Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-12-10
Loud to the praise of love divine

Uu0 MO14u WuGA dO &3i'5ho aN'O az
them out? = My reply is, He had good
reason. He had reasons that he has
never given us. He had reasons which
be could no more make us understand
in our finite state than the father, start
ing out on some great and elaborate ell
terprise, could make the 2-ytar-old
child in its armed chair comprehend it..
One was to demonstrate what grandeur
of character may be achieved Oh earth
by conquering evil. Had there been no
evil to conquer and no trouble to con-
sole, then this universe would never
have known an Abraham or Moses or
a Joshua or an Ezekiel or Paul or q
Christ or Washington or John Mil
ton or John Howard, and a million
victories which have been gained by
the consecrated spirits of all ages would
never have been gained. Had there been
no battle, there would have been no
victory. Nine:tenths of the anthems OF
heaven would never have been sung.
Heaven could never have been thou
sandth part of the heaven that it is. ]
will not say that / am glad that SIN
and sorrow did enter, but l do say that
am glad that after God has given all
his reasons to al assembled universe
he will be more honored than if sin and
sorrow had never entered aud that the
unfallen celestials will be outdone and
will put down their trumpets to listen
and it will be in heaven when those
who have conquered sin and sorrow
shall enter as it would be in a small
singing school on earth if Thalborg and
Gottschalk and Wagner and Beethoven
and Rheinberger and Schumann should
all at once enter. The immortals that
have been chanting 10, GOO years before
tho throne will cay, as they close their
librettos, "Oh, if we could only sing
like that" But God will say to those
who have never fallen and consequent
ly have not been redeemed, "You must
be silent now; you have not the qualifi-
cation for this anthem. So they sit
with closed lips and folded hands, and
sinners saved by grace take up the har-
mony, ,for the Bible says mo man could
learn that song but the hundred aud
forty and four thousand which were re-
deemed from the earth. y
The Rccompcnse OF Sin.
A great prima donna, who can now
do anything with her voice, told me
that when she first started in music her
teacher in Berlin told her she conld be
a good singer, but a certain note she
could never reach. And then, she
said, IL went to work and studied and
practiced for years unit did reach it. "
But the song of the singer redeemed,
the Bible says, the exalted harmonists
who have never sinned could not reach
ind never will reach. Would you like
to hear NE in very poor way play a
Gnatch of that tune? I can give you
only one bar of the music on this gospel
harp, Unto him that hath loved us
and washed Us from our sins in his own
blood and hath made US kings and
priests unto God and the Lamb, to him
be glory and dominion forever and ever,
amen. (" But before leaving this inter
rogatory, why God let sin come into
the world, let me say that great battles
seem to be nothing but suffering and
outrage at the time of their occurrence,
yet after they have been a long while
past we can see that it was better for
them to have been fought. namely, Sal
amis, Inkerman, Toulouse, Arbeln,
Agincourt, Trafalgar, Blenheim, Lex
ington, Sedan. So now that tho great
battles against sin and suffering are
going on we can see mostly that which
is deplorable, but 10000 years from
now, standing in glory, we shall appre-
ciate that heaven is better of than If
the battle of this worlds sin and suf
fering had never been projected. But
now l come nearer home and put a
dark saying on the gospel harp, style
of question that is asked G million times
every year. Interrogation the fourth;
Why do l have it so hard while others
have it so easy, or why do | have SO
much difficulty i'll getting livelihood
while others go around with a full
portemonnaie, or why must wear these
plain clothes while others have to push
hard to get their wardrobes closed, SO
crowded are they with brilliant attire,
or why should | have to work so hard
while others have 800 holidays every
year? They are all practically one cues
ton. 1 answer them by saying it is be-
cause the Lord has his favorites, and he
puts extra discipline upon you and ex-
ira trial because he has for you extra
glory, extra enthronement, and extra
felicities.
That is no guess of mine, but adivine
say so, "Whom the Lord loveth be
chasteneth !" WELL" say some one,
81 would rather have little less in
heaven and little more here. Discount
my heavenly robe 10 Per cent and let
me now put it on fur lined overcoat-
Put me III a less gorgeous room OF the
house Of many mansions and let me
have house here in better neighbor-
hood" No, 10 God is net going to rob
heaven, which is to be your residence
for nine hundred quadrillion of years,
to fix up your earthly abode, which you
will occupy at most for less than cen
tury and where yon may perhaps stay
only ten years longer, or only one year,
or perhaps month more. Now you had
better cheerfully let God have his way,
for, you see, he has been taking care
of folks for near 5000 years, AND
knows how to do it, and can see what
is best for you, better than yon can
yourself. DON'T think you are too in
significant to be diyinely cared for. 1t
was said that Diana, the goddess could
not be present to keep her temple at
Ephesus from burning because she was
upon the birth of him who
was to be Alexander the Great. But l
tell you that your God and my God is
los