a spiritualist1 consulted the witch of ,endor1 went into battle1 committed suicide and passed off from the stage of action here4 ,solomon1 what was yours worth8 ,outlandish women1 is the answer1 not from ,solomon's lips1 but from the inspired pen of ,nehemiah4 ,nevertheless even him did outlandish women cause to sin4 ,young lady1 what was the price of your soul8 ,mother1 hang my fine dresses upon the wall and let me see them4 ,there1 mother1 is the price of my soul1 and she passed out into the darkness of the outer world4 ,again1 young lady1 what is the price of your soul8 ,that young man4 ,i gave up ,christ for him4 ,i had to decide between the two1 and ,i took him4 ,christ has been a stranger to me ever since4 ,shall we sell out ,christ for pleasure1 or people1 or pursuits1 or popularity8 ,god forbid4 ,let us raise the price of our soul and appreciate the gift of ,god and let nothing come between4 ,,chapter ,,ix ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,will ,,grow ,,in ,,the ,,desert ,it is such a hardy1 thrifty tree1 that if it has any chance at all1 it will thrive where other trees will fail4 ,even in the hot sands of the ,sahara1 its green foliage is seen1 and it grows in spite of discouraging environments4 ,the ,holy ,spirit made no mistake when ,he declared that a certain class should flourish like the palm tree4 ,where will it flourish8 ,any place in a proper climate where it has half a chance4 ,by the rivers of water1 on the rugged mountain side1 by the rocky hedges1 in the desert sands where scorching sun and swirling simoon have beat upon it1 there it grows4 ,it is a flourishing tree4 ,in the realm of gospel grace1 ,god has made provision for saints to flourish under circumstances that are a wonder to the world4 ,the outward condition of some of ,god's people is indeed deplorable4 ,they are surrounded with deepest poverty1 in the poorest of health1 with a number of small children depending upon them1 and in addition to all1 they are away from former home and friends4 ,some women are actually undergoing all this1 and to make the desert worse1 they have a profligate1 abusive husband further to burden their life4 ,and yet1 the ,god of all grace has come into these lives who have abandoned themselves to the ,holy ,ghost1 and proved to them that they are of ,god's own hand planting1 and through ,his sustaining grace they have flourished in their experiences1 even in such desert places4 ,i have no doubt if the reader will cast about in his mind he can recall those of like experience4 ,the wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them2 and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose4 ,it shall blossom abundantly1 and rejoice with joy and singing4 99 99 99 ,and the ransomed of the ,lord shall return1 and come to ,zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads3 they shall obtain joy and gladness1 and sorrow and sighing shall flee away 7,isa4 #ce3a1 #b1 #aj74 ,there is nothing else in the world that will cause deep1 settled satisfaction in the human heart when the surroundings are of the desert nature4 ,the people of the world draw their pleasure and satisfaction from the things of the world1 but these are not calculated to satisfy the longings of the heart4 ,no matter how much one may have in the way of worldly riches1 worldly honors1 worldly pleasures1 there is always a void in the soul1 a something that is not satisfied4 ,the human heart is so big1 that if the whole world were poured into it1 it would not fill one crack or crevice4 ,when ,god made the animal creation1 ,he designed that all their pleasure should be obtained from their surroundings--from the things in this world1 whether it be the fish in the stream1 the bird in the air1 or the wild animal that roams over mountain and glen4 ,but when ,he made man ,he put into him desires1 hopes1 and ambitions that reach out and above this mundane sphere4 ,he never intended that man should draw his satisfaction and enjoyment just from this world4 ,outside of grace1 no one is satisfied1 because he is out of his natural1 normal1 creative element4 ,the little bird1 or fish1 or other animal is satisfied because it is in its creative sphere4 ,man1 living in sin and away from ,god and holiness1 is dissatisfied1 because he is out of his proper element4 ,what is man's creative sphere8 ,created in righteousness and true holiness4 ,that is the way ,god created man1 and until man gets back to ,god1 in communion with ,him and heaven1 he never will have a satisfying portion4 ,for he satisfieth the longing soul and filleth the hungry soul with goodness 7,psa4 #ajg3i74 ,without any of this world's goods in the way of riches1 honors or pleasures1 one abandoned to the ,holy ,ghost will have a deep sense of soul-satisfaction1 and will rejoice in the midst of dismal1 desert surroundings4 ,when ,madame ,guyon was in the ,bastille1 a prisoner of the ,lord1 she declared the ,lord made the old stones of the murky wall to shine like rubies4 ,one of the happiest men it was ever my lot to meet1 was one who had nothing of this world to cause his happiness4 ,he was an inmate of the poorhouse at ,placerville1 ,cal4 ,he occupied a small1 dingy bedroom all alone1 and lay on a cot1 afflicted in body1 and never expected to leave it till ,jesus said1 ,come up higher4 ,while engaged in evangelistic services in that city1 we visited him more than once4 ,it was a benediction to enter his presence and behold his smiling face and hear his praises to ,god4 ,it seemed he was living four-fifths in heaven4 ,he was certainly flourishing like the palm tree in that desert4 ,we had a feeling of sorrow for the dear brother in his affliction1 and lent him a book on divine healing1 hoping that he might get the inspiration of faith1 and trust the ,lord to heal him4 ,after we thought he had time to read the little book1 we called on him again and asked him what he thought of it1 and his answer was about as follows3 ,i have been thinking that it would be best to let good enough alone4 ,i am getting along so well here and am so blessed1 ,i do not know how it might turn out if ,i should get well4 ,another man1 one of the most contented and happy that ,i ever saw1 was a born cripple4 ,he had one arm and a part of another2 was so crooked in his lower limbs that it was with great difficulty that he could propel himself with the use of canes4 ,this brother from poverty's dale would hobble out on ,fourth street in ,san ,francisco1 with his little carpet-bag stool1 and basket of trinkets for sale1 and sit there reading his ,testament1 and shine for ,god4 ,one day this brother handed a man a five dollar gold piece1 desiring him to go and get it changed4 ,the dishonest man never returned1 but the dear brother never murmured1 only said that he could not afford to lose it4 ,just about that time a stranger came by and purchased some little article and handed him a five-dollar gold piece and would not accept any change4 ,in some way or other1 ,god will provide4 ,every night found this happy1 sanctified cripple at the gospel mission with shining face and victorious testimony4 ,he usually closed his testimony with these words3 ,this has been a little the best day ,i ever had in all my life4 ,brother ,cooley is now rejoicing where the streets are made of gold4 ,why will souls not learn to seek their pleasure from the right source8 ,with the failure of multiplied millions who have gone on before and those who are now trying to fill their cup with earth's deceiving joys1 shall ,i be such an egotistical fool as to think ,i can succeed in something when all before me tried and failed8 ,the way of true success is laid down in the ,word2 ,this book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth2 but thou shalt meditate therein day and night1 that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein3 for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous1 and then thou shalt have good success 7,josh4 #a3h74 ,,chapter ,x ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,finds ,,the ,,water ,this marvelous production of nature is not hindered by the scorching sun of the desert1 nor is it dependent upon the copious showers of rain4 ,if the rain comes1 all well and good2 but if it fails1 the palm flourishes right on anyway4 ,but it will get to water4 ,if it does not come down from above1 then it sends down its roots till they drink at the subterranean stream below4 ,water it must have and water it will find4 ,now1 if ,god has a people that flourish this way1 it signifies that they will get where there is the water of life4 ,if the showers of blessing are falling in the revival meeting1 or campmeeting1 or at the regular preaching service1 they are sure to be present if possible and take of the water of life freely4 ,perchance they are out on some spiritual desert far from any means of grace where the gospel sound is never heard2 there they are not dependent upon the revival rains1 but they send down the roots of faith till they strike the under-currents1 and then with joy they draw water out of the wells of salvation4 ,how refreshing to meet with such independent specimens of ,god's handiwork6 ,if they get to the place of worship where ,god's people are free1 they are a whole campmeeting in themselves4 ,out of them are flowing rivers of living water1 because of the ,spirit's incoming4 ,they never dry up1 nor freeze up1 because they keep in touch with the living stream from the heavenly fountain head1 and bask in the spiritual tropics where the ,sun of righteousness has arisen upon them4 ,oh1 for more palm tree saints6 ,may we all be so in touch with the reservoir of the skies1 that we may say1 ,all my springs are in thee4 ,then1 no matter whether our lot is with many pilgrims or none1 we may flourish on and shine and shout1 and show to the world that we are in touch with hidden springs4 ,amen6 ,it is certainly a puzzle to the world and worldly minded professors1 when one1 who has no visible means of enjoyment1 keeps up a happy1 cheerful experience1 and though her lot or his lot is extremely dry1 and barren of what generally goes to make people happy1 yet the hidden stream is flowing1 and that soul is drinking of the fountain that never runs dry4 ,the deep1 underlying current has been found and is supplying a peace which the world can not give1 nor can it take away4 ,when the martyrs went to the stake1 they had a triumphant tread and a victorious faith and a well-spring of joy which were indeed an enigma to the persecutors4 ,who can understand ,madame ,guyon in her dismal prison cell singing her sweet song1 a hundred times happier than those outside1 or realize the triumphant joy of the ,apostle ,paul as he faces the axman's block1 and expresses a gladsome victory over it all1 unless he is acquainted with the deep undercurrent of full salvation life8 ,what would have become of the ,apostle ,john on ,patmos' lonely isle1 shut off from all associations with kindred spirits on earth1 with no prayermeeting nor fellowship such as he had been so accustomed to enjoy1 had he not known the way to the hidden springs which brought him in contact with the ,eternal8 ,there was no place to banish this pilgrim saint that would shut him off from the water of life4 ,when human hands banished him to an island in the sea1 thinking they could cut off his supply1 he proved to the world that he could reach the hidden springs and be in touch with the ,infinite1 in spite of his banishment4 ,god's holy ones are a conundrum to the world4 ,for we are made a spectacle theater in the margin unto the world1 and to angels1 and to men1 and they do not understand the mystery of the hidden glory and springs of life1 the very angels desiring to look into some of these mysteries 7#a ,peter #a3ab74 ,there are some people1 when we have not seen them for a few months1 we hardly dare to ask them how they are prospering1 for fear they will drop their heads and say1 ,well1 not so well as ,i would like4 ,they have not been drinking at the fountain4 ,they did not send down their roots and find the under-currents of saving grace2 and the result is1 they have no victorious testimony to the power of ,jesus to save4 ,on the other hand1 there are certain individuals1 though we have not seen them for years1 we scarcely think of asking them how they are getting along1 for we have known of their overcoming life so long1 that we naturally take it for granted that it is still well with their souls4 ,we do not expect anything different from the past1 except more of it4 ,many years ago we received a postal card from a brother in a distant city relative to some business4 ,it being a business card1 the most of it was printed matter1 even his name being printed4 ,the card closed with these words3 ,yours saved1 ,h4 ,w4 ,s4----4 ,in thinking the matter over1 we observed that in all probability the brother had several hundreds of the cards printed1 and he knew very well that it would take some time1 perhaps weeks or months1 before the last card would be sent out4 ,the thought then was1 ,brother ,s----1 how did you know that when the last card would be sent out1 it would still be1 ,yours1 saved1 ,h4 ,w4 ,s----8 ,how did you know but it would be1 ,yours1 backslidden1 ,h4 ,w4 ,s----8 ,the fact was1 that ,brother ,s---- had made no calculation on backsliding1 and he figured that the last card would be just as true as the first4 ,eight or ten years passed and we received a note from this same brother4 ,instead of signing his name the way he did before1 it was1 ,yours saved to the uttermost1 hallelujah1 ,h4 ,w4 ,s----4 ,now1 after years had passed and gone1 he could still sign his name the same1 only more of it4 ,in the economy of grace1 ,god has made no provision for one to have less grace than in the past4 ,the best experience of one's life should be up-to-date4 ,it is a sad epoch in one's life when he can take a retrospect and look down the lane of long ago and see a better experience than now4 ,that person has certainly headed toward ,egypt that sees the highest plane of his ,christian experience1 and then gets the consent of his mind to live on a lower plane4 ,therefore1 leaving the principles of the doctrine of ,christ1 let us go on unto perfection4 ,when the children of ,israel crossed the ,red ,sea they sang and shouted and had a hallelujah time2 but their slogan was1 ,on to ,canaan4 ,when finally1 the survivors and those who were born on the way crossed the ,river ,jordan1 they built a monument1 which signified that they had come over there to stay4 ,,chapter ,,xi ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,gets ,,others ,,started ,where this remarkable tree finds root1 and grows1 it is almost sure1 sooner or later1 to cause other palms to spring up2 so that it does not need to be alone4 ,take it out in the sands of the ,sahara1 when this product of nature gets started1 others spring up1 then more1 and they bring the moisture to the surface1 till the green grass begins to spread1 and the springs come1 till finally the beautiful oases are found here and there1 and make the stopping places for the desert caravans1 where the travelers find rest and coolness in the shadows and water for man and beast4 ,there are places in the orient where the ,arabs have planted these palms on purpose to start an oasis4 ,refreshing spot6 ,prolific palm trees6 ,reader1 are you still measuring up8 ,are you growing alone8 ,has no other tree started because of your life and influence8 ,may be you are saying1 ,we do not have any holiness meetings or prayermeetings where we live4 ,but why8 ,if not1 why not8 ,is there not a kitchen in your house8 ,what hinders you from having a good prayermeeting1 or ,sunday school there8 ,be careful1 or you will not find yourself flourishing like the palm tree4 ,surely1 you ought to get another tree started2 then1 by that one's influence1 get another1 then another1 till springs arise in your desert place1 and the spiritual oasis will call for the desert traveler to come and rest and drink4 ,never rest contented to grow alone2 it is too lonesome4 ,it is neither like nature nor grace4 ,get some one else saved1 or find out the reason why4 ,we know a man who once held a prayermeeting in a schoolhouse six months before anybody else attended4 ,finally1 they began to come and it resulted in a revival4 ,see the persistence of some of the foreign missionaries4 ,think of the hardships of those early pioneers who blazed their way through dark continents1 and with a determination to win1 they pressed their way through and with faith and prayer and continuous efforts1 they saw the fruit of their labor in others finding ,christ as their personal ,savior4 ,with ,david ,livingstone's heart in the middle of ,africa1 his sun-dried mummy in ,westminster ,abbey1 his spirit in the glory world1 do you not think he is glad he got others started to carry on his work in the land of darkness8 ,if ,john ,g4 ,paton1 taking his life in his hands1 could go into the ,new ,hebrides1 and there brave the awful hardships and dangers of those cannibal islands1 and finally win out and see them converted to ,god like a nation born in a day1 does it not look as if you1 my dear reader1 ought to start the work somehow in your midst1 and get hold of ,god by fasting and prayer1 and never give up till an oasis is started in your community8 ,where there is a will1 there is a way4 ,it takes grit and grace1 but ,god's storehouse has never yet been exhausted1 and there is yet the man to be born that has proved all the possibilities of grace4 ,cast about in your mind and think of that person1 perhaps only a lassie or lad1 that found ,christ1 and though persecuted at home at first1 yet1 by faithful perseverance1 finally won the whole family to ,god4 ,think of that one who dropped into the revival meeting some distance from his home and found the ,lord1 and then carried the fire back to his own community and the revival broke out there4 ,think of those faithful pilgrims who have moved far out into some frontier settlement and stood firm for ,god and holiness1 and finally got a meeting started and today the church flourishes in their midst4 ,they had the experience that flourishes like the palm tree4 ,there is something in the very nature and heart of the palm tree saint that longs and plans for the planting of ,god's kingdom among men4 ,if one is so situated that he is isolated from sanctified people1 he is not going to sit down on the stool of do-nothing and wither up and