Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-04-22

Young or the Altar of Worldly Am
billion and Pride.
Copyright, 1899. by American Press Asso-
ciation.
WASHINGTON, April 16.--1n his SER
mon today DR.. Talmage lodges protest
against the parental heedlessness and
worldly ambition which are threatening
the sacrifice of many American chill
dren; text. Judges ri. 80. My father
if thou hast opened thy mouth unto the
Lord. do TO me according to that which
hath proceeded out of thy mouth.
Jephthah was freebooter Early
turned out from home where he ought
to have been cared for he consorted
with rough men and went forth to earn
his living as best he could. In those
times it was considered right for man
to 70 out on independent military ex-
peditions. Jephthah was a good man
according to the light CT his dark age
but through wandering and preda-
tory life he became reckless and precipi-
tate. The grace of God changes a man s
heart, but never reverses his natural
Temperament. The Israelites wanted
the Ammonites driven out OF their
country, SO they sent delegation to
Jephthah, asking him to become COM
mander in chief of all the forces. He
might have said, "You drove me out
when you had no use for me. and now
you are in trouble you want me back,
but he did not say that. He takes COM
mand of the army. sends messengers to
the Ammonites to tell them to vacate
the country. and, getting no favorable
response. marshals his troops for battle
Before going out to the war Jephthah
makes very solemn vow that if the
Lord will give him the victory then,
on his return home. whatsoever first
comes out of h;s doorway he will offer
in sacrifice as Il burnt offering The
battle opens 1t was no skirmiahinS
on the edges of dangers. no unllniber.
ing of batteries two miles away. bnt
the hurting of men ON the r0ini of
swords and spears until III" sronn''
conld no more drink the blond aud the
horses reared to leap over the pile of
bodies of the slain. In those old times
opposing forces would fight until their
swords were broken and then each one
would throttle his man until they both
fell. teeth to teeth, grip to grip. death
stare to death stare, until the plain was
one tumbled mass of corpses from which
the last trace Of manhood had been
dashed out
Jephthah wins the day. Twenty
cities lay captured at his feet. Sound
the victory all through the mountains
of Gilead Let the trumpeters call up
the survivors. Homeward to your wives
and children Homeward with your
treasures. Homeward to have
the applause of an ndlniring nation.
Build triumphal arches. Swing out
flags all over Mizpah. Open all your
doors to receive the captured treasures.
Through every ball spread the banquet
Pile up the giands. Fill high the tank
ards. The nation is redeemed. the in
vaders are routed and the national hon.
or is indicated
Jephthnh's Solemn Vow.
Huzza for Jephthah, the conqueror
Jephthah, seated on prancing steed,
advances amid the acclaiming multi
tudes, but his eye is not on the excited
populace. Remembering that he had
made a solemn VOW that, returning
from victorious battle, whatsoever first
came out of the doorway Of his home
that should be sacrificed as burnt
offering, he has his anxious look upon
the door. / wonder what spotless lamb,
what brace of doves, will be thrown
upon the fires OF the burnt offering
Oh, horrors Paleness of death
blanches his cheek. Despair seizes his
heart. His daughter, his only child,
rushes out the doorway to throw herself
in her fathers arms and shower upon
him more kisses than there were wounds
on his breast OF dents on his shield. All
the triumphal splendor vanishes.. Hold
ing back this child from his heaving
breast and pushing the locks back from
the fair brow and looking into the eyes
of inextinguishable affection. with
choked utterance he says would to
God lay stark on the bloody plain
My daughter, my only child. joy of my
home, life Of my life. thou art the sac
rificel''
The whole matter WAS explained to
her This was no whining. hollow
hearted girl into whose us the father
looked. All the glory Vi sword and
shield vanished in the presence of the
valor of that girl There may have been
a tremor Of the lip. as rose leaf trem
bles in the sough of the south wind
there may have been the starting of a
tear like a raindrop shaken from the
anther of water lily But with self
sacrifice that man may not reach and
only woman's heart can compass she
surrepders herself to fire and to death
She cries out in the words of my text
father. if thou hast opened thy
mouth unto the Lord, do unto me what
soeyer hath proceeded from thy mouth
She bows to the knife, and the blood,
which so often at the father s voice had
rushed to the crimson cheek, smokes in
the fires Of the burnt offering No one
can tell us her name. There is no need
that we know her name The garlands
that Mizpah twisted for Jephthab the
warrior Lave gone into the dust. but
all ages are twisting this girls chaplet-
Ii is well that her name came not to
MS. for no one can wear it. They may
take the name of Deborah or Abigail or
Miriam, but no one in all the ages shall
have the title of this daughter of sacrl-
fee
Not Pleasing to the Lord.
Of course this Offering was not pleas
ing to the Lord. especially as provi-
sion was made in the law for such
contingency. and Jephthah might have
redeemed his daughter by the payment
of 80 shekels of silver But before you
hurl your denunciations at Jephthah s
cruelty remember that in olden times,
when VOWS were made, men Thought
they must execute them, perform them,
whether they were wicked or good.
n,ora MORO tro uronO things about