The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1893-12-13

he was a mctaphysician, he was an all
conquering orator, he was poet OF the
highest type. He had nature that
could swamp the leading men OF his
own day, and, hurled against the San
hedrim, he made it tremble. He learned
all he could get In the school OF his ma
tive villnge; then he had gone to a
higher school. and there mastered the
Greek and the Hebrew, and perfected
himself in bellcs-lettres, until in after
years he ustonished the Cretans, and
the Corinthians. and the Athenians, by
quotations from their own authors. !
have never found anything in Carlyle,
or Goethe, or Herbert Spencer that
could compare In strength or beauty
with Paul's Epistles. l do not think
there is anything in the writing OF Sir
William Hamilton that shows such
mental discipline as you find in PauPs
argument about justification and the
resurrection. have not found any
thing in Milton finer in the way OF inn
agination than | can find in Paurs IL
lustrations drawn from the amphithca-
ter. There was nothing in Robert EN-
met pleading for his life, or in Edmund
Burke arraigning Warren Hastings in
Westminster hall, that compared with
scene in the court room. when,
before robed officials Paul bowed and
began his speech saying: 81 think my
self happy. King Agrippa. because
/ shall answer for myself this day." ]
repeat, that religion that can cap
ture man like that must have some
power in it. 1t is time you stopped
talking as though all the brain of the
world were opposed to Christianity.
Where Paul leads. we can afford to fol-
low. am glad to know that Christ
has in the different ages of the world
had in his disciplcship Mozart and a
Handel in music; Raphael and Rey.
nolds in painting; an Angelo and a
Canova in sculptures: Rush and Har-
vey in medicine; Grotius and Wash.
ington in craftsmanship; Blackstone,
n Marshall, and Kent in law; and the
time will come when the religion OF
Christ will conquer all the Observable
rics and universities, and Philosophy
will through her telescope behold the
morning star of Jesus, and in her labo-
ratH"y see that all things work to-
rether for good" and with her geolog.
ical hammer discover the Rock OF
Ages" o. instead of covering and
shivering when the skeptic stands be-
fore you and talks of religion as though
1t were pusillanimous thing-instead
of that take your New Testament from
your pocket and show him the picture
of the intellectual giantof all the ages,
prostrated on the road to Damascus,
while his horse is flying wildly away;
then ask your skeptic what 1t was that
frightened the one and threw the
other? o no, it is no weak gospel.
II is glorious gospel. 1t is an all
conquering gospel 1t is an omnipo-
tent gospel. 1t is the power of God
and the wisdom of God unto salvation.
Again, learn from the text a man
cannot become Christian until he Is
unhorsed. The trouble Is, we want TO
ride into the kingdom OF God. inst as
the knight rode into castle gate on pal
frey, beautifully caparisoned. We
want to come intoit the kingdom Of God
in fine style. No lneeling down at the
altar, no sitting on anxious seats" no
crying over sin, no begging at the door
of Gods mercy. Clear the road and
let us come in all prancing in the pride
of our soul No, we will never get
into Heaven that way. We must dis
mount There is no knight-errantry
in religion, no fringed trappings of re.
pentance, but an utter prostration be.
fore God, going down in the dust.
with the cry, ''unclean. uncleanr'-a
bewailing of the soul, like David from
the belly of hell-a going down IN the
dust, until Christ shall by His grace
lift us up as He lifted Paul. o, proud
hearted hearer you must get off that
horse. May light from the throne of
God brighter than the sun throw you.
Come down into the dust and cry for
pardon, and life and Heaven.
Again, learn from this scene Of the
text that the grace of God can over.
come the prosecutor. Christ and Paul
were boys ut the same time in different
villages, and Paul's antipathy TO Christ
was increasing, He hated everything
about Christ. He was going down then
with writs in his pockets to have
Christ's disciples arrested. lie was not
going as sheriff goes, TO arrest man
against whom he had no spite, but
Paul was going down TO arrest those
people because he was glad TO arrest
them. The Bible says: "He breathed
out slaughter" He wanted them cap
tured, and he wanted them butchered.
hear the click and clash, and clatter
Of the hoofs OF the galloping steeds on
the way to Damacus o, do you think
that proud man on horseback can ever
become Christian? Yes! there is q
voice from heaven, like thunder clap
altering two words, the second word
the same as the first, but uttered with
more emphasis, so that the proud
equestrian may have no doubt as TO
who is meant, SAUL Saulr' That
man was saved, and he was persecu.
tor; and so God can by His
grace overcome any prosecutor.
The days OF sword and FIRE
for Christians seem to have gone
by. The bayonets Of Napoleon |.
pried open the '..Inquisition" and lei
the rotting wretches out. The ancient
dungeons around Rome are to-day
mere curiosities for the travellers. The