The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-10-10

trlumphed over all disadvantages. her
willingness to self-sacrifce, her control
over the king, her humility, her faith
full worship of God, show her to have
been one of the best of the worlds
Christians.
There are those who did not enjoy re-
markable early privileges. Perhaps,
like the beautiful captive Of the text,
you were an oprhan. You had huge
sorrows in your little heart. You some
times wept in the nightwhen you knew
not what was the matter. You felt
sad sometimes even on the playground.
Your father or mother did not stand
in the door to welcome you when you
came home from long journey. You
still feel the effect of early disadvan-
tages, and you have sometimes offered
them as a reason for your not being as
thoroughly religious as you would like
to be. But these excuses are not sufh-
cient. Gods grace will triumph If you
seek it. He knows what obstacles you
have fought against, and the more
trials the more help. After all, there
are no orphans in the world, for the
great God is the father of us all.
Again, our subject is an illustration Of
what religion may be under the pres
sure of poverty The captivity and
crushed condition of this orphan girl,
and of the kind man who adopted her,
suggest condition of poverty. Yet,
from the very first acquaintance we
had with Hadassah we find her the
same happy and contented Christian.
1t was only by compulsion that she was
afterwards taken into sphere of honor
and afiluence. In the humble home of
Mordecai, her adopted father, she was
alight that illuminated every privation.
In some period in almost every mans
life there comes season OF straitened
circumstances when the severest cal
culation and most scraping economy
are necessary in order to subsistence
and respcctability. At the commence
ment of business, at the entrance upon
a profession, when friends are few and
the world is afraid of you because
there is a possibility of failure, many
of the noblest hearts have struggled
against poverty, and are now strug-
Cling. To such l bear message of good
cheer. You say it is hard thing for
you to be Christian. This constant
anxiety, this unresting calculation,
wear out the buoyancy of your spirit,
and although you have told perhaps
no one about it, canRot tell that this
is the very trouble which keeps you
from being what you ought to beq
You have no time to think about lay
ing up treasures in Heaven when it is a
matter of great doubt whether you
will be enabled to pay your next quar-
ters rent. You cannot think Of striv-
ing after robe of Righteousness until
you can get means to buy an overcoat
to keep out the cold. You want the
bread of life, but you think you must
get along without that until you can
buy another barrel of flour for your
wife and children. Sometimes you sit
down discouraged and almost wish you
were dead. Christians in satin slip.
pers, with their feet on damask otto.
mans, may scout at such class of temp
tations, but those who themselves have
been in the struggle and grip of hard
misfortune can appreciate the power oi
these evils to dissuade the soul away
from religious duties. We admit the
strength of the temptation, but then we
point to Hadassah, her poverty equalled
by her piety. Courage down there in
the battle Hurl away your disappoint-
ment Men Of half your heart have
through Christ, been more than con
querors. In the name of God, come out
of that! The religion of Christ is just
what you want out there among the
empty -four barrels and beside cold
hearths. You have never told anyone
of what hard time you have had
but God knows it as we'll as you
know it. Your easy times will come
after awhile Do not let your
spirits break down in mid-life
What if your coat is thin. Run fast
enough to keep warm. What if you
have no luxuries on your tableP High
expectations will make your blood tin.
gle better than the best Madeira. II
you cannot afford to smoke, you can
afford to whistle But merely animal
spirits are not sufficient; the power OF
the gospel-that is what you want to
wrench despair out of the soul and put
you forward into the front of the hosts
, encased in impenetrable armor. 1t does
. not require extravagant wardrobe, and
, palatial residence, and dashing equip
age to make man rich. The heart
right the estate is right A new heart
, is worth the worlds wealth in one roll
of bank bills; worth all soepters ot
earthly power bound in one sheaf
worth all crowns expressed In one coro
net. Many a man without a farthinp
in his pocket has been rich enough tc
buy the world out and have stock left
, for larger investment. 1t is not often
that men of good habits come to posi-
tive beggary, but among those who live
in comfortable houses all about you
among honest mechanics, and profes
, sional men who never say word about
, it, there are exhibitions Of heroism anc
! endurance such as you may never have
imagined. These men who ask no aid
who demand no sympathy; who with
strong arm and skillful brain push
their own way through, are Hannibalt
scaling the Alps; are Hercules Staying
the lion; are Moses in Gods name driv
ing back the seas. Hadassah with hei