Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1898-04-16
CHRIST'S SACRIFICE.
REV. DR.. TALMAGE's EASTER SUNDAY
SERMON.

The Law OF Self Sacrifice the Theme OF
an Eloquent Discourse-Common Sense
Must Prevail In Religion ns In Every.
thing Elee.
copyright. 1898. by American Press Asso-
ciation.l
WASHINGTON, April l0.-The radical
theory of Christianity is set forth by
DR.. Talmage in this discourse, and re-
markable instances of self sacrifice are
brought out for illustration. The text
is Heb. ix, 22, Without shedding OF
blood is no remission. "
John G. Whittier, the last of the
great school of American poets that
made the last quarter of this century
brilliant, asked me i'll the White noun
tains, one morning after prayers, in
which I had given ont Cowper's famous
hymn about "the fountain filled with
blood, ""Do you really believe there is
literal application of the blood OF
Christ to the soul?" My negative reply
then is my negative reply now. The
Bible statement agrees with all physi-
clans and all Psychologists and all sci
entists in saying that the blood is the
life, and in tho Christian religion 1t
means simply that Christ's life was
given for our life. Hence all this talk
of men who say the Bible story of blood
is disgusting and that they don It want
what they call slaughter house re-
ligion," only shows their incapacity or
unwillingness to look through the figure
of speech toward the thing signified.
The blood that on the darkest Friday
the world ever saw oozed or tricklod or
poured from the brow, and tho side, and
the hands, and the feet of tho illustrious
sufferer back of Jerusalem in few
hours coagulated and dried up and for
ever disappeared, and if man had de-
pended on the application of the literal
blood of Christ there would not have
been a soul saved for the last Is CEN
turtles.
In order to understand this red word
of my text We only have to exercise as
much common sense in religion as we
do in everything else. Pang for pang,
hunger for hunger, fatigue for fatigue,
tear for tear, blood for blood, life for
life, We SEQ every day illustrated. The
act of substitution is no novelty, al
though hear men talk as though the
idea of Christ's suffering substituted for
our suffering were something abnormal,
something distressingly odd, something
wildly eccentric, a solitary episode i'll
the world history, when l could take
YOU out into this city and before sum
down point you to 500 cases of substi-
tuition and voluntary suffering of one in
behalf Of another.
The Invisible Line.
At 2 O'Clock tomorrow afternoon go
among the places of business or toll. 1t
will be no difficult thing for you to find
men who, by their looks, show you that
they are oyerworked. They are prema-
turely old. They are fastening rapidly
toward their decease. They have gone
through crises in business that shattered
their nervous system and pulled on the
brain. They have shortness of breath
and pain in tho back of the head and
at night an insomnia that alarms them.
Why are they drudging at business early
and late? For fun? No; it would be
difficult to extract any amusement out
of that exhaustion. Because they are
avaricious? In many cases no. Because
their own personal expenses are lavish:
No; a few hundred dollars would meet
all their wants. The simple fact is the
man is enduring all that fatigue and
evaporation and wear and tear to keep
his home prosperous. There is an invis-
ible line reaching from that store, from
that bank, from that shop, from that
scaffolding, to quiet scene a few
blocks, few miles away, and there IS
the secret Of that business endurance.
He is simply tho champion of home
stead, for which he wins bread and
wardrobe and education and prosperity,
and in such battle 10, 900 men fall. OF
ten business men whom I bury, nine
die of overwork for others. Some sud-
den disease finds them with no power of
resistance, and they are gone. Life for
life! Blood for blood Substitution
At O'Clock tomorrow morning, the
hour when slumber is most uninterrupt-
ed and profound, walk amid the dwell
ing houses Of the city. Here and there
you will find dim light. because it is
the household custom to keepa subdued
light burning, but most of the houses
from base to top are as dark as though
uninhabited. A merciful God has sent
forth the archangel of sleep, and he
puts his wings over the city. But yon-
der is clear light burning, and outside
on window easement glass or pitcher
containing food for a sick child. The
food is set in the fresh air This is the
sixth night that mother has sat up with
that sufferer. She has to the last point
obeyed the physicians prescription, not
giving a drop too much or too little or
a moment too soon or too late. She is
very anxious, for she has buried three
children with the same disease, and she
prays and weeps, each prayer and sob
ending with kiss of the pale cheek.
By dint of kindness she gets the little
one through the ordeal. After it is all
over the mother is taken down. Brain
or nervous fever sets in, and one day
she leaves the convalescent child with
o mothers blessing and goes up to join
the three departed ones in the kingdom
of heaven. Life for ifel Substitution
The fact is that there are an uncounted
number of mothers who, after they
have navigated large family of chill
dren through all the diseases of infancy
and got them fairly started up the flow
ering slope of boyhcod and girlhood'
have only strength enough left to die.
They fade away. Some call it consump-
ton, some call it nervous prostration,
some call it intermittent or malarial in.
disposition, but call it martyrdom Of
the domestic circle. Life for lifel Blood