Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-10-28

y
word it describes every one Of us by
nature-snner We have outraged the
law of God. not occasionally. or now
and then. but pcrpetually. The Bible
declares II. Hank! 1t thunders two
claps: "Thc heart Is deceltful above
NIL things and desperately wicked"
1.-THE soul that sinneth, 1t shall die"
What the Bible says our own con-
science nilirms.
After Judge Morgan had sentenced
Lady Jane Grey to death his conscience
troubled him so much for the deed that
he became Insane. and MI through his
insanity he kept saying: Take her
away from me! Lady Jane Grey! Take
her away! Lady Jane Grey" 1t was
the voice OF conscience. And no man
ever does anything wrong. however
great or small. but his conscience
brings that matter before him, and at
every step Of his misbehavor ii says.
Wrong. wrong!" Sin Is leprosy; sin
Is a paralysis: sin Is consumption;
sin Is pollut!on: sin Is death. Give 1t
fair chance. and 1t Will swamp you
and me. body. mind and soul. forever.
In this world It only gives faint inti-
nation Of It's virulence. You see pa
tient In the first stages Of typhoid fe-
yer The check is somewhat flushed,
the hands somewhat hot. preceded by
slight chill. Why" you say, "ty-
phoid fever does not seem to be much
Of disease" But wait until the pa
tient has been SIX weeks under 1t, and
nil his energies have been wrung out,
and he Is too weak to lift his little
finger, and his intellect gone. then you
see the full llnvoc Of the disease. Now,
sin In this world Is an ailmcnt which
Is only In its first stages. but let 1t get
under full sway. and 1t is an all con-
sumlng typhoid. Oh. If we could see
our unpardoned sins rs God sees them.
our teeth would chatter and our knees
would knocI; together. and our resplra-
ton would be choked, and our heart
would break II your sins are unforgiv-
en-. they are bearing down on you. and
you are notwithstanding away from
happiness. sinking away from God.
sinking away from everything that Is
good and blessed.
High Water Mark.
Then what do we want? A swim
mer-a strong swimmer, a swift
swimmer. And. blessed be God, In my
text we have him announced. HE shall
spread forth his hands In the midst of
them. as he that swimmeth stretcheth
forth his hands to swim" You have
noticed tina. when swimmer goes to
rescue any one he puts off bis heavy ap-
parel. He must not have any such i'm
pedlment about him If he Is going to do
this great deed. And when Christ STEP
ped forth to save US he shook off the
sandals OF heaven. and his feet were
free, and then he stepped down into
the wave of our transgressicns. and II
came up over his wounded feet, and 1t
came above the spear stab in his side
aye, II dashed to the lacerated TEN.
pie, the high water mark Of anguish.
Then, rising above the Hood HE
stretched forth his hands in the midst
of them as he that swimmeth spread
eth forth his hands to SWIM
If you have ever watched swim
mer you notice that his whole body Is
brought into play. The arms are fex-
ed, the hands drive the water back,
the knees are active, the head is
thrown back to escape strangulation,
the whole body Is in propulsion. And
when Christ sprang into the deep to
save us he threw his entire nature into
it-all his godhead, his omnlsclence, his
goodness, his love. his omnipotence,
head. heart. eyes, hands. feet. we
were far out on the sen and so deep
down In the waves and so far out from
the shore that nothing short Of nm en-
tire God could save us. Christ leaped
out for our rescue saying, 10, come
to do thy will" and all the surges OF
human and satanic hate beat against
him. and those who watched him from
the gates Of heaven feared he would
20 down under the waves and instead
of saving others would himself perish;
but putting his breast to the foam
and shaking the surf from his locks. he
came on and on until he is now within
the reach OF every one here. eye om-
niscient, heart Infinite, arm omnipo-
tent. mighty to save. even unto the
uttermost.
Oh. it was not half God that tram
pied down believing Gennesaret; it
was not a quarter Of God that mas
tered the demons Of Gadara; it was not
two-thlrds of God that lifted up Laz-
arus into the arms of his overjoyed
sisters; it was not Il fragment Of God
who offered pardon and peace to all
the race. No. This mighty swimmer
threw his grandeur. his glory. his
might. his wisdom. his omnipotence
and his eternity into this one act. 1t
took both hands Of God to save US
both feet How do prove it? On the
cross were not both hands nailed? On
the cross were not both feet spiked?
His entire nature involved In our re-
demption!
Jesus Alone.
If you have lived much by the wa
ter. you notice also that If any one Is
going out to the rescue Of the drown
ing he must he independent. self reli-
ant, able to 90 alone. There may be
time whenrhe must spring out to
save one. and he cannot get n lifeboat,
and If he goes out and has not strength
enough to bear himself up and bear
another up he will sink. and instead OF
dragging one corpse out of the pillows
you will have two to drag out When
Christ sprang out into the sea to de-
liver US, he had no life buoy HIS
Father did not help him. Alone In the
wine press alone in the pang, alone IN
the darkness. alone on the mountain
a t. IA