Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-11-12

curve of foot gain the day Well, that
is broad, smiling, unmistakable gospel.
Some whom address through car or
eye, by voice or printed page, have been
thrown in their wrestle with evil habit.
Aye you have been thrown twice,
but that does not mean, oh, worsted
soul, that you are thrown forever l
have no authority for saying how many
times man may sin and be forgiven or
how many times he may fall and yet
rise again, but 1 have authority for
saying that he may fall 400 times and
400 times get up. The Bible declares
that God will forgive 70 times 7, and if
you will employ the rule of ,nultiplica-
ton you will find that 20 times is 400
Blessed be God for such a gospel of high
hope and thrilling encouragement and
magnificent rescued A gospel of lost
sheep brought home on Shepherd $
shoulder, and the prodigals who got in
to the low work of putting huslls into
swines troughs brought home to jewel
ry and banqueting and hilarity that
made the rafters ring
Three sketches of the Same man: A
happy home, Of which he and a lassie
taken from neighbours house are the
united head. Years of happiness roll Oh
after years of happiness. Stars pointing
down to nativities. And whether an
nounced in greeting Or not every morn
ing was Good morning" and every
night Good night" Christmas trees
and May queens, and birthday festivi-
ties and Thanksgiving gatherings
around loaded tables. But that husband
and father forms an unfortunate ac-
uuaintance who leads him in circles too
conviyial, too late houred, too scandal
Gus. After awhile, his money gone and
not able to bear his part of the expense,
he is gradually showed out and ignored
and pushed away. Now, what a d.
lapidated home is hisl A dissipated life
always shows itself in faded window
curtains, and impoverished wardrobe,
and detected surroundings, and in bro
ken palings of the garden fence, and the
unhineed gate, and the dislocated door
bell and the disappearance of wife and
children from scenes among which they
shone the brightest and laughed the
gladdest If any man was ever down,
that husband and father is down. The
fact is he got into wrestle with evil
that pushed and pulled and contorted
and exhausted him worse than any
Olympian game ever treated Greclan,
and he was thrown Thrown out Of pros
perity into gloom. Thrown out of good
association into bad. Thrown out of
health into invalidism. Thrown out OF
happiness into misery; but one day,
while sinking through one of the back
streets, not wishing to be recognized, a
good thought crosses his mind, for he
has heard of men flung fiat rising again.
Arriving at his house, he calls his wife
in and shuts the door and says: MARY,
am going to do differently This is
not what promised you when we were
married You have been very patient
with me and have borne everything, al
though would have had no right to
complain if you had left me and gone
home to your fathers house. 1t seems to
mo that once or twice, when 1 was not
myself, l struck you, and several times,
1 know, | called you hard names Now
1 want you to forgive me l am going
to do better, and want you to help
me. Help you?" she says. "Bless
YOUR soul! Of course will help you! |
knew you didn't mean it when you
treated me roughly All that is in the
past. Never refer to it again. To-day
let us begin anew.
Sympathizing friends come around
and kind business people help the man
to something to do, so that he can again
earn living. The children soon have
clothing so that they can 60 to school.
The old songs which the wife sang
years ago come back to her memory,
and she sings them over again at the
cradle or while preparing the MONDAY
meal Domestic resurrection He comes
home earlier than he used to, and he is
glad to spend the evening playing games
with the children or helping them with
arithmetic or grammar lessons which
are little too hard Time passes on,
and some outsider suggests to him that
he is not getting as much out OF life as
he ought and proposes an occasional
visit to scenes of worldliness and dlssl-
patton. He consents to go once, and
after much solicitation twice. Then his
old habit comes back. He says be has
been belated and could not get back I'M
til midnight. He had to see some west
ern merchant that had arrived and talk
of business with him before he got out
of town. Kindness and geniality again
quit the disposition Of that husband and
father. The wife's heart breaks III
new place That man goes into second
wrestle with evil habit and is flung,
and all hell cacllles at the moral defeat.
81 told you so, say many good people
who have 10 faith in the reformation
of fallen man II told you sol You
made great fuss about his restored
home but l knew it would not last.
You can trust these fellows VINO nave
once gone wrong. So with this unfor-
tunate, things get worse and worse, and
his family have to give up the house,
and the last valuable goes to the pawn
brokers' shop. But that unfortunate
man is sauntering along the street one
Sunday night, and he goes up to a church
door, and the congregation are singing
the second hymn, the one just before
sermon, and it is William Cowper's
glorious hymn:
There is fountain filed with blood
Drawn from Emmanuels veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains
ynvcrin- at the Door.
He goes into the vestibule of the
church and stops there, not feeling we'll
enough dressed to go among the wor-
shippers, and be hears the minister say,