Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1901-10-12

d taire The crystal cannot edual it,"'''
l. Now. | have no liking, for those pee
Z pie who are always enlarging In Chris
?. tlan meetings about their early dissipa
= tlon. Do not go into the particulars
2 my brothers. Simply say you wer,
!. sick, but make no display Of your al
4 GERS. The chief stock In trade of some
r ministers and Christian workers seems
q to be their early crimes and dissipa
: tions. The number of pockets you pick.
ed and the number Of chickens you
. stole make very poor prayer meeting
, rhetoric. Besides that, 1t discourages
other Christian people who never got
drunk or stole anything. But 1t Is
pleasant to know that those who were
farthest down have been brought high.
est up. Out Of Internal serfdom into
/, eternal liberty. Out Of darkness into
light. From coal to the solitaire. 'sThe
crystal cannot equal It."
Light of the Gospel.
Il But, my friends, the chief transform
Ing power Of the gospel will not be
seen In this world and not until heaven
breaks upon the soul When that light
falls upon the soul, then you will see
the crystals. What a magnificent set
ting for these Jewels of eternity! Il
sometimes hear people representing
heaven In way that Is far from at.
tractive to me. 1t seems almost vul-
gar heaven as they represent 1t, with
Qrpaf blOtcbac ~ oolor opd honIo
music making deafenng racket. John |
represents heaven as exquisitely beau.
tiful. Three crystals! In one place he |
says, Her light was like a precious
stone, clear as crystal" In another |
place he says, Il saw pure river from l
under the throne. clear as crystal" In
another place he says. Before the
throne there was sea of glass clear
as crystal" Three crystals! John
says crystal atmosphere. That means
health. Balm Of eternal June. What
weather after the worlds east windl
No rack Of stormclouds. One breath
of that air will cure the worst tubercle.
Crystal light on all the leaves; crystal
light shimmering on the topaz of the
temples; crystal light tossing In the
plumes Of the equestrians Of heaven on
white horses. But ''the crystal cannot
equal It," John says crystal river.
That means Joy. Deep and ever roll
ing. Not one drop of the Potomac or
the Hudson or the Rhine to soil it; not
one tear of human sorrow to imbitter
1t. Crystal, the rain out Of which 1t
was made; crystal, the bed over which
1t shall roll and ripple; crystal, its In
finite surface. But "the crystal can {
not equal It," John says crystal sea.
That means multitudinously vast, vast I
In rapture, rapture vast as the sea, .
deep as the sea, strong as the sea, ever t
changing as the sea; pillows Of light, I
pillows Of beauty. blue with skies that L
were never clouded and green, with I
depths that were never fathomed; Arc
tics and Antarctlcs and Mediterra- q
means and Atlantics and Pacifics In b
crystalline magnificence. Three crys- n
light falling on a crystal I,
liver, crystal river rolling into crys- n
al sea. But 'the crystal cannot equal II
l." =
Happy Transformation. n
"Oh," says some one, putting his
and over his eyes, "can 1t be that |
vho have been in so much sin and trou-
lie will ever come to those crystalsY -.
'es, 1t may belt will be. Heaven we u
aust have, whatever we have or have VI
ot, and we come here to get it. How "a
luch must | pay for itY you say. "
ou will pay for it just as much as the III
Oal pays to become the diamond. In ="
ther words, nothing. The same AL pc
lightly power that makes the crystal ~
the mountain will change your heart, III
hich Is harder than stone, for the ia
romise is, 81 will take away your tie
ony heart, and will give you a heart OF
aesh."
"Oh," says some one, ut is Just the pa
'ctrne | want. God Is to do every oV
ling, and l am do nothing" My 30
other, 1t is not the doctrine you want sp
he coal makes no resistance. It hears Sol
e resurrection voice in the mountain, 1
I'd 1T comes to crystallization; but your cel
art resists. The trouble with you, De
y brother, is the coal wants to stay an
al. chi
do not ask you to throw open the tne e
or and Iet Christ in onlv osk tbot ths
u stop bolting 1t and barring 1t. My
ends, we will have to get rid of our
Is. will have to get rid Of my sins, Z
d you will have to get rid Of your dSt
IS. What will we do with our sins ma
long the three crystals? The crystal Oh
nosphere would display our pollu- ly
n. The crystal river would be be- VIII
lied with our touch. Transformation got
lst take place now or no transforma- cou
n at all. Give sin full chance in she
lr heart, and the transformation hea
u be downward instead of upward. new
stead Of crystal it will be cinder. II
n the days of Carthage a Christian I NJ
was condemned to die for her faith, 81
boat was bedaubed with tar and thel
ch and filed with combustibles and just
on fire, and the Christian girl was bab
ced In the boat, and the wind was ther
hore, and the boat foated away
b its precious treasure. No one can
bit that boat landed at the shore Of "y
ven. Sin wants to put you In a the
y boat and shove you off In an op- nifty
lite direction-off from peace, off the
n God, of from heaven, everlasting ing
vi, and the port toward which you ther
I'D sail would be port of darkness, life
the guns that would greet you but
lid be the guns of despair, and the easil
s that would wave at your arrival incei
I'D be the black flags of death. Oh, gong
brother, you must either kill sin swift
in will kill you. 1t is no exaggera- rattl
when | say that any man or wom- badl
that wants to be saved may be yells
ID. Tremendous choice! A thou In L
people are choosing this moment cent