die2 but he will begin to cast about and see what he can do to start a ,sunday school1 or a prayermeeting1 or send for a holiness preacher4 ,he must get other palms started in his community4 ,dr4 ,carradine tells the story of the two women at the toll bridge in ,kentucky who got the blessing of sanctification and set about praying for a holiness meeting in their community4 ,they prayed long and faithfully and would not give up4 ,somebody heard of their experience and visited them1 then wrote an article about them and put it in the paper4 ,a preacher providentially saw the article many miles from their abode1 but it so got hold of his heart that he made up his mind to see them and get the same thing4 ,god honored his desire and faith and was answering their prayer at the same time4 ,this brother received the blessing and so preached it that others in his church received the same4 ,at the conference this brother was persecuted on account of the newfound blessing of holiness1 but he had grace enough to stand and endure and not retaliate4 ,dr4 ,carradine saw the abundant grace in this brother's heart and life1 and it made him hungry for the same thing4 ,in due time the persecuted brother was invited to hold a revival meeting in ,dr4 ,carradine's church1 which resulted in the doctor's getting the experience himself4 ,time passed on and finally the prayers of these two faithful women were answered1 in that ,dr4 ,carradine held a meeting in their town and led a number of others into the experience4 ,these two palm tree saints felt a spiritual loneliness in being there without others growing1 and so they never rested till they had a grove of them4 ,a certain preacher who was also a carpenter in southern ,california1 was about to move to some new place4 ,he carefully thought the matter over and decided to move to a place where he hoped in the near future to plant a grove of palm tree saints4 ,he thought he and his family might form a nucleus and thus establish the church of his choice 7for it was a holiness church7 in that place4 ,accordingly he went1 and worked at his trade and preached what he could and got as many interested as he was able1 and after a while the writer1 together with a fine band of workers1 went to this town and pitched a tent and began to preach holiness4 ,before we left we established a church1 with this brother as pastor1 and now after a very few years1 this brother is enjoying holiness in the heavenly world1 and the church planted in that town is flourishing1 having built a church and parsonage4 ,there is something in it that wants to get others started4 ,that is the secret of successful missionary work among the heathen4 ,carey leaves the cobbler's bench and sails across the seas and soon has his palm grove growing in ,india's soil4 ,paton moves to the ,hebrides and jeopardizes his life among the savages1 but never lets up till he sees the groves flourishing in that dark and dreary land4 ,livingstone plunges into darkest ,africa alone1 but he does not remain alone2 ,god reaches those black and benighted savages and turns them into saints1 and the oases begin on ,african soil4 ,and so on all over the world today are being planted ,god's palm tree saints who are getting others started and the big world is now being dotted with palm tree groves4 ,thank ,god forever4 ,reader1 where are you living8 ,is your abode far off from sanctified people8 ,do not get discouraged2 ,god answers prayer4 ,do your best1 and the first thing you know you will have some one to take his place by your side to push the work1 and who knows but that in a short time there may be a flourishing community of full salvation saints there8 ,,chapter ,,xii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,mounts ,,heavenward ,it would seem that the variety of palms which climbs upward into the sky1 was bent on getting as far from the earth and as near heaven as possible4 ,they ascend till they outstrip the other trees1 and seemed determined to get above swamp1 miasma and everything else of a groveling nature4 ,there1 in their exalted sphere1 they wave their perennial boughs1 and bear their fruit1 and bask in the beautiful sunshine1 and live in an element truly above the world4 ,are you flourishing like that8 ,is there something divine in your very being that makes you ambitious to rise as far above this world of sin and as near heaven as it is possible to get8 ,can you sing from experience1 ,i rise to walk in heaven's own light1 ,above the world and sin2 ,with heart made pure and garments white1 ,and ,christ enthroned within8 ,god has chosen us to sit together in heavenly places above the mist and fog and spiritual malaria of this sin-laden world4 ,with the palm tree blessing in our souls1 we are not yearning for the flesh-pots of ,egypt4 ,the leeks and garlic and onions of the past ,egyptian diet have no charms for such a one4 ,he has risen to heavenly heights1 where he catches the smiles of his ,savior and is enabled really to look down on things terrestrial4 ,when ,pharaoh was pressed by ,moses and ,aaron to let the children of ,israel go1 he first refused1 then tried to compromise by letting them worship the ,lord in the land4 ,when this failed1 he tried the second compromise and said he would let them go1 only ye shall not go very far away4 ,pharaoh was certainly a long-headed schemer4 ,he knew if they did not get very far away1 he would not have very far to go after them4 ,then1 again1 he knew if they were not very far away1 and had a hard time to get something to eat1 they would not have far to get back and fill up on garlic and onions4 ,it is just that way with ,pharaoh's antitype1 the ,devil4 ,he first refuses to let his subjects go4 ,then if they are bound to go and be ,christians he tries to get them to do their religion in the land2 that is1 remain in the world and be worldly professors4 ,how many are really deceived at this point6 ,when the ,devil sees that this compromise will not take1 he tries the next one and says if they are bound to be ,christians1 all right and good1 but ye shall not go very far away4 ,how many poor deluded souls bite at this bait6 ,they do not get very far away from ,egypt1 and certainly the ,devil has not very far to go after them4 ,then1 when they fail to get enough in their religion to satisfy the longing desires of their hearts1 they naturally turn toward the flesh-pots of ,egypt1 and should they feel abashed because of their church profession in going outright to the theater1 dance1 card parties and other worldly amusements1 they get them up in the name of the church and religion1 and have a fourth class performance in the church1 or enjoy the fun and frolic of strawberry festivals1 bean suppers1 oyster stews1 grab-bags1 fish ponds1 and so on ad libitum4 ,they may try to hide the smell of their ,egyptian diet1 but anybody can tell when one has been eating onions and garlic4 ,thank ,god some folks got such a boost when they left ,egypt1 that they never long for any of the former life4 ,like the palm tree1 they are above it all4 ,imagine the ,apostle ,paul attending the performances which some churches have these days6 ,there are pilgrims scattered over the world today so lofty in their spiritual makeup1 that to stoop to the level of the pleasures of the worldly professors would be so utterly incongruous that it would border on the ridiculous4 ,the palm tree blessing is a high blessing4 ,it is the higher life indeed4 ,and a highway shall be there1 and a way1 and it shall be called the way of holiness2 the unclean shall not pass over it 7,isa4 #ce3h74 ,there is a path which no vulture's eye hath seen4 ,this is the path of the pilgrim4 ,it is so high that the vulture in his aerial flights has never yet been able to look down upon it4 ,pity such a person8 ,never6 ,the world thinks they are looking down upon us1 but no worldling on this mundane globe ever looks down on the palm tree saint as he walks the narrow1 heavenly trail1 practically oblivious of conditions below4 ,let not any worldling think that he is looking down on ,god's holy ones2 they are looking down on him and they are so far above1 that he looks like a mere dot upon the surface4 ,the minds of many are turned toward the airships of the day4 ,the aviators are vying with each other in long distances1 speed1 altitudes1 and endurance2 but the palm tree saints have solved the problems of aviation long ago4 ,they have an heirship1 though it may not be spelled exactly like those of the world1 yet1 for altitude1 endurance1 speed1 and long traveling1 it perfectly eclipses them all4 ,the aviator of the world may break the world's record today1 and break his neck tomorrow1 but the possibilities of the ,christian aviator are exceedingly charming and the dangers are reduced to naught4 ,he is safer in his heirship than on the earth4 ,borne upward on the wings of faith1 pushed onward by the propeller of perfect love1 with a lateral stability which is a marvel to many who gave him just three weeks to hold out1 he is still rushing on toward the meridian sun1 and has been out of sight for years4 ,he never expects to come down again4 ,some day he will fly so far away from earth's attraction1 and get so near heaven1 that the gravitation1 inversely to the square of their distances1 will pull so in the other direction1 that he will sail into glory and drop his pardon and purity biplane on the gold-paved streets of the ,new ,jerusalem1 amidst the shouts and cheers of the angelic host and the multitudes that have sailed in before1 there to enjoy an eternal aviation meet with prizes and crowns of glory for all4 ,,chapter ,,xiii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,peculiar ,,in ,,its ,,growth ,we have in the botanical world the exogenous and the endogenous tree4 ,the exogenous tree grows by adding to its exterior4 ,year after year adds layers or rings to the outside1 thus increasing its size4 ,it is in this way that scientists are enabled to determine the age of trees4 ,some of the mammoth trees of ,california show an age of many hundred years4 ,most of the trees with which we have to do are of the exogenous type4 ,the endogenous tree increases by internal growth4 ,the palm tree is endogenous4 ,its growth is internal2 out from the center and out at the top4 ,how exact to the analogy was the ,holy ,spirit when ,he inspired the statement1 that the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree6 ,the palm tree saint does not have his growth from the external1 pushing out along the lines of earth1 and parallel to things of the world2 but his growth is internal1 and upward toward ,god and heaven1 and perpendicular or diametrically opposed to the world1 the flesh and the ,devil4 ,when the ,holy ,spirit gave us a picture of the sinner1 it was spreading himself like a green bay tree4 ,a glance at the margin of this text will reveal that the green bay tree indicates one that is growing in its own soil4 ,it has never been transplanted4 ,it remains in the same old conditions and environments4 ,it spreads out on the earth and clings to things terrestrial4 ,thus1 the sinner1 growing in the same soil1 in the same surroundings and conditions of sin year after year1 having never been transplanted nor translated from nature's darkness to the marvelous light of ,god1 pushes out along worldly lines and worldly pleasures1 knowing nothing of the internal developments of grace1 nor upward growth toward ,god and glory4 ,whenever a professing ,christian spreads out with worldly ambitions1 is determined to lay up his treasures upon earth1 hungering more for the adjoining quarter section of land than for the mansions beyond1 determined to have a name down here at the risk of having none in heaven1 he certainly is far from the palm tree type4 ,with ,christ crowned inside1 and all the elements of ,christian growth firmly planted within the heart1 no wonder there are inward developments unseen by mortal eye1 that expand the saint's soul more and more as the years roll on1 and enable him to rise more and more above terrestrial things to heights in the heavenlies4 ,with the secret of growth internal1 it is not hindered by elements external1 for one's life is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,how comforting1 then1 to the soul1 to know that his secret growth is so far from external things1 that neither trials1 tests1 troubles1 tribulations1 persecutions1 disappointments1 losses1 crosses1 circumstances1 men1 nor devils can necessarily hinder him from pushing out and up in the divine life4 ,in the earlier days of persecution of holiness professors1 how often the fighting faction has tried to snow some of ,god's fire-baptized saints under1 only to see them rise up through the snowdrift1 with perennial freshness and smiling face ready for the next cold blizzard of snow4 ,or1 perhaps it was a wet blanket suddenly thrown over them and their testimony1 but the fire within only burnt its way through and turned the wet into steam and proved the possessor to be practically invulnerable4 ,it is indeed hard to cut off one's growth when it comes from within4 ,there may be a momentary check at times when unforeseen obstacles are thrust in one's way1 but the growth producing qualities within assert themselves and burst out with increasing force which make the tormentors wonder what next8 ,,chapter ,,xiv ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,has ,a ,,coarse1 ,,rough ,,exterior2 ,,but ,,it ,,is ,,soft ,,at ,,heart ,in spite of its symmetry1 its wonderful beauty and its perennial freshness1 the palm tree has rather a harsh exterior4 ,but being an endogenous tree1 its pithy interior makes it always soft at the center1 or heart4 ,in the realm of grace1 we often find some of ,god's best saints with a somewhat coarse-grained exterior4 ,they may be uncouth1 unlettered1 uncultured1 and reared in the backwoods1 but they can look up with ,job and say1 ,he maketh my heart soft4 ,while ,christian education is to be prized1 and culture to be much esteemed1 there are some who have not had these advantages1 yet have proved by actual experience that ,god's grace is free for all1 and a clean1 soft heart can abide beneath a rough exterior4 ,methinks ,elijah1 with his rough garments and shaggy hair1 had underneath his crude exterior one of the softest hearts of his time4 ,john the ,baptist1 with camel's hair clothing1 leathern girdle1 and locust pabulum had a kind1 soft heart within4 ,sometimes ,god's people are much misunderstood because of their natural uncouthness and blunt manners1 when1 if their hearts could be seen1 they would appear whiter than snow and softer than silk4 ,thank ,god1 ,he knows4 ,the beautiful blessing of perfect love has been often misunderstood4 ,some seem to think it is a sort of lovey-dovey1 sentimental something that makes its possessor smile on everybody and everything no matter what the moral quality may be4 ,perfect love sometimes assumes the rugged type1 and deals along drastic lines4 ,it can weep with those who weep1 but when there is a very critical operation to perform1 there may be no place for tears just then1 for tears would blind the eyes4 ,elijah1 whose heart was full of perfect love1 came to a place where the false prophets had to be exterminated1 and he had grace and grit enough to carry out the heaven-appointed program4 ,john the ,baptist1 whose experience ,jesus ,christ himself did not question1 could face the hypocritical church members and say1 ,o generation of vipers1 who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come8 ,bring forth therefore fruits meet for repentance 7,matt4 #c3g1 #h74 ,no1 perfect love deals death blows where death blows are needed4 ,a mad dog is running loose in the street4 ,children are playing on the opposite corner4 ,some one rushes out with a bludgeon in his hand1 and jeopardizes his life1 but he lays out the mad dog4 ,some sentimental on-looker asks1 ,was that love that prompted you to treat that dog thus8 ,he answers1 ,yes2 love for those innocent children over on the corner4 ,a man is drowning4 ,in vain he struggles and screams4 ,he is about to perish1 when a stalwart specimen of humanity swims out and deals the poor man a terrible blow in the proper place to stun him4 ,he ceases to struggle1 and the expert life-saver swims ashore and lays his man at the feet of rejoicing friends4 ,some one says1 ,was that love that made you strike that poor1 helpless man8 ,he replies1 ,yes2 if ,i hadn't stunned him1 he would have drowned himself and me too4 ,a freight train was pulling into an ,illinois town in the night4 ,the crew saw a building on fire and had reason to believe that a friend was upstairs in a certain room4 ,the train was stopped and two men rushed to the scene of the fire4 ,up the stairs they mounted and never stopped to knock at the chamber door1 but rushed to the slumberer4 ,there was no time for ceremonies4 ,they grabbed the man and dragged him down the stairs most abruptly4 ,they had scarcely reached the outside when the stairway fell in1 and had they been a minute later all would have been lost4 ,imagine that rescued victim complaining of harsh treatment1 skinned shins and sprained ankles6 ,love made the rescuers adopt speedy and most drastic measures and nothing else would have saved4 ,when the writer was a small boy in ,iowa1 a presiding elder of the ,m4 ,e4 church lived in his town4 ,he was an exceedingly corpulent man1 weighing something over three hundred fifty pounds4 ,one day he was taken very sick and a physician prescribed for him1 leaving the medicine in the form of powders for him to take4 ,the great1 big preacher looked at the small powders and then at his bigness1 and said to himself3 ,i am so large ,i think ,i would better take two of them4 ,he accordingly took a double dose and soon discovered that they were putting him to sleep4 ,his family and friends saw the awful mistake he had made1 and determined to use desperate measures to keep him awake1 or they well knew they would soon have a dead presiding elder on their hands4 ,accordingly1 love went to work4 ,they walked him about1 switched him1 and punished him in any way their quickened ingenuity could invent4 ,in vain he begged them to let him alone and sleep1 but they threshed him and punished him till they wore off the effect of the opiate and saved his life4 ,would any one question the promptings of love that led those people to give their presiding elder such a beating8 ,i trow not4 ,did ,jesus ,christ love