The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1889-02-06

though II were my own emancipation.
When to-day in our communion Sc vice such
throngs OF young and old stana at these al
tars and in the presence Of heaven and
earth and hell attest their allegiance 10
Jesus Christ, feel Joy something akin to
that which the apostle describes when he
says: whether In the body can not tell,
or out Of the body l can not tell; God
knoweth."
o, have not ministers q right TO rejoice
when prodigal comes homei They blew
the trumpet. and ought they not to be glad
OF the gathering Of the hostl They pointed
TO the full supply and ought they not to re-
ioice when souls pant as the hart for the
waterbrooksi They came forth saying: "All
things are now ready;" ought they not to
rejoice when the prodigal sits down at tho
banquet
Life insurance men will all tell you that
minister's OF religion as class live longer
than any other. II is confirmed by the sta
tistics OF all those who calculate upon human
longevity. Why Is III There is more draft
upon the nervous system than In any other
profession, and their toll Is most exhaustiug.
have seen ministers kept on miserable sti-
pends by parsimonious congregations who
wondered at tue dullness OF the sermon.
when the men Of God were perplexed al
most 10 death by questions of livelihood.
and had not enough nutritious food 10
keep any fire In their temperament No
fuel, no fire. have sometimes seen the in.
side OF the life Of many OF the American
clergymen-never accepting their hospital
ity, because they can not afford IL; but I
have seen them struggle on with salaries of
five and six hundred dollars a year-the
average less than that-theIr struggle well
depicted by the Western missionary who
says in letter: ..Thank Won for vour ,ast
remittance. Until II came we had not apy
meat In our house for one year. and all last
winter although IL was a severe winter.
our children wore their summer clothes.n
And these men Of God | find In different
parts Of the land, struggling against annoy.
ances and exasperations innumerable; sonc
Of them week after week entertaining
agent who have maps 10 sell, and submit
ing 10 oil styles OF annoyance, and vet with
out complaint, and cheerful Of soul. How
do you account for the fact that these bfe
insurance men tell us that ministers as n
class live longer than any othersi Il IA he
cause OF the Joy Of their work. the low of
the harvest field. the joy OF greeting prodi.
gals home TO their fathers house.
o, we are In sympathy with all innocent
hilarities. We can enjoy hearty song. and
we can be merry with the merriest; but
those OF US who have toiled in the service arr
ready to testify that all these lows are tame
compared with the sati sfactlon Of seeing
men enter the kingdom OF God. The great
eras Of every minister are the outpourinO
Of the Holy Ghost, and thank God I have
seen eighteen OF them. Thank God. thank
Godi
IV.-Inotice also when the prodipal comes
back, all earnest ChrIstians rejoice. n Won
stood on Montauk Point and there was a
hurricane at sea, and Il was blowing toward
the shore, and vessel crashed into the
rocks and Won saw people get ashore In tho
lfe-boats and the very last man got ON tho
rocks In safety. YOU could not control vour
Joy. And II is a glad time when the church
OF God sees men who are tossed ON the ocean
OF their sins plant their feet ON the roclt
Christ Jesus.
o, when prodigals come homo inst hear
those Christians sing. Just hear those Chris
tians pray. Il Is not a stereotyped supnll.
cation we have heard over and over again
for twenty years. but A putting Of the case
in the hands of God with an importunate
No lono nravers Men neva,
nray a, ,,roo, IonS,h -. ,h.,, 80. 80
10y ~ sieue ienstn uness .uey uaVe no'n,
ins W say anu tneir nearts are hard ana
cold. All the prayers In the Bible that were
tp0rad ahnrf lt(IAd ha
merciful 10 me a sinner" 'Lnrd, that NAV
receive nv sight.p "Iord. save me or
neriqb ~ The lo,gos, nrovor aoIon,on,s
nravor n, tho do5io,,io, - ;ha 5000 80
"a 80 - o'N,'o" W '"o '0nipio ioSs
.nan eighI nlinuOes IN ienvtn, accor dinH 70
the ordinary rate OF enunciation.
And just hear them pray now that the
prodigals are coming home. Just see them
shake hands. No puttinR forth the four tius
of the anoers q, a formal ,,oy hrt !, No. -,
,rasn ,.horo ,ho ,aUsaia. "S,ha 80. ey ].
iasP w.oio .no inussies VI Vne heure seem
" ciench Tue nhRers OF one hanu around the
other hand. And then see those Christian
faces, how illuminated they are And sec
hat old man get up. and with the same
voice that he sang ifty years AGO In the old
,o,n,r,, r,ao,tns ho,.a 80. ,,Na,,, ia
-. Nv ~ 1oe, ~ 80, HVu,
o,Ve'e inou iuy serVahIuepar IN peace, iot
nine eyes nave seen lny saiVation'" Inere
was man OF Keith who was hurled into
prison In time OF persecution, and one day
10 got OF his shackles and he came and
,tood nv the prison door and whom the iaIIay
vas openinp the door with one stroEe he
,trT,k down the man vvbo bad inca rcera,ad
,im' Passing along The streets of fondon
,e wondd.ea where his family yvaS Ne Ala
,ot dare asL Leaf be e,cita sn.nicion hnt
,a seIno aiono a N,,Ia ,va,, fror, tha rr,iaon'
,e saw Keitb tanLard n cnn,hst hatnnga1
n the family from eenara,ion N ganeratIon
-he av n In a yy,5dow HIs fsmiIy hon
nc thai some dav he would gat clear CANA
ma lived a a near "a thev con "a 20 the nr;son
,onse ana thew set thei gath tanSard IN
,he ylndow bonInS ha would ace n. and he
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