Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-03-18


longest life on earth is not more than a
minute What are we doing with that
minute7 Are we imbittering the domes-
tic or social OIL political fountains, or
are we like Moses, who, when the Israel
ties in the wilderness complained that
the waters of Lake Marah were bitter.
and they could not drink them, their
/ leader cut eff the branch Of certain
tree and threw that branch into tho
water, and it became sweet and slaked
the thirst Of the suffering host? Are we
with branch of the tree of life sweet
ening all the brackish fountains that we
can touch2
Dear Lord, send us all out on this
mission All around us imbittered lives
-imbittered by persecution, imbitter-
ed by hypercriticism, imbittered by pow
erty, imbittered by pain, imbittered by
injustice, imbittored by sin. Why not
90 forth and sweeten them by smiles, by
inspiring words. by benefactions, by
hearty counsel, by prayer, by gospelized
behavior2 Let US remember that if we
are wormwood to others we are worm
word to ourselves, and our life will be
bitter and our eternity bitterer. The
gospel of Jesus Christ is the only sweet
| ening power that is sufficient. Itsweet-
ems the disposition, itsweetens the man
ners it sweetens life, it sweetens mys-
ferrous provideuces, it sweetens atflic-
,
erything. 1 have heard people asked in
social company, "If you could have
three wishes gratified, what would your
three wishes be?" If I could have three
wishes met, I tell you what they would
be. First, more of the grace Of God;
second, more of the grace of God; third,
more of the grace'of God.
The OvershndowIng Tree.
In the dooryard of my brother John.
once missionary in Annoy. China, there
was tree called the emperor tree, the
two characteristics of which are that it
always grows higher than its surround
ings and its leaves take the form of a
crown. If this emperor tree be planted
beside rosebush, it grows little
higher than the bush and spreads out
above it crown. If it be planted by
the side of another tree, it grows lit
tic higher than that tree and spreads
above it crown. Would God that this
religion of Christ, more wonderful
emperor tree, might overshadow all
your livesl Are you lowly in ambition
or circumstance, putting over you its
crown; are you high in talent and posi-
ton, putting over you its crown? Oh,
for more Of tie saccharin in our lives
and less of the wormwoodl
What is true of individuals is true of
nations God sets them up to revolve
as stars, but they may fall wormwood.
Tyre-the atmosphere of the desert,
fragrant with spices coming in cara
vans to her fairs; all seas cleft into
foam by the keels of her laden merchant
men; her markets rich with horses and
camels from Togarmah; the bazaar
filled with upholstery from Dedan, with
emerald and coral and agate from Syria,
with mines from Helbon, with embroid-
cred work from Ashur and Chilmad.
Where now the CLEAN of her towers,
where the roar of her chariots, where
the masts of her ships? Let the fisher
men who dry their nets where once she
stood let the sea thu PUSHES upon the
barrenness where once she challenged
the admiration of all nations, let the
where once her palaces glitt tired, an
swer the questions She was star, but
by her own sin turned to wormwood
and has fallen.
Hundred gated Thebes-for all time
to be the study of antiquarian and
hieroglyphist Her stupendous ruins
spread over 81 miles, her sculptures
presenting in figure of warrior and
chariot the victories with which the
now forgotten kings of Egypt shook the
nations; her obelisks and columns; Kar-
max and Luxor. the stupendous temples
of her prideI Who can imagine the
greatness of Thebes in those days, when
the hippodrome rang with her sports
and foreign royalty bowed at her
shrines. and her avenues roared with
the wheels Of professions in the wake Of
returning conquerors What dashed
down the vision of chariots and temples
and thrones? What hands pulled upon
the columns of her glory? What ruth
lessness defaced her sculptured wall and
broke obelisks and left her indescribable
temples great skeletons Of granite
What spirit of destruction spread the
lair of wild beasts in her royal sepul-
cheers and taught the miserable cottag-
ers of today to build huts in the courts
of her temples and sent desolation and
ruin skulking behind the obelisks, and
lodging among the sarcophagi, and
leaning against the columns and stoop-
ing under the arches, and weeping in
the waters which go mournfully by, as
though they were carrying the tears of
all ages? Let the mummies break .sleir
long silence and come up to silver in
| the desolation and point to fallen gates
and shattered statues and defaced sculp-
ture, responding: "Thebes built not one
temple to God. Thebes hated righteous
ness and loved sin. Thebes was a star.
but she turned to wormwood and mas
fallen.
The Lesson of Bnbylon's Fall.
Babylon, with her $50 towers and her
brazen gates and her embattled walls,
the splendor of the earth gathered with
in her gates, her hanging gardens built
by Nebuchadnezzar to please his bride,
Amytis, who had been brought up in a
mountainous country and could not en-
dure the fiat country arorud Babylon.
These hanging gardens built terrace
above terrace, till at the height of 4OO
feet there were woods waving and foun-
tains playing, the verdure, the foliage,
the glory, looking as if mountain were
on the wing. On the tiptop king walk
ing with his queen among the statues,
snowy white, looking up at birds
brought from distant lands and drink
ing out of tankards of solid gold OF lock-
| 1o1-oc r1nOO ne