Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1891-08-08

late New England coast, and the war
whoop of savaGes to show forth the
prowess of the Pilgrim Fathers
When amid the storms they sang
And the Stars heard. and the sea;
And the sounding aslcs of the dim wood
Rang To tile anthems Of tho FREQ
TUE LIFTING lip OF THE NATION.
1t took all our past national distresses,
and it takes all our present national
SORROWS. to lit MP orr nation on that
high career Where il will march along
after the foreign dcspotislns that have
Knocked, and the tyrannies that have
jeered shall he swept down under the
omnipotent wrath Of God. who hates
oppression, and WHO by the strength Of
his own red right arm will make all
men free. And so it is individually.
and in the family. and in the church,
and in the world, that through dark
ness and storm and trouble n.en. won-
en-, churches. nations, are developed.
I: Again, see in lny.text the beauty OF
unfaltering friendship Isuppose there
were plenty of friends for Naomi while
she was in prosperity; but OF all her
acquaintanccs how many were willing
to trudge of with her toward Judea,
when she had 10 make that lonely jour
ney2 One-tlc heroine of my text.
One-absolGtely one suppose when
Naomi's husband was living. and they
had plenty OF money, and all things
went well. they had IL great many call
ers; but suppose that after her hus-
band died. and her property went, and
she got old and POOR she was not trou-
bled very lnncl with callers. All the
birds that sang in the bower while the
sun sllone lave gone to their nests,
now tile night has fallen.
Oh. these beautiful sunflowers that
spread out their color in the morning
ho.r but they are always asleep when
the sun is going down. job had plenty
of friends when he was the richest man
in Uz; but when his property went and
the trials came, then there were none
so much that pestered rs Eliphaz the
Temanite, and l'ldatl the Shuttle and
Zophar the Naamathite.
Life often seems TO be Il mere game,
where the successful player pulls down
all the other men into his own lap. Let
suspicious arise about q mans cllarac-
ter and lie becomes like bank in a
panic. and IL! the ilnputations rush on
him and break down in IL day that
character which il due time would
have had strength to defend itself.
There are regulations that have been
half IL century in b1ildHg which go
down under seine moral exposure, as a
vast temple is consumed By the touch
of a sulphurous nnatc!:. A hog can up
root u century plai;.
In this world. 50 full Of heartlcssness
and hypocrisy. how tilriiiinsit is to find
some friend as faithful in days Of ad-
versity as in days OF prosperity David
had such !. friend in lIusl.ai; the Jews
had such friend in Dlordecai, who
never forgot their cause; Paul had such
a friend in Onesipioru5. who visited
him in Jail: Christ had sIich in tile
Marys, who adhered to him on the
cross: Naomi had such a one in Ruth,
Tllo cried on. "Entreat Inc not to
leave thee. Or to rc.lrn from following
after thee; for whittier t!loH soest, l
will go; and where ;hou lodges. ! will
lodge; thy people silal be my people,
and thy God my God: where tllon diest
will die, and there will ! he buried:
the Lord do so 70 me. and more also,
if aught but death Fart tlice and me-
ouT OF DARKNESS INTO LIGHT.
Again, learn frc;n this subject that
paths which open i'll lllrdsiip and dark
ness often come out in places of JOY.
When Ruth started frcEl GIoab toward
Jerusalem. to go along with her moth
cr-in-law, suppose the people slid;
"Oh, what foolish creature to go away
from her fathers house, to 60 of with
poor old woman toward the land OF
JudeaI They wort live to get across
the desert. They will be dxowned in
the sea, or tie jackuls Of the wilderness
will destroy them. 1t was II very dark
morning when Ruth started off with
Naomi, but behold her in Iyy text in
tile harvest field of l3oaz, 10 Ec:Gianced
to one Of the lords Of The lind. and be-
come one Of ti,e sTandnloiIlers Of Jesus
Christ, the Lord of Glory. And SO it
often is that :, path which starts very
darlSly ends very brightly.
When you started out fer Heaven, oh,
how dark was tho hour of conviction
how Sir;.i tllundcred and devils tor
mented. and The darkness thickened /!
All the sins OF yonr life pounced upon
you. and Il was tie darkest hour you
ever saw when yon fist found ont your
sins. After awhile you wcilt into the
harvest Geld of Gods mercy: yoa be-
gan to CLEAN in the fields of divine
promise, and yon had more sheaves
than you could carry. Us the voice OF
God addressed you. saying, blessed is
the man whose trallSgressious are for
given and whose sins ;irc covered" a
very dark starting in conviction, very
bright ending in tie pardon, and the
hope, and the tr;.l:!!p.l of the Gospel!
So, very often il oar worldly business
or in our spiritual career, we start OF
on very dark gath. We must go.
The flesh may SHRINK back. bat there is
q voice within. or 4 voice from above,
saying. .iou i.;;lst ;,o;" and we have to
drink thu gall. and we lave to carry
tue cross, and we have 20 traverse thu
desert, and we ere pounded AID tiiileo
OF Misrepresentation ami abuse, and we
have to nisr or way through ten
thousand obstacles shat lave TO oe
slain by our own right arln 'Ye have
to ford the river, we have 10 climb the
mountain. we have to storm tic castle;
tl,, Of rocf