Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1892-01-30
ACCOMAC G. H. VA. SATURDAY, JANUARY 80 1892

tism for twenty years, who has en-,
du1ed more suffering and exhausted
more grace than would have made
twenty martyrs pass t1iulnphantly
through the fire. IF you are not
faithful il an insignificant position in
life you would not he faithful in a
grand mission. If you cannot stand
the bite of nudge, how could you
endure the breath of basilisli2
GOD IS GLoRIFiED IN ALL GOOD WORK.
Do not think that any work Cod
gives you to do in the world is on too
small q scale for you to Go. The
whole universe is not ashamed to
take care of one little flower. say:
What are you doing down here in
the grass. you poor little fiower7 Are
you not afraid nightsa You will be
neglected. you will die of thirst, you
will not be fed. Poor little fowerI'
mo-" says star, III watch over it
tonight 'No,"ai-says cloud, I'll
give it drink" mo, says tho sun,
9I1l warm it in my bosom" Then
see the pulleys going and the clouds
are drawing water. and | say, What
are you doing there, o clouds?" And
they reply. We are giving drink to
that flower"
Then the wind rises, and comes
bending down the wheat and sound
ing its psalm through the forest,
and | cry, Whittier away on
such swift wing, 0 wind2' And it
replies, I'VE arc going to cool the
cheek of that flower" And then
bow down and say, ''Will God take
care of the grass of the field?" and a
flower at my foot responds, Yes; he
clothes the lilies of the field, and
never yet has forgotten me, a poor
little flower" Oh, when | see the
great heavens bending themselves to
what seems insignificant ministra-
ton, when find out that God does
not forget any blossom of the spring
or any snowflake of the winter, |
come to the conclusion that we can
afford to attend TO the minute things
in life, and that what we do we
ought to do well, since there is as
much perfection in the construction
of a spiders eye as in the confolma-
ton of flaming galaxies.
Plato had fable which / have
now nearly forgotten, but it ran
something like this: He said spirits
of the other world came back to this
world to find a body and find a sphere
of work. One spirit came and took
the body of a king, and did his work.
Another spirit came and took the
body of a poet, and did his work.
After awhile Ulysses came, and he
said, "Why, all the fine bodies are
taken, and all the grand work is
taken. There is nothing left for
me-" And some one replied, "Ah!
the best one has been left for you. "
Ulysses said, whats thatf" And
the reply was, The body of a com
mon man, doing a common work,
and for common reward" A good
fable for the world, and just as gool
a fable for the church. Whether we
eat OF drink, or whatsoever we do,
let us do it to the glory of God.
Again, we need to bring the reli-
gion of Christ into our conllnonest
trials. For severe losses, for bereave-
1nent, for trouble that shocks like an
earthquake and that blasts like a
storm we prescribe religious consola-
ton; but, business man, for the small
annoyances of last week how much
of the grace of God did you apply5
"Oh," you say, these trials are too
small for such application. My
brother, they are shaping your char
acter, they are souring your temper,
they are wearing out your patience
and they are making you less and
less of a man.
go into a sculptor's studio and
see him shaping a statue. He has a
chisel in one hand and mallet in the
other, and he gives very gentle
stroke-click, click, click l say,
ssWhy don't you strike harder2''
"Oh" he replies, "that would shat
ter the statue. I cant do it that
way. must do it this way" So he
works on, and after awhile the fea-
lures come out and everybody that
enters the studio is charmed and fas-
cinated. Well, God has your soul
under process of development, and it
is the little annoyances and vexa-
tons of life that are chiseling out
your immortal nature. 1t is click,
click. cliclll I wonder why some
great providence does not como and
with one stroke prepare you for
heaven. Az, no. God says that is
not the way.
And so he keeps on by strokes of
little annoyances, little sorrows, little
vexations, until at last you shall be q
glad spectacle for angels and for men.
You know that a large fortune may
be spent in small change, and vast
amount of moral character may go
away in small depletion. 1t is the
Little troubles of life that are having
more effect upon you than great
ones. A swarm ofelocusts will kill a
grain field sooner than the, incursion
of three or four cattle. You say,
"Since lost my child, since l. lost my
property. / have been different
man."
But you do not recognize the archi-
lecture of little annoyances that are
hewing. digging, cutting, shaping,
splitting and interjoining your moral
qualities. Rats may sink a ship. One
lucifer match may send destruction
41,o,,o.b hlooI- of storahO11SeS