The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1896-04-29


streaming down and tossing up into
beautiful fountains until every root
and leaf and flower was saturated.
That is like the church. The church
is garden in the midst of great
desert of sin and suffering; but it is
we'll irrigated; for "our eyes are unto
the hills from whence cometh our help"
From the mountains of Gods strength
there flow down rivers of gladness.
"There is river the stream whereof
shall make glad the city of our Cod"
Preaching the gospel is one of the
aqueducts The Bible is another.
Baptism and the Lords Supper
are aqueducts. Water to slake the
thirst, water to wash the unclean,
water tossed high up in the light of
the Sun of Righteousness, showing us
the rainbow around the throne. Oh,
was there ever garden so thoroughly
irrigated! You know that the beauty
of Versailles and Chatsworth depends
very much upon the great supply OF
water. | came to the latter place,
Chatsworth, one day when strangers
are not to be admitted, but with an in
ducement which always seemed as po-
tent with an Englishman as an Ameri-
can, got in, and then the gardener
went far up above the stairs of stone
and turned on the water | saw it
cleaning on the dry pavement, com
ing down from step to step until it
came so near | could hear the musical
rush, and all over the high, broad
stairs it came foaming, flashing, roar
ing down, until sunlight and wave in
gleesome wrestle tumbled at my feet.
So it is with the church of God Ev-
'erything comes from above; pardon
from above, JOY from above, adoption
from above, sanctitication from above.
Hark! hear the latch of the garden
| gate, and | look to see who is coming.
hear the voice OF Christ: liam come
into my garden" | say: Come in, 0
Jesus, we have been waiting for thee;
walk all through the paths. Look at
the flowers; look at the fruit; pluck
that which thou wilt for thyself." {"
Jesus comes into the garden and up to
that old man, and touches him, and
says: almost home, father; not many
more aches for thee; l will never leave
thee; take courage little longer and
l will steady thy tottering steps, and
will soothe thy troubles and give thee
rest. Courage, old man" Then Christ
goes up another garden path, and he
comes to a soul in trouble and says:
peace! all is well. | have seen thy
tears. have heard thy prayer. The
sun shall not smite thee by day nor
the moon by night. The Lord shall
preserve thee from all evil he will
preserve thy soul. Courage, oh, troubled
| spirit"
Then 1 see Jesus going up another
garden path, ard l see great excite
ment among the leaves, and hasten
up that garden path to see what Jesus
is doing there, and 10! He is breaking
off flowers, sharp and clean from the
stem, and l say: stop, Jesus, don
kill those beautiful flowers" He turns
to me and says: II have come into My
| garden to gather lilies, and l mean
to take these up to q higher &errace,
for the garden around My palace, and
there will plant them; and in better
soil and in better air they shall put
forth brighter leaves and sweeter redo
lence, and no frost shall touch them
forever" And / looked up into His
face and said: "Well, it is His garden,
and He'has right to do what He will
with it. Thy will be doner' the hard
est prayer ever man made.
The Heaven of your little ones will
not be fairly begun until you get there,
All the kindnesses shown them by i'm.
mortals will not make them forget you.
There they are, the radiant throIgs
that went out from your homes.
throw kiss to the sweet darlings.
They are all well now in the palace.
The crippled child has sound foot
now. A little lame child says: MA,
| will | be lame in Heaven?" mo, my
dear, you won't be lame in Heaven" A
little blind child says: MA, will be
blind in Heaven?" mo, my dear, you
won't be blind in Heaven. They are
, all well there"
Oh, ye weary souls! como into Christs
garden to-day and pluck little hearts.
casl Christ is the only rest and the
only pardon for perturbed spirit. Do
you not think your chance has almost
come? You men and women who have
been waiting year after year for some
good opportunity in which to accept
Christ, but have postponed it five, ten,
twenty, thirty years-do you not feel
fas if now your hour of deliverance and
| pardon and salvation had come? Oh
man, what grudge hast thou against
thy poor soul that thou wilt not let ii
be saved? feel as if salvation must
come to-day in some of your hearts.
Some years ago vessel struck on
the rocks. They had only one life.
boat. In that lifeboat the passengers
and crew were getting ashore. The
vessel has foundered, and was sinking
deeper and deeper, and that one boat
could not take the passenrers very
swiftly. A little girl ST y on the
deck waiting for her turn to get into
the boat. The boat came and went, but
her turn did not seem to come. After
awhile she could wait no longer, and
she leaped on the taffrail and then
sprang into the sea, crying to the boat.
man, "Save me next! Save me next!"
Oh, how many have gone ashore into
Gods mercy, and yet you are clinging
to the wreck of sin! Others have ac-
cepted the pardon of Christ, but you
are in peril, Why not, this moment,
make rush for your immortal rescue,
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