The Opelousas courier., 1892-10-15
REV. DR.. TALMAGE
THE BROO KLYN DlV!NE's sun
DAY SERMON

EAAISh ~ U.s.
Crossing the Alps by the Mount Gents
pass or through the Mount Gents tunnel,
you are in a few hours set down at Veronis.
Italy, and in a few minutes begin exanin.
ing one of the ~grandest ruins of the world
the amphitheatre. The whole building
sweeps around you in a circle. You stand
in the arena where the combat was once
fought or the race run, and on all sides the
seats rise, tier above tier, until you count
forty elevations or galleries, as I shall see
fit to call them, in which sat the senators,
the kings and the twenty-five thousand x
cited spectators.
At the sides of the arena and under the
galleries are the cages in which the lions
and tigers are kept without food until,
frenzied with hunger and thirst they are let
out upon some victim who, with his sword
and alone, is condemned to meet hem. I
think that Paul himself once stood in such a
place, and that it was not Only fguratively
but literally that he had fought with
beasts at Ephesus."
The gala day has come. From all the
world the people are pouring into Verona.
Men, women and children, orators and sena-
tors, great men and small, thousands upon
thousands, come, until the first gallery is
full, and the second, the third. the fourth,
the 1fth-all the way up to the twentieth,
all the way up to the thirtieth, all the way
up to the fortieth. Every place is filed.
immensely of audience sweeping the great
circle. Silencei This time for the con-
test has come. A Roman official leads forth
the victim into the arena Let him get his
sword with firm grip into his right hand.
The twenty-five thousand sit breathlessly
watching. hear the door at the side of the.
arena creak open. Out plunges the half
starved lion, his tongue athirst for blood,
and with a roar that brings all the galleries
to their feet he rushes against the sword of
the combatant.
Do you Know how strong a stroke a man
will strike when his life depends upon the
first thrust of his blade? The wild beast.
lame and bleeding, sinks back toward the
side Of the arena; then, rallying his wasted
strength, he comes up with fiercar eye and
more terrible roar than ever, only to be
driven back with a fatal wound, while the
combatant comes in with stroke after stroke,
until the monster is dead at his feet, and the
twenty-five thousand people clap their hands
and utter a shout that makes the city
tremble.
Sometimes the audience anne to sac q
race, sometimes to SEQ gladiators fight each
other, until the people, compassionate for
the fallen, turned their thumbs down as Al
appeal that the vanquished be spared, and
sometimes the combat was with wild beasts.
To one of the Roman amphitheatrical
audiences Of one hundred thousand people
Paul refers when he says: "We are COM
passed about with so great a crowd OF witt
nesses." The direct reference in the last
passage is made to a race, but elsewhere
having discussed that, ] take now Paufs
favorite idea Of the Christian life as q coma
bat.
The fact is that every Christian mar hrs
a lion to fight. Yours is a bad temper. The
gates of the arena nave been opshed, aud
this tiger has come out to destroy your o
1t has lacarated you with man. a wound.
YoS have been thrown by it time n again,
-: ~. a.~ oF 1nl hasa aN;coo
to drive it back. 1 verify believe you will
conauer. T think that the termination Is
getting weaker and weaker. You have
given It so many wounds that the prospect
IS that it will die AMI you shall be victor,
through Christi Courage, brotherl Do not
let the sands of the arena drink the blood OF
your soull
Your lion is the passion for strong drink.
You may have commended against it twenty
wears. but 1t is strong of body and thirsty Of
tongue. You have tried to fight it back
with broken bottle or empty wine flask.
Nay! that is not the weapon. With one
horrible roar he will seizs thee by the throat
and rend thee limb from limb. Take this
weapon, sharp AND keen-reach up and get
il from Gods armorY-the sword of the
Spirit. With that thou mayest drive him
back and conqueri
But why specify, when every man and
woman has a lion to fight. Il there be one
here who has no bssetting sin. let him speak
ont: for him have / offended. Ii you have
not fought the lion, it is because you nave
let the lion eat you up. This very moment
the contest goes on. The Trojan celebration.
where ten thousand gladiators fought ana
eleven thousand wild beasts were slain, was
not SO terrific a struggle as that which OF
this moment goes on in many a soul Ine
combat was for the life Of the body this IS
for the life of the soul. That was with wild
beasts from the jungle; THIS Is WIN tue foaf
ing lion of hell.
Men think when they contend against an
evil habit that they haveto fight 1t all alone.
MOL They stand in the centre or an aut
mense circle Of sympathy Paul mad peer
reciting the names Of Abel, Enoc1. moan
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph. Gideon no
Barak. and then says: Being co1lpasSsi
about with so great a cloud Of Witnesses
Before I get through I will show you Sna'
Won fght in an arena around which circle
in galleries above each other, all the Kan
ding eyes and all the sympathetic hearts Q
the ages; and at every victory gained tnsr
comes down the laundering applause o.
great multitude that no mar can NUMBER
.sBeing comprised about with so great q
cloud of Witnesses
Though the arena be crowded with temp.
tations we snail, with the angelic help,
strike them down in the name OF cur God
and leap on their fallen earcasses! Q bend
ing throng Of bright angel c faces and swift
wings and lightning footl I hail you to day
from the dust and struggle Of the arena!
look again and see the gallery OF the
prophets and apostles. Who are those
mighty ones up yonder! Hosea and Jere-
miah and Daniel and Isaiah and Paul and
Peter and John and James. There sits
Noah, waiting for all the world to come into
Red Sea shall divide; and Jeremiah, waiting
for the Jew to return; and John, OF the
Apocalypse, waiting for the swearing of ths
angel that Time shall be no longer. Glorious
spiritsi Ye were howIed at; ye were stoned;
ye were spit upon! They have been In tais
eight themselves, and they are all with us.
Daniel knows ali about lions. Paul fought
with beasts at Ephesus.
In the ancient ainphitheatra the people
got so excited that they would shout from the
galleries to the men in the arena: AT it
againl" stForwardr' t'Ona more strokep
Look out? p Fall backp Huzzal Huzzam
So in that gallery. prophetic and apostolic
out, aThy God VIII deliver thee from the
mouth of the lionsr' David exc,aims, ''He
will not suffer thy foot to be movedp Isaiah
calls out, Fear notl I am with theei Be
not ~disnayedm Paul exclaims. Victory
through our Lord Jesus CHRISTI That
throng Of prophets and apostles cannot keep
stin. They make the welkin ring With
shouting and halleIuiahs.
Hook again and / see the gallery of the
martyrs. Who is that? Hugh Latiner,
sure enough! He would not apologies Tor
the truth preached. aud so he died the night
before swinging from the bedpost in perfect
glee at the thought Of emancipation. Who
are that army of six thousand six hundred
and sixty-six? They are the Thaban legion
who died for the faith. Here is a larger host
in magnificent ~array-sight hundred and
eightv-four t~hou5and-Nao psrished for