Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1897-03-20

Now the church goes forth bearing
precious seed, but after awhile twill
be the sheaf binding, and reaper angels
shall shout the harvest home. Now it
is tents and marching and exposure, but
then, i'll the ranks Of PROSTATE iniquity
and OH the very walls of heaven, gin the
name of God we will set up our BAN
ners.
The earth sends up its long, deep
groan of pain and clanks the great
chains of its bondage and cries by the
voice of sea and land and sky, "How
long, o Lord. how long?" There was d
tradition on the other side Of the water
that the daughter Of Lir was transform
ed into bird of the air and that she
wandered for hundreds Of years over
river and lake until the arrival of Chris
tianity and that at the stroke of the
first cathedral bell her spirit was freed.
Uneounted millions of our race by the
power of sin and satan have been trans
formed into state Of wretchedness,
and they wander like the poor daughter
of Lir, but they shall after awhile be
released. When the great church Of
Christ shall in those darkened lands
from its tower ring out the glad tidings
of the gospel, then millions of wander
ing souls shall find rest in a Saviour's
pity and q Saviour's love, transported
from the kingdom of satan into the
kingdom of Gods dear Son.
BY and by you would hardly know
the earth if you saw it. The world as a
whole shall be as greatly improved as
the individual heart by conversion.
Fraud leaving its trickery, will 60 to
work for an honest living. Knavery
shall begin to make righteous bargains.
Passion shall answer to the control OF
reason. Scoffers shall he changed into
worshipers and skeptics into Bible low
ers. Christ shall begin his reign on
earth Whether he shall descend on to
the earth in person and establish gov
eminent at Jerusalem, cannot say, but
it will be al era Of more than Augustan
splendor That is enough. Knowing
this, VIC can never despair. But as we
see the church of Christ putting on her
beautiful garments and arising to shine
we will say, with. the enthusiasm of
Oliver Cromwell, who, standing before
lis sick and famine stricken soldiers at
Dunbar, saw the sun rising out of the
morning mist and, pointing to it with
his sword, uttered a prayer which hurled
his men upon the crushed foe like sky
full of thunderbolts: "Arise, o God!
Let thine enemies be scattered. " With
the ear of faith l catch the sound Of the
latter day glory. Church Of Christ, IN
sheath thy sword and this moment into
the battle! In the name of Christ, march
OIL! Upon every school and hospital,
upon every bankers desk and mer-
chants counter, upon every chemists
laboratory and astronomers tower, upon
shepherds hut and woodman's cabin,
uron ships deck and sailors hammock,
far out Oil the sea and high up in the
mountain. before the gaze Of nations,
under tie applaudits OF heaven, in the
name CT God we will set up our ban
rers
My subject has taught you that in
this contest we are not without enslgns
and colors All we want now is men tc
carry them. Before I sit down must
propose to each CT you this great honor.
Becoming Christian is not SO ignoble
a thing as many have thought it. "It
makes man stoop," you say. know
it, but it is only the stoop of an heir OF
royalty who on his knees is to receive
crown of dominion. We want standard
bearers in all pulpits, in all places OF
business-everywhere. I do not ask you
how old you are nor how young, how
weak or how strong, how dull or how
sharp, nor what your home, nor who
your ancestors. Without any condition,
without any reserve, in the name of the
God of Israel, offer you the honor of
carrying the church's ensigns. Do not
be afraid of the assaults of world
whose ranks you desert nor of devils
who will oppose you with internal
might. 1t were more blessed to fall here
than stand anywhere else. 1t were more
of an honor, engaged with Christ, to be
trampled underfoot with this army of
banners than, opposing Christ, to be
buried, like Edward I, in Egyptian por-
phyry.
The Surrender.
You know in ancient times elephants
were trained to fight and that on one
occasion, instead of attacking the enc
my, they turned upon their owners, and
thousands were crushed under the
strokes of their trunks and the noun
tain weight of their step. These mighty
opportunities OF work for Christ may
accomplish great things in overthrow
ing the sin of the world and beating to
pieces its errors, but if we do not WELD
them Alright these very advantages will