Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1904-04-02
Ta1mage
Sermon
by Rev.
Frank De Whf
Tafm age. ID. ID.

x d
Los Angeles, Cal, March 27.-Like
fresh call from the woods. vocal with
the songsters of early spring, this SER
mon urges all to cheerful service and
70 set the keynote Of their lives TO high
and noble themes. The text Is Solo,
mons Song ii, II, "The time OF the
singing Of the birds is come"
"Do you know what makes the snow
banks disappear In the springtimeF
asked man Of poetic temperament
"Why, yes" answered. ut Is due 10
the heat of the sun being 80 much
stronger now than 1t Is in January IL
is due to the fact that, by close con-
tact. Maine and Massachusetts and
New York and Michigan are Deing
warmed at the suns fireside, even as
one side of piece of bread Is toasted
by being exposed to the kitchen stoves
heat while the other side Of that piece
of bread remains unscorched." on
no." answered my poetic friend. The
snow disappears not on account OF the
suns rays, but because the flames
glowing among the feathers OF the
red breasted robins have melted them.
Have you not noticed, as a rule, the
snowhakes never entirely disappear
until those harbingers Of the summer
flowers have stamped them out OF eX-
istenceW
Beautiful thought that! Beautiful
to think that the winged forerunner OF
the spring, the chirping robin, should
be carrying around with him bra
zier filled with burning Goals, as the
| ancient kings used to do when they
Travelled, and everywhere he alights
he changes the white snow bank or
winter into the white snow bank or
apple blossoms But whether the snow
disappears on account Of the coming
of the robins or the robins come as the
messengers of spring, merely because
the snow is disappearing, 1t Is not In
our proyince to discuss. We want to
take for granted the one overwhelming
fact that spring is here And as spring
Is here and the time Of the singing OF
the birds for New York and Michigan
and Montana and Dakota has come
we want to tell why the birds sing ana
why we. as Gods children, should also
become his singing disciples. we
would today take our text from the
book of nature as well as from the
book Of Holy Writ.
The summer is coming in beau y arrayed
And bright bees are humming throusn
forest and glade;
Ger hilltop and mountain are merrily
heard
The voice OF the fountain and song OF tn'
bird.
Like the Song Bird.
First. like the song bird, God bids us
sing because he has given to us mu
sical throats with which to sing. As
the brown thrush or the redbird or th'
nightingale is able to lift his voice IL
treble or fantasia or lullaby or cantatt
or serenade, God, by anatomical con
struction of the throat, has made 4
possible for US to sound forth musica
notes in his name. He has not discon
nected our windpipes from the grea
bellows of the lungs. He has not haC
US born with palsied tongue, or witt
deaf ears. But as God has placed II
the iarynx Of every singing birdl
throat a thin membrane, 80 he ha
stretched over the end Of almost ever.
human beings windpipe fibrous, elias
tic tissue which will vibrate as we at
tempt to sing or speak. We ought, on
and all, to be grateful that God ha
given to us anatomically q muslca
throat with which we can sing III
praises. Thank God today for the pow
er of the speaking throat. We are o.
ready to acknowledge our indebted
ness to him for the blessings OF tn
eye. II you are not, then read tha
wonderful story written by the mos
famous Of living English authors. Th
book opens with description OF
noted war artist who Is growing blint
Frenziedly he works at his last canvas
then the dark cloud Of total obscure
ton falls upon him. His friends leay
him one by one for the Egyptian wal
He sits in his room alone, an object
pity, until at last, crazed by horror, b
starts for the front and is there mere
fully shot by an Arabs bullet. sign
Oh, yes, with every glorious sunrls
with every architecture Of frost upo
window pane, with every masterpiec
of autumn foliage, with every wal
- over country hill or through city stree
we are all ready to say: "Thank Go
for two eyes! Thank God for the Will
dows Of the soul!'
Power of the Human Voice.
Not only for visual, but for auditor
organs are we also thankful. III u
sounding board of one Of our eardrun
is In any way deadened we guard Il
other ear more carefully than we
our Jewel boxes or our securiue
! which we place in the safety vault
We never let our well ear become owe
! heated by stove or register. We new
/ in q railroad train let the draft bio
! upon 1t through opened windows.
the least sign Of disturbance tn
- away we rush to the specialist to ha'
IL treated and cared for by the best
aurists. All, yes, we all appreciate q
blessings of the ear But how maj
of us appreciate the blessings OF q
voice? How many Of US have In q
past thanked God that we can sing D
praises as the birds can change eve
~ tree branch into a choir loft In q
We temple of the woods? How many
us are ready to thank God for IL
wonderful instrument Of human voi'
which can laugh out our joys ana s.
out our sorrows and make men kno
the thoughts that are lodging I
E awhile under the domes of our FOL
heads and the loves that are bill
IN and cooling In the silent retreats OF o
az heartsf
OF 1 never realized so much what I