The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-05-20

fast becoming as bad as the world and
when it gets as bad as the world 1t
will be worse than the world by so
much as 1t will add hypocrisy of n most
appalling kind to its other defects.
Furthermore, many of our nets are
torn to pieces by being entangled with
other nets. 1t is sad sight to see fish
ermen fighting about sea room and
pulling in opposite directions, each to
get his net, both neis damaged by the
struggle and losing all the fish. In a
city like this Of more than eight hun
dred thousand, there are at least five
hundred thousand not in Sabbath
schools or churches. And in this land
where there are more than sixty-four
million people, there are at least thirty
million not in the Sabbath-schools and
churches. And in this world of more
than fourteen hundred million people,
there are at least eight hundred million
not in schools and churches. In such
an Atlantic Ocean of opportunity, there
is room tor all the nets and all the
boats and all the fishermen and
for millions more. There should
be no rivalry between churches.
Each one does a work peculiar to
itself There should be no rivalry be-
tween ministers. God never repeats
himself, and he never makes two minis
ters alike, and each one has a work
which no other man in the universe can
accomplish. If fishermen are wise, they
will not allow their nets to entangle; or
If they do accidentally get entwisted,
the work of eXtrication should be kindly
and gently conducted. What glad
spectacle for men and angels when on
our recent dedication day ministers of
all denominations stood on this plat
form and wished for each other widest
prosperity and usefulness. But there
are cities in this country where there is
now going on an awful ripping and
rending and tearing of fishing nets.
Indeed, all over Christendom at this
time there is a great war going on be-
tween fishermen, ministers against mis-
isters
Now have noticed a man cannot fish
and fight at the same time. He either
neglects his net or his musket. 1t is
amazing how much time some of the
fishermen have to lock after other fish
ermen. 1t is more than can do to take
care Of my own net. You see the wind
is just right and it is such q good time
for fishing and the fish are coming in SO
rapidly that / have to keep my eye and
hand busy. There are about two hum
dred million souls wanting TO ret into
the kingdom Of God and il will require
all the nets and all the boats and all
the fishermen Of Christcndom 10 safely
land them. At East Hampton IL
where ! summer, out on the bluffs some
morning we see the flags up; aud
that is the signal for launching
out into the deep. For mile
the water is tingcd with that pc
culiar odor that indicates whole schools
of piscatorial revelry and the beach
swarms with men with their coat off
and their sea-cap on, and those of us
who do not go out on the wave stand on
the beach ready TO rejoice when the
boats come back and in our excitement
we rush into the water with our shoes
on to help get the boats up the beach
and we all lay hold the lines and pull
till we are red in the face, and, as the
living things Of the deep come tumbling
in on the sand, | cry out; Captain,
how many?' And he answers: About
fifty thousand. And we shout TO the
late comers; "iurrah, fifty thousandr
We must have an enthusiasm something
like that If we are ever to take the hui
man race for God and heaven. Aye, we
ought TO have that enthusiasm of the
beach multiplied a hundred fold and
by so much as an immortal soul
is worth more than a blue fish. o,
brethren Of the ministry Let us spend
our time in fishing instead of fighting.
But If ! angrily jerk my net across your
net, and you jerk your net angrily
across mine, we will soon have two
broken nets and no fish. The French
revolution nearly destroyed the French
fisheries, and ecclesiastical war is the
worst thing possible while hauling souls
INTO the kingdom. ! had hoped that
The millennium was about to dawn, but
the lion is yet too fond of lamb. Nv
friends, notice in the text that James
the son of Zebedee and John his brother
were busy not mending somebody else's
1ets, but mending their own nets and
rather think that we who arc engaged
n Christian work in this latter part OF
.he nineteenth century will require all
our spare time to mend our own nets.
iod help us in the important duty!
In this work of reparation we need to
,ut into the nets more threads of com.
non sense. When we can present
'eligion as great practicality we will
latch a hundred souls where now we
'atch one. Present religion as an intel.
ectuality and we will fail. Out in the
fisheries there are set across the waters
What are called gill nets and the fish
'ut their heads through the meshes and
hen cannot withdraw them because
hey are caught by the gills. But gill |
Ia.s cannot be Of any service in religious
york. Men are never caught for the I
ruth by their heads; It is by the heart |
r not at all. No argument ever saved |
man and no keen analysis ever
rought a man into the kingdom Of God.
Ieart work, not head work. Away with
our gill nets! Sympathy, helpfulness,
onsolation, love, are the names Of
ome of the threads that we need to
'eave in our gospel nets when we are
lending them.
Do you know that the worlds heart
bursting with trouble and IL you could
lake that world believe that the re.
gion OF Jesus Christ Ia n sootbing