Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-02-11

work for them? God gives us the soil;
God gives US the seeds. But the essen
tial food products which come from
that soil must be developed by unceas-
ing toll This fact is emphatcally true
OF all the cereals" Then | commenced
to ponder over the words of my friend,
and said: Yes, you are right. Never
since the fall of man has God provided
for man wheat or rye or corn unless
man as a farmer will cultivate those
cereals. All kinds of weeds may grow
wild, all kinds of thorns and thistles
certainly do grow wild, but the cereals
will not grow wild" From the earth
man must obtain his bread. He must
work or starve. The soil must be pre-
pared; the seed must be sown; the
harvest must be gathered.
His Power LimitIess.
Let me remind you, too, how limit
less are the energies which God has in
his control Everywhere are pow
er and force, but man must patiently
study and discover for himself how to
apply them TO his purposes. Very
slowly has he learned the secrets of
the world in which he is placed. God
might have revealed the whole to him
at the outset, but he wished him to
find it out for himself, and as each
source of power was discovered he
must learn how to harness it Alright
fhof ~ rnor In hio ktJIipn nd roiiava
him of toll Go to Niagara falls and
take your stand on the ledge of rock
called Observation point and watch
that rush Of water descending from the
our cities, to bear our burdens, to IL
Illuminate our habitationsi Yet for
countless ages it has been running
to waste because man did not know
how to harness it Alright Stand on the
seashore and see the power in the in
coming tide. Quietly and reslstessly
wave succeeds wave, breaking impo-
tently on the rocks, yet there is power
there that might be turned to account.
The little streamlet that turns the
wheel Of the village mill, grinding the
corn and wheat for a whole valley, is
feeble beside the pillows Of the sea.
This, too, man may yet learn to har-
ness that 1t may work for him. The
secret is with the Lord. Man must
plan and contriye and design before he
can master it, SO long as he sits at
ease and makes no effort 1t is useless
to him. Why should not God have
given man this knowledge at the be-
ginning? Because he wished him to
develop his intellect. He wished to
teach him that there was a reward for
his labor. BY the sweat Of his brow he
must gain his bread.
Ah my friends, this problem that
perplexes us, this distressing question
of why God permits us to struggle
along in poverty and hardship, finds
its solution in the Bible 1t was not
In vindictiveness or for his own sake
that he cursed the ground. The SEN
tence was beneficial and remedial.
Cursed is the ground for thy sake"
God is allowing the thorns and the
wheat and the barley. Why? BY the
bayonet thrusts Of those thorns God Is
driving us closer and closer to him
self. BY putting us in the treadmlll OF
unceasing daily toll God is teaching US
TO turn our eyes away from tempta-
ton. He is also teaching us to turn
them toward himself Work serves
useful purpose. Our toll and dllhculty
and sorrow are intended to draw us
nearer to himself. When trust in COO
and love Of him have filled the hearts
Of men. when the knowledge OF Goa
covers the earth as the waters cover
the sea, then poverty will have fulhlled
its mission and will be eliminated from
this weary world for then, says lsal-
alb. "Instead of the thorn snail come
I'D the fir tree, and instead OF the Drler
shall come up the myrtle tree, and II
shall be TO the Lord for a name, Tor an
everlasting sign that shall not be cut
off" Oh, sinner, thank God today that
he makes your callous hand stick 10
the plow of daily toll in order that your
feet shall follow the narrow and
straight groove of virtue and truth ana
purity and gospel conservation ana
right.
God could easily take out Of tins
world all physical ailments if he would.
He could change the Invalid chairs OF
the homes. the operating tables OF the
hospitals the medicine bottles OF the
drug stores, the ear trumpets OF the
deaf. the ambulance wagons and the
anaesthetics and the splints and the
bandages of a military surgeons outht
and make them as unsuitable and anti
ouated articles for modern use as the
chopsticks of the Chinese would be TOT
the Caucasian race or the sandals OF
an Arab chief would be for the snort
| Ieggel Eskimo of the arctic. lie could
nt q mere word stiaighten the crooked
limbs and loosen the dumb lips ana
strengthen the weak lungs. God did IL
in the past; he can do it now. Coo IS
the same yesterday, today and forev-
ermore." But God does not take all
sickness out of this world because be
does not wish physical pain and suffer
ing to cease to perform their spiritual
mission in the world.
Must Perform Their Mission.
"a benefcent influence for pain ana
physical ailments" "Oh," says some
one. 81 do not believe that can be true.
Can any good come from flushed
fevered cheek or from hacking cough
| or from a sleepless night? God Is
good. God is love. Therefore a good
and a loving God does not wish his
children to suffer any more than an
earthly parent would want his children
to be physically sick or in pain. ASH
that mother as she gets up in the mid
die of the night to put cool bandages
upon the hot brow Of her child If she
sees any blessing in sickness. Ash