Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-09-02
OF TEARS.
IALMAeE CHOOSES A UNIQUE
lEME FOR HIS DISCOURSE.

ALMaGE CHOOSES A UNIQUE
MEME FOR HIS DISCOURSE.
That Carries Consolation to the
eary and Heavy Laden-Thc Griefs and
4 sals of This World Accrue to Our Glory
Iessafter.
sgooKLyN, Aug. s7.-Rcv. T. De Witt
ssI'nage chose q unique theme as his
gSI6;act for today-viz, "a Bottle Of
ssslaars," the text selected being Psalms
IS "Put thou my tears into thy bot
Hardly o mail has come to me for 20
sSasrs that has not contained letters say
that my sermons have comforted the
;sSMriiters Of those letters. / have not this
s4islnmer nor for 30 years spoken on the
ssplatform of any outdoor meeting but
Coming down have been told by hun-
sHfeds of people the same thing. So !
Stink will keep on trying to be a "son
SoIs consolation.
5sssIThe prayer of my text was pressed out
ssSsffsDavid's soul by innumerable calami-
sSies, but it is just as appropriate for the
distressed Of all ages. Within the past
.sscaMtury travellers and antiquarians have
explored the ruins Of many Of the an-
:Soient cities, end from the very heart of
sthose buried splcrdors Of other days
shave-bcen brought up evidences of Gus
stoms that long ngo vanished from the
sxcrld. From among tombs of those
Eages have been brought up lachryma-
3fories, or lachrymals, which are walls
made Of earthenware. It was the Gus
itom for tho ancients to catch the tears
That they wept over their dead in bot
issiale, and to place that bottle in the graves
5}of the departed, and we have many
Specimens of tho ancient lachrymatories,
itsar tear bottles, in our museums.
e TEAR BOTTLES FROM CYPRUS.
s. When on the way from the Holy Land
sour ship touched at Cyprus, we went
Yback into the hills of that island and
Bought tear bottles which the natives
Shad dug out of the ruins OF the old city.
ssThere is nothing more suggestive to me
sthan the tear bottles which 1 brought
.iome and put among my curiosities.
ttThat was the kind Of bottle that my
dtext alludes to when David cries, "Put
sthou my tears into thy BOTTLE
{ The text intimates that God has mn In
stinate acquaintance and perpetual re-
smembrance of all our griefs, and vial,
Cor lachrymatory, or bottle, in which he
catches and saves our tears, and / bring
to you the coincidence of this, Christian
sentiment Why talk about grief? Alas,
the world has its pangs, and now, while
4 speak, there are thick darknesses Of
soul that need to be lifted. There are
many who are about to break under the
assault Of temptation, and perchance,
If no words appropriate to their case be
uttered, they perish. come on no FOOLS
Serrand. Put upon your wounds no salve
compounded by human qnackery; but,
pressing straight to the mark, I hail you
as vessel midsea cries to passing
;craft, "Ship ahoyl' and invite you on
SEsscav16 ayessel which. has faith for rud-
der, and prayer for sails, and Christ for
captain, and heaven for On eternal har-
Dor.
Catherine Rheinfeldt, Prussian,
keeps boat with which she rescues the
drowning. When a storm comes on the
coast, and other people go to their beds
to rest, she puts out In her boat for the
relief of the distressed, and hundreds Of
the drowning has she brought safely to
the beach. In this lifeboat Of the gos-
pei l put out today, hoping, by Gods
help, to bring ashore at least one soul
that may now be sinking In the pillows
Of temptation and trouble. The tears
that wore once caught in the lachryma-
tories brought up from Herculaneuln
and Pompeii are oil gone, and the bottle
is as dry as the scoria Of the volcano that
submerged them, but not SO With the
bottle in which God gathers all our tears.
First, remark that God keeps perpet-
ually the tears Of repentance. Many a
man has awakened in the morning so
wretched from nights debauch thatho
has sobbed and wept Pains in the head,
aching in the eyes, sick at heart and IN
fit to stop into the light. he grieves, not
about his misdoing, but only about its
consequences. God makes no record of
such weeping. Of oil the million tears
that have gushed as the result of such
,misdemeanor, not one ever got into
Gods bottle. They dried on the fevercd
cheek or were dashed down by the bloat-
edhand or fell into the red wine cup asst
came again to the lips, foaming withstil
worse intoxication.
But when man is sorry for his past
and tries to do better-when he mourns
his wasted advantages and bemoans his
rejection of Gods mercy and cries amid
the lacerations of IN aroused con-
science for help out of his terrible pre-
dicament, then God listens; then heaven
bows down; then sccpters of pardon are
extended from the throne; then his cry
ing rends the heart of heavenly compass
sion; then his tears are caught in Gods
bottle.
PARADISE AND THE PERI.
You know the story of paradise and
the peri. l think it might be put to
higher adaptation. An angel starts from
the throne of God to find what thing it
can on Garth worthy of being carried
back to heaven. 1t goes down through
the gold and silver mines of earth, but
finds nothing worthy Of transportation
tothe celestial city. 1tgoes down through
the depths of the sea, where the pearls
lie, and finds nothing worthy Of taking
back to heaven. But coming to the foot
Of a mountain it sees wanderer weep
ing over his evil ways. The tears OF the
prodigal start, but do not fall to the
ground, For the angels wing catches
them, and with that treasure speeds back
to heaven. God sees the. angel coming
and says, Behold the brightest gem OF
earth and the brightest jewel Of heaven
The tear of sinners repentance.
Oh, when see the heavenly Shepherd
bringing lamb from the wilderness;
e. L