The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-12-14

who were wavering and erring. They
tried on the wanderer sarcasm, and
billingsgate, and caricature, and they
tried tittle-tattle There was one thing |
they did not try, and that was forgive
ness A soldier in England was brought
by sergeant TO the colonel What"
says the colonel, bringing the man
here againl We have tried everything
with him" 20, no." says the sergeant,
there is one thing you have not tried.
] would like you to try that" What
is thatp' said the colonel. Said the
man, forgiveness The case had not
gone so far but that 1t might take that
turn, and SO the colonel said:
well, young man, you have done
SO and So What is your excuse?"
II have no excuse, but am
very sorry" said the man. "We have
made up our minds to forgive you,"
said the colonel. The tears started. lie
had never been accosted in that way
before. His life was reformed, and
that was the starting point for posi-
lively Christian life 0, Church of God,
quit your sarcasm when man fallsl
Quit your irony, quit your tittl le-tattle,
and try forgiveness. God, your mother,
tries 1t all the time. A mans sin may
be like continent, but Gods forgive
ness is like the Atlantic and Pacific
oceans, bounding 1t on both sides.
The Bible often talks about Gods
hand. / wonder how 1t looks. You re-
member distinctly how your mothers
hand looked, though thirty years ago it
withered away. 1t was different from.
your fathers hand When you were to
be chastised, YOU had rather have
mother punish you than father. 1t did
not hurt so much. And fathers hand
was different from mothers, partly be-
cause God intended it to be different
The knuckles were more firmly set and
the palm was callouscd But mothers
hand was more delicate. There were
blue veins running through the back
of it. Though the fingers, some of
them, were picked with needle,
the palm of it was soft OH it
was very soft Was there ever popl-
tice like that to take the pain out Of a
wound? So Gods hand is mothers
hand, What it touches it heals. If it
smite you It does not hurt as If 1t were
another's hand. o you poor wander
ing soul in sin, it is not bailiff's hand
that seizes you to-day. 1t is not hard
hand. 1t is not an unsympathetic
hand. 1t is not cold hand. 1t is not
an enemy's hand. No. 1t is a gentle
hand, a loving ha nd, n sympathetic
hand, a soft hand, mothers hand.
"As one whom his mother comforteth,
so will comfort YOU"
l want to say, finally, that God has q
mothers way of putting child to sleep.
You know there is no cradle song like
mothers. After the excitement Of
the evening it is almost impossible to
get the child to sleep II the rocking
chair stop momeut the eyes are wide
open; but the mothers patience and the
mothers soothing manner keep on un-
til, after awhile, the angel of slumber
puts his wing over the pillow. Well,
my dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
the time will come when we
will be wanting to be put TO sleep
The day OF our life will be done
and the shadows Of the night Of death
will be gathering around us. Then we
want God to sooth US, to hush us tC
sleep Let the music of our going no
be the dirge Of the organ, or the knel
| - 81. haA ts,f
Of dead march, but let 1t be tn,
hush OF mothers lullaby. Oil tn,
cradle of the grave will be soft with the
pillow of all the promises When WI
are being rocked into the last slumber
want this to be the cradle song: IA
one whom mother comforteth, so will
/ comfort you"
Asleep in Jesusl Far from thee
J Thy kindred and their graves may be;
But thine IS still blessed sleep,
From which none ever wake to weep
A Scotchman as dying. His daugh
ter Nellie sat by the bedside. II wa
Sunday evening and the bell OF tn,
church was ringing, calling the peopl,
10 church. The good old man, in hi
, dying dream, thought that he was oil
the way to church, as he used TO b,
, when he went In the sleigh acros
.. the river; and as the evening bel
struck up, in his dying dream h
thought 1t was the call to church
, He said: "Hark, children, the bell
are ringing; we shall be late; w
[ must make the mare step out quickl
He shivered, and then said, Pull tn
{ buffalo robe up closer, my lassl 1t
cold crossing the river, but we will 500
. be there, Nellie, we will soon be therel
I And he smiled and said, Just ther
now" No wonder he smiled. TIL
, good old man had got TO church. No
the old country church, but tho tempt
/ in the skies Just across the river
r How comfortably did God hush tha
r old man to sleep! As one whom hi
I mother comforteth, so God comforte
him