Grand Rapids herald. [volume] (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 1892-1959, 1892-09-05

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moment Eoes ca II many a soUL The
combat va for the life II the body;
tbs = Ter the lie Of tbs souL That Wa
with Mild beasts from The jungle: thls
l. vita the roaring bon u he'll.
THE ISFiSITE HELPER
Men think when they contend against
an EVIL habit that they have 20 nght Il
al alone. No, They stand Ia the Cen
tpr II an immense circle Of sympathy.
Paul had been Eeci1ing the names OF
Abel, EnOch, Noah, Abraham. Sarah,
Isaac, Joseph, Gideon and Barak, and
then says, Being compassed about with
- graf : cloud II witnesses"
Before 81 through | viii show you
that you night Ia an arena around which
circle, Ia galleries above each other, all
tho kindi.ns eyes and all the sympa-
thalc hsarts Of the ages, and al every
victory gained there comes down the
numbering applause OF a great multi
tlds that no man can number. Being
eompassed ao0ut with go great cloud
Of witnesses"
On the first elevation OF the ancient
a. tlaAA ltA Nll TIC tAAf u q NtA%AAeA
ton, sat Tberius or Augustus, or the
reigning king. So. in the great arena
Of spectators that watch our struggles,
ard Ia the first divine gallery, as | shall
call IL, sits our King. one Jesus. On his
head are many crOwnsl The Roman
emperor got his place by cold blooded
conquests; but our King hath come 10
his place by the broken hearts healed,
and the tears wiped away, and the souls
redeemed. The Roman emperor sat
with folded arms Indifferent as TO
whether ths swordsman or the lion beat:
bat cur Kings sympathies are all with
rs. Nav, unheard of condescensionl |
see him come down from the gallery
into the arena to help Us in the fight,
shouting until all up and down his voice
IS heard: Fear mott viii help thee!
/ VIII strengthen thee by the right hand
Of my power!'
They gave 10 the men IN the arena in
the olden time food 10 thicken their
blood. SO that II would flow slowly, and
that for longer time the people might
gloat over the scene. But our King has
no pleasure in our wounds, for we are
bone OF his bonS, flesh of his flesh, blood
OF his blood.
Ia all The anguish OF our heart
The man of sorrows bore part
Once, in the ancient amphitheater, a
hon with one raw caught the combat
ants sword and with his other paw
caught his shield. The man took his
knife from his girdle and slew the beast.
The king, sitting in the gallery. said,
That was not fair; the lion must be
slain by a sword" Other lions were
turned out and the poor victim fell
You cry, "Shamel shame!' at such
meanness. But the king in this case is
our brother. and he viii see that we
have fair play. He viii forbid the rush
ing out Of more lions than we can meet
lie viii not suffer Us to be tempted above
that we are able. Thank Godl The
King Is IN the gallery, His eyes are on
rs. His heart is with us. His hand
VIII deliver US. Blessed are all they
who put their trust in him"
THE CELESTIAL GUARDIANS.
| look again and | see the angelic
gallery. There they are; the angel that
swung the sword at the gate of Eden,
the same that Ezekiel saw UNFOLDING
the throne Of God. and from which |
look away, for the splendor is insuffer-
able. Here are the guardian angels.
That enc watched a patriarch: this one
protected a child. That one has been
pulling soul out of temptation! All
these are messengers of light Those
drove the Spanish Armada on the rocks.
This turned Sennacherib's living hosts
into heap Of one hundred and eighty
five thousand c0rpses. Those yonder
chanted the Christmas carol over Beth
iehem until TIE chant awoke the shep-
herds. These, ct creation, stood in the
balcony Of heaven and serenaded the
newborn world wrapped in swaddling
clothes Of light. And there. holier and
mightier than all, is Michael, the arch
angel. To command an earthly host
gives dignity. but this ono is leader oe
the twenty thousand chariots Of God,
and of the ten thousand times ten thou
sand angels. 1 think God gives CON-
mand to the archangel, and the arch
angel 70 the seraphirn, and the seraphim
e. the cherubim, until gil the lower
orders Of heaven hear the command
and 20 forth on tho high behest.
Now, bring on your lions! Who can
fearl All the spectators in the angelic
gallery are our friends. He shall give
his angels charge over thee. to keep the
In all thy WAYS. they shall bear thee
up in their hands lest thou dash thy
foot against a stone. Thou shalt tread
upon the lion and adder; the young lion
and tie dragon shalt thou trample I'M
der foot"
Though the arena b crowded with
Temptations we shall. with the angelic
help. strike them down in the name of
our God and leap on their fallen car
cassesi Offending throng II bright an
geiio faces and swift wings and lightning
foot. / hail you today from the dust
sud struggle Of the arena.
look again and see the gallery Of
TIE prophets and apostles. Who ars
those mighty ones mp yonder2 Hosea
and Jeremiah and Daniel and Isaiah
and Paul and Peter and John and
James There sits Noah. waiting for
81 the world to come into the ark: and
Moses. waiting till the last Rcd sea shall
divide. and jeremiah. waiting for the
Jews g return and John. % the Apo
alyVse, waiting for the swearing Of the
angel that Time shall be no longer
Glorious spirtsi Ye were howled At
y wers stoned. "a we're spit uponl
They have been in this fghf themselves,