Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-08-12


times lifted the head OF o wounded SOL
der and poured wine into his lips, 30
God puts his left arm under your head.
and with his right hand he pours into
your lips tho wine Of his comfort and
his consolation, and you looked at the
empty cradle and looked at your broken
heart, and you looked at the Lords chss-
tisement, and you said, Even so, Fa-
ther, for so it seemeth good In thy
sight"
An, tits your first trouble. How did
you get over iti God comforted you.
You have been better man ever since.
You have been o better woman ever
since. In the Jar Of the closing gate OF
the sepulcher you heard the changing Of
the opening gate OF heaven, and you felt
an irresistible drawing heavenward
You have been purer and heller Of heart
ever since that night when the little one
for the last time put Its arms around
your neck and said. "Good night, papa.
Good night. mamma Meet me In heav-
en-"
But must come on down to your later
sorrow. What was 1t? Perhaps 1t was
sickness. Tho child's tread on the stair
or the tick Of the watch on the stand dis
turbs you. Through the long, weary days
you counted the figures on the carpet or
the flowers In the wall paper. Oh, the
WEAKNESS and exhaustion! Oh, the burn
ing pangs! Would God 1t were morn
ing, would God 1t were night, were your
frequent cry. But you are better-pey-
haps even we'll. Have you thanked God
that today you can come out in the fresh
air; that you are in this place to hear
Gods name, and to sing Gods praise,
and to implore Gods help. and to ask
Gods forgiveness Bless the Lord who
healeth all our diseases and redeemeth
our lives from destruction.
Perhaps your last sorrow was fnan-
cial embarrassment. | congratulate
some of you on your lucrative profession
or occupation, on ornate apparel, on
commodious residence-everything you.
put your hand to seems to turn to gold
But there are others Of you who ore Hike
the ship on which Paul sailed where two
seas met, and you ere broken by the VIC
lence Of the waves By an unadvised
Endorsement, or by o conjunction Of un-
foreseen events, or BY fire OF storm. or
senseless panic, you have been flung
headlong, and where You once dispensed
great charities now you have hard work
to mako the two ends meet
THANK GOD FOR PROSPERITY.
Have you forgotten to thank God for
your days Of prosperity. and that through
you, trials some OF you have made In
yestments which viii continue after the
last bank Of this world has exploded and
the silver and gold are molten In fires Of
a burning world? Have you, amid all
your losses and discouragenents, forgot
that there was bread on your table this
morning and that there shall be shell
ter for your head from the storm, and
there Is eir. for your lungs and blood for
your heart and light for your eye and
glad and glorious and triumphant reli-
gion for your soul?
Perhaps your last trouble was q be-
reayement. That heart which In child
hood was your refuge, the parental
heart, and which has been q source Of
the quickest sympathy ever since, has
suddenly become silent forever. And
now sometimes whenever In sudden an
noyance and without elaboration you
say, II viii go and tell MOTHER the
thought flashes ON you. II have no moth
err Or the father. with voice less ten
der, but at heart as earnest and loving
watchful Of all your ways. exultant over
your success without saying much. al
though the old people do talR it over by
themselves taken away forever.
Or there was your companion In life,
sharer Of your Joys and sorrows, taken.
leaving the heart an old ruin. where the
Ill winds blow over wide wilderness Of
desolation, the sands Of the desert driving
across the place which once doomed
like the garden Of God. And Abraham
mourns for Sarah at the cave Of Mach
pelah. Going along your path IN life,
suddenly. right before you was an open
grave.
People looked down. and they saw it
was only few feet deep and few feet
wide, but to you 1t was ohasm down
which went all your hopes and all your
expectations.
But cheer up in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ, the comforter. He is not
going to forsake you. Did the Lord take
that child out of your arms? Why. he
Is going to shelter 1t better than you
rould. He Is going to arrayit IN white
robe and give it palm branch and have
It all ready to greet you at your coming
home. Blessed the broken heart that
Jesus heals. Blessed the importunate
cry that Jesus compassionates. Blessed
HE weeping eye from which the soft hand
IF Jesus wipes away the tear.
Some years ago was sailing down the
St. John river. which Is the Rhine and
The Hudson comm.ngled In one scene Of
beauty and grandeur, and while was
pn the deck Of the steamer a gentleman
pointed ont to me the places Of interest,
Ind he said. AL this Is interval land,
Ind it Is the richest land IN all the prov
Lnces Of New Brunswick and Nova
santia.
what" said 1, "do you mean by In.
terval landY' "well," he said, "this land
is submerged for q part Of the year.
Spring freshets come down. and all these
plains are overAowed with the weter,
and the water leaves rich deposit, and
when the waters are gone the harvest
springs up, and there Is the grandest
harvest that Yves ever reaped." And /
Instantly thought, at Is NOT the heights
Of the church and II Is not the heights Of
this world. that a5e the scenes Of the
greatest prosperity, but the soul over
which the floods of sorrow have gone,
the soul over which the freshets Of r!bu-
laHon have torn their way. that yields
the greatest fruits of righteousness, apd
- 4 o. I'D "a