Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1893-09-09
ACCoMAC G. H. VA. SATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 9 1898


with hundred thousand hard dollars.
And yet there are men who profess the
religion of Jesus Christ who do not bring
The religion of the gospel into their ordi
aary occupations and employments.
There are in the churches Of this day
men who seem very devout on the Sab
bath who are far from that during the
week. A country merchant arrives in
this city, and he goes into the store to
BUY goods of q man who processes reli-
zion, but has no grace in his heart. The
country merchant is swindled. He is too
exhausted to go home that week; he tar
hes in town. On Sabbath he goes to
some church for consolation. and what
is his amazement TO find that the man
who carries around the poor box is the
very ono who swindled him. But never
mind. The deacon has his black coat on
now and looks solemn and goes home
talking about that blessed sermonl Chris
tians on Sunday. Workings during the
week.
GOD SEES SMALL SINS.
That man does not realize that God
knows every dishonest dollar he has in
his pocket, that God is looking right
through the iron wall of bis money safe,
and that the dry of judgment is coming,
and that ''as the partridge stitch on
eggs and hatcheth them not, 80 he that
yetteth riches and not by right shall
leave them In the midst of his days, and
at his end shall DO q fool" But how
many there are who do not bring the
religion of Christ into their everyday
occupation. They think religion is for
Sundays.
Suppose. you were to go out to fight
for your country in some great contest,
would you 80 to do the battling at Troy
or at Springfield No, you would go
there to get your swords and muskets.
Then you would go out in the face of the
'fenemy and contend for your country.
Now, l take the Sabbath day and the
church to be only the armory where we
are to get equipped for the great battle
Of life, and that battlefield is Monday,
Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Fri
day and Saturday. Antioch" and st.
Martins" and 'Old Hundred" are not
worth much if we do not sing all the
week. A sermon is Of little account il
we cannot carry it behind the counter
and behind the plow. The Sabbath day
is of no value if it last only "a hours.
"Oh," says some one, IF had great
sphere, Iwould do that. IfIcould have
lived in the time of Martin Luther, If /
could have been Pauls travelling COM
panion, If had some great and resound-
ing work to do, then should put into
application all that you say" must
admit that the romance and knight .er-
rantry have gone out of life. There is
but very little Of it left in the world
The temples of Rouen have been changed
into smithies. The classic mansion at
Ashland has been cut up into walking
sticks. The muses. have retreated be.
fore the emigrant's ak and the trapper's
gun, and Vermonter might go over the
Allegheny and the Rocky mountains and
/ see neither an Dread nor Sylph.
The groves where the gods used to
iwell have been cut up for frewood, and
the man who is Shocking for great spheres
. and great scenes for action will not find
Them. And yet there are Alps. to scale,
and there are Tablespoons to.swim, and
they are in common life. 1t is absurd
for you to say that you would serve God
If you had great, sphere.xlfyou do not
serve him on small scale, you would
not on large scale. If you cannot
stand the bite of nudge, how could you
endure the breath of a basiliskS
A TARIFF ON ANNoYANcEs.
Our national government does not
thing it belittling to put tax on pins
and tax on buckles and q tax on shoes.
I The individual taxes do not amount to
much, but in the aggregate to millions
and millions of dollars. And would
have you, oh, Christian man, put high
tariff on every annoyance and vexation
that comes through your soul. This
might not amount to much in single
cases, but in the aggregate it would be
great revenue of spiritual strength and
| satisfaction.
A bee can suck honey even out of q
nettle, and if you have the grace of God
in your heart you can get sweetness out
Of that-which would otherwise irritate
and annoy. A returned missionary told
me that a company of adventures row.
ing up the Gauges were stung to death
by flies that infest that region at certain
seasons. I have seen the earth strewn
with the carcasses of men slain by insect
annoyances. The only way to get pre-
pared for the great troubles of life is to
conquer these small troubles.
Suppose soldier should say, This is
only skirmish, and there are only
few enemies-I won't load my gun; wait
until l get into some great general en-
gagement." That man is coward and
would be coward in any sphere. If
man does not serve his country in
;kirmish, he will not in Waterloo. And
| IL you are not faithful going out against
the single handed misfortunes of this
life you would not be faithful when
great disasters with their laundering az
tillery came rolling down over the soul.
This brings me 10 announcer point. we
ought to bring the religion of Jesus
Christ into all our trials. If we have
bereavement, if we lose our fortune. if
some great trouble blast like the tenn
pest, then we go to God for comfort, but
Yesterday in the little annoyances of
your store OF Office OF shop or factory or
banking house did you go to God for
comfort? You did not.
My friends, you need to take the re-
ligion of the Lord Jesus Christ into the
most ordinary trials of your life. You
have your misfortunes. you have your
anxieties, you have your vexations.
"Oh," you say, "thcy don't shape my
character. Since 1 lost my child, since
Ihave lost my property, have been
very different man from what l was"
My brother, it is the little annoyances
of your life that are souring your dis