Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1889-01-04
of all individual and international

of all individual and international
animosities. What sound this word
OF peace had in the Roman empire
that boosted of the number of people
1T had lnassacred. that prided itself on
/ the number Of the Slain. that rejoiced.
at the trembling provinces. Sicily
and Corsica and Sardinia mud Mace
donla and Egypt had bowed&to her
sword and crouciied at the cry
OF her war eagles. She gave her
chief honor to Scipio and Fabius
and Casar-all men of blood. What
contempt they must have had there
Tor tie pennlless,- unarmed Christian
tho garb OF q Nazarene, starting out
to conquer all nations There never
was place on earth where that word
peace sounded SO Extensively to the
ears of the multitude as III the Roman
empire. They did not want peace.
Tie greatest music they ever heard
was the clanking chains of their CAP
tives. If all the blood that has been
shed i'll battle could be gathered to-
getller it would upbear nayy.aTle !
club that STRUCK Abel to the eartlishas
ltsccho ilIthe:butcTeries of all ages.
Edmund Burke, who gave no swilll
statistics. said that5there fshiadi SbeaeI
mill l fst irty.iX slssnd
seen
Saffi
in America. week. pended three thou
sand millions Of dollars iii civil war.
Oh, IF we could now take our posi-
stion on some high point and see the
worlds armies march pasti What a
spectacle it would be! There othe
hosts of Israel through score of Red
seas-one Of water, the rest OF blood.
There go Cyrus and his army, with in.
furiatc yell rejoicing over. the fall of
! the gates Of Babylon. There goes
Alexander, leading forth his hosts and
conquering all-the world but himself,
the earth recling with the battle. cash
of ArbeIa and Persepolis There goes
Ferdinand Cortes, leaving his butch
cred enemies on the table lands once
/ fragrant with vanilla and covered over
with groves of Towering cacao There
goes the great Frcnchman, leading his
army down through Egypt like one of
its plaques, and up through Russia
/: like one of its own icy blasts. Yonder
is the grave trench under the shadow
of Sebastopol. There arc the ruins of
! Delhi and Allahabad, and yonder are
the inhuman Sepoys and the brave
regiments under Havelock avenging
the insulted flag of Britain; while cut
right through the heart of my native
land is trench in which there lie one
million northern and southern dead.
OUT OF GREAT CIRCULATION.
Oh, the tearsl Oh, the bloodl Oh,
the long marches Oh, the hospital
wounds! Oh, the martyrdom! Oh,
the death! But brighter than the light
which flashed on all these swords and
shields and musketry is the light that
| fell on Bethlehem, and louder than
the bray of the trumpets, and the
neighing of tic chargers, and the
crash of the walls, and the grooming
of the dying armies, is the song that
unrolls this. moment from the sky.
swept as though all the bells of heaven
rung jubilee. Peace on earth. good
will toward men," Oh, when will the
day come-God hasten itl--when tile
swords shall be turned into plow-
shares, and the fortresses shall be re-
modelled into churches, and the men
! of blood battling for renown shall be-
! come good soldiers of Jesus Christ,
| and the cannon now striking down
whole columns of death shall thunder
the victories of the truth.
When we think of the whole world
saved we are apt to think of the few
people that now inhabit it. Only a
very few, compared with the popula-
tons to come. And what small part
cultivated. Do you know it has been
automatically estimated that three
folrtlls of Europe is yet all barren.
ness, and that nine hundred and
ninety-one one-thousandths part of
the entire globe is uncultivateda This
is all to be cultivated, all Inhabited
and all gospelized. Oh, what tears OF
repentance when nations begin to
wcepl Oh, what supplications when
continents begin to prayl Oh, what
rejoicing when hemispheres begin to
singl Churches will worship OH the
places where this very hour smokes
the blood of human sacrifice, and
| wandering through the snake infested
iungles of Africa Christ's heel will
hrnise the serpent's head. Oh, when
the trumpet of salvation shall be
sounded everywhere and the nations
are redeemed, light will fall upon
every town brighter than that which
fell upon Bethlehem, and more over
whelning than the song that fell
on the pasture fields where the
flocks fed, there will be q song louder
F! than the voice OF the storm lifted
| oceans, 'Glory to God in the high.
est, and from all nations and kindred
and people and tongues will come the
! response, "And OH earth peace. good
will toward mem" On this Christmas
day bring you good tidings of great
JOY. Pardon for Nil SIM comfort for
all trouble and life for the dead. Shall
we now take this Christ into our
hcarts2 The time is passing. This is
the closing of the year. How the time
speeds by. Put your hand on your
heart-one, two, three. Three times
less it will beat. Life is passing like
gazeIles over the plain. Sorrows hover
like petrels over the sea. Death swoops
| like a vulture from the mountains.
Misery rolls up to our ears like waves
| Heavenly songs fall to us like stars.
Iwish you a merry Christmas not
with worldly designations, but merry
with Gospel gladness, merry with par
doned sin, merry with hope vi reunion.
in the skies with all your loved ones
who have preceded you. In that
grandest and best sense merry
And God grant that in our final mo
ment we may have as bright vision
as did the dying girl when she sad: