The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1890-11-12

sins ana have its sorrows comforted.
Many Of our pulpits are dying Of hum
drum. People do not 60 to church be-
cause they can not endure the tochni-
cslitieh and profound explanations OF
nothing, and sermons about the "eter-
nal generation OF the Son" and the diff
ference between sub-lapsarianism and
supra-lapsarianism, and about who Mel
chisideck wasn't There ought to be as
much difference between the modes Of
presenting truth now and in clden time,
as between lightning express rail-
train and canal boat Years ago,
went up to the door Of factory
in New England. On the outside door
saw the words mo admittance." L
went In and came to another door over
which were the words mo admittance.
OF course I went in, and came to the
third door inscribed with the words mo
admittance." Having entered this, /
found the people inside making pins,
beautiful pins, useful pins, and nothing
but pins! So over the outside door of
many OF the churches has been practi-
cally written the words mo admit
tance." Some have entered, and have.
como to tn inside door, and found the
words mo admittancep' But persisting,
they have come inside, and found us
sounding out our little niceties Of be-
lief, pointing out our little differences
Of theological entiment-making pins!
But the most distinguished was Bethel
for that famous dream which Jacob had,
his head on collection Of stones. He
had no trouble in this rocky region in
finding rocky pillow There Is hardly
any thing else but stone. Yet the peo-
pie OF those lands have way Of draw
ing their cute garment up over their
head and face, and such pillow 1
suppose Jacob had under his head.
The plural was used in the Bible story
and you find 1t was not pillow OF
stone, but OF stones, suppose, so that
II one proved TO be OF uneven surface he
would turn over In the night and take
another stone, for with such hard boil
ster he would often change in the night
Well. that night God built in Jacobs
dream long splendid ladder, the feet
of 1t on either side OF the tired pilgrims
pillow, and the top OF 1t mortised in tho
sky. And bright immortals came out
from the castles Of amber and gold and
put their shining feet on the shining
rungs OF the ladder, and they kept com
ing down and going up, a procession
both ways.
suppose they had wings, for the BIZ
BILE almost always reports them as hav-
ing wings, but this was ladder on
which they used hands and feet to en-
courage all those OF US who have no
wings to climb and encouraging us to
believe that IL we will use what we have
God will provide way, and II we will
employ the hand and the foot He will
furnish the ladder. Young mani Do
not wait for wings Those angels folded
theirs to show you wings arc not neces-
sary. Let all the people who have hard
pillows, hard for sickness or hard for
poverty or hard for persistence, know
that hard pillow is the landing place
OF angels They seldom descend to pill
lows OF elder down. They seldom build
dreams In the brain Of one who sleeps
easy.
The greatest dream Of all time was
that OF St John with his head on the
rocks OF Patmos, and in that vision he
heard the seven trumpets sounded and
saw all the pomp OF Heaven in process
sion, cherubic, seraphic, archangelic.
The next most memorable and glorious
dream was that OF John Bunyan, his
pillow the cold stone OF the floor OF Bed
ford Jail, from which he saw the celes-
tial city, and so many entering it, he
cried out in his dream: ~ wish myself
among them" The next most wonder
full dream was that OF Washington at
Valley Forge, his head on white pill
low-case Of snow, where he saw the
vision Of nation emancipated. Colum-
bus slept on weaver's pillow, but rose
on the ladder let down until he could
see new hemisphere. Domosthenes
slept on a cutters pillow, but on the
ladder let down arose to see the mighty
assemblages that were to be swayed by
his oratory. Arkwright slept on bar
ber's pillow, but went up tho ladder till
he could see all England awake with
the factories ho set going Axiom
side slept on a butchers pillow and
took the ladder up till he saw other
generations holped by his scholar
ship. John Ashworth slept on poor
mans pillow, but took tho ladder up un-
til he could see his prayers and exer-
tions bringing thousands OF the desti-
tute In England to salvation and Heaven.
Nearly all those who arc to-day great
in merchandise, in statesmanship, in
law; in medicine, in art in literature,
were once at tho foot OF the ladder, and |
In their boyhood had pillow as hard
as Jacobs They who are born at the.
top OF the ladder are apt to spend their
lives in coming down, while those who |
arc at tho foot and their head on a
bowlder, II they have a right kind OF
dream, are almost sure TO rise.
notice that these angels, either in
coming down or going up on Jacobs
ladder, took 1t rung by rung. They did
not leap 10 the bottom, nor jump TO the
top. So you are 10 rise Faith added
to faith, good deed 20 good deed, in
austry TO industry, consecration to con-
secration, until you reach the top rung
by rung. Gradually going up from
block OF granite TO pillar OF throne.
That night at Bethel stood in front
Of my tont and looked up and tho
heavens we're full OF ladders, first lad
ior Of clouds, then ladder OF stars, and
Ill up aud down the heavens were angels
of beauty, angels OF consolation, angels