Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-06-18


esque and resoundlng style, Will have
no patience with Sabbath humdrum.
We have no objection to bands and sur
plice and all the paraphernalia Of cler-
ical life but these things make no I'M
pression-make no more impression on
the great masses of the people than the
ordinary business suit that you wear Oh
Pennsylvania avenue or Wall street A
tailor cannot make minister. Some OF
the poorest preachers wear the best
clothes, and many a backwoodsman has
dismounted from the saddlebags, and
in his linen duster preached sermon
that shook earth and heaven with its,
Christian eloquence. No new gospel,
only the old gospel i'll a way suited to
the time. No new church, but church
to be the asylum, the inspiration, the
practical sympathy and the eternal help
of the people
But while half of the doors Of the
church are to be set open toward this
world the other half of the doors Of the
church must be set open toward the
next. You and tarry here only brief
space. We want somebody to teach US
how to get out of this life at the right
time and in the right way. Some fall
out of life, some go stumbling out of
life, some go groaning out Of life, some
go cursing out of life. We want to go
singing, rising, rejoicing, triumphing.
We want half the doors of the church
set in that direction. We want half the
prayers that way, half the sermons that
way. We want to know how to get
ashore from the tu1nult of this world
into the land of everlasting peace We
do not want to stand doubling and shiv-
ering when we go away from this
world. We want our anticipations
aroused to the highest pitch.
Jesus Lends.
We want to have the exhilaration of
q dying child in England, the father
telling me the story When he said to
her, "Is the path narrow" she answer
ed: 1.-THE path is narrow. 1t is so mar
row that Ic;nnot walk arm in arm with
Christ SO Jesus goes ahead, and he
SAYS, Mary, follow. % Through the
church gates set heavenward how many
of your friends and mine have gone?
The last time they were out of the house
they came TO church. The earthly pill
grimage ended at the pillar of public
worship, and then they marched out to
a bigger and brighter assemblage. Some
of them were so old they could not walk
without cane or two crutches. Now
they have eternal juvenescence. Or
they were so young they could not walk
except as the maternal hand guided
them. Now they bound with the hilarl-
ties celestial. The last time we saw
them they were wasted with malarial
or pulmonic disorder, but now they
have no fatigue and no difficulty of res
piration in the pure air of heaven. How
I wonder when you and will cross
over Some of you have had about
enough of the humping and failing of
this life. "A draft from the fountains Of
heaven would do you good. Complete
release you could stand very. we'll If
YOU got on the other side and had per-
mission TO come back, you would not
come. Though you were invited to
come back and join your friends on
earth, you would say: "No, let me tar
ry here until they come. I shall not risk
going back. If a man reaches heaven, ne
had better stay here. "
Oh, I join hands with you in that
uplifted splendorl
When the shore is won at last,
Who will count the pillows past?
In Freyburg, Switzerland, there is
the trunk of tree 400 years old. That
tree was planted to commemorate an
event. About ten miles from the city
the Swiss conquered the Burgundians,
and young man wanted to take the
tidings to the city. He took tree
branch and ran with such speed the ten
miles that when he reached the city
waving the tree branch he had only
strength to cry, "Victoryp' and drop
ped dead The tree branch that he car
ried was planted, and it grew to be
great tree 20 feet in circumference, and
the remains of it are there to this day.
Ny nearer, when you have fought your
last battle with sin and death and hell,
and they have been routed in the con-
flict, it will be JOY worthy of celebra-
ton. You will fly to the city and cry,
"yictory'' and drop at the feet of the
great King. Then the palm branch Of
the earthly race will be planted to be-
come the outbranching tree of eyerlast-
ing rejoicing.
When shall these eyes thy heaven built walls
And pearly gates behold,
lly bulwarks with salvation strong
Aud streets of shining gold