when ,he drove the money changers out of the temple at the end of a whip8 ,did ,daniel have love when he faced the wicked ,belshazzar and told him of his sins at the risk of his own life8 ,was there love in ,jeremiah's heart when he swore to the truth and changed not1 even if he did land in the dark1 miry dungeon8 ,where was ,joshua's love when he put his foot on the necks of the ,canaanitish kings8 ,what about ,samuel and ,agag8 ,look over the history of the ,old and ,new ,testaments and note some of the rugged measures taken by ,god's prophets and others1 and see that it was not always of the easy-going1 soft-gloved1 alligator-teared type4 ,in the far ,north1 when it was an object to get the mail over those bleak1 barren plains1 with the thermometer many degrees below zero1 one frightfully frigid morning the express driver was bundled up for his long1 cold ride in his sleigh4 ,just as he was about to start1 a rather scantily dressed woman came up with a baby in her arms1 and told the driver that she had just received news of her husband's death1 and she must go to him4 ,he remonstrated with her and tried to show her that she could never stand the cold trip2 that she would certainly freeze on the way4 ,but his words were futile1 for she climbed into the sleigh and was determined to go to her husband4 ,finding that he could not prevail upon her to desist1 he tucked her in the bottom of the sleigh1 piled the straw around1 placed the wraps about her and her baby and started on4 ,as they progressed1 the cold grew more and more intense4 ,the icy flakes began to fill the air1 and the wind was cutting its way through to the very marrow4 ,finally1 the driver saw the poor woman nodding1 and discovered the sleepy droop of her eyelids4 ,he thought1 ,oh1 the poor woman is freezing to death and what shall ,i do8 ,he hastily tried to think of some way of saving her life1 when suddenly he stopped the sleigh1 and quietly1 without saying a word1 took the baby from her arms and lifted the freezing form of the woman into the road2 then he took the babe in his own arms and drove on4 ,at first she staggered and stumbled around and then seemed to come to herself and discovered that the driver was actually running off with her baby4 ,the chase then began in good earnest4 ,he managed to keep just far enough ahead to encourage her in her desperate run4 ,finally1 he saw the glow return to her cheek1 and knew that the warm blood was again coursing through her body1 and then he quietly let her in1 placed the babe in her arms1 snugly tucked them in and drove on to their destination4 ,at the journey's end she said1 ,oh1 how ,i thank you for what you did6 ,if you had not done that1 my baby would have been an orphan tonight4 ,rough treatment was that2 but it was prompted by love4 ,judging from the exterior appearance1 it surely looked rough and frightfully cruel2 but a heart of kindness was beneath it all4 ,a certain phrenologist was giving a public exhibition showing the science of phrenology4 ,a well-known citizen was on the platform having his cranium and physiognomy examined1 the result of which was being communicated to the audience4 ,the man had some very prominent bumps and features which indicated a disposition far from pleasant1 and the examiner was telling it out to the congregation as one striking1 ugly point after another was discovered4 ,as the phrenologist proceeded from one statement to another1 delineating the man's character1 the congregation first smiled1 and then burst into laughter4 ,the professor was actually describing the man opposite to what he really was4 ,they knew the man1 and it excited their risibilities to see the scientist so far miss the mark4 ,of course it was embarrassing to him1 but on concluding his talk1 the gentleman who had been examined asked if he might say a word4 ,he then told the people that the phrenologist had told the truth and had given a very accurate description of his natural disposition2 that he had perfectly pictured out his former life2 that the reason why he was not that way now1 was because of the grace of ,god that had come into his life4 ,grace had made the change1 but the old1 rough exterior was not worn off1 and the phrenologist had judged from the appearance4 ,let us not judge by the external simply4 ,like the palm tree1 one may be crude and rough outside1 but inside he may meet the loving approbation of ,god4 ,,chapter ,,xv ,,the ,,life ,,of ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,is ,,at ,,the ,,center ,this is unlike the life of all the exogenous trees1 which is at the surface1 or rather just beneath the bark4 ,when the life-giving sap circulates along the length of these trees1 it moves in its course close to the outside surface4 ,when the maple tree is tapped they catch this flow of sap1 because it is near to the outside4 ,when farmers want to destroy a tree1 all they have to do is to girdle it1 or1 in other words1 cut the bark down to the wood all around the tree1 and thus stop the circulation of sap1 and the tree soon withers and dies4 ,such a tree can not stand too much abuse4 ,if it is chopped and hacked and peeled1 or girdled1 it seems to discourage it1 and it gives up and dies4 ,not so with the palm tree4 ,it has its life at the center4 ,one may rip it and peel it and girdle it1 and it grows just the same2 it has a hidden life4 ,we have actually seen a row of palms which had been burnt1 and yet they had pushed out of their dismal darkness1 and thrown out fresh foliage4 ,they do not get discouraged and quit when the odds are against them4 ,does the reader still find himself flourishing like the palm tree8 ,the perplexing and persecuting times will come more or less to all of us1 and then how we will need the palm tree blessing6 ,take the professor of religion minus the real possession1 and let him be placed under the distressing ordeal of certain lines of adversity4 ,let him be cut with the cruel tongue of the talker1 peeled with popular prejudice1 girdled with the scalpel of the religious dissecter1 crunched by cruel cannibals who love to devour one another1 and see how quickly the spiritual sap ceases to flow4 ,see how soon he withers and shrinks up and says1 ,what is the use of trying any more2 ,i might as well give up my religion4 ,he may not come out openly and above board and declare his intentions1 but that is about the outcome4 ,but see how it works on the palm tree saint1 whose life is hid with ,christ in ,god4 ,drag him through the streets by the hair of his head as they did ,john ,wesley2 incarcerate him as they did ,john ,bunyan2 incinerate him as they did the martyrs of old2 excommunicate him and revile him as they did some in our own day2 ecclesiastically decapitate him and skin him alive and girdle him clear around1 and then see him leap and dance1 and sing and shout ,hallelujah6 ,you can't hurt me1 for ,i have the palm tree blessing1 and my life is hidden inside4 ,the sap flows right on1 and1 though the outside may be somewhat worse for the wear1 yet the ,christ-life within surmounts it all and shouts its victorious way over all obstacles4 ,had the early saints not known this wonderful blessing1 they surely would have failed in the struggles of life4 ,hear the ,apostle ,paul as he faces the guillotine block3 ,for ,i am now ready to be offered1 and the time of my departure is at hand4 ,i have fought a good fight1 ,i have finished my course1 ,i have kept the faith2 henceforth1 there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness1 which the ,lord1 the righteous ,judge1 shall give me at that day3 and not to me only1 but unto all them also that love his appearing 7#b ,tim4 #d3f-h74 ,hear the ,apostle ,john on that dreary ,isle of ,patmos3 ,he that overcometh1 shall inherit all things4 ,these are they which come out of great tribulation1 and have washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb4 ,see the martyrs all down the ages with an inner current of joy as they faced fagots1 and with unfaltering step gave up their lives and flew to heaven in chariots of fire4 ,there were no outside punishments that could cut off their life flow4 ,it was hidden so deep that stripes1 nor stocks1 nor sword1 nor stones1 nor any other kind of affliction or infliction could reach its fountain head4 ,there are those of our present day who know by actual experience the joys of this inner1 invulnerable gift4 ,had it not been for this1 they would have been swept into the vortex of discouragement and despair long ago4 ,o1 the unspeakable joy of a life that is not superficial1 but hidden so deep that the ,devil's darts or any of his devices can not reach it6 ,how is it that sister can sing and smile when a thousand trials conspire to cut off the flow of holy joy8 ,because she has the palm tree blessing1 and her life of devotion and blessing is not external where the things of earth can reach it4 ,when one murmurs and complains1 and finds fault with environments and the things which would tend to annoy1 let him know that he is living at the external1 and does not know the joys of internal rest where these things do not intrude4 ,thank ,god for an inner current of holy life1 which flows on1 supplying the life more abundant and keeping the soul in blessed equipoise amidst the surging of life's storms4 ,so we see that the palm tree is endowed with an abundant life4 ,jesus said in ,john #aj3aj1 ,i am come that they might have life1 and that they might have it more abundantly4 ,the palm tree is certainly a fine type or illustration of life more abundant4 ,now1 if the ,christian is to measure up alongside of this characteristic1 then he must have that which ,jesus meant by the more abundant life4 ,it is not sufficient to have life in ,christ2 he must have it abundantly4 ,what is this life more abundant8 ,look at the schoolboys as they file out of school4 ,they can scarcely contain themselves1 having been pentup through the day4 ,some are yelling1 some are running and some are manifesting their life in other ways4 ,they seem to have more than they know what to do with4 ,look at the stall-fed calf4 ,see it gamboling over the meadow4 ,notice the lambs frisk and frolic4 ,every action signifies abundant life4 ,this is all physical life2 yet the ,holy ,ghost coming into the believer's heart and life will impart the spiritual life more abundant4 ,wherever there is life1 we may hope to see the manifestation of that life4 ,if there is life more abundant1 then we may hope to see more abundant manifestations of that life4 ,the sinner is dead in trespasses and sins4 ,the believer is made alive in ,jesus ,christ4 ,the difference between a ,christian and a sinner is the difference between a living body and a corpse4 ,if a funeral was in progress and ,jesus ,christ should come by as ,he did when the procession was on the way from ,nain to the cemetery1 and speak life into the dead body1 how long would it be before the person in the coffin would find it out1 and also the people looking on8 ,when a soul is born again1 regenerated by power divine1 there are manifestations of that life1 and the individual certainly finds it out1 and it is obvious to those who know him4 ,where there are no manifestations of life it is certainly taxing to one's credulity to believe there is life4 ,the other day we read in the paper of a funeral in progress1 and in the midst of the service the child who was dead or supposed to be1 arose in the casket and looked quietly around4 ,the grandmother sitting near by was so shocked at the sight that she instantly fell over dead4 ,it would not take the observers long to ascertain that the child on the one hand was alive and that the grandmother on the other hand was dead4 ,there is too much in these latter days that passes for life when it is death4 ,it is certainly a marvelous experience to be made alive unto ,god4 ,we pick up a paper and read of a certain revival where hundreds and perhaps thousands have been converted4 ,the question is3 ,have they really been made alive from the dead1 or have they simply made a resolution and joined the church8 ,we have never been very visionary1 nor have we been carried away in trances2 but we did have a dream once that we felt sure was from the ,lord2 at least the interpretation came so clearly and quickly at the moment of waking1 that we have felt the ,lord's hand was in it4 ,the dream ran thus3 ,we had gone into a cemetery and followed a lady into a tomb4 ,at the center of this tomb was a casket4 ,the lady walked up to the casket and quietly lifted the lid and laid it aside4 ,she then gently placed her hands inside the casket and lifted out of it the form of a young man4 ,this young man seemed to come to life as she took him out4 ,she then placed him on her lap1 took a clothes brush and nicely brushed his clothes4 ,he then stood up4 ,we were standing near the wall1 and this young man was observed to roll a cigarette between his fingers and looking our way1 asked for a match4 ,we had none for that purpose and never do4 ,immediately we said1 ,just out of the grave and yet he continues in his sins4 ,then the lady gently took this young man and laid him within the casket1 and he was as dead as before4 ,the lid was placed in shape and immediately we awoke1 whereupon a voice seemed to say clearly1 ,this is a modern revival4 ,and is it not true8 ,do they not have many who stand up or sign their names and join the church8 ,they seem to have a little life for awhile2 are brushed up and stood up1 when1 lo1 and behold the old sinful life clings to them1 and in a few days they are back in their old state of death just as dead as before4 ,surely1 this is not the kind of life ,jesus came to bring4 ,now1 if in the incipient life which ,jesus brings1 there are manifestations of the same1 does it not hold true that in the life more abundant there should be expected greater manifestations of that life8 ,we read that the fruit of the ,spirit is love1 joy1 peace1 etc4 ,this obtains in the justified relation1 when the power of an endless life begins to work in the heart and life of an individual4 ,then when that life becomes more abundant in the sanctified experience1 the love1 joy1 peace1 and all the rest are more abundant4 ,in pardon we have love2 in purity1 perfect love4 ,in pardon we have joy2 in purity1 fulness of joy4 ,in pardon we have peace2 in purity perfect peace4 ,in pardon we have salvation2 in purity1 full salvation4 ,in pardon we have life2 in purity life more abundant4 ,surely1 the sanctified soul ought to manifest more love1 joy1 peace1 longsuffering1 and the rest of the imparted graces than those who do not enjoy sanctification4 ,alas1 too many who profess this second blessing1 properly so-called1 do not manifest it in their lives4 ,the palm tree abundance seems to be wanting4 ,when our dear mother was very old1 and did not always get her letters properly connected in her letter writing1 one time she wrote us a letter in which she spoke of the blessing of sanctification4 ,she got all the letters in1 but placed the c before the a and made it spell scantified4 ,we thought that was true of far too many2 their sanctification is scantification2 alas1 far too scant4 ,we had this life more abundant wonderfully illustrated on a certain occasion while holding a meeting in the city of ,indianapolis4 ,we stepped into a doctor's office and observed a platform about four feet square4 ,this platform was perfectly insulated by having glass feet beneath4 ,the object of the platform was to form a place for an individual to sit and then fill him full of electricity4 ,a chair was placed on this platform1 and we were asked to take a seat on it4 ,at first we were somewhat dubious4 ,we had read of the electrocuting chair1 and did not know to just what extent the lightning might be turned on4 ,after a little persuasion1 and looking at the matter rather philosophically1 thinking that others had been there without being killed1 we ventured to take a seat4 ,at once the power was turned on and in a moment every hair on our head was standing straight up1 we observed in the mirror4 ,the power went through and through our body from head to foot4 ,it felt glorious1 and no one needed to tell us that something was going on inside4 ,the doctor placed his hand near our body1 and a sharp crack was heard1 a spark of lightning flew out to meet him4 ,every time the hand approached any part of us1 the report was heard and lightning would flash4 ,our friend was sitting near and he was asked to shake hands with us1 whereby he responded1 ,no1 you don't4 ,he felt there was too much going on for him to trifle with lightning that way4 ,now1 we would not want to convey the thought1 that necessarily when one obtains the blessing of holiness there will be felt electric shocks throughout his being2 but we do mean to say that when an individual places himself and all that he has on ,god's platform of consecration1 and becomes perfectly insulated from this world1 that ,god will turn on the power of the sanctifying baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 and that individual will surely know that the mighty work has taken place4 ,and not only the one who receives the blessing will be cognizant of the fact1 but others who come in contact with him will ascertain the same4 ,to say that one has the blessing of holiness1 but has no power1 is to say what is not true4 ,to say1 ,i am still sanctified1 but ,i have lost the power1 is to speak contradictory to the ,word of ,god4 ,there are some things which ,god has joined together1 and surely we have no right to put them asunder4 ,when the individual becomes perfectly insulated from the world and worldliness1 and makes proper connection with the dynamos of the skies1 something is surely going to happen4 ,once we heard a preacher tell an experience he had when a telegraph operator4 ,it sometimes fell to his lot to go down the line and see what caused obstructions to the messages4 ,one time while out on such duty he observed the line was broken4 ,usually he took along with him a telegraph instrument with which to send and receive messages4 ,this time he had neglected to carry such an instrument4 ,he saw the importance of sending back a message1 but having no instrument1 he did not see how it could be done4 ,at length he thought of placing the two ends of the wire together1 and by joining them in the proper way he could use the ,morse code of dots and dashes1 etc4 ,he accordingly tried the experiment and it worked so successfully