Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-06-18

taeTc are always stfaggleFs falling OF
here and there, some because they arc
faint and sick, but a great many because
they are afraid to fight and too lazy to
march. After while the lazy men on
the road hear tho booming Of the guns
for hours, and they hear the shout Of
victory, and n man on horseback comes
up and-says, 1--WE have won the day!"
Then they hasten up. How brave they
are after the battle is over. Poor at
fighting. but grand at "huzza" So
there are stragglers going after tho
Lords lost. There come days of dark
ness and battle Where are they? We
call the roll of the host They make no
answer but after while there comes o
dag of triumph In The church, and they
are Ill about "Huzzai huZza Didn't
we give it to Them
PRAYER A GREAT STRENGTHENED.
have another word of counsel To give
those who have inst entered Christian
life, and that is. 20 faithful in sfsraser.
You might as well, business ns;ssstart
out in the morning without food and ex-
pect to be strong all that day-you might
as wellaabstain, from food al. the. week
and expect to be strong physically, as to
bestrong without prayer. Tho only way
to get any strength INTO the soul is by
prayer, and tho only difference between
that Christian that is worth everything
and that who is worth nothing is the
fact that the last does not pray und the
other does.
And the only difference between this
Christian, who is getting along very fast
in tho holy life. and this, who is only
getting along tolerabiy, Is TINT the
first prays more than the last. You can
graduate mans progress III religion by
the amount Of prayer; not by the num-
Der of hours. perhaps, but by the earnest
supplication that he puts mp to God.
There is no exceptionto the rule. Show
me Christian man who neglects this
kind of duty, and will show you one
who is inconsistent. Show me man
who prays. and his strength and his
power cannot be exaggerated. Why,
Just give to a man this power Of prayer
and you Give him almost omnipotence.
This afternoon you will see two Sab
bath school teachers. That one does not
gain the attention of her class. This one
does. What is the difference between
them, their mtellects being about equal:
The first thought only of her own APP
parel. Tho other came from great pros
tration before God in earnest supplica-
ton, asking that Gods mercy might
come upon the school and that in the
afternoon she might gain the attention
of those five OF six iinmortals that would
be around her. The one teacher has no
control over her class. The other sits
as with the strength of the Lord God
Almighty.
a minister comes into the pulpit. He
has magnificent sermon, all the SEN
tcnccs rounded according to the laws OF
rhetoric and fine scrmonizing, and the
truth makes no impression on the hearts
of men. People go away and say, Very
beautiful, w,sn'tit" AplaiM man comes
into the pulpit. BE has been on his knees
before God asking for an especial mes
sage that day, and the hearts of men
open tolhe plain truth, the broken: SEN
: fences st kcs into their consciencesa and
though tiIe' people may dissprefse at the
close of the services seemingly without
having received any impression, that
night voices will be lifted i'll some house.
hold, "N1ea Gnd brethren, what shall we
do to be saveds" Oh, this power of
prayer. Pray! Pray!
DRINK or THE WATER OF KNOWLEDGE.
Another word of counsel have to give.
Be faithful in Bible research. a great
many good books are now coming out.
We cannot read half OF them. At every
revolution of the printing press they are
coming. They cover our parlor tables,
and are in our sitting rooms and libra
ries. Glorious books they are. We
thank God every day for the work of the
Christian printing press. But have
thought that perhaps the followers of
Christ sometimes allow this religious lit
erature 70 take their attention from
Gods Word, and that there may not DO
as much Bible reading as there ought
to be.
How is that with your own expert
ence? Just calculate in your minds how
much religious literature you have read
during the year and then how large a
portion of the Word of God you have
read. and then contrast the two and an
liver within your own so1l whether you
IRE giving more attention to the books
that were written by the hand of man or
that written by Che hand of God. Now,
you go to the drug store and you get the
mineral waters, but you have noticed
that the waters are not SO fresh OF
sparkling or healtKful as when you get
these very waters at Saratoga and
Sharon-Sctting them right W, ere they
bubble from the rock.
And have noticed The same thing in
regard to the truth of the Gospel; while
there is a. good deal of refrcshment and
health Of the Gospel of God as it comes
through good books, find it is better
when come to the eternal rock Of Gods
Word and drink from that fountain that
bubbles up fresh and pure to the life
and the refreshment and the health of
the soul.
Read the Bible and it brings you into
the association of the best people that
ever lived. You stand beside Moscs and
learn his meekness, beside Job and learn
his patience, beside Paul and catch some
thing of his enthusiasm, beside Christ
and you feel his love. And yet how
strange it is thut a great many men have
given their whole lives to the assaulting
of that booir. cannot understand it.
Tom Paine worked against that look as
though he received large wages ind was
Inspired by the yery powers of darkness,