Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-10-19

fully she arrays nerseI III the Puie
white robes that are to be her wed
ding garments. How different Is mans
idea of purity from the divine stand
ard!
DIR. f. b. Meyer. the great English
preacher, taught this truth In sim
pie way. He was making a pastoral
call upon one of his church members
who was a washerwoman. She was
one of the most devoted Christians
and one OF the saintliest characters IN
his church. Like all good Christian
washerwomen. she did her work as
conscIentlously at the tub as at the
prayer meeting. Her clean linen was
hanging upon the lines and lying
around drying when the preacher
called. What beautiful clean linen
you havew said her pastor. Yes" an
swered the woman, "if God wants me
TO be washerwoman | must make
the clothes white for his glory just as
pray well for his glory" But during
DR.. Meyers visit the snowflakes began
to fall When he came to the door 10
say "Goodby" the white mantle OF
winter was everywhere. But the snow
was so white now that it made the
linen clothes grimy in comparison.
Then Dr. Meyer said, "Oh, madam,
your clothes do not look as clean now
as they did" "Of course not" replied
the woman. Remember, Gods white
is always purer than mans white" Sc
the nearer the church comes to union
with Christ the nearer the time for the
wedding nuptials, the more the church
is being cleansed and the higher and
purer become its ideals, then the
more its wedding garments take upon
themselves the purity and spotlessness
of Gods whiteness and Gods love.
Pessimistic Talk.
To hear some pesslmists talk one
would suppose that not only numerical
ly, but also in purity and ideals, the
church is rapidly deteriorating. l con-
tend that not only is the church grow
ing better but it is influencing the
whole world and elevating its Ideals.
Social conditions which would not now
be tolerated for a day were formerly
ordinary commonplaces. We talk about
the curse of tainted money" in these
DAYS. We say that the American peo-
ple are lost to all sense of honor and
decency when corporation funds are
accepted by political parties. We say
that the jugglery Of stocks In wall
street is an outrage. We say that the
state legislatures are only puppets OF
the monopoles and that the municipal
councils are owned, body and mind
and soul, by the railroad corporations.
But stop. Did you ever consider the
fact that the reason we hear so much
| about the financial dishonesties of life
is because the public conscience is be-
ing aroused and higher standard OF
morals has been established? Further
more, did you ever stop to consider
that criminal financial dealings which
| two centuries ago were looked upon as
the ordinary and usual ways of doing
things would not be tolerated now for
one moment? Did you ever hear that
one of the first buildings which were
erected upon the campus OF Princeton
college, the headquarters Of Presbyte-
rians, was erected by the money raised
in a public lottery? Don't talk to me
about the world growing worse! Why
| IL some of our grandfathers ana
| grandmothers should rise up from then
graves and start to live as they used tc
do they would be ostracized from re-
spectacle society, and we would have
nothing to do with them.
But there IS another fact which
want to emphasize about this conquer
ing army of the gospel church-that Is
il may win its final conquest any hour
The time mly be at hand this century
this decade. this year. this month
when Christ is going to come and es
tablish his universal Kingdom upon
the earth. For long years anJ genera
tions the prophets of old foretold his
birth in Bethlehem of Judaea. But t1f
people had waited for Jesus so Ions
that they became Indifferent, and wher
he did come they were completely
taken by surprise. In the New Testa
ment we have again ande again the
promise that Christ is going to come
second tir - - establish his Kingdom
through i..c church. We, too, have
waited So log for the second adven
of Christ that many Of us are apt t
think he cannot come during our life
time. Yet thefe has never been a gen
era.inn since he left the earth that wa'
so ready as this 10 welcome him, no
has there ever been a time so SUITED
as this for the prophetic fulfillment o.
Christs second advent
The Second Coming.
Now, If this great army Of the gospe
church is capturing the world TO
Christ, and If the second advent o
Jesus may take place at any moment
does il not become our duty to Joil
the gorpel hattalonS and have par
in that glorious day when all eartl
and all heaven shall unite in celebrat
ing the dominion Of Christ from sea t
sea? Shall not we do something 10
, / Christ's glory now so that we ma.
have the right to share in his spiritua
+ triumph? Is it not about time for som
, of us 10 give up living our mean, SELF
ish. scrdid lives Of sinful indulgenc
| and 10 icln the great gospel host o
those who are working and waitin
for the millennial dawn? Can We
, dare we, afford to waste even a day o
, an hour in idleness when there is stl
work to be done which may bring neal
er this divine consummation?
1t is said that when the distinguish
ed DR.. Backus, the late president Q
U Hamilton college, was dying the doc
tors told him he had but thirty mir
: utes to live. "Only thirty minutes
= he said. "Well, as the time is so shor
then get me down on my knees that