that he managed to get a message through to the office4 ,the next thing was1 how could he get a message from the office to himself8 ,he could not hear the dots and dashes as they might pass along the wire to him4 ,finally1 the thought struck him1 that he could make his body a means of transmission of the message4 ,accordingly1 he took hold of one end of the wire with one hand and the other wire with the other hand1 when here came along the message and passed right through his body1 making the dots and dashes of the system perceptibly realized by the jerking of the hands and arms4 ,here he had hold of one wire connected with the office1 and with the other hand he had grasped the wire that connected with the other side and through him came the message4 ,would to ,god that more people had learned the secret of perfect insulation1 and could have their very being so transformed that they would become channels through which the ,holy ,ghost could pour ,his own messages of divine truth out on a careless and deceived world6 ,we need to become channels of life1 abundant life to a lost and ruined world4 ,the world is perishing for life4 ,the old humdrum of lifeless religion is too repulsive4 ,when a certain noted preacher was asked why more people did not attend church1 the answer was1 ,because they can not stand the humdrum4 ,there is something about life that is attractive4 ,a jumping1 laughing1 rollicking baby always attracts attention4 ,the frisking lamb1 the playing pups1 the rollicking children1 all attract4 ,folks don't like death4 ,funerals are sad4 ,graveyards are quiet places4 ,the heart of man cries out for life4 ,god puts a spiritual hunger within the breast for the life more abundant4 ,the lifeless1 emotionless1 joyless prayermeeting or preaching service never had its origin in the pentecostal upper room4 ,they are not the congregations of ,spirit-filled1 fire-baptized souls4 ,david said1 ,my cup runneth over4 ,isaiah said in that memorable twelfth chapter1 that people would do five things3 praise1 pray1 testify1 sing1 and shout4 ,then he gives as a cause for it all1 that ,great is the ,holy ,one of ,israel in the midst of thee4 ,and it is true to the letter4 ,when ,god gets in the midst of people there are these beautiful manifestations4 ,the people praise the ,lord1 call upon ,his name1 make mention that ,his name is exalted1 sing and shout4 ,when the meeting dies1 these things are wanting4 ,life1 life1 eternal life6 ,let this be our cry till the dead wake up1 and the slumbering church arouses from its stupor1 and the pulpit pulsates with pentecostal fire4 ,the last thing a person wants to meet is death4 ,no wonder it is termed an enemy4 ,if then death is so dreaded in the material world1 why should we not abhor spiritual death8 ,thank ,god we do not need to have it around4 ,with ,christ the very embodiment of life1 who was dead1 but now is alive forevermore2 with heaven's mighty reservoir of the elixir of life at our command1 there is no need of spiritual cemeteries4 ,we do not have to leak out our life because somebody said so2 because some persecutor said something detrimental to us1 or used some weapon of war against us4 ,did not martyrs of old face death at every turn8 ,paul said1 ,i die daily4 ,he was in constant jeopardy4 ,he never could tell when an angry mob would swoop down upon him1 or he would be cast to the wild beasts4 ,yet none of these things moved him4 ,he had a life like the palm tree1 so hidden inside that external things did not affect4 ,indeed some of the early martyrs seemed to be endowed with miraculous physical life4 ,it is recorded that the ,apostle ,john was cast into a cauldron of boiling oil1 but was miraculously delivered1 the oil having no effect on him4 ,when ,blandina1 a ,christian lady1 was undergoing such tremendous tortures by her persecutors1 though weak in her constitution1 yet she sustained such aid from heaven1 that her tormentors several times became weary in their wicked work1 and declared that she must have been supported by some invisible power4 ,sanctus was a deacon at ,vienne4 ,he was tortured for ,jesus' sake and bore it all with marked fortitude and exclaimed1 ,i am a ,christian4 ,when red-hot plates were applied repeatedly to the most sensitive parts of his body1 till the sinews were contracted1 still he remained unmovable1 inflexible in his steadfastness1 and he was again placed in prison4 ,in a few days he was brought forth again1 when his tormentors were wonderfully astonished to find that his wounds were healed and his body sound and perfect4 ,he was again put to the torture1 but being unable to take his life1 he was again remanded to prison1 where soon afterward he was beheaded4 ,we may not be called upon to suffer physical torture at the hands of heartless persecutors in these days1 but ,they that will live godly in ,christ ,jesus shall suffer persecution4 ,we surely will have it in some form if true to ,god4 ,the world does not love our ,christ4 ,jesus told ,his own brothers that the world could not hate them1 but it hated ,him1 because ,he told them their deeds were evil4 ,when our persecutors come1 what are we going to do8 ,if we have the palm tree blessing1 we have a life hidden so deep that the world can not reach it4 ,this life is a heart life4 ,it does not lie on the surface where the enemy's tortures can reach it4 ,look at the sainted martyrs in the early day2 how they endured the afflictions that were heaped upon them1 without a murmur1 and would not flinch1 nor compromise a hair's breadth4 ,their tormentors were taxed to the extreme in devising modes of suffering by which they hoped to succeed in getting the ,christians to deny ,christ4 ,in order to show the real hidden life of the palm tree saint we will record the case of two martyrs as told in ,the ,historic ,martyrs of the ,primitive ,church1 by ,a4 ,j4 ,mason4 ,probus was presented4 ,put away all foolish language1 said ,maximus1 and tell me what you are called4 ,my first and best name is ,christian2 my second1 by which men call me1 is ,probus4 ,of what station in life8 ,my father was a ,thracian1 but ,i was born at ,sida in ,pamphilia4 ,i am a civilian1 but a ,christian4 ,little good you will get from that name4 ,follow my advice1 and sacrifice to the gods1 that you may receive honor from the emperors1 and be a friend of mine4 ,i do not want the honor of the emperors1 nor am ,i anxious for your good offices4 ,i had a considerable property1 but ,i gave it up1 to serve the living ,god through ,christ4 ,take off his cloak4 ,gird him up4 ,put him at the stretch4 ,beat him with thongs of rawhide4 ,the compassionate centurion1 ,demetrius1 again spoke3 ,spare yourself1 man2 you see your blood running to the ground4 ,my body is at your disposal1 answered ,probus4 ,but your punishments to me are an anointing with sweet ointments4 ,after a time ,maximus began again his attempts at persuasion3 ,will you not have done with this madness now8 ,do you persist in it1 unhappy man8 ,i am not mad4 ,i am wiser than you4 ,i do not serve devils4 ,turn him over and beat him on the belly4 ,lord1 help thy servant4 ,as you beat him1 say1 ',christian man1 where is your helper8 ,he has helped1 and ,he helps me still4 ,i care so little for your punishment1 that ,i will not obey you4 ,think of your body1 unhappy wretch4 ,all the floor is covered with the blood from it4 ,let me tell you this3 the more my body suffers for ,christ's sake1 the better it is for the health of my soul4 ,put him in irons1 and stretch him to the fourth hole4 ,let him have no attention paid to him4 ,tarachus is then brought before ,maximus4 ,well1 well1 ,tarachus1 said ,maximus4 ,i suppose that the reason why people honor old age is because of the greater wisdom in counsel that comes with it4 ,therefore1 give yourself good advice1 and do not today persist in your former notions1 but sacrifice to the gods1 and earn the praise of piety4 ,i am a ,christian1 answered ,tarachus1 and ,i pray that you and your emperors may earn the same praise1 and may put away all hardness of heart and blindness1 and be quickened by the true ,god to a higher and better grounded conviction4 ,knock his mouth with stones1 and say to him1 ',cease your folly4' ,if ,i were not of sound mind1 ,i should be a fool as you are4 ,see1 your teeth are all loosened4 ,have pity on yourself1 unhappy man4 ,nothing that you can do hurts me1 not if you were to cut off all my extremities4 ,i stand steadfastly before you in ,christ which strengtheneth me4 ,follow my advice4 ,you had better4 ,come and sacrifice4 ,if ,i knew that ,i had better do it1 ,i should not suffer as ,i do4 ,strike him on the mouth and tell him to cry out4 ,when my teeth are dashed out1 and my jaws crushed1 ,i can not cry out4 ,will you not even now comply1 impious man8 ,come to the altars1 and pour a drink-offering to the gods4 ,though you have stopped my voice so that ,i can not cry out1 you can not hinder the thoughts of my soul4 ,you have made me bolder and firmer4 ,i will take down your firmness1 ruffian4 ,i am at your disposal4 ,whatever you devise1 ,i shall be more than a match for you in the name of ,god who strengtheneth me4 ,open his hands and put fire in them4 ,i am not afraid of your fire1 which endures for a moment2 but ,i am afraid lest1 if ,i were to obey you1 ,i should become a partaker of the eternal fire4 ,look1 your hands are consumed with the fire4 ,will you leave off your madness1 senseless man1 and sacrifice8 ,you talk to me as if ,i had begged you not to use your arts of persuasion upon my body4 ,i am proof against all that you are doing to me4 ,tie his feet and hang him aloft by them2 then send up a thick smoke in his face4 ,i thought nothing of your fire2 do you suppose that ,i shall be afraid of your smoke8 ,consent to sacrifice1 now that you are hung up4 ,you may sacrifice1 sir2 you are accustomed to sacrificing--even to sacrificing men4 ,but ,god forbid that ,i should do so4 ,put strong vinegar1 mixed with salt up his nostrils4 ,your vinegar is sweet and your salt has lost its saltness4 ,mix mustard with the vinegar and pour it into his nostrils4 ,your officers are deceiving you1 ,maximus2 they gave me honey instead of vinegar4 ,i will think of some punishment for you next court day1 and ,i will put an end to your folly4 ,and ,i shall be the readier for your devices4 ,take him down2 put him in chains and give him over to the gaoler4 ,call the next4 ,,chapter ,,xvi ,,the ,,palm ,,branch ,,is ,,the ,,symbol ,,of ,,victory ,after this ,i beheld1 and1 lo1 a great multitude1 which no man could number1 of all nations1 and kindreds1 and people1 and tongues1 stood before the throne1 and before the ,lamb1 clothed with white robes1 and palms in their hands2 and cried with a loud voice1 saying1 ,salvation to our ,god which sitteth upon the throne1 and unto the ,lamb4 99 99 99 ,these are they which came out of great tribulation1 and have washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb 7,rev4 #g3i1 #ad74 ,when this cruel war is over1 and the last enemy1 death1 has been conquered1 and every tribulation has been passed through triumphantly1 then we shall come forth on the victor's side1 clothed with white robes1 and waving our palm branches gloriously1 having overcome by the blood of the ,lamb and the word of our testimony4 ,when ,jesus made that triumphal entry into ,jerusalem1 just before ,his crucifixion1 the rejoicing followers acknowledged ,his kingly victories1 and did homage by preparing ,his way1 and took branches of palm trees1 and went forth to meet him1 and cried1 ,hosanna3 ,blessed is the ,king of ,israel that cometh in the name of the ,lord 7,john #ab3ac74 ,not only did the palm branch have the significance of victory in the ,bible1 but certain countries have used it as a token of victory and rejoicing1 a symbol or evidence of superiority or success4 ,in our present day1 to bear the palm means to come off victoriously4 ,this expression has evidently been borrowed from the ancient symbol4 ,what other tree in all the world could so well be used to signify victory8 ,when we think of its beauty1 its perpendicular straightness1 its perennial freshness1 its sweet and abundant fruitfulness even in old age1 its almost incomprehensible utility1 its successful development where other trees fail1 its natural propensity to ascend heavenward1 its marvelous hardiness with its internal and upward growth1 does it not stand to reason that the palm branch should be the most fitting type of ,christian triumph and joyous victory8 ,no other tree could be used so well to symbolize the victory of him who is fighting under the banner of ,king ,emmanuel4 ,now1 if we are to flourish like the palm tree1 then we shall flourish with victory4 ,we are taught in the ,word that we are more than conquerors through him that loved us 7,rom4 #h3cg74 ,this means that the palm tree saint can fight and win and be ready to fight again4 ,david's fight with ,goliath illustrates it4 ,he marched out against his enemy and ,god's enemy with five sling stones1 and the first throw something entered ,goliath's head that made an impression which he never got over4 ,and then the stripling1 shepherd lad had four more stones to kill four more giants if necessary4 ,in the economy of ,god's grace ,he never arranged for us to be succumbers1 but rather overcomers4 ,read the marvelous promises of ,revelation for those who overcome4 ,there are seven of them1 and note the ascending scale4 #a4 ,to him that overcometh will ,i give to eat of the tree of life which is in the midst of the paradise of ,god4 #b4 ,he that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death4 #c4 ,to him that overcometh will ,i give to eat of the hidden manna1 and ,i will give him a white stone1 and in the stone a new name written which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it4 #d4 ,and he that overcometh1 and keepeth my works unto the end1 to him will ,i give power over the nations4 99 99 99 ,and ,i will give him the morning star4 #e4 ,he that overcometh1 the same shall be clothed in white raiment2 and ,i will not blot out his name out of the book of life1 but ,i will confess his name before my ,father1 and before his angels4 #f4 ,him that overcometh will ,i make a pillar in the temple of my ,god1 and he shall go no more out3 and ,i will write upon him the name of my ,god1 and the name of the city of my ,god1 which is ,new ,jerusalem1 which cometh down out of heaven from my ,god3 and ,i will write upon him my new name4 #g4 ,to him that overcometh will ,i grant to sit with me in my throne1 even as ,i also overcame and am set down with my ,father in his throne4 ,wonderful stepping stones to the throne6 ,seven steps and into glory6 ,let us examine them in their order3 #a4 ,he eats of the tree of life4 ,death has slipped away and eternal life has come4 ,he is living forever now4 ,we eat of earth's food to live here1 and we eat of the tree of life to live forever4 #b4 ,he has promise of a safe passage and a proper landing4 ,he shall not be hurt with the second death4 ,insurance in the ,king's ,insurance ,company1 secures a positive guaranty against the second death4 ,wrapped in the asbestos robes of full salvation1 makes one immune from the fires of perdition4 #c4 ,he eats again2 but now it is hidden manna4 ,hidden manna was inside the holy of holies4 ,thus1 he reaches the second blessing properly so-called4 ,now arises special persecution and calumny2 but the great ,judge in casting the ballot for the condemned1 puts in the white stone for acquittal3 hence1 he receives the white stone at this stage4 ,what shall we then say to these things8 ,if ,god be for us1 who can be against us8 7,rom4 #h3ca74 #d4 ,power1 the positive side of holiness is now particularly manifested4 ,also1 the night of trouble1 trial1 testing1 temptations1 and tears will pass away4 ,the morning star is seen4 ,he is looking toward the sun-rising1 toward the morning when the ,sun of righteousness shall appear4 #e4 ,now1 the white raiment of a holy life shines forth particularly4 ,his outward life and testimony give him away4 ,his hidden life manifests itself outwardly and differentiates itself from all other life4 ,the inward glory is shining out to the surface1 and his life is seen and felt4 ,in proportion to the inward glory will the outward effulgence be manifested4 ,jesus1 on the mount of transfiguration1 let the inward glory out through ,his garments1 and they became garments of light4 ,now comes the announcement that his name will not be blotted out of the book of life4 ,while it is possible to pass the point in sin1 where the soul fixes its destiny for damnation1 so it seems that there is a point in the progress of spirituality and grace and overcoming1 that fixes the soul's destiny for glory4 ,his name is confessed before ,god and the angels4 ,the veil is getting very thin here1 between the overcoming pilgrim and paradise4 ,in fact he is living mostly in heaven now4 #f4 ,he is now counted a pillar in a peculiar sense4 ,like the pillars of ancient ,egypt and ,babylon where great monarchs carved their names1 battles1 victories1 marvelous achievements1 and chiseled their pedigree and dynasty1 so ,god takes this time-honored1 battle-scarred1 self-sacrificing pilgrim at this stage and makes him an illustrious pillar in the temple of ,god1 and writes in his favor his victories and exploits1 his overcoming life4 ,he is to go no more out4 ,as some are sealed for eternal damnation in this life1 so he is sealed for eternal glory4 ,i will write upon him4 ,yes1 ,god will carve upon him victories and conquests4 ,he will write upon him the city of ,god--his sure destination4 ,like the address on a sealed letter1 with the government of the country back of it to see that it arrives safely at its destination1 so with ,god's epistles1 sealed with that ,holy ,spirit of promise1 with the address of his destination plainly written thereon1 and with the government of all heaven interested in seeing him through1 we see the overcoming saint nearing the ,great ,white ,throne4 ,the end is near2 he is overcoming to the last4 ,he has been ascending the steps1 till now he sees inside the pearly gates1 and one step more will put him inside4 #g4 ,here he is in glory at last1 and a place with ,jesus in ,his throne4 ,exalted place6 ,with ,christ1 the great ,overcomer1 he sits down with ,him in ,his throne4 ,it is more than finite minds can comprehend4 ,surely1 it will pay to be true to ,jesus and be a final