Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-01-23


corridor as the Christian Refor1ner
walks to the wicket of the incarcerat-
ed, yea all the whispers of condo
lence in the ear of that poor soul dy-
ing in that garnet, yen all the kind
nesses are being caught up and rolled
on until they dash against the judg-
ment throne. and then they will be
struck back into the ears of these
sons and daughters of mercy.
Louder than the crash of Mount
Washington falling on its face in the
worldwide catastrophe, and the boil
ing of the sea over the furnaces of
universal contlagration will be the
Echo and Re-echo of the good deeds
done and the sympathetic words ut
tered and the mighty benefactions
wrought. On that day all the chart
ties. all the self sacrifices, all the
philanthropies, all the benificent last
wills and testaments. all the Chris
tan work of all the ages, will be piled
UP into mountains, and those who
have served God and served the suf-
fering human race will hear what
my text styles THE sounding of the
mountains.
My subject advances to tell you
that eternity itself is only an echo of
time. Mind you, the analogy war
rants my saying this. The Echo is
not always exactly in kind like the
sound originally projected. Lord
Raleigh says that woman's voice
sounding from a grove was returned
an octave higher A scientist play.
ing flute in Fairfax county. Va,
found that all the notes were re-
turned. although some of them came
in a raised pitch. A trumpet sounded
ten times near Glasgow, Scotland,
and the ten notes were all repeated,
but third lower. And the spiritual
law corresponds with the natural
world.
What we do of good or bad may
nos conie back to us in just the pro-
portion we expect it, but come back
it will; it may be from a higher glad
ness than we thought or from a
deeper woe, from a mightier con-
queror or from Il worse captive, from
a higher throne or deeper dungeon.
Our prayer or OR blasphemy, ou1
Kindness or our cruelty, our faith OF
our unbelief, our holy life or our dis
solute behavior will come back some
how.
Suppose the boss of a factory or
the head of a commercial firm some
day comes ont among his clerks or
employees and putting his thumbs in
the armholes Of his vest says, with
an air of swagger and jocosity:
We'll, don't believe in the Bible or
the church. The one is an imposition
and the other is full of hypocrites.
declare would not trust one of those
very pious people farther than Icould
sec him." That is all he says, but he
has said enough: The young men go
back to their counters on their shut
ties and say within themselves,
well, he is a successful man and
has probably studied up the whole
subject and is probably right"
ECHO OF LYING UTTERANCEs.
That one lying utterance against
Bibles and churches has put five
young men on the wrong track, and
though the influential man had
spoken only in half jest the Echo
shall come back to him in five ruined
lifeti1nes and five destroyed eterni-
ties. You see the Echoes are an oc.
tave lower than he anticipated. On
the other hand, some rainy day,
when there are hardly any custom
ers, the Christian merchant comes
out from his counting room and
stands among the young men who
have nothing to do and says:
"Well, boys, this is a dull day, but
it will clear off after awhile There
are good many ups and downs in
business. but there is an overriding
Providence. Years ago | made up
my mind to trust God and he has al
ways seen me through. remember
when | was your age had just come
to town and the temptations of city
life gathered around me. but | re-
sisted. The fact is there were two
old folks out on the old farm praying
for me. and knew it, and somehow
could not do as some of the clerks
did or go where some of the clerks
went. tell you, boys, it is best al
ways to do right, and there is moth
ing to keep one right like the old
fashioned religion of Jesus Christ.
John. where did you go to church
last Sunday? Henry, how is the
Young Mems Christian association
prospering9"
About noon the rain ceases and the
sun comes out, and the clerks 90 to
their places, and they say within
themselves: "Well, he is a success
full merchant, and l guess he knows
what he is talking about, and the
Christian religion must be q good
thing. God knows want some help
in this battle with temptation and
sin"
The successful merchant who ut
tered the kind words did not know
how much good he was doing. but
the Echo will come back in five Life,
time. of virtue and usefulness and
Eve Christian deathbeds and five
heavens. From all the mountains OF
rapture and all the mountains OF
glory and all the mountains OF eter-
nifty he will catch what Ezekiel in
my text styles The sounding again
Of the mountains"
Yea, l take a step further in this
subject and say that our own eternity