The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1891-08-05
\, TAI, al ou,. pas. national distresses

and 1t takes all our present national /
sorrows to lift up our nation on that
high career where it will march along |
after the foreign despotsms that have
mocled and the tyrannies that have
ieered, shall be swept down under the
omnipotent wrath of God, who hates
oppression and who, by the strength OF
His own red right arm, will make all
men free. And so 1t Is individually |
and in the family, and In the church,
and in the world that through darkness
and storm and trouble men, women,
churches, nations, are developed.
Again, / see In my text the beauty OF
unialtering friendship. Isuppose there
were plenty Of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity; but Of all her ac-
quaintances how many were willing to
trudge off with her toward Judea when
she had TO make that lonely journey?
one--the heroine of my text 0ne-ab-
solutely one. suppose when Naomfs
husband was living, and they had plenty
OF money, and all things went well,
they had plenty Of callers; but I sup
pose that after her husband died, and
her property went, and she got old and
poor, she was not troubled very much
with callers. All the birds that sang
In the bower while the sun shone have
/ gono to their nests, now the night has
fallen. i S-s7T s&f
| o, these beautiful sunAowers that
Ispread ont their color in the morning
hourl but they are always asleep when
the sun Is going down! Job had plenty
of friends when he was the richest man
in Uz; but when his property went and
the trials came, then there were none 30
much that pestered as Eliphax the Te-
mantle, and Bildad the Shuhite and To-
phar the Naamathite.
Life often seems 10 be mere game,
where the successful player pulls down
I;Ali me other men into his own lap. Let
liaAspjcion srise abont mans character,
and he becomes like alhApk in n panic,
/ ltAnd al the impntations rush on
him and break down In day that
character which in due time would have
had strength to defend itself. There
are regulations that have been half Q
century In building, which go dowr
under some moral exposure, as n vast
temple is consumed by the touch Of {
sulphurous match. A hog can uproot
. century plant In this world, SO full
Of heartlessness and hypocrisy, how
, thrilling It is to find some friend a
faithful In days OF adversely as in day
! prosperity David had such friend II
, Mordecai, who never forgot their cause
. Paul had such friend in 0nesiphorus
. who visited him in Jail; Christ had sue
= friend in the Marys, who adhered :
1 Him on the cross; Naomi had such a on
. In Ruth, who cried out: "Entreat m
/, not to leave thee, or to return from 70
. lowing after thee; for whittier tho
q goest, will go; and where thou lodges
. / will lodge; thy people shall be m
people, and thy God my God; whel
/. thou diest will die, and there will |
: buried; the Lord do SO TO me, and moi
: also. II anght but death part thee an
{ me-"
!, Again, l,learn from this subject th'
! paths which open in hardship and dar
a ness often come out in places Of 10
i When Ruth started from Moab towa
i Jerusalem, TO 60 along with her mothe
!. in-law, i suppose the people said: =
\ what foolish creature TO go away fro
: her fathers house, to 60 of with po
u old woman toward the land Of Jude
They won't live TO get across the desc
a They win be drowned in the sea or I
- !. jackals OF the wilderness will destr
~ them" II was very dark morni
= when Ruth started of with Noami; b
=. behold her in my text in the harv'
- field Of Boaz, TO be affianced TO one
- the lords.of the land, and become o
"a Of the grandmotherS of Jesus Chri
4, the Lord OF glory. And SO It often
"a that path which starts very darl
n. ends very brightly.
h, When you starred out for Heaven, I
he how dark was the hour Of conviction
" how Sinai thundered, and devils I
vn mented, and the darkness thicken
"a All the sins Of your life pounced uT
he you, and It was the darkest hour J
an ever saw when you first found out "
No.. sins. After awhile you went into
he harvest held Of Gods mercy;you beg
ON TO CLEAN in the fields Of divine promi
~, and You had more sheaves shan J
.re could carry, as the voice OF God
,es dressed you, saying: blessed is
mo- man whose etrangressions are forgi'
NJ and whose sins are covered" Av
IN dark starting in conviction. a v
he bright ending In the pardon and
he hope and the triumph Of the gespell
he SO, very often in our worldly busir
me or In our spiritual career, we start
he on a very dark path. We must go.
ith flesh may shrink back, but there
ID. voice from above. saying, "Tou N
me rgo;' and we have TO drink the gall,
du- we have 70 carry the cross, and we h
the 10 traverse the desert, and we
In pounded and failed Of misrepresei
In tion and abuse, and we have TO urge
n way through ten thousand obsta
the that have TO be slain by our own RI
out ann. We have 80 ford the river,
Pc hare 10 climb the mountain, we hav
hat storm the castle; but, blessed be {
un- the day Of rest and reward viii co
ual onthe tip-top of the captured bal
on mepts we will shout the victory; "
L in this world, then On that world wi
h OF there is no gall to drink, no burden
urs carry, no battles 10 fight How
the know Il? Know ~ know II becs
tho God ssys so: "They shall hungei
ita. more, neither thirst any more, net
,wl- shall the sun light on them, nor
!. - | ha.t Gor the Lamb which In In the M