overcomer4 ,when we read these wonderful promises to the overcomer1 and see with what precision and certainty he is made to ascend the spiritual scale to glory1 we scarcely wonder1 that before we reach the close of ,revelation we hear the sudden announcement3 ,he that overcometh shall inherit all things4 ,and this is the victory that overcometh the world1 even our faith 7#a ,john #e3d74 ,the overcoming1 victorious life is the only kind that satisfies the soul and qualifies for spiritual success in this world4 ,the outside world is looking upon us1 and if they do not see something in us beyond that which they see in themselves1 there will be no inducement from our standpoint for them to make any change4 ,god has provided a life in which it is possible to rejoice evermore1 pray without ceasing1 in everything give thanks4 ,the psalmist said1 ,i will bless the ,lord at all times2 his praise shall continually be in my mouth4 ,no person can1 by mere volition1 bring himself into a frame of mind to bless the ,lord at all times and have ,his praise continually in his mouth4 ,the harassing trials and nagging disappointments incident to earthly life are too many and too severe to admit of the everlasting praise life without the grace of ,god within4 ,and many with a measure of ,god's grace have not become acquainted with the secret of continual praise4 ,let us look at two statements1 one in the ,old ,testament1 and the other in the ,new ,testament4 ,all these things are against me 7,gen4 #db3cf74 ,all things work together for good 7,rom4 #h3bh74 ,the first statement comes from ,jacob2 the second from the ,apostle ,paul4 ,paul said he had learned whatsoever state he was in1 therewith to be content 7,phil4 #d3aa74 ,jacob was looking at the mere external1 and judging accordingly4 ,what were the things that were against ,jacob8 ,me have ye bereaved of my children3 ,joseph is not1 and ,simeon is not1 and ye will take ,benjamin away4 ,all these things are against me4 ,but ,jacob1 you are very much mistaken4 ,the very things you say are against you1 are all working together for your good4 ,joseph1 right now is in ,egypt1 the governor of that land1 and is not dead as you suppose4 ,simeon is all right under ,joseph's watchful care1 and ,benjamin will be in the best of hands4 ,joseph went before1 to be a loadstone to draw ,simeon there1 and ,simeon is a loadstone to draw ,benjamin there1 and ,benjamin will be a loadstone to draw you there and all the rest of the family to preserve you alive and to bring about ,god's wonderful plan and providence in the ,hebrew nation4 ,no2 the trouble with ,jacob was with his foresight2 had that been half as good as his hindsight he never would have said what he did4 ,perhaps ,paul did not have so much to contend with in his day4 ,let us see4 ,in labors more abundant1 in stripes above measure1 in prisons more frequent1 in deaths oft4 ,of the ,jews five times received ,i forty stripes save one4 ,thrice was ,i beaten with rods1 once was ,i stoned1 thrice ,i suffered shipwreck1 a night and a day have ,i been in the deep2 in journeyings often1 in perils of waters1 in perils of robbers1 in perils by mine own countrymen1 in perils by the heathen1 in perils in the city1 in perils in the wilderness1 in perils in the sea1 in perils among false brethren2 in weariness and painfulness1 in watchings often1 in hunger and thirst1 in fastings often1 in cold and nakedness4 ,besides those things that are without1 that which cometh upon me daily1 the care of all the churches 7#b ,cor4 #aa3bc-bh74 ,in spite of all these1 hear his overcoming1 victorious faith say3 ,all things work together for good4 ,there is probably no department in the ,christian life which is more desired and for which more prayer is offered1 than the victory department4 ,there are so many trials1 disappointments and annoyances from day to day1 that if one allows them to overcome him he is constantly confronting failure and chagrin4 ,but to know that one is from day to day and moment to moment living in the praise and overcoming life1 gives him a joy and satisfaction that is simply glorious in the extreme4 ,there are many ,christians who go through the world in a sort of up-and-down1 to-and-fro1 in-and-out1 zigzag way that is certainly discouraging4 ,to have victory today and defeat tomorrow1 keeps one on edge all the time1 not knowing which way the battle is going to turn4 ,a lesson from the ,book of ,joshua is encouraging4 ,when he began that wonderful series of conquests just after crossing the ,jordan into ,canaan1 it was victory after victory4 ,here is a sample of the records3 ,and he did to the king of ,makkedah as he did unto the king of ,jericho4 ,then follows like statements in almost the identical language except that the cities are different1 showing that he took the last city and conquered it and its king in precisely the same manner as he did the one before4 ,god had previously promised him that he should have just that kind of victory in ,canaan4 ,hereby ye shall know that the living ,god is among you1 and that he will without fail drive out from before you the ,canaanites1 and the ,hittites1 and the ,hivites1 and the ,perizzites1 and the ,girgashites1 and the ,amorites1 and the ,jebusites 7,joshua #c3aj74 ,notice two things in this3 ,it was to occur in ,canaan1 and there were to be seven nations conquered4 ,is not this typical of ,holy ,ghost victory in the sanctified life8 ,canaan is a type of holiness1 and seven is the perfect number4 ,god wants us to have perfect victory from day to day over all our foes1 and ,he will supply that which will enable us to overcome4 ,so many so-called soldiers of the cross are living simply on the defensive with scarcely a thought of spiritual1 aggressive warfare4 ,look at the great battles that have been won in the world's history4 ,were not most of them won by the aggressive side8 ,look at the whole armor of ,god as the inspired pen of ,paul pictures it out in the sixth chapter of ,ephesians2 the helmet for the head1 the breastplate for the vital organs of the body1 the shield for the whole man1 and a sword to do aggressive execution4 ,we see the whole front of the man protected1 but what about the back8 ,there is no protection for that part of the body1 for ,god's soldiers are not expected to turn their back to the foe4 ,if they do1 they are sure to be hit4 ,when the writer was a boy1 accompanied by other boys1 he discovered an old ,indian burying ground on the beach bluff near ,santa ,barbara1 ,california4 ,they had seen indications of such a place1 and were diligently searching for the exact spot4 ,finally1 they discovered some rib bones sticking out of the bank1 where the constant washing of the waves had in time crumbled the bank down4 ,with shovels in hand they went about the delightsome task of uncovering the dead1 with the hopes of finding wampum1 arrowheads1 pottery or any other relics which might have been buried with their owner4 ,finally1 a section of an ,indian's backbone was unearthed1 and upon examination it was found that an arrow head had pierced the vertebra1 just missing the spinal cord1 and was wedged in like a nail driven into a board4 ,the question might be asked3 ,how did the arrow head get into that ,indian's backbone8 ,evidently1 because the ,indian was on the retreat1 and his enemy shot him in the back4 ,where is the victorious life1 when life is spent simply in the humdrum of daily routine of selfish interests8 ,no wonder people have an up-and-down experience4 ,no wonder they never get anywhere outside of the treadmill of life4 ,god wants us to branch out and bless the world and be conquerors4 ,in the ,garden of ,eden we read about the wonderful river that flowed through it and watered it2 but it was not self-centered nor self-contained2 it branched out4 ,so it is in sanctified human experience today2 the ,edenic stream of full salvation flows through the soul1 but it does not stop there and center itself in the individual4 ,the stream waters one's life and experience1 but it flows out and on to bless others also4 ,the ,edenic stream started out as one stream1 but the account tells us that it branched out into four streams and watered the world around4 ,so it is with that soul who will let the ,holy ,ghost have ,his way with him4 ,out of his inmost being will flow rivers of living water4 ,this fourfold ,edenic stream went out in four directions1 to the four quarters of the earth1 so to speak4 ,four is the human number of the ,bible1 and when one gets the ,holy ,ghost1 he is expected to branch out to the people everywhere and water the world with the precious water of life4 ,holiness is not self-centered4 ,it consists of two elements--purity and power4 ,if one has the thought of purity alone when he seeks the blessing1 he has a one-sided idea of it4 ,there is a power side which enables the possessor to conquer4 ,purity for the individual1 and power for the world2 or in other words1 power for aggressive warfare4 ,whoever became a conqueror that stayed always in one little1 beaten path8 ,the world is so big1 the possibilities are so great1 and the grace of ,god so boundless1 that it looks as if we all ought to set our stakes for bigger results in the ,christian life4 ,one day we were passing along a street in a certain city and observed a gentleman constructing a very peculiar piece of frame work1 and our curiosity was so aroused that we went over and asked him what he was building4 ,he answered1 ,i am building a razzle-dazzle4 ,he then explained what that was4 ,he said that a razzle-dazzle was something like a merry-go-round1 except that as it went round and round it also went up and down4 ,we thought how many people in their so-called ,christian life are riding the razzle-dazzle4 ,they want to be going and moving1 but they are going round and round1 and not only that1 they are going up and down1 up and down1 and never getting anywhere in their experience4 ,now1 we never were much in favor of running off on tangents1 but in this case we think it would be very advantageous to strike a tangent and take a bee-line for ,canaan4 ,many are hindered in their victorious life by the little foxes which spoil the vines4 ,their spiritual wall which surrounds them seems to admit so many of the aggravating cares1 that they find themselves frequently overcome thereby4 ,salvation1 will ,god appoint for walls and bulwarks 7,isa4 #bf3a74 ,but thou shalt call thy walls ,salvation1 and thy gates ,praise 7,isa4 #fj3ah74 ,when we remember that ,god is our salvation1 and ,our ,god is a consuming fire1 and this ,god1 the consuming fire1 is the wall of salvation around us1 we believe the wall is so high that the devil's little foxes can not jump over it2 so thick they can not bore through it1 and so deep they can not dig under it4 ,this is surely a blessed protection for those on the inside4 ,but the promised protection of ,god is still more4 ,he will insphere ,his trusting child and make him doubly safe1 and make his surrounding simply glorious4 ,notice the divine insphering3 ,as the mountains are round about ,jerusalem1 so the ,lord is round about his people from henceforth even forever 7,psalm #abe3b74 ,here is the ,lord all around us4 ,because he is at my right hand1 ,i shall not be moved 7,psa4 #af3h74 ,the ,lord is by our side4 ,underneath are the everlasting arms 7,deut4 #cc3bg74 ,the ,lord is beneath us4 ,he that dwelleth in the secret place of the ,most ,high shall abide under the shadow of the ,almighty 7,psalm #ia3a74 ,the ,lord is over us4 ,and we are also taught that we may abide in ,him and ,he will abide in us4 ,think of this marvelous protection3 the ,lord all around us1 by our side1 underneath us1 over us1 in us and we in ,him4 ,then shall we allow the trifling things of earth to conquer us and spoil our experience8 ,how often we hear one say words like this3 ,i wouldn't give up my experience for all the world1 and then possibly in an unguarded moment go down over something not worth a quarter4 ,we once heard of a sailor that had braved the sea and storms for years1 and finally got drowned in a bucket of water4 ,while drinking he had some fit or accident which caused him to fall1 so that his face was buried in the water and he was strangled to death4 ,be careful of the little things2 they are sometimes more dangerous than the bigger ones4 ,a brother was once accosted by one of the ,lord's workers and asked how he was getting along in his ,christian experience4 ,he replied that he got along very well usually through the day1 but when he went home from his work in the evening1 his wife nagged at him so much that he invariably lost out4 ,he would be blessed along through the day1 but when that nagging spirit of his wife got started1 even though he would hold out for some time and keep the victory1 yet as sure as he would open his mouth1 the victory was gone4 ,he told the worker that he had an experience like a pelican4 ,he then described how the pelican would start out in the morning and load up its big pouch with fish1 and then in the evening it would start for home1 whereupon the little birds would get after it and peck it first on one side of the bill and then on the other1 till the poor pelican would throw its head around from one side to the other1 and finally its mouth would fly open and out would go the fish1 which was just what the birds were after4 ,he said he had a pelican experience2 that he would get along well through the day1 but the constant annoyance of the wife in the evening would finally cause him to open his mouth1 and away would go his victory4 ,many a blessing has been lost1 simply by opening the mouth4 ,it is much harder sometimes to keep the mouth shut than to open it4 ,so he openeth not his mouth1 was the attitude of ,him who was our example4 ,,chapter ,,xvii ,,the ,,palm ,,tree ,,will ,,not ,,admit ,,of ,,grafting ,for many years the process of grafting has been known and practiced by horticulturists4 ,this is accomplished by taking a scion1 usually of the previous year's growth1 from a shrub or tree1 and inserting it into another shrub or tree more or less closely related to the first4 ,it must be so inserted that the cambium layer of the scion1 that is1 the layer of formative tissue between the bark and natural wood1 is closely united to that of the stock4 ,in time1 these two parts grow together into a perfect union4 ,the scion thus inserted will derive its life and strength from the original root and stock1 but will bear its fruit according to the nature of the scion4 ,when we come to the palm tree1 we find something that is opposed to this method and will not respond4 ,it will not yield to any mixture4 ,it has not the qualifications that admit of grafting processes4 ,it can neither be grafted in with any other tree1 nor can any other tree be united with the palm4 ,it will not mix4 ,it is an endogenous tree1 and the cambium layer does not obtain4 ,it has no joining tissue that can be thus united with any other plant4 ,did the ,omniscient ,inspirer of the ,word make any mistake when ,he said1 ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree8 ,the ,word of ,god is diametrically opposed to unholy mixtures4 ,hear the word of the ,lord in ,deut4 #bb3i-aa4 ,thou shalt not sow thy vineyard with divers seeds3 lest the fruit of thy seed which thou hast sown1 and the fruit of thy vineyard1 be defiled4 ,thou shalt not plow with an ox and an ass together4 ,thou shalt not wear a garment of divers sorts1 as of woolen and linen together4 ,who has not seen the evil effects of mixing the planting of various seeds together1 such as melons and pumpkins1 or other incompatible varieties8 ,why not yoke an ox and an ass together8 ,they are neither mated in size1 breed1 nor disposition4 ,it makes a lopsided pair4 ,one is classed with the clean animals1 and the other with the unclean4 ,we once saw an oriental picture in the back part of a ,bible where some native was plowing with an ox and an ass together1 and they had the appearance of being ashamed of themselves4 ,it looked as if the poor plowman would have a hard job to get any work out of the pair4 ,but why not the mixed garment1 of woolen and linen8 ,they shall be clothed with linen garments1 and no wool shall come upon them1 whiles they minister in the gates of the inner court1 and within4 ,they shall have linen bonnets upon their heads1 and shall have linen breeches upon their loins2 they shall not gird themselves with any thing that causeth sweat 7,eze4 #dd3ag1 #ah74 ,god did not want them to chafe and sweat in performing their religious service2 hence1 the prohibition of the mixture in garments4 ,in this we find a beautiful lesson for spiritual experience4 ,we have too much of the linsey-woolsey type of religion in our day4 ,how ,god must abhor unholy mixing up6 ,in this threefold prohibition we see the three sides of religion4 ,pure religion consists of three things3 doctrine1 service1 and experience4 ,first1 they were not to mix the seed4 ,what does seed typify8 ,read the parable of the sower in the eighth chapter of ,luke4 ,the seed is the word of ,god4 ,here we have the thought3 it is the doctrine of ,god4 ,one part of religion is doctrine1 and we must not be mixed in this respect4 ,when the ,bible speaks of that teaching which comes from ,god1 it is put in the singular and called doctrine4 ,when it comes from men or devils it is called doctrines4 ,god's doctrine is one2 men and devils' are many4 ,paul admonished ,timothy to take heed unto the doctrine4 ,in ,paul's time1 and in the times of the early fathers1 heresy abounded4 ,in our own time1 ,christendom is rent with heresy4 ,unscriptural doctrine obtains everywhere4 ,universalism proclaims the mercy of ,god reaching from everlasting to everlasting4 ,so1 in the ultimate outcome1 all1 because ,christ died for all1 will be housed safely1 in spite of a ,christ-rejecting life4 ,unitarianism1 as the name suggests1 believes in one ,god2 hence1 rejects the deity of ,jesus ,christ1 and being ,universalists also in belief1 they are all going to get in by the example of the ,savior4 ,while the ,universalist believes that ,god is too good to damn him1 the ,unitarian believes that he is too good to be damned4 ,then comes along the soul-sleeper1 who mixes with his doctrine the heresy of no conscious existence after death till the resurrection1 and the utter annihilation of the wicked following the judgment1 all of which is in direct opposition to the plain teaching of the ,word4 ,mormonism comes in with its deluded adherents and claims a new revelation in the ,book of ,mormon1 and repudiates hell1 flaunts its mantle of polygamous fornication over its dupes1 and gives the world a mixture indeed4 ,christian ,science1 the greatest misnomer in modern parlance1 foists its counterfeit religious currency over our fair land and makes the unwary deny the existence of sin1 death1 ,devil1 and the real personality of ,god himself4 ,the blood atonement of our ,savior is obnoxious to them1 and hell is not in their creed4 ,surely theirs is a mixed seed1 with scarcely any real truth4 ,then springs up the ignis fatuus fallacy of ,russellism with its promised ,millennial ,dawn1 spreading out the ,plan of the ,ages so that its deceived votaries discount the deity of ,christ until ,his resurrection4 ,they claim that ,his body was not resurrected1 but may have passed off into gases2 that one is not born again till he is resurrected2 that hell is a farce2 that the world will have a further chance of being saved after death4 ,not content with these forces1 the disseminator of mixed seeds raises up a regiment of ,higher ,critics1 who1 with their ,jehoiakim penknives1 have cut and slashed the blessed1 inspired ,word of ,god till it is beyond recognition as it comes from their hands4 ,to follow their vandalism is to get into the meshes of mysticism and doubt1 and wonder what part1 if any1 is to be relied upon as actual inspiration4 ,then we have the ,new ,thought1 and the ,new ,theology1 and the ,aquarian ,gospel1 and their name is ,legion1 the isms that are foisted upon gullible humanity in these latter days4 ,occasionally one pokes up his personality above the horizon and declares himself ,jesus ,christ1 when1 lo1 and behold a following6 ,sad indeed is it that so many people and many good people1 have been beguiled into the unscriptural teaching couched in the creed of the so-called ,tongues ,movement4 ,when it first claimed the attention of the ,christian world their theory was first1 justification1 in which all sins were forgiven2 then following this experience came sanctification1 which involved the cleansing of the heart from all inbred sin2 following this definite work1 comes the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 accompanying which is the speaking in tongues as an evidence of said baptism4 ,no one must rest satisfied that he has received his ,pentecost till he has spoken in tongues4 ,then the factions began to arise4 ,leaders opposed each other1 and all spoke in tongues as claimed4 ,their creed began to change1 and now one of the leading factions of the movement ridicules the thought of sanctification as a second work of grace1 and declares1 that while sanctification does come in1 yet all the cleansing one gets is in the first work when pardon takes place2 that is1 all inbred sin is then eradicated from the heart4 ,they still hold to the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and speaking in tongues4 ,many of the good people of the land have been caught in this theological mix-up1 and have dropped out of the old-time holiness ranks4 ,what does it all signify8 ,it signifies a mixing of seed--a mixing of doctrine4 ,the theocracy of the ,old ,testament forbade it in the literal1 and the inspired ,word also forbids it in the spiritual1 in the present dispensation4 ,a person who is mixed in his doctrine is a dangerous element in the community4 ,his work is not to settle1 root and ground others in the faith1 but rather to unsettle them4 ,a heretic after the first and second admonition1 reject4 ,has it ever occurred to the reader that heresy is one of the works of the flesh1 or carnal mind8 ,read it in ,gal4 #e3bj4 ,the ,conservator of orthodoxy is the ,holy ,ghost in a purified heart4 ,outside of that1 where is the hope of preserving inviolate the purity of the doctrine of ,god8 ,let me illustrate how this works4 ,there enters an intelligent1 so-called expounder of the truth1 into a pulpit1 and he proceeds to teach the people4 ,there sits in the congregation one with a purified heart1 in whom dwells the ,holy ,ghost1 the ,author of the inspired ,word4 ,as this ingenious mixer of seed throws out some good truth1 he adroitly mixes into it his heresy1 and makes it so plausible1 that1 if possible1 it would deceive the very elect4 ,his arguments are so clear1 and he uses the ,scriptures so well to prove his statements1 that even to the minds of the most spiritual1 it seems that he has made the points scripturally plain4 ,the head responds and says1 ,it looks that way1 but the ,holy ,ghost dwelling in that purified heart causes a shrinking4 ,the soul closes in1 and the listener says1 ,i do not feel right somehow4 ,i am not comfortable4 ,what is the matter8 ,it is the blessed ,conservator of orthodoxy1 the ,preserver of the purity of the ,word of ,god operating in that heart to hinder it from accepting heresy4 ,but here sits another who has not been so fortunate as to have the element of inbred sin purged from the heart2 hence1 has not the abiding fulness of the ,holy ,spirit in the heart4 ,the speaker appeals to him in the same way he did to the other4 ,the head nods assent1 for he certainly makes it plain4 ,but he has that in his heart from which heresy springs1 and so the heresy from this man appeals to its kindred spirit in the listener1 and the result is1 it is swallowed down1 the poison has done its work1 and another victim is numbered4 ,oh1 reader1 is it of small import that we should be filled with the ,holy ,ghost1 and thus have our spiritual ,protector always guarding us from poisonous seed8 ,we would not want to take the stand that this is the infallible rule with all people1 but we do certainly believe that this is the secret of some remaining firm and immovable in doctrine1 while others are swept from their moorings4 ,the next department of religion we wish to notice in connection with wrong mixtures is that of service4 ,the ox and the ass were not to be yoked together4 ,this signifies service4 ,service constitutes a large portion of our religion4 ,without proper service to ,god we could not hope to continue in the grace of ,god4 ,certainly it stands one in hand to know what kind of service he should engage in4 ,the world and the religion of ,jesus ,christ were never calculated to mix4 ,it is the unholy mixtures all down the ages that have brought the stigma upon the ,church of ,god4 ,it always causes trouble4 ,and the mixed multitude that was among them fell a lusting3 and the children of ,israel also wept again1 and said1 ,who shall give us flesh to eat8 ,the children of ,israel fell into line with the murmurings of the mixture they had on hand4 ,god's plan has always been for ,his people to be separated people4 ,that is the reason ,he took them out of ,egypt4 ,he warned them before they ever got to ,canaan1 that they must remain separated from the inhabitants of the land4 ,they were not to intermarry2 they were not to mix4 ,when ,balaam utterly failed to curse the children of ,israel for ,balak's sake1 because the ,lord would not let him1 yet on his departure he told ,balak how he could succeed anyway4 ,he told him to mix up with the children of ,israel in an unholy and abominable alliance4 ,he did so and brought the curse and plague of ,god upon ,israel1 and thousands were slain thereby4 ,when ,nehemiah was sent to rebuild ,jerusalem1 he found a terrible state of affairs had arisen by the intermarriage of the ,jews with the women of ,ashdod1 ,ammon and ,moab4 ,there were a lot of little half-breeds running around that could not talk the ,jews' language4 ,so ,nehemiah had a great cleaning up time on his hands4 ,god has called ,his ,church to stand out clean and spotless from the world4 ,what a power she would have been had she always taken the separated1 clean way6 ,but how sad to see those who profess to be followers of the meek and lowly ,nazarene1 courting the world and mixing with them in their pleasures1 pride1 popularity1 and polluted politics6 ,one of the saddest things to behold today is the reckless transgression of that plain command1 ,be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers4 ,see the unhappy homes everywhere1 because ,christians did not counsel with ,god and ,his ,word in taking a life-partner4 ,oh1 the anguish1 and heartaches1 and backslidings1 because the plain ,word was not followed6 ,there was a certain ,christian lady1 who neglected to follow the ,guide ,book in this important step1 and right soon after the marriage she knelt down to offer a little prayer to ,god1 and ,his voice was heard clear and distinct3 ,be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers4 ,it was too late now to remedy the affair1 but the same word was in the ,book before she got into trouble4 ,for thirty years this lady wandered on in darkness thereafter and never heard the voice of ,god1 till in mercy she was brought back to saving grace4 ,how many there are who take upon them the name of ,jesus ,christ and yet are mixed up in secret societies and labor unions4 ,let the world have these institutions if they want1 for they are simply worldly4 ,their methods and practices and pleasures are not conducive to spiritual life4 ,it is a wrong mixture4 ,come out from among them and be ye separate4 ,let me not pass by another mixing which does not have the blessing of ,god upon it4 ,it is that of partnership in business with the unsaved4 ,how many of ,god's people have found themselves in serious difficulty on account of unscriptural business partnership4 ,more than once ,god has had to force the alternative upon one of ,his children to buy out or sell out2 that he could not continue in such alliance to the glory of ,god4 ,we have been astonished and grieved at the careless and reckless way so many professing ,christians1 yea1 holiness people have disregarded this command of separation1 and allowed themselves to be drawn into stock companies with the unsaved4 ,is it not an unequal yoking together8 ,shall we take ,god's money1 and put it in the control of the world8 ,no wonder so many who have been so fortunate as to possess a little of this world's goods have suddenly found their money taking wings and flying away4 ,had they counseled with ,god in the business1 they would not have been beguiled into the unequal yoking with unbelievers4 ,let us not think we can fly in the face of the plain ,word of ,god and take matters in our own hands with impunity4 ,neither should we yoke up in church fellowship with those who are not saved4 ,we would not take the stand1 that perchance some might not be taking the track1 that it should bar us from church membership1 but when the mass of members are not obeying ,god1 and are opposed to holiness1 and are worldly in their trend1 it is no place for one who wishes to be spiritual and keep blessed4 ,how long will it be if one mixes in with such a crowd till he will be like them8 ,we once were passing through the state of ,colorado and saw from the car window a beautiful1 clear stream of water join with another stream that was dark and muddy4 ,how long did it take the crystal stream to become muddy like the other8 ,it certainly did not clarify the muddy current1 but the muddy current mixed right into it and all became impure4 ,poor ,ephraim ought to stand out as a warning to those who think they can mix with the world with impunity4 ,hear the ,word on his case3 ,ephraim1 he hath mixed himself among the people2 ,ephraim is a cake not turned4 ,poor1 unturned cake4 ,he had mixed so much among the people that he did not have fire enough to bake him on both sides2 it did not pay to turn him over4 ,what is an unbaked cake good for8 ,it is so sticky that it will adhere to almost anything4 ,ephraim adhered to this people and that1 and met with sad failure4 ,sticky1 soggy1 heavy1 indigestible1 unpalatable6 ,who wants it8 ,hot cakes is the call1 and not cold1 unturned ones4 ,the next department of religion we wish to notice is that of experience4 ,here we have the prohibition of the linen and woolen garments mixed4 ,what is closer to a person than his garments8 ,god has seen fit to express salvation under the fitting emblem of garments4 ,for fine linen is the righteousness of saints 7,rev4 #ai3h74 ,these are they which came out of great tribulation1 and have washed their robes1 and made them white in the blood of the ,lamb 7,rev4 #g3ad74 ,let thy garments be always white1 and let thy head lack no ointment 7,eccl4 #i3h74 ,put on thy beautiful garments1 ,o ,jerusalem 7,isa4 #eb3a74 ,he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation2 he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness 7,isa4 #fa3aj74 ,we have given these beautiful ,scriptures to show that garments are used to symbolize ,christian experience4 ,now1 as the garment is the closest thing that comes to a person1 so one's experience is the closest thing in his religion4 ,it certainly gets up close to a man4 ,god forbade under the theocracy the wearing of linen and woolen garments mixed4 ,this mixture causes chafing and sweat and hardship that ,he wanted avoided in their religion4 ,but in this present day we find1 alas1 too frequently a linsey-woolsey religion4 ,let us carry out the figure4 ,linen is the pure1 clean1 vegetable creation1 and is used to signify the righteousness of the saints4 ,wool is the product of the animal1 and is carnal2 hence1 signifies the carnal element in one's experience4 ,this carnal element sometimes called the flesh1 obtains in every ,christian's heart until he obtains the baptism with the ,holy ,ghost1 wherein his heart is thus made pure4 ,neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woolen come upon thee 7,lev4 #ai3ai74 ,as the ,word of ,god was against the garment of this mixture1 so that experience today that is allowed to remain in the heart whereby there is righteousness and carnality dwelling together is forbidden4 ,there must not remain carnality where grace has taken up its abode4 ,there will be spiritual sweating and chafing1 and one's religion will be hindered and thwarted1 and in all probability there will be failure in the end4 ,as it was scientifically incompatible1 the mixing of linen and woolen together for a garment1 so it is spiritually incompatible1 the mixing of righteousness and carnality in the same heart4 ,there is always more or less chafing and hardships and discouragements4 ,for the flesh lusteth against the ,spirit1 and the ,spirit against the flesh2 and these are contrary the one to the other2 so that ye can not do the things that ye would 7,gal4 #e3ag74 ,thank ,god1 in the economy of grace there is provided an elimination of the carnal element of one's experience1 leaving the pure1 clean linen of righteousness4 ,then the chafing1 and galling1 and spiritual perspiration1 working against carnal odds1 will cease4 ,now for a word of application4 ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree in preclusion of uniting or mixing with others4 ,there is something in the very nature of the palm that precludes the graft1 or intermixing4 ,there is something in the spiritual makeup of the holy1 palm tree saints that have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness4 ,they are a class by themselves4 ,they will not mix their religion with the world4 ,in doctrine they are clean1 true1 clear1 and scriptural4 ,they are holding to the old landmarks which their fathers have set4 ,they are not running after the new fads under the guise of religion4 ,they are settled1 rooted and grounded in the truth4 ,in service they are separate from the world4 ,they are not mixing with the fun1 frolic and general pastime and pleasure of the worldly element4 ,they scrupulously adhere to the admonition to come out from among them and not to be unequally yoked together in any way4 ,in experience1 they have no admixture of the carnal and spiritual elements4 ,they have had their hearts cleansed from all sin1 and are really clothed with the pure1 spotless garment of salvation4 ,they lack that cambium layer of formative tissue that unites them to any other stock4 ,of course the world hates them for standing out against them and failing to unite4 ,the worldly minded church members steer clear of them1 for these members retain a formative tissue that will admit of joining with the world and allowing the world to join with them2 but the palm tree saints stand aloof2 they do not mix4 ,,chapter ,,xviii ,,it ,,is ,,adapted ,,to ,,warm ,,climates ,our ,god is the ,god of nature as well as of grace4 ,trees thrive best when in the sphere that nature intended them for4 ,the palm tree is especially a hot climate tree1 and when taken out of its proper place it stands to reason that it will succumb4 ,it can not stand the cold4 ,it was not made that way4 ,it matters not how hot the place may be1 even in the broiling sun of the desert1 it will thrive4 ,but place it in the cold regions1 and death will inevitably be the result4 ,the palm tree saint has this same characteristic in the spiritual realm4 ,a red-hot meeting is his delight4 ,his very nature calls out for the fire which burns in meetings where ,god has ,his way4 ,the warmer the meetings the better he likes them1 and the better he thrives4 ,he can not stand the cold4 ,god did not make him to stand cold meetings1 and so he is not responsible for it4 ,cold meetings seem to chill him to the marrow4 ,and should he providentially be placed in such a sphere1 he would feel that he must do something to start the circulation or he would soon be frozen to death4 ,why do not more people have the wisdom of those in cold climates8 ,to illustrate3 ,a man starts out on a load of wood to take it to the market several miles away4 ,the thermometer is many degrees below zero4 ,a friend meets him in the way and informs him that he saw him nodding as he came down the road2 that his nose is white and that frost has gathered on his eyebrows4 ,the poor man still has sense enough left to see his danger1 and he at once jumps off the load and begins to kick his toes against the sled1 and swing his arms around his body in that peculiar1 cold-climate style to warm himself4 ,after a most heroic effort he finds himself thoroughly awake1 and the warm blood again coursing through his veins1 and he says to himself1 ,i will not allow that to happen again4 ,how often have we seen an iceberg in the pulpit1 icicles in the pews1 and polar breezes sweeping through the place6 ,surely1 to live in that climate long would be to freeze to death4 ,one would have to make a tremendous stir if he hoped to keep up circulation in such a place4 ,and should the stir be made1 there would be a hue and cry of fanaticism1 wild fire1 crazy1 or such like4 ,but the ,holy ,ghost never intended ,christians to live in such an element4 ,he never intended palm tree saints to live in refrigerators4 ,one may ask if refrigerators are not good for something4 ,surely1 they are4 ,one can preserve a dead chicken well in one of them1 but put a live chicken in and it will soon chill and die4 ,the idea of thinking that a lot of little1 new-born babes could live and thrive in church refrigerators6 ,no1 they must have warmth4 ,it is their nature1 and when one goes contrary to nature1 bad results will surely follow4 ,thank ,god there is a warm climate for those who must have it4 ,let us see to it that we live under the warm rays of the ,sun of righteousness1 and in an element conducive to spiritual growth and health4 ,there is a mistaken idea abroad concerning unity4 ,because there is no outward eruption1 and because things seem to run smooth1 they take it for granted that there is oneness4 ,there is such a thing as being frozen together instead of melted together4 ,jesus prayed for ,his disciples that they might be sanctified1 that they all might be one4 ,it is the sanctifying baptism with the ,holy ,ghost and fire that makes people one in the proper and scriptural sense4 ,if one had any fire in which to keep warm1 and should attempt to live in some frozen regions1 they would soon cool him off1 and he would be frozen together with them4 ,the story is told of an eagle floating down the ,niagara river on a cake of ice4 ,he was enjoying a feast on a lamb which was frozen to the ice4 ,after a while the eagle neared the falls1 but he was not afraid1 because he could fly4 ,finally1 as the water got swifter1 the eagle was seen to spread his wings and prepare for the escape4 ,when he saw that he could remain no longer with impunity1 he attempted to spring from the ice1 when1 lo and behold1 he found himself frozen to the cake of ice4 ,with an awful screech and wings flapping he went over the falls to destruction4 ,may the ,lord save us from too much self-confidence and from remaining where death and destruction are inevitable1 and where freezing and falling go together4 ,quite a number of years ago the writer and another evangelist were invited to a certain church in ,new ,orleans for revival services4 ,a certain1 noted evangelist had formerly served in that church as pastor1 and great good had resulted from his ministry4 ,the pastor at this time stated in his invitation to us1 that should we accept it1 it must be with the understanding that we were not to preach holiness as a second work of grace2 that the church had previously undergone quite an upheaval on that line1 but now things had quieted down1 and peace was now reigning instead4 ,it might be of some interest to know if we accepted his invitation4 ,our answer was about on this line3 ,we thank you for your invitation to assist in meetings in your church1 but inasmuch as you have placed an embargo on the stream of holiness as a second work of grace1 which is the only way any one ever received it1 we feel if we should accept the invitation under such conditions we would be selling ,jesus ,christ at a less figure than ,judas got for ,him4 ,and furthermore1 may not that peace and quietude of which you speak relative to the church1 be the quietude of the graveyard instead of a live church8 ,suffice it to say1 we did not receive any further invitation4 ,it is a very easy thing to compromise both as preachers and laymen1 and accommodate ourselves to cooled off environments1 till we are a very part of the thing ourselves4 ,as long as ,god has provided a warm home for ,his sheep and lambs1 let us see to it that we have the benefit of the same4 ,amen6 ,,chapter ,,xix ,,palm ,,tree ,,peculiarities ,we are told in ,titus #b3ad1 that pilgrims are a peculiar people4 ,they have characteristics exclusively their own4 ,they belong wholly to the ,lord1 and are unlike other people4 ,to the world they appear singular1 strange4 ,these people are peculiar in the source of their enjoyment1 in their conversation1 in their dress1 and in other ways which differentiate them from the world4 ,one saint may have a peculiarity which is not in any other4 ,he may have a peculiar way in manifesting his emotions when he gets blessed1 or in some striking manner of speech1 or sphere of service1 or mode of dress4 ,so it is with different varieties of the palm4 ,some have peculiar characteristics which indeed belong only to their species1 and some are strikingly curious4 ,the ,christian life is illustrated so plainly by some of these1 that we will note a few4 ,i4 ,,the ,,explosive ,,flower ,there is a certain palm which buds out in enormous clusters4 ,it is said that the flowers occur in an enormous cluster1 at first ensheathed by large and frequently wooden spathes1 which often burst with an explosion4 ,much fault has been found with some of ,god's palm tree saints because they have a peculiarity akin to this4 ,to hinder this explosive emotion in them might hinder their spiritual life itself4 ,for them to quench the ,spirit1 would be to thwart the plan and purpose of ,god himself4 ,many precious souls have been tempted and tried because they seem to be put up different from some others4 ,they have wished to be more quiet1 and have wondered why they have to shout so much4 ,some always have a gush of tears and have gone so far as to ask the ,lord to dry their tears1 and when the ,lord answered their prayer1 they invariably were made lean1 and prayed again for ,him to open the fountain4 ,on whatever plan of peculiar disposition we may be built1 let us thank ,god for it and let the ,holy ,ghost have ,his way in all the minutia of life4 ,all people do not shout1 and all do not laugh1 but all get blessed if the ,lord has ,his way4 ,we must not be tried over those whose blessings do not fall within our desired method1 nor should we be discouraged because the manifestations of the ,spirit within us are not exactly like some others whom we admire4 ,the manifestation of the ,spirit is given to every man to profit withal4 ,the emotions which follow these operations of the ,spirit vary according to the peculiar makeup of the individual4 ,if there were a row of various combustibles1 such as shavings1 salt1 powder1 gasoline1 etc41 and fire were put to each one of them1 there would be manifestations according to their various characteristics4 ,the shavings would quietly blaze up1 the salt would flicker1 the powder would blow up and that would be the end of it1 while the gasoline would blaze all over and keep on till all was burned4 ,so1 when the fire of the ,holy ,ghost is turned loose on a lot of consecrated saints1 the manifestations of the ,spirit will vary according to the peculiar characteristics of the spiritual material on hand4 ,when all do the same thing it might be an evidence of custom or training1 and not of the ,spirit's manifestation1 for ,god does not confine ,himself in ruts4 ,what could be more stirring1 and conducive to conviction than a body of fire-baptized souls under the control of the ,holy ,ghost1 some shouting1 some laughing1 some crying1 and some leaping and dancing1 while others might be praying or exhorting2 all letting the ,spirit work through them severally as ,he will4 ,such scenes never fail to produce conviction upon an audience4 ,the altar is frequently filled with weeping penitents after such a scene4 ,yes1 in nature we have the explosive element in the palm2 so in grace we have the bursting forth of holy emotions1 the upgush of heavenly raptures1 and as a help and forewarning the ,word tells us1 ,quench not the ,spirit4 ,when a soul swings loose in the ,spirit and becomes so free as to shout1 or laugh1 or jump for joy1 it is reasonable to suppose that it is the mind of the ,spirit for that soul to retain his freedom1 not allowing himself to be tied up so that such demonstrations could not be duplicated should ,god so desire4 ,alas1 how many have failed right here6 ,we have noted the freedom of a new1 ,spirit-filled soul4 ,how the peculiar manifestation of the ,spirit blest the meeting1 and the profit withal was apparent4 ,later on we have observed how the ,holy ,spirit tried to duplicate the freedom and blessing1 but the dear soul felt timid or backward and simply failed to keep abandoned to ,god4 ,the inevitable result was1 that the heart closed up1 the ,spirit was grieved1 and dryness and leanness were the result4 ,let no one dare say1 ,i am abandoned to the ,holy ,ghost and then not let ,him have ,his way with him in every particular4 ,to be consecrated means more than simply saying it4 ,if some one should place a thousand dollars on deposit in my name in some bank and hand me over the bank book1 telling me it all belonged to me1 and for me to draw upon it for any purpose up to the amount of the deposit1 ,i would certainly feel free to do with it as ,i pleased without any fear of his interference4 ,if ,i wanted five dollars for groceries1 ,i could draw on the deposit4 ,if ,i wanted fifty dollars for missionary work1 it is on deposit4 ,it is all mine2 ,i can handle it as ,i please4 ,consecration is putting our all--body1 soul1 and spirit1 time1 talent1 earthly store1 family1 future1 service1 all we have and know1 and all we do not know into heaven's bank on deposit and then handing the bank book over to the ,holy ,ghost1 saying1 ,draw on the deposit for anything which ,thou in ,thy infinite wisdom desirest4 ,be sure1 then1 that the ,holy ,ghost will take us at our word4 ,when ,he makes a draw for some particular demonstration such as shouting1 or taking a trip down the aisle1 or laughing1 or crying1 remember ,he controls the deposit and has a right to do as ,he pleases with what has been turned over to ,him4 ,if our time is placed in ,his hands ,he has a right to direct it4 ,if our money is placed at ,his disposal1 we must let ,him say in what channels it shall be used4 ,it means much to say1 ,i am all the ,lord's4 ,,ii4 ,,the ,,living ,,sacrifice ,the ,coquito palm of ,chile is a tree about fifty feet in height1 with a spreading crown of leaves4 ,from its trunk a syrup is obtained called miel de palma1 which is much esteemed by the ,chileans and foreigners in cookery4 ,this syrup is obtained by cutting down the tree1 and lopping off its crown of leaves1 when the sap flows from the wound1 and is carefully collected4 ,by cutting off a fresh slice from the wound daily1 or when the flow of sap becomes weak1 it may be kept flowing for several months4 ,a good tree is said to yield as much as ninety gallons of sap1 which on being boiled down assumes the consistency of treacle or molasses4 ,here we have a beautiful and fitting illustration of the daily and living sacrifice of a palm tree saint4 ,if the righteous flourish like the palm tree1 might it not be well to emulate this peculiar characteristic8 ,when ,paul admonished the ,roman ,christians to present their bodies a living sacrifice1 he did not mean for them simply to obtain the blessing of holiness and then stop and thereafter settle down and enjoy themselves4 ,he meant not only a sacrifice to be offered up at the given time1 but to remain offered up4 ,our sacrifice is to remain a living sacrifice4 ,the ,christian life is one sacrificed to ,god's cause for the sake of glorifying ,god and being used in ,his service4 ,the very word sacrifice means something offered up in devotion4 ,then if it is offered up to another1 can we claim it as our own8 ,if we are to be like this peculiar palm1 then we are ready to be poured forth as ,paul said he was to the ,philippians4 ,here is this sacrificed palm1 with its very life poured out from day to day for the benefit of humanity4 ,and this is kept up till there remains nothing but the trunk4 ,oh1 what a symbol of the constant1 daily outpouring of one's life and strength for the benefit of a lost world6 ,look at ,david ,brainerd1 ,david ,livingstone1 ,henry ,martyn1 yea1 thousands of faithful men and women missionaries who have literally poured out their lives1 and died for their fellow-men4 ,the sacrifice element in the ,christian life is further illustrated in another kind of palm known as the ,cabbage palm4 ,the terminal bud1 or cabbage1 is enclosed among many thin1 snow-white1 brittle flakes4 ,it has the flavor of the almond1 but of greater sweetness1 and is boiled and eaten with meat4 ,as its removal causes the death of the tree1 it is regarded as an extravagant delicacy only rarely to be enjoyed4 ,here we find the illustration of the martyr element of the palm tree saint4 ,paul said1 ,i am now ready to be offered4 ,stephen gave himself a living sacrifice to ,god1 and right away lost his life4 ,the martyrs are numbered by thousands4 ,is not this an extravagant method of spreading the gospel8 ,it may be from a human standpoint1 but ,god in ,his infinite wisdom can see beyond our shortsightedness1 and permits such to be4 ,the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church4 ,if there were more persecution today there would doubtless be a better type of ,christians4 ,we should possess the martyr spirit4 ,the word witness in the original is martyr4 ,and surely many of those early ,christians proved it4 ,every consecrated soul should involve in his consecration the possibility of losing his life for ,jesus2 then1 if he ever faces the issue1 he is prepared for it1 and if he never has to face such an issue1 he might consider it so much clear gain4 ,,iii4 ,,the ,,foreign ,,missionary ,the peculiarity of a certain kind of palm1 known as the ,great ,rattan is its wandering or traveling characteristic4 ,the stems of this very peculiar variety are of prodigious length extending for hundreds of feet2 it is stated from twelve hundred to eighteen hundred feet1 clinging by hooks attached to their leaves to the trunks and boughs of neighboring trees1 or trailing on the ground4 ,they are extremely hard externally and usually smooth4 ,here we have a beautiful illustration of the missionary spirit4 ,we are living in a day when many of ,god's dear palm tree saints are flourishing like this ,great ,rattan4 ,they have the missionary spirit4 ,they have those spiritual hooks attached to their experience which enable them to cling to others with a tenacity which is not human4 ,they are endowed with a spiritual sturdiness which in truth enables them to endure hardness as good soldiers4 ,they cross mountains1 deserts and oceans1 and live among the heathen to win them to ,christ4 ,what we need in these days of self-ease and luxury is more of this ,great ,rattan movement4 ,we need more pilgrims to foreign lands4 ,if we are not called ourselves with this peculiar characteristic1 then let us help those who are thus called4 ,we can help them with our money and with our prayers4 ,we all have a call to the foreign field in one sense3 ,go ye into all the world4 ,if ,god has let you off in person1 then see to it that you have a part anyway in evangelizing the world4 ,if ,i can not go1 ,i can send4 ,if ,i can not reach them by word of mouth1 ,i can by way of the throne4 ,if ,i can not preach and teach in the foreign land1 ,i can pray and pay in the homeland4 ,amen6 ,with the thought of the missionary and also of the living sacrifice before us1 we have the perfect combination of the two in the self-sacrificing experience of some of the early pioneers in the foreign lands4 ,we1 in the home lands1 can scarcely realize the toils and hardships and dangers that some of these heroes of the cross waded through4 ,we think of the dauntless ,livingstone1 who penetrated ,africa's jungles in order to plant the gospel in that benighted region4 ,lost to home and the world for years1 no wonder people considered him worth looking up1 and sending a ,stanley in search for him4 ,but he was doing a work which would open up nations to hear the ,word of life4 ,though he had to bury his loved one on the bank of the ,zambesi1 yet with undaunted courage1 he set his face toward new paths4 ,how the natives loved this man--this living sacrifice4 ,he was the means in ,god's hands of bringing them light for darkness1 comfort for sorrow1 life for death4 ,he was the foe of the slave stealers1 and delivered the poor helpless mortals from their grasp4 ,he toiled on in solitude1 and gave his very life to make a way to this dark and heathen world4 ,finally1 far from the shore1 and thousands of miles from home1 he took sick4 ,he was a man of prayer1 and one morning when the native men looked into his abode1 they found only the body of this devoted follower of the ,lamb2 he was dead on his knees4 ,those dusky1 devoted souls determined to do the best they could in memory of their apostle1 and knowing that his great1 loving heart was centered in ,africa1 they took out his heart and buried it beneath a tree4 ,they then let the hot sun dry the body and those loyal hands carried the remains many1 many miles to the seashore1 where1 what was left of the faithful missionary was shipped to ,england4 ,and now1 with the heart of ,david ,livingstone in the middle of ,africa1 his body in ,westminster ,abbey1 his soul in heaven1 we have an example of the grace of ,god in helping a man to give up his life for a lost world4 ,let us take a glance at ,henry ,martyn4 ,leaving ,england as a young man in feeble health1 for six years he worked against fearful odds in ,india4 ,there in that disease-ladened land and in ,persia he pursued his arduous task of learning three languages utterly adverse1 such as ,hindustani1 ,arabic1 and ,persian4 ,in these three languages he translated the entire ,new ,testament in six years4 ,this is one of the most astonishing of intellectual feats on record4 ,besides these translations he made others and when we remember that he was burning up with consumptive's fever1 and yet kept right on till1 in order to perfect his translation in ,persian1 he made a trip to that country1 and crossing burning1 sand deserts with his own body literally burning up with fever1 he was surely a living sacrifice4 ,his passionate love for the ,savior and the souls of lost men1 made him suffer on in weakness and sickness1 until the short candle of his life consuming at both ends finally flickered out in that faraway foreign land between ,persia and the western shore1 and where a lone headstone marked the spot where one of ,god's sainted