Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1894-07-21

alteu reSlQeuCc OI GOO rlBut ua1li,
which it mentions. Oh, what On awful
thing it is to laugh in Gods face and
hurl his Revelation back at himl After
awhile the day will come when they
will say they did not laugh. Then all
the hypercriticisms, all the caricatures
and all the learned sneers In the quar-
serly reviews will be brought to judg-
ment, and amid the rocking of every
thing beneath and amid the flaming Of
above God will thunder,
"But thou didst lar Thl' I think the
most fascinating Laughter at Christian
ity ever remember was man in New
England. He made the word of God
seem ridiculous, and he laughed on at
our holy religion until he came to die,
and then he said: My life has been
failure-a failure domestically. have
no children. A failure socially, for ]
am treated In the streets like pirate.
A failure Professionally because l know
but one minister that has adopted my
sentiments 4" For quarter of cen-
fury he laughed at Christianity, and
ever since Christianity has been laugh
ing at him. Now, it is mean thing to
20 into mans house and steal his
goods, but ! tell you the most gigantic
burglary ever invented is the proposition
to steal these treasuers of our holy re-
ligion. The meanest laughter ever ut
tered is the laugh of the skeptic.
David's Laugh.
The next laughter mentioned in the
Bible is David's laughter, or the express
sion of spiritual exultation. Then was
our mouth filled with laughter. He
got very much down sometimes, but
there are other chapters where for four
or five times he calls upon the people to
praise and exult- 1t was not mere
twitoh of the lips-it was demonstra-
ton that took hold Of his whole physical
nature. "Then was our mouth filled
with laughter. " My friends, this world
will never be converted to God until
Christians cry less and laugh and sing
more. The horrors are poor bait If
people are to be persuaded to adopt our
holy religion, it will be because they
have made up their minds it is happy
religion They don't like a morbid
Christianity. know there are morbid
people who enjoy funeral. They come
early to see the friends take leave of the
corpse, and they steal ride to the ceme-
tory Int all healthy people enjoy O
wedding better than they do burial.
Now, you make the religion of Christ
sepulchral and hearselike, and you
make it repulsive I say plant the rose
of Sharon along the church walks and
columbine to Chamber over the church
wall, and have smile on the lip, and
have the mouth filled with holy laugh
ter. There is no man in the world, ex-
cept the Christian, that has the right to
feel an untrammeled glee. He Is prom
ised everything Is to be for the best
here, and he is on the way to q delight
which will take all the professions with
palm branches and all the orchestras
harped and cymbaled and trumpeted to
express "Oh," you say, II have SO
much trouble" Have you moro trouble
than Paul hadi What does he sayf
"sorrowful, yet always rejoicing. Poor,
yet making many rich Having moth
ing, yet possessing all things Phe
merriest laugh think I have ever heard
has been in the siokroom of Gods dear
children. When Theodosius was put
upon the rack, he suffered very great
torture at the first
Somebody asked him how he endured
all that pain on the rack. He replied:
when was first put on the rack, l
suffered q great deal, but very soon
young man in white stood by my side,
and with soft and comfortable hand
kerchief he wiped the sweat from my
brow, and my pains were relieved 1t
Yves o punishment for me to get from
the rack, because when the pain was all
gone the angel was gone" Oh, rejoice
eyermorel You know how 1t Is IN the
army-an army IN encampment II to-
day news comes that our side has had
@ defeat, and tomorrow another portion
of the tidings comes, saying we have
had another defeat, 1t demoYalizes oil
the host But if the news comes Of VIC
tory today and victory tomorrow the
whole army is impassioned for the con-
test Now, in the kingdom of our Lord
Jesus Christ report fewer defeats tells
us the victories-victory over sin and
death and hell. Rejoice evermore, and
again I say rejoice. believe there is
more religion in laugh than In groan
Anybody can groan, but to laugh in the
midst of Punishment and persecution
and indescribable trial, that required
David. Daniel, Paul, modern hero
ine.
The Laugh of q Fool.
The next laughter mentioned IN the
Bible that shall speak Of is the fools
laughter, or the expression OF sinful
merriment. Solomon was very quick at
smile When he makes comparison,
we all catch 1t. What Is the laughter OF
a fool like? He says 1T is the crao-
king of thorns under pot" The kettle
Is swung, a bunch of brambles Is put
under It, and the torch is applied to 1t,
and there Is great noise, and big
blaze, and sputter. and quick extln-
guishment Then it is darker than it
was before. FOOLS laughter. The most
miserable thing on earth is bad mans
fun. There they are-10 men IN bar
room. They have at home wives, moth
ers, daughters, The impure Jest starts
at one corner of the barroom, and crao-
kle, crackle crackle 1t goes all around
In 500 such outlaws There is not one
item of happiness. They all feel be-
meaned If they have any conscience
left. Have nothing to do with men or
women who tell immoral stories have
no confidence either In their Christian
character or their morality.
So all merriment that springs out Oh
the defects of others-oaricature OF
lame foot, or a curved spine, or blind
eve, or deaf ear-will be met with the
Judgment Of God, either upon you or
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