Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-02-04

THE TRUE SUNSHINE e!
DIR. TALMAeE SAYS ONLY THE CHRIS
TIAN CAN APPRECIATE 1T. 81

l. r 81
TAN CAN APPRECIATE IT.. i
The Gloomiest nIen on Earth Arc Those
Whose Business It Is to Dfake Fun f2g
Others-Christian Society Is Wittier and
Moro HUMOROUS Than Any Other. Il
Brooklyn, Jan. %. Rev. DR.. Talmage
this forenoon preached to a great audS.
ence in tho Tabernacle on ''The Sunsllne
of Religion" the text chosen being
Proverbs iii, II, ..Her ways are waYsse
pleasantness' &
You hive ell heard of Gods onlglbes
gotten Son. Have you heard ofsGod's
daughtcrp She was born in heaven. She
came down over the hills Of our world
She had queenly step. On her Sbrowsw ! Il
celestial radiance. Her voice was music
Her name is Religion. My text intr6;l
duces her. "Her ways are ways OF pleas;
antness, and all her paths are peace ~
But what is religion? The fact is hal
theological study has had diferentesk
feet upon mo from the effect sometimes
produced. Every year tear outanothess
leaf from my theology until ] have only
three OF four leaves left-in other Words
very brief and plain statement of Chris
tain belief.
An aged Christian minister said
when | was q young man, l kneys
everything; when Igot to be thirty-fflg'oII
years of age, in my ministry / had onlJy.s e
hundred doctrines Of religion; when;ss,
got to be forty years of age, I had only
fifty doctrines of religion; when / gotts
be sixty years of age, l had only ten dos
trines of religion, and nowsI am dyinggss
seventy-fve years OF age, and thcre5is
only one thing | know, and that Is
that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners" And so I have noticed
in the study of Gods word and INN
contemplation of the character Of God
and of the eternal world it is necess5:
sary for me to drop this part of my be-
lief and. that part Of my belief as being
nonessential. while cling to the oEe
great doctrine that man is asinner, anil
Christ is his Almighty and Divine sax.
Jour.
SUNSHINE OF TIE HEART.
Now take these three or four leayad
of my theology. and find that, in the first
place, and dominant above all others; =
the sunshine of religion. When l go
into room have a passion for throNs
ing open all the shutters. That is WIS.
want to do this morning. We are a5t
to throw so much Of the sepulchral int5
our religion and to close the shutterN
and to pull down the blinds that it's
only through hero and there a creyice
that tho light streams. The religion Of
the Lord Jesus Christ is religion of jcg
indescribable and unutterable. WheT7
ever can find bell mean to ring it.,1Is;
If there are any in this house th;s
morning who are disposed to hold on to
their melancholy and gloom. let then
now depart this service before the faif-
est and the brightest and the most radi-
ant being of all the universe comes IT.
Gods Son has left our world, but Gods,
daughter is here. Giveher room. Ell Eliai Il,
princess of heaven! Hail. langt tyr ~ : :
the Lord God Almighty Come in an
make this house thy throneroom.
In setting forth this idea tho dominant
theory of religion is one of sunshine. i
hardly know where to begin, for there
are so many thoughts thatrush upon my
soul. A mother saw her little child
seated on the floor in the sunshine and
with a spoon in her hand. She said.
"My darling, what you doing there%
"Oh. replied the child, "I'm getting a
spoonful of this sunshine" Would God
that today ! might present you with
cleaning chalice of this glorious, ever
lasting Gospel sunshine
First of all, find q great deal of SUM-
shine in Christian society.
do not know of anything more dole
full than the companionship of the mere
funlna rs of the world-the Thomas
Hoods. the Charles Lambs, the Charles
Matthews Of the world-the men whose
entire business it is to make sport. They
make others laugh, but if you will ex-
anime their autobiography or biography
you will find that down in their soul
there was terrific disquietude. Laugh
ter is no sign of happiness. The maniac
laughs. The hyena laughs. The loon
among the Adirondacks laughs. The
drunkard, dashing his decanter against
the wall, laughs.
THE AWFUL REACTION.
There is terrible reaction from all
sinful amusement and sinful merriment.
Such men are cross the next day. They
snap at you on exchange, or they pass
you, not recognizing you. Long ago !
quit mere worldly society for the reason
it was SO dull, so inane and SO stupid.
My nature is voracious of joy. must
have it,
always walk on the sunny side Of the
street, and for that reason I have crossed
over into Christian society. l like their
mode of repartee better; l like their style
Of amusement better. They live longer.
Christian people, sometimes notice, live
on when by all natural law they ought
to have died. I have known persons who
have continued in their existence when
the doctor said they ought to have been
dead ten years. Every day Of their ex-
istence was defiance of the laws of
anatomy and physiology, but they had
this supernatural vivacity of the Gospel
in their soul, and that kept them alive.
Put ten or twelve Christian people in
u room for Christian conversation, and
you will from S to 10 o'clock hear more
resounding glee, see more bright strokes
of wit, and find more thought and pro-
found satisfaction than in anymerely
worldly party. Now, when say a
worldly party" mean that toswhich
you are invited, because under all the cir
cumstances of the case it is the best for
you to be invited, and to which you 60
because under all circumstances Of the