heroes lay down and died4 ,how small it makes me feel as ,i write these lines6 ,another example is that of ,david ,brainerd1 the apostle to the ,indians before the colonies became independent4 ,this young man1 who died in his thirtieth year in the home of ,jonathan ,edwards1 was one of those early pioneers of gospel work among the wild and pagan ,indians4 ,he was another living sacrifice1 very feeble in body1 dying by inches with consumption1 yet toiled on without murmuring1 and praying till his body would be bathed in perspiration1 he battled almost against hope till finally ,god gave him marvelous success among those benighted savages4 ,a few lines from the journal of this marvelous man of prayer may stir up more of a spirit of prayer and self-sacrifice in the reader3 ,june #ad1 #agdb4 ,i set apart this day for secret fasting and prayer1 to entreat ,god to direct and bless me with regard to the great work which ,i have in view1 of preaching the gospel--and that the ,lord would return to me and show me the light of ,his countenance4 ,had little life and power in the forenoon4 ,near the middle of the afternoon1 ,god enabled me to wrestle ardently in intercession for my friends4 ,but just at night the ,lord visited me marvelously in prayer4 ,i think my soul never was in such an agony before4 ,i felt no restraint2 for the treasures of divine grace were opened to me4 ,i wrestled for absent friends1 for the ingathering of souls1 for multitudes of poor souls1 and for many that ,i thought were the children of ,god1 personally1 in many distant places4 ,i was in such an agony from sun half an hour high1 till near dark1 that ,i was all over wet with sweat2 but yet it seemed to me that ,i had wasted the day and done nothing4 ,oh1 my dear ,savior did sweat blood for poor souls6 ,i longed for more compassion towards them4 ,felt still in a sweet frame1 under a sense of divine love and grace1 and went to bed in such a frame1 with my heart set on ,god4 ,april #cj1 #agdc4 ,the presence of ,god is what ,i want4 ,i live in the most lonely1 melancholy desert1 about eighteen miles from ,albany2 for it was not thought best that ,i should go to ,delaware river4 ,i board with a poor ,scotchman4 ,his wife can talk scarce any ,english4 ,my diet consists mostly of hasty pudding1 boiled corn1 and bread baked in the ashes1 and sometimes a little meat and butter4 ,my lodging is a little heap of straw1 laid upon some boards a little way from the ground2 for it is a log room1 without any floor1 that ,i lodge in4 ,my work is exceedingly hard and difficult4 ,i travel on foot a mile and a half1 the worst of ways1 almost daily1 and back again2 for ,i live so far from my ,indians4 ,i have not seen an ,english person in this month4 ,these1 and many other circumstances1 equally uncomfortable1 attend me4 ,the ,lord grant that ,i may learn to 'endure hardness as a good soldier of ,jesus ,christ4' ,august #ae1 #agdc4 ,spent most of the day in labor to procure something to keep my horse on in the winter4 ,enjoyed not much sweetness in the morning2 was very weak in body through the day1 and thought that this frail body would soon drop into the dust1 and had some very realizing apprehensions of a speedy entrance into another world4 ,in this weak state of body1 ,i was not a little distressed for want of suitable food4 ,i had no bread1 nor could ,i get any4 ,i am forced to go or send ten or fifteen miles for all the bread ,i eat2 and sometimes it is moldy and sour before ,i eat it1 if ,i get any considerable quantity4 ,and then again ,i have none for some days together1 for want of an opportunity to send for it1 and can not find my horse in the woods to go myself2 and this was my case today4 ,but through divine goodness ,i had some ,indian meal1 of which ,i made little cakes1 and fried them4 ,yet ,i felt contented with my circumstances1 and sweetly resigned to ,god4 ,in prayer ,i enjoyed great freedom1 and blessed ,god as much for my present circumstances1 as if ,i had been a king2 and thought that ,i found a disposition to be contented in any circumstances4 ,blessed be ,god6 ,january #bc1 #agdd4 ,i think ,i never felt more resigned to ,god1 nor so dead to the world1 in every respect1 as now4 ,am dead to all desire of reputation and greatness1 either in life or after death4 ,all ,i long for is to be holy1 humble1 and crucified to the world4 ,march #b1 #agdd4 ,was most of the day employed in writing on a divine subject4 ,was frequent in prayer and enjoyed some small degree of assistance4 ,but in the evening ,god was pleased to grant me divine sweetness in prayer especially in the duty of intercession4 ,i think ,i never felt so much kindness and love to those who1 ,i have reason to think1 are my enemies--though at that time ,i found such a disposition to think the best of all1 that ,i scarce knew how to think that any such thing as enmity and hatred lodged in any soul4 ,it seemed that all the world must needs be friends4 ,i never prayed with more freedom and delight for myself1 or dearest friend1 than ,i did now for my enemies4 ,march #c1 #agdd4 ,in the morning1 spent 7,i believe7 an hour in prayer1 with great intenseness and freedom1 and with the most soft and tender affection toward mankind4 ,i longed that those who1 ,i have reason to think1 bear me ill will1 might be eternally happy4 ,it seemed refreshing to think of meeting them in heaven1 how much soever they had injured me on earth4 ,i had no disposition to insist upon any confession from them1 in order to reconciliation and the exercise of love and kindness to them4 ,oh1 it is an emblem of heaven itself1 to love all the world with a love of kindness1 forgiveness1 and benevolence2 to feel our souls sedate1 mild and meek1 to be void of all evil surmisings and suspicions1 and scarce able to think evil of any man upon any occasion2 to find our hearts simple1 open1 and free1 to those that look upon me with a different eye6 ,prayer was so sweet an exercise to me1 that ,i knew not how to cease1 lest ,i should lose the spirit of prayer4 ,felt no disposition to eat or drink1 for the sake of the pleasure of it1 but only to support my body1 and fit me for divine service4 ,could not be content without a very particular mention of a great number of dear friends at the throne of grace2 as also the particular circumstances of many1 so far as they were known4 ,july #bd1 #agdd4 ,rode about seventeen miles westward1 over a hideous mountain1 to a number of ,indians4 ,got together near thirty of them2 preached to them in the evening and lodged among them4 ,was weak1 and felt in some degree disconsolate2 yet could have no freedom in the thought of any other circumstances or other business in life4 ,all my desire was the conversion of the heathen2 and all hope was in ,god4 ,god does not suffer me to please or comfort myself with hopes of seeing friends1 returning to dear acquaintances1 and enjoying worldly comforts4 ,november #bb1 #agdd4 ,came on my way from ,rockciticus to the ,delaware4 ,was very much disordered with a cold and pain in my head4 ,about six at night1 ,i lost my way in the wilderness1 and wandered over rocks and mountains1 down hideous steeps1 through swamps1 and most dreadful and dangerous places1 and1 the night being dark1 so that few stars could be seen1 ,i was greatly exposed4 ,i was much pinched with cold1 and distressed with an extreme pain in my head1 attended with sickness at my stomach2 so that every step ,i took was distressing to me4 ,i had little hope for several hours together1 but that ,i must lie out in the woods all night1 in this distressed case4 ,but about nine o'clock1 ,i found a house1 through the abundant goodness of ,god1 and was kindly entertained4 ,thus ,i have frequently been exposed1 and sometimes lain out the whole night2 but ,god has hitherto preserved me1 and blessed be ,his name4 ,such fatigues and hardships as these serve to wean me from the earth2 and1 ,i trust1 will make heaven the sweeter4 ,formerly1 when ,i was thus exposed to cold and rain1 ,i was ready to please myself with the thoughts of enjoying a comfortable house1 a warm fire1 and other outward comforts2 but now these have less place in my heart1 7through the grace of ,god71 and my eye is more to ,god for comfort4 ,in this world ,i expect tribulation2 and it does not now1 as formerly1 appear strange to me4 ,i do not in such seasons of difficulty flatter myself that it will be better hereafter2 but rather think how much worse it might be2 how much greater trials others of ,god's children have endured1 and how much greater are yet1 perhaps1 reserved for me4 ,october #e1 #agdf4 ,after sermon1 baptized two persons4 ,administered the ,lord's ,supper to the ,indians1 besides divers dear ,christians of the white people4 ,it seemed to be a season of divine power and grace2 and numbers seemed to rejoice in ,god4 ,oh1 the sweet union and harmony then appearing among the religious people6 ,my soul was refreshed1 and my religious friends of the white people1 with me4 ,after the sacrament1 could scarcely get home1 though it was not more than twenty rods2 but was supported and led by my friends1 and laid on my bed2 where ,i lay in pain till some time in the evening2 and then was able to sit up and discourse with friends4 ,oh1 how was this day spent in prayers and praises among my dear people6 ,one might hear them1 all the morning before public worship1 and in the evening1 till near midnight1 praying and singing praises to ,god1 in one or other of their houses4 ,my soul was refreshed1 though my body was weak4 ,just before his death he wrote a letter to his brother ,israel1 who was then in college4 ,a part of this letter we give as follows3 ,it is on the verge of eternity ,i now address you4 ,i am heartily sorry that ,i have so little strength to write what ,i long so much to communicate to you4 ,but1 let me tell you1 my brother1 eternity is another thing than we ordinarily take it to be when in a healthful state4 ,oh1 how fixed and unalterable6 ,oh1 of what infinite importance it is1 that we be prepared for eternity6 ,i have been just a dying1 now for more than a week2 and all around me have thought me so4 ,i have had clear views of eternity1 have seen the blessedness of the godly1 in some measure1 and have longed to share their happy state1 as well as been comfortably satisfied1 that through grace ,i shall do so2 but oh1 what anguish is raised in my mind1 to think of eternity for those who are ,christless1 for those who are mistaken1 and who bring their false hopes to the grave with them6 ,the sight was so dreadful1 ,i could by no means bear it4 ,my thoughts recoiled1 and ,i said1 under a more affecting sense than ever before1 ',who can dwell with everlasting burnings6' ,oh1 methought1 could ,i now see my friends1 that ,i may warn them to see it1 that they lay their foundation for eternity sure4 99 99 99 ,if you have reason to think you are graceless1 ,o give yourself and the throne of grace no rest1 till ,god arise and save6 ,but if the case should be otherwise1 bless ,god for ,his grace1 and press after holiness4 ,my soul longs1 that you should be fitted for1 and in due time go into the work of the ministry4 ,i can not bear to think of your going into any other business in life4 ,do not be discouraged1 because you see your elder brothers in the ministry die early1 one after another4 ,i declare1 now ,i am dying1 ,i would not have spent my life otherwise for the whole world4 ,oh1 my dear brother1 flee fleshly lusts1 and the enchanting amusements as well as the corrupt doctrines of the present day1 and strive to live to ,god4 ,take this as the last line from your affectionate and dying brother4 ,about a year and six months before this faithful1 self-sacrificing servant of ,god passed to his reward1 he wrote in his diary something which most beautifully sets forth the thought we are trying to bring out in the illustration of the living sacrifice life of the missionary4 ,under date of ,may #bb1 #agdf1 he wrote3 ,if ever my soul presented itself to ,god for ,his service1 without any reserve of any kind1 it did so now4 ,the language of my thoughts and disposition now was1 ',here ,i am1 ,lord1 send me4 ,send me to the ends of the earth4 ,send me to the rough1 savage pagans of the wilderness4 ,send me from all that is called comfort in earth1 or earthly comfort4 ,send me even to death itself1 if it be but in ,thy service1 and to promote ,thy kingdom4' ,at the same time ,i had as quick and lively a sense of the value of worldly comforts as ,i ever had2 but only saw them infinitely overmatched by the worth of ,christ's kingdom1 and the propagation of ,his blessed gospel4 ,a quiet settlement1 a certain place of abode1 the tender friendships of life1 appeared as valuable to me1 considered absolutely and in themselves1 as ever before2 but considered comparatively1 they appeared nothing4 ,compared with the value and preciousness of an enlargement of ,christ's kingdom1 they vanished as stars before a rising sun4 ,sure ,i am that though the comfortable accommodations of life appeared valuable and clear to me1 yet ,i did surrender and resign myself1 soul and body1 to the service of ,god1 and to the promotion of ,christ's kingdom1 though it should be in the loss of them all4 ,i could not do any other1 because ,i could not will or choose any other4 ,i was constrained1 and yet chose1 to say1 ',farewell1 friends and earthly comforts1 the dearest of them all1 the very dearest1 if the ,lord calls for it4 ,adieu1 adieu2 ,i will spend my life to my latest moments1 in the caves and dens of the earth1 if the kingdom of ,christ may thereby be advanced4' ,i felt extraordinary freedom at this time in pouring out my soul to ,god for ,his cause1 especially that ,his kingdom might be extended among the ,indians1 far remote2 and ,i had a great and strong hope that ,god would do it4 ,i continued wrestling with ,god in prayer for my dear little flock here1 and more especially for the ,indians elsewhere1 as well as for dear friends in one place and another until it was bedtime1 and ,i feared ,i should hinder the family4 ,but oh1 with what reluctancy did ,i feel myself obliged to consume time in sleep6 ,i longed to be a flame of fire1 continually glowing in the divine service1 and building up ,christ's kingdom1 to my latest1 my dying moment4 ,and ,god granted him his desire to his dying moment4 ,david ,brainerd was truly a living sacrifice as a missionary to the pagan ,indians1 and won many of them to ,christ1 where he is rejoicing with them in glory today4 ,,iv4 ,,difference ,,in ,,size ,,and ,,form ,here we find some very noted peculiarities4 ,there are so many shapes and sizes in the various departments of the palm tree world that one is lost in wonder4 ,here is one gigantic tree two hundred feet high1 while another is only a few feet in height and both real palms4 ,some leaves attain the enormous proportions of thirty-five feet in length by five or six feet in breadth1 while on other varieties the leaves are only a few inches in length4 ,some palms have no flowers at all1 while another known as the ,talipot palm throws up a branching inflorescence to a height of thirty feet above the foliage1 and it has been estimated that such an inflorescence has included as many as sixty millions of flowers4 ,when we see such differences in size and propensities1 we are reminded of the vast differences in the ,christian world4 ,some saints loom up indeed like the giants of the forest1 while others are more like house plants4 ,some are so full of stupendous works for ,god's kingdom1 and are accomplishing such herculean tasks1 while others seem to be more adapted for the mantelpiece1 or things to look at4 ,we find the same differences obtaining on other lines4 ,in the physical world is a ,samson who can carry off the gates of ,gaza1 while here is another who can scarcely carry himself4 ,in the intellectual world there are men who can walk through the heavens as we would stroll through a town2 they weigh the planets in their scales1 and tell the composition of stars and their distances2 while others are still wondering if this world is not flat4 ,in the financial realm we find a man who can lug whole railroad systems1 or trans-,atlantic steamers on his shoulders1 or thousands of tanks of ,standard oil4 ,on the other hand we see some who would starve to death if they were left to themselves4 ,we know of one man who had been trying for years to save up enough money on which to get divorced4 ,we would not be too hard on those1 who1 in the spiritual realm1 are not able to walk off with mountains on their shoulders2 they may not be endowed with any special gifts1 and yet they may be the ,lord's weak children4 ,we would not sit in judgment on any of ,god's children4 ,christ came to save all who will put their trust in ,him1 and if one is naturally endowed with great and peculiar talents1 so much the more responsibility rests upon him2 but if one does not possess the extraordinary1 he may be a trustful follower of the ,lamb after all4 ,and yet we have known of some who certainly did not seem possessed with anything above the ordinary1 yet because of their fidelity to ,christ and their abandonment to the ,holy ,ghost1 were really blessed in usefulness beyond the ordinary4 ,there is no telling what the ,lord will do with the weak ones if they will only let ,him put over against them ,his strength4 ,so1 as in the palm tree realm1 there is such a variety in size and form1 so in the ,christian world we have the babe and the man1 the weak and the strong1 the tiny1 trusting heart who is scarcely known around the corner1 and the giant of ,god who wields his influence throughout the nation4 ,so1 whether we are little or big1 weak or strong1 if we have the assurance that we belong to ,god's kingdom1 let us look up and rejoice evermore4 ,we may be tempted to discouragement when we see the stupendous accomplishments of some of the palm tree saints1 but we must remember that ,god requires from us only that which we are able to perform4 ,so while we may not do what some others do1 yet we can all1 without an exception1 measure up in our individual sphere and prove that the ,word of ,god is true1 that ,the righteous shall flourish like the palm tree4 ,reader1 in closing this little message to you1 let me entreat you1 by the aid of the ,holy ,spirit1 to introspect your heart and life and see if you possess a spiritual life which would warrant you in believing that you are flourishing like the palm tree4 ,amen6