Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1906-06-30

sermon
BY Rev.
Frank De Witt Talma9e, D. d.

sermon the preacher shows how even
the bitterest trials and sorrows OF our
lives may be transformed into bless
ings. Tho text is Exodus XIV, %, And
the Lord Showed him Il tree, which
when be had cast into the water, the
waters were made sweet"
Human nature may be aptly cOmpar-
cl to the earth's surface. II was val
leys and hills. loWlands and heights,
broad pastures and undulating prairies,
rich EsdraelOn plains and Bad Lands
OF the Dakotas. 1t has Himalayas of
inspiration, whore we see the face OF
Jesus Christ transilgured before our
eyes, and valleys Of Despond. in which
tie sunshine OF hope never enters, even
as the daylight cannot penetrate the
CatacOmbs underneath ancient Rome.
Yet. strange to say, when we are
standing upon the highest pinnacles OF
spiritual inspiration then we are often
in danger Of tumblIng over the steep
est preciplces Of sin. This desplcable
nd only true of individuals as 1t was
III The life of Peter when he denied
Christ thrice. but II is also true Of the
spiritual conditions Of communities.
tidal wave of skepticlsm can sub
merge II nation and people as an In
dividual can be sucked into the quick
sands of spiritual death.
Some time ago | read graphic &C
count OF an English tourist ascending
the Swiss attitudes. AS this gentleman
and his party were climbing, they
passed through beautiful village
where life IN all its rustic simplicity
was smiling before their eyes. Hardly
had they left this little village and gone
few miles beyond. when one Of the
guides cried out: Look. Look Look!
See the avalanche breaking loose" The
Enhishnan looked, and saw u great
mass of snow about three miles In
width tearing away from its anchor
ages. with deep intonations, which
sounded the death knell not only OF
cattle and sheep and horses and goats,
hut Of mon women and children. 1t
came tumbling down In its wild plunge
II literally swept away all vestige OF
life. and pushed houses and barns and
scho1Mouses and churches and trees
and FENCES and crops into the canyon
below. Nothing was left in the path
way Of that onrushng snow but the
bare rocks Like those avalanches,
there are spiritual catastrophes which
sweep whole communities off their feet.
In the Third Heaven.
The darkest of clouds as black cur
tains may he drawn over the bluest OF
skies: the bitterest wAilings Of skepti-
cism and doubt may reverberate as
dolorous echoes 10 the most gladstone
shouts Of gospel praise and thanksgiv-
ing. IT was only three days ago that
we find the Israeites so happy that
their spiritual gratitude makes them
almost beside themselves with Joy. In
their holy elatiOn and thankfulness 10
God for their deliverance from the pur-
suing Egyptians they were like PAU,
who described his past spiritual joys
IN these words: 81 knew a man in
Christ about fourteen years ago, wheth-
er in the body or whether out Of the
body / cannot tell God knoweth).
Such one caught up to the third
heaven" Yes. the Hebrew people were
I'm the third heaven only three days
ago. They were so happy in thor re-
cent liberation from serfdom that they
could not keep their feet still, let alone
their lips. Then sung Moses and the
children Of Israel this song unto the
Lord and spalte. saying: will sing un-
to the Lord. for he hath triumphed glo-
rlously. The horse and his rider hath
he thrown into the sea. The Lord Is
my strength and song, and he IS be-
come my salvation, he is my God, and
I will prepare him a habitation. My
fathers God and | will exalt him"
But hardly had this song died away
when the people began to murmur ana
der ounce God. They said: what are
we going TO drink? Here we are In the
desert now forty-eight hours and there
Is no water but these bitter waters or
AIarah. Why didst thou not let us stay
I'm EgvDt rather than bring US out into
thjs wilderness sand to die or
thirst" Then God showed Moses a
tree. and the great lawglver threw
this tree into the bitter waters of Ma
rah. and ut once they became sweet.
Wonderful story this, and yet this
history is the biography of our own
lives. We have all had our times OF
SINGING and dancing and praising God
! upon the bnnks of the Red sea. Then
we have all had our sudden spiritual
reactions, when we have been In the
desert with no water to drink but the
bitter Marah. Indeed, many Of us are
standing and complaining at the bitter
waters even at the present time. Now,
this ought not to be when God has
| proyided means of sweetening them.
Mirages of the Desert.
First. let us talk about the bitter wa
ters which are now flowing out Of the
desert places where once grew the lux
uriant Oases of the visions Of our early
childhood. When we were boys and
girls sitting behind the schoolroom
desk we never pictured for ourselves
the prosaic conditions of being clerks
and farm hands and book canyassers
and mechanics and servants and ste
nographers and nurses. But when we
thought Of ourselves az future men
and women we always painted for our
selves beautiful mirages In every des-
ert We could see ourselves in imag-
ination as artists sitting before an
easel. or as surgeons standing by some
operating table, or as lawyers pleading