Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-04-17


the ending Of things at Appomattox,
and if these who advocated measures
recently that would have brought on
war between our country and Spain or
England or Turkey had been successful
in bringing on the wholesale murders
they themselves would not have been
above ground rs l hope they will be,
to celebrate the birth of the twentieth
century. If Gcd had not interfcred, we
would have had three wars within the
last two ycars-war with England, war
with Spain and war with Turkey, this
last Joined by other nations transatlan-
tic. TO preserve the peaceful equipoisc
which such men 4are disturbing we
need a divine balancing, for which all
good men OIL both sides the sea ought to
be every day praying.
Advice an Impertinencc.
Again, prayer to God for those i'll au-
thority is our only way Of being of any
practical service TO them. Our personal
advice would be to them, for the most
part, an impcrtinonce. They have all
the facts rs we cannot have them, and
they see the subject i'll all its bearings,
and we can be of no help to them eX-
cept through the supplication that our
text advises. In that way we may be
infinite re enforcement. The mightiest
thing you can do for man is to pray
for him. If the old Bible be truc-and
if it is not true it has been the only i'm
position that ever blessed the world,
turning barbarism into civilization and
tyrannies into rcpublics-I say, If the
old Bible he true, God answers prayer.
You may get letter and through for
getfulncss or lack of time not answer it,
but God never gets genuine letter that
he does not make reply. Every genuine
PRAYER is Il child's letter to his Heaven
ly Father, and he will answer it, and
though you may get many letters from
your child before you respond some day
you say: "Thcre! have received ten
letters from my daughter, and | will
answer them all now ard at cnce, and
though not in just the way that she
hopes for will do it III the best way,
and though she asked me for sheet OF
music l will not give it to her, for do
not like the music spoken Of, but l will
send her deed to Il house and lot, to
be hers forever So God does not i'll
all cases answer in the way these who
sent the prayer hoped for, but he in all
cases gives what is asked for or some
thing better. So prayers went up from
the north and the south ut the time OF
our civil war, and they were all an
swercd at Gettysburg. You cannot
make me believe that God answered on
ly the northern prayers, for there were
Just rs dcvout prayers answered south
of Mason and Dixon's line as north of
it, and God gave what was asked for,
or something as much more valuable,
rs house and lot are worth more than
a sheet of music. There is not a good
and intelligent man between the gulf
of Mexico and the St Lawrence river
who does not believe that God did the
best thing possible when he stood this
nation down i'll 1865 a glorious unity,
never to be rent until the waters of the
Ohio and the Savannah, the Hudson
and the Alabama, are licked up by the
long, red tongues of world on fire.
Yea, God sometimes answers prayers
on large scale.
The Opened Sea.
In worse predicamcnt nation never
was than the Israelitish nation on the
banks of the Red sea, the rafting
shields and the Gathering hoofs of an
overwhelming host close after them.
An army could just as easily wade
through the Atlantic ocean from New
York to Liverpool as the 1sraelites
could have waded through the Red sea-
You need to sail OH its waters to real
ize how big it is. How was the crossing
effected? BY prayer. Exodus xiv, 10:
"And the Lord said unto Moses: Where
fore criest thou unto me? Speak unto
the children of Israel, that they 60 for
ward'-that is, Stop praying and
take the answer" And then the waters
began to be agitated and swung this
way and that way, and the ripple be-
came billow, and the billow climbed
other pillows, and now they rise into
walls of sapphire, and invisible trowels
mason them into frmness, and the
walls become like mountains, topped
and turreted and domed with crags OF
crystal, and God throws an invisible
chain around the feet of those noun
tains, SO that they are obliged to stand
still, and there, right before the Israel
itish army, is turnpike road, with all
the emerald gates swung wide open.
The passing host did not even get their
feet wet. They passed dry shod, the bot
tom of the sea as hard as the pavement
of Pennsylvania avenue or New York S
Broadway or London's Strand. Oh,
what God they had Or1 think l will
change that ard say, What God we
have!'
What power put its hands upon as
.ronomy in Joshua's tine ard made the
lun and neon stand still: Joshua X, II,
"Then spoke Joshua unto the Lord. "
Prayerl AS a giant will take two or
four great globes and in astounding
way swing them this way or that or
hold two Of them at arms length, go
the Omnipotent does as he will with
the great orbs of worlds, with wheeling
consultations and circliug galaxles,
swinging easily star around star, star
tossed after star or sun and moon held
out at arms length and perfectly still,
as in answer to Joshua's prayer. 10
God the largest world is a pebble.
4 Righteous selfsiness.
Another reason why we should obey
the Pauline injunction of the text and
pray for all that are in authority IS that
so very much of our own prosperity
and happiness are involved i'll t'elr CO.
ze1G,t, -o,co,, Won coy Yes.