Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1908-02-22

you with grip OF steel. Thls man,
then nearly sixty years Of age, had
been dlssipated in his youth. He had
once been a drunkard. But for forty
years of his life he had lived pure,
true, consistent Christian life. But
one day, under hot summer sun, he
became dizzy with a sunstroke He
stepped into a nearby drugstore for
help. The druggist, not knowing his
old weakness, gave him a glass Of
liquor. That one glass revived the old
passion. He started forth from that
drug store to the nearest saloon. He
drank until he was drunk. He drank
himself into the gutter. And in six
months he drank himself into the
grave. Beware, o man, Of that old
sin!
When | was q boy heard John B.
Cough talking along the same line.
There he stood before me, an old gray
haired man. suppose he had per-
suaded more people to sign the tenn
perance pledge than any man who has
ever lived. He was not only a leader
of men. but the leader Of leaders In the
temperance reform. And yet that
man, who for forty years had been
pleading the temperance cause, said:
MAN, If you have once been a drunk
ard never dare trust yourself with
this sin. 1t has been nearly half a
century since the old passion, by the
grace of God, lost its hold on me- But
the old passion is still there. 1t Is
manacled and kenneled, but 1t Is there.
| would no more touch glass OF liquor
than | would dare take dagger and
drive 1t In my heart. | would no more
dare touch q piece Of branded mince
pie than I would dare touch a lighted
match to a gunpowder magazine. 1t Is
there. The old slumberlng passion is
there, ready to be awakened at a
word" And yet some people suppose
that because they have been resisting
sin ten, twenty, forty, fifty years the
old forces Of sin are dead. Beware, o
mani The relapse Of sin Is always
more dangerous than the first condl-
ton. The passion is still there. 1t Is
there In your sinful heart.
When We Are Not Afraid.
II is when we are not afraid OF sin
that the dangers Of sin become four
fold. Travellers tell US that the wolves
of Mexico have a strange way or
catching the wild horses. These horses
have the speed Of the wind. 1t Is al
most impossible for a single cowboy TO
catch one. The cowboys when they
wish to run them down have relays or
pursuers. First one set Of cowboys
will chase the horses; then another re-
Law will take up the run; then another
and another. until at last the horses are
caught by the lasso. But 1t is only
when they are completely tired that
they are caught; therefore it would be
impossible for the wolves to catch
them unless they used strategy, for the
wolves fight is not as swift as the
horses.
This is the way the wolves kill the
wild horses of the Mexican plains:
First a couple of wolves come out OF
the woods and begin to play together
like two kittens. They gambol about
each other and run backward and for
ward Then the herd Of horses lift
their startled heads and get ready to
stampede. But the wolves seem to be
so playful that the horses, after watch
Ing them awhile, forget their fears and
continue to Craze. Then the wolves in
their playing come nearer and nearer,
while other wolves slowly and stealthily
creep after them. Then suddenly the
enemies surround the herd and make
one plunge, and the horses are strug-
Cling with the fangs of the relentless
foes gripped in their throats. In a
similar way our old sins cunningly at
tack us. They play about us and keep
playing around us. and they look so
harmless, and we feel so strong But
suddenly they make plunge. and the
old wounds are reopened, and we are
helpless in the grasp Of the monsters
Of sin. Beware of that relapse into
sin. Behold, thou art made whole.
Sin no more lest a worse thing come
unto thee"
A Thrilling Incident.
But, though Christ is speaking the
same thought as Paul spoke in Corln-
thians when he said, Wherefore let
him that thinketh he standeth take
heed lest lie fall" thank God, Christ
does not stop there. He warns the
man at the pool of Bethesda, but be
also teaches the doctrine that he is the
| Christ of the backslider. When Christ
starts forth to save an immortal soul,
he is no respecter Of persons. He can
save the backslider. There IS an Incl
| dent told of the famous Edward lrv-
ing, the eloquent preacher. When
boy In Scotland, with his little sister
he went down on the sands Of Solway
| Firth to meet his uncle, who was COM
ing to visit their home. When the tide
comes in there II comes with a rush.
1t sweeps on like a food. All the peo-
ole there know this danger Of the on
rushing sea and guard against it, but
these little children forgot the time OF
the tide. They were playing in little
pool of water. Suddenly a horsemau
| dashed down from the mountain side
Without word he came up on a run,
grabbed the two children, flung them
across the saddle and started for the
hills. Faster and faster followed the
rising tide, but at last the horseman
and his precious load were saved
| Then the uncle saw that he had saved
his own brothers children, who had
come out to meet him. SO 1t is with
| Christ. It matters not who the sinner
may be nor whether he has sinned
seventy times seven. II you go out
to meet Christ, he will save you from
the tidal waves of sin and save you
now.
God works through natural and hui
man agencies as we'll as by his wore
and power. This pool Of Bethesda
may have been merely geyser or q
,,,;noroI cnrinO II ic hpttpr remedy