Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1896-05-16
ACKNOWLEDGE GOD.
pR. TALMAGE WOULD AMEND THE
CONSTITUTION.

sight OF Our Fo-afathers - Congress
Should Make No Appropriations For Soc
ta-lan Schools--B-ight Days to Como.
WASHINGTON, May 10.-Never was a
timelicr OF mere appropriate sermon
than that preached by Ecv. DR.. Talmage
this morning. The subject was Before
They Adjourn, having reference to the
early dissolution of congress, and tho
text selected was Psalms CIV, %, "And
teach his senators wisdom.
Senators III this text stand for law
makers. Joseph was the lord treasurer
of the Egyptian government, and among
other great things which he did, &C
cording to My text, was to teach his
senators wisdom. And if any men on
earth ought TO lie endowed with wisdom
it is senators, whether they stand Ill
congresses, pnrliaments or reichstags OF
assemblies OF legislatures. By their de-
cisions nations go up or down. Law
makers are sometimes so tempted by
prejudiccs by sectional preferences, by
opportunity CT personal advancement,
and sometimes what is best to do is SO
doubtful that they ought to be prayed
for and encouraged i'll every possible
way instead CT severely criticised and
blamed and cxcoriated, as is much of
tho timo the case. Our public men are
so often tic target to be shot at, merely
because they obtain olninence which
other men wanted but could not reach,
that mere injustices are hurled ut our
national legislature than the people of
the United states can possibly imagine.
The wholesale bclying CT our public
men is simply damnable.
By residence i'll Washington have
como to find out that many Of our public
men are persistently niisrepresented, and
some of tie best of them, the priest III
their lives ard most faithful i'll the dis
charge Of their duties. arc the worst de-
famed. Some day l want to preach SER
mon from the text i'll II Peter: "They
are not afraid to speak evil of dignities.
Whereas angels, which are greater Ill
power and might, bring rot railing &C
cusation against them before the Lord.
But these, rs natural brute beasts, made
TO be taken and destroyed, speak evil Ct
the things that they understand not. "
SO constant aid malignant is this work
cf depreciation AID standardization in re-
card to cur pablic men that al over the
land there arc those who suppose that
the city Of Washington is the center OF
all corruption, while what with It's
parks, and its equestrian statumy, and
its wide streets, and its architectural
ymnctries, and its lovely homes, it is
not only the most beautiful city under
the SUI, but has the highest style Of citi-
Zenship. l have seen but one intoxicated
man in the more than six months of my
residence aud do not think any man
can give similar testimony of any other
city Oh the American continent.
Gods Namo In the Constitution.
The gavcls of our two houses of ma
tional legislature will soon fall, and adj
joulYlnent Of two bodies Of men as tai
erted, as upright ard as patriotic as
ever graccd tic capitol will take place.
The two or three unfortunate outbreaks
which ycu hive noticed only make more
conspicuous The dignity, the fraternity,
the elCquencc, the fidelity which have
characterized these two bodies during all
the long months of important and anx
ious elaboration. Weput halo around
great mcn of the PAST because they were
so rare in their time. Our senate and
house Of representatives have five such
men where cnce they had one. But it
will not be until after they are dead that
they will get appreciated. The world
finds it safer to praise the dead than the
living, because the departed, having a
heavy pile CT marble above them, may
not rise to become rivals.
But, before the gavels of adjournment
drop and the doors Of Capitol hill shut,
there are one or two things that ought
to lie done, ard let US pray God that
they may be accomplished. More forci-
bly, than ever before, congress has been
implorcd to acknowledge God i'll our
constitution. The Methodist church, a
church that is always doing glorious
things, has in its recent Wilmington COIL
ference requested our congress to amend
the immortal document which has been
the foundation and wall and dome of
our United States government by in
se1.tiio TIE words, ''Trusting in AL
mighty GCd" If that amendment is
made, it will not only please all the
good people of the country, but will
please Tie heavens. twas only all over
sight or mental accident that the IA
thcrs who made the constitution did not
insert d;virely worshipful sentence.
They all, 50 far rs they amounted to
anything, believed i'll God the Father
Almighty, the Maker Of heaven and
earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only be-
gotten Son. The constitution would
have been Il failure had it not been for
the divine interference. The members
of the convention could agree on nothing
until, i'll response to Benjamin Frank
Inns request that tie meetings be OPEL
ed by prayer, the Lord God was called
Oh to interfere aud help, and then the
way was cleared. and all the states sign
ed the document, Il historical fact that
all the rat terriers Of modern ilifidclity
canrot bark out CT existence. l know
that there Was al exception TO the fact
that the prominent men i'll those times
were good men.
Tom Paine and Ethan Allen.
Tom PaiEe, !. l:bcrtire and sot, did
rot believe III anything good until he
was dying, ard then he shrieked ont for
Gods mercy. And Ethan Allen, from
one Of whose descendants have received
within iew days Il confirmation of the
incident I mentioned III a recent scr
mon, as saying to his dying daughter
that she hid letter take her mother 8
Christian rsIigion than his own infidel-
ity. The article sert me says: 1.-THE
story has been denied by some Of the
Allen family. but the Bronson family,
Gonna of v.h..O were with the diving girl,