Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-04-22


Then we will take some soldiers ana
go and arrest him and summon the
sanhedrin and try him and convict
him and cruelty him before his friends
can come to the rescue. Here is my
man at hand. What say you, Judasi
viii you betray your Master for thirty
pieces Of silverY Il WILL" answered
the apostate. Then what happens!
No sooner is Christ betrayed ana
Judas Ia overcome with remorse than
he comes back to these same priests
and says: Il cannot take this money.
1t Is blood money. Here 1t Is" Ana
he filings 1t at their feet. Then what
Why, the priests look down
upon this blood money and say: "Ihat
money Is too vile for us to touch. we
cannot use a murderer's money In the
temple. I'VE are too good ana holy
for that. Let us take the money ana
buy a paupers' burial ground. Ihat
certainly will hurt no one. Ihey got
Judas to betray Christ. Then as soon
as Judas had done this vile, under
hand. sinful work they turned their
backs upon him and said: Judas you
are too low, too mean and TOO con-
temptible for us to Aave anything 10
do with you. We will not even take
back the money we paid you with our
own hands, for it is blood money"
All, the evil geniuses who lead us III
to temptation will never stand by US
when they have miserably destroyed
us In ancient Rome the defenders for
months were defying the northern par
barians. The strong walls and the iron
gates could not be broken down. AT
last these barbarians went to Roman
woman and said, "If you will open for
us the gates at night and let us IN, we
will give to you our war shields, MADE
of ornamental gold and silver" She
opened the gates by night, and Rome
fell. But as soon as the northern bar
barians became masters Of Caesars s
throne they destroyed the woman VINO
betrayed her country. They gave her
their shields Of ornamental silver and
gold, but they hurled those shields at
her with all the force of their mighty
arms until her mangled and bleeding
and lifeiess body lay buried under her
prizes of war After Benedict Arnold
betrayed his country he was hated even
more in England than in America. One
day he was seated In the gallery OF the
house of commons when statesman
arose to address the house. Before COM
mencing his speech he said: Il see In
the gallery Of this house a contemplate
character who, by the betrayal or MS
own land. has forfeited every right to
the respect Of mankind. Before enter
upon my. speech | hope that Benedict
Arnold, known as Arnold the traitor,
might be requested to withdraw from
this body Of honorable men," Yes, the
very men who profit by crime despise
their instrument and desert him in his
lgnominy.
They VIII Turn Against You.
Man treading the path of sin, do not
be O fool. Do not suppose that those
sinful peorle who are praising you
now will fawn upon you after your
morals and money are gone. All that
the saloonkeeper wants Is your gold
as soon as you are in rags his free
lunch counters will no longer give a
welcome to you and yours. All that
gambler wants is your gold; as soon
as your money is gone he will KICK
you out Of his presence as willingly as
he would put a bullet in the heart OF
q mad dog. All, yes, the far country
held plenty of friends as long as the
younger son had horses and wine sup
pers. but as soon as his money was
gone his friends were gone, his wine
was gone. his horses were gone, his
servants were gone; there was great
famine in that land. Companions OF
sin will fawn at your feet while you
| live in a palace. They will crush yot
under their heels when they can de
stroy you. Aceldama, the field OF
blood. was bought by the evil priests
who had turned against Judas as youl
companions of sin will yet turn against
| you.
Aceldama teaches another lesson
The easiest way to make an apostat'
is not by denouncing or ridiculing The
divine mission Of Jesus Christ, but by
developing the tendencies to sin which
have not been eradicated from his ma
ture. Let me illustrate my though
practically. You have all wandered
through the northern forests In the win
ter time. Everywhere you have seer
the tall trunks Of the trees supporting
the bare branches. Not a leaf Is IL
| sight; not a flower is blooming. Where
are the millions upon millions of leaves
which as an arched roof covered th'
mountain pathways last summer? Al
gone. But If you will rub your fingers
lightly over the bark Of those branches
YOU can see where new buds and new
sprouts will come forth just as soon al
springtime places to her lips the silvel
trumpet of the warm winds. AS l ap
proach a man who is called a Christian
man l figuratively find him withou
sin. but as l touch his heart l hnd
still fguratively speaking, that all owe
his heart are latent sinful buds easy Il
be developed. Unless a man lives cios'
to Christ and continues to live close Il
Christ these evil buds will sprout ant
grow even as the white apple tlos
SONS cover the tree branches almost il
one May day. The reason Judas be
trayed Christ was because he allowed
his latent buds Of sin to develop; tha
is ALL
Judas not different from his fellow
apostles? How was that?' some ON
asks me. "Why, Christ called him
devil" Aye, my friend, that is true
But Christ did not call Judas a devil /
the sense that he was in the beginnin
any different from any other OF tn
apostles. Indeed, know be was jus
about the same. The apostles at tha