Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-08-15

There Is Any Chance of Repentance and
Pardon Beyond the Crave-Shall We
Have Another Chance?
WASHINGTON, Aug. 9.-Dr. Talmage
today discusses question that every
body sonic time discusses. 1t is one of
tremendous import, Shall we have an
other chance? The text is Ecclesiastes
ri, 3, IF the tree fall toward the south
or toward the north, in the place where
the tree falleth there it shall be. "
There is lowering hope III the minds
of u vast multitude of people that there
will be an opportunity i'll the next world
of correcting the mistakes of this; that,
however complete shipwreck we may
make Of our earthly life, it will be on q
beach up which we may walk to pal
ace; that, as the defendant may lose his
case in circuit court and appeal it and
have it go up TO tho supreme court or
court of chancery and all the costs
thrown over OH the other party, so a
man may lose his case in this world,
but in the higher jurisdiction of eternity
have tho decision Of the earthly case set
aside, all the costs RENTED and tho de-
PENDANT be triumphant forever.
The object of my sermon is to show
you that common sense declares with
the text that such an expectation is
chimerical. "If the tree fall toward the
south or toward the north, i'll the place
where the tree falleth there it shall
be-" There arc those who say that, If
the impenitent and unforgivcn man en-
ters the next world and sees the disaster,
as o result Of that disaster he will turn,
the distress the cause of his reforma-
ton, but we have 10, 900 instances all
around about US of people who have
done wrong and disaster suddenly came
upon them Did the disaster heal them:
No, they went on.
No Hope but In the Present
There is man flung of designations.
The doctor says to him, Now, my
friend if you don't stop drinking and
don't stop this fast life you are living
You will die " The patient thanks the
physician for his warning and gets bet
ter; he,begins to sit up, begins to walk
around the room, begins to go to bust
ness and takes the Same round Of grog-
shops whore lie got his morning dram
and his evening dram ard the drains
between. Down again. Same doctor.
Same physical anguish. Same medical
warming. But now the sickness is more
protracted, the liver more obstinate the
stomach more irritable, the digestive
organs more rebellious But still, under
medical skill, he gets better, goes forth,
commits the same sacrilege against his
physical health. Sometimes he wakes
ND TO see what he is doing, and he
realizes he is destroying his family, and
that his life is perpetual perjury
against his marriage VOWS, and that
that broken hearted woman is so differ
ent from the roseate wife he married
that hor old schoolmates do not rccog-
nize her on the street, and that his SONS
are going out in life under the taunt OF
fathers drunkenness, and that his
daughters are going out i'll life under
the scarification of disreputable an
cestry His nerves are all a-jangle.
From crown of head to sole of foot he is
one aching, rasping, crucifying, drumming
torture. Where is he? He is in hell on
earth. Does it stop him? All, 10! After
awhile deliriun tremcns pCurs out upon
his pillow whole jungle - Missing
reptiles His screams horrify the neigh
bors as he dashes out of bed crying.
Take these things off mel" He is
drinking down the comfort OF his FAM
ily, the education of his children, their
prospects for the life to come. Pale and
convalescent he sits up. Physician says
to him: Now, my good fellow, l am
going to have plain talk with you. If
YOU ever have an attack of this kind
again, you will die. l can't save you,
and ali the doctors in creation can't
save you. "
The patient gets up, starts out, goes
the same round of dissipation and IS
down again, but this time medicines do
not touch his case. Consultations Of
physicians say there is no hope Death
ends the scene. That process of inebria-
ton and physical suffering and medical
warming and dissolution is taking place
within stones throw of where you SIT
and in every ncightorhood Of Christen-
dom. Pain does not reform. Suffering
does not cure. What is true in regard
to one sin is true i'll regard to all slrs,
and yet men are expecting i'll the next
life there will be opportunity for purga-
torial regeneration. Take up the printed
reports of the prisons of the United
States and find that the vast majority
of the criminalsv &c there before, some
for two times, zee times, four times,
six times; punished again and again,
but they go right on. Millions OF incl
dents and instances working the other
way, and yet men think that Ill the
next world punishment will work out
for them salvablc effects. Why, you and
| cannot imagine any worse torture
from another world than we have seen
men in in this world, and without any
salutary consequence
The Next Life.
Furthermore the prospect OF reforma
ton in another world is more improb-
able than here. Do you not realize the
fact that a man starts in thss world
with the innocence Of infancy? In the
other case starting i'll the other world.
he starts with the accumulated bad
habits Of lifetime. Is it lot to be ex-
pected that you could build better
ship out of new timber than out OF an
old hull that has been ground up In the
breakers? If starting with comparative
innocercy the man does not become
godly, is it possible that starting with
sin a seraph can be eyoluted: Is there
not more prospect that sculptor Will
make finer statue out of block OF
pure white parian marble than out OF
black rock that has been cracked and
twisted and split and SCARED with the
storms of half century? Could you not
write