The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-06-15

and was inspired by the very powers Of
darkness, confessing that all the time
he was writing he did not have the
Bible anywhere near him. How many
powerful intellects have endeavored TO
destroy it. Hume, BolingbrolIe, Vol
taire have been after it. Ten thousand
men are now warning against the
truth of Gods word. What do you
think of them? | think it is mean,
and will prove it. | will prove it
is the meanest thing that has
ever been done in all the centuries,
There is ship at sea and in trouble.
The captain and their crew are at their
wits end. You are on board. You are
an old seaman. You come up and give
some good counsel, which is kindly
taken. That is all right. But suppose,
instead of doing that, in the midst of
all the trouble you pick up the only
compass that is on board and pitch 1t
over the taffrail o, you say, that is
dastardly. But is it as mean as this?
Here is the vessel of the world going on
with sixteen hundred millions Of pas
sengers, tossed and driven in the tenn
pest, and at the time we want help the
infdel comes and he takes hold of the
only compass and he tries to pitch 1t
overheard. 1t is contemplate beyond
anything that is contemplate. Have
you any better hght9 Bring it on If
you have. Have you any better COM
fort to give us? Bring it on If you have. ,
Have you any better hopeP Bring it on
If you have, and then you may have
this Bible and / shall never want it
again.
But l can think Of a meaner thing
than that, and that Is an old man going
along on the mountains with staff in
one hand and lantern in the other.
Darkness has come on suddenly. He is
very old, just able to pick his way out
amid the rocks and precipices, leaning
on his staff with one hand and guiding
himself with the light in the other
You come up and say, Father, you
seem to be lost. You are long way,
from home" Yes" he replies, and
then you take him by the hand and
lead him home. That is very kind Of
you. But suppose instead of that you
snatch the staff from his hands and
hurl IL over the rocks, and snatch the
lantern and blow It out? That would
be dastardly, contemplate until there
is no depth of contempt beneath 1t. II
you have better staff give 1t to him.
II you have better light give it TO him.
When God has put the staff of the
gospel in our hands and the lamp of
Gods word to light our feet, are you
going TO take from us our only support
and our only illumination? love the
sting of the wasp and the rattlesnake
better than do the man who wants to
clutch the word of God from my grasp,
There are people here who have been
reading it n good while. II is precious
book TO their souls. II has been so
In times of darkness and trouble.
There was soldier who fell in
battle, and after he had fallen he said
in feeble voice to his comradc, Give
me a drop" His comrade replied,
''There is not particle Of water in my
canteen." "O," he said, 81 didn't mean
that. Look in my knapsack and you
will find Bible there. Get out that old
Bible and just give me drop out Of that "
And his comrade found the Bible and
read few passages. The dying soldier
said: 20, George, there is nothing like
that,is there, for dying SOLDIER"
Cling TO your Bible! II this Bible
should be destroyed, we could make up
a Bible right out Of this audience. From
that Christian mans experience take
one cluster of promises, and from that
old Christian mans experience another;
put them all together, and think /
would have a Bible.
You see, my friends, have not tried
10 hide the fact that have large ex-
pectation of you who have entered the
Christian life. Do not be discouraged.
Press on toward the prize; God beside
you and Heaven before you. Keep your
courage up. Look in thirty years from
now upon this church Another man
In the pulpit Other faces In the pews
Another man leading the song.
Others carrying around the alms-boxes
Of the church. All changed. Thirty
years have gone and look into the
faces of the people and say, why, II
seems TO me have seen these people
somewhere, but / cannot exactly say
where. o, yes, now begin TO think
These were the converts In 1892 and
1890. Why, how you have changedP 20,
yes" they say, "of course we have
changed. Thirty years make a great
change" say, How many wrinkles
there are in your faces" 20, yes" they
Iay, thirty years make a great many
wrinkles" "Have you kept the faith2"
''Yes, we have kept the faith" where
!. are those people who used to sit in the
pew with your" IAN gone" Then"
say, "well, feel lonely; come, let us
sing one of the old hymns we used 10
ling thirty years ago in 1892 on com
munion day. Any Of you know the old
tune? some one hum II. Yes, that's IL,
hats Il. Now, altogether, let us sing,
lust as we did in 1892"
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from ImmAnuels veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that food
Lose all their guilty stains
The dying thief stoiced TO see
That fountain in his day:
And there may ], though vile as he,