The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1894-10-24


angels for future companions, and
eternity for lifetime, we should strike
all the notes of joy. Going through
the wilderness Of this world, let us re-
member that we are ON the way to the
summery cline of Heaven, and from
the migratory populations flying
through this autumnal air learn always
to keep singing.
Children OF the heavenly King,
AS ye journey, sweetly sing;
Sing your Saviour's worthy praise,
Glorious In His works and ways
Ye are travelling home to God,
In the ways your father trod;
They are happy now, and we
Soon their happiness shall see.
The church of God never will be
triumphant church until it becomes
singing church.
l go further and remark that the
birds of the air are wiser than we, in
the fact that in their migration they
fly very high. During the summer,
when they are in the fields, they often
come within reach of the gun; but when
they start for the annual fight south
ward, they take their places mid
heaven, and go straight as mark. The
longest rifle that was ever brought to
shoulder cannot reach them. Would to
God that we were as wise as the stork
and crane in our fight heavenward!
We fly so low that we are within easy
reach of the world, the flesh, and the
devil We are brought down by temp
tations that ought not to come within
a mile of reaching us. o for some of
the faith of George Muller, of England,
and Alfred Goodman, once of the church
militant, now of the church triumph
ant! So poor is the type of piety in
the church of God now, that men act
ually caricature the idea that there is
any such thing as higher life. Moles
never did believe in eagles. But, my
brethren, because we have not reached
these heights ourselves, shall we de-
ride the fact that there any such
heights? A man was once talking to
Brunei, the famous engineer, about
the length Of the railroad from London
to Bristol. The engineer said: ''It is
not very great. We shall have, af-
ter while, steamer running from
England to New York" They laughed
him to scorn, but we have gone so far
now that we have ceased to langh at
anything as impossible for human
achievement. Then, ask, is anything
impossible for the Lord? l do not be-
lieve that God exhausted all His grace
in Paul, and Latimer and Edward Pay
son. believe there are higher points
OF Christian attainment to be reached
in the future ages of the Christian
world. You tell me that Paul went up
to the tiptop of the Alps of Christian
attainment Then tell you that the
stork and crane have found above the
Alps plenty of room for free flying. We
go out and we conquer our temptations
by the grace of God and lie down. On
the morrow, those temptations rally
themselves and attack us, and by the
grace of God we defeat them again;
but, staying all time in the old en-
campment, we have the same old bat
ties to fight over. Why not whip out
! our temptation, and then forward
march, making one raid through the
enemy's country, stopping not until
we break ranks after the last victory?
Do, my brethren, let us have some
novelty of combat, at any rate by
changing, by going on, by making ad-
vancement, trading off our stale pray
ers about sins we ought to have quit
long ago, going on toward higher
state of Christian charac ter, and rout-
ing out sins thatwe have never thought
of yet The fact is, if the church OF
God-if we, as individuals, made rapid
advancement in the Christian life, these
sterotyped prayers we have been max
ing for ten or fifteen years wonld be as
inappropriate to US as the shoes, and
the hats, and the coats we wore ten or
fifteen years ago. o for higher fight
in the Christian life, the stork and the
crane in their migration teaching us
the lesson!
Dear Lord, and shall we ever live,
At this poor dying rate
Our love so faint, so cold to Thee,
And Thine to us so great?
Again, remark that he birds of the
air are wiser than we, because they
know when to start. II you should &c
out now and shout ''Stop storks anc
cranes, don't be in hurry!" they woulC
say: "No, we cannot stop; last night
we heard the roaring in the woods bid
ding us away, and the shrill flute o.
the north wind has sounded the re
treat We must 60. We must 60" Sc
they gather themselves into companies
and turning not aside for storm OF
mountain top, or shock of nusketry,
over land and sea, straight as an arrow
to the mark they go. And if you come
out this morning with a sack of corr
and throw it in the fields and try tc
get them to stop, they are so far VI
they would hardly see it. They are or
their way south. You could not stoI
them.
o, that we were as wise about the
best time to start Cor God and Heaven
We say: 'Wait until it is little Later
in the season of mercy. Wait unit
some of these green leaves of hope arr
all dried up and have been scattered
Wait until next year" After awhile W.
start, and it is too late, and we perish
in the way when Gods wrath is kipdleC
but a little. There are, you know, ex
ceptional cases, where birds hav,
started too late, and in the morning
you have found them dead on the snow
And there are those who have perishet
halfway between the world and Christ
They waited until the last sickness
when the mind was gone, or they wer