The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-09-07

NoAobbihl oympatniZerS" La the title
OF Rev. DR.. Talmage's sermon selected
Tor publication this week, the text be-
Ing taken from l. Cor. xv., so: 81 have
fought with beasts at Ephesus," and
Hebrews xii, 1; Seeing we also are
compassed about with so great cloud
OF witnesses" The sermon follows:
Crossing the Alps by the Mont Gents
Pass or through the Mont Cents Tun.
mel, you are In few hours set down a,
Verona, Italy, and In few minutes be-
gin examining one Of the grandest ruins
In the world-the Amphitheater. 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 eleva.
lions, or galleries, as shall see fit to
call them, In which sat the senators,
the kings and the twenty-five thousand
excited 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 poor victim, who, with his sword
and alone, is condemned to meet them.
think that Paul himself once stood In
such place, and that II was not only
hguratively, 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 senator's, great men and
small, thousands upon thousands come,
until the first gallery is full, the sec
ond, the third, the fourth, the fifth-all
the way up to the twentieth, all the
way up to the thirtieth, all the wav
up to the fortieth Every place is filed.
Immensity Of audience sweeping the
great circle. Silencel The time for the
contest has come. A Roman official
leads forth the victim into the arena.
Let him get his sword, with firm grip,
ipto his right hand. The twenty Ave
thousand sit breathlessly watching. I
hear the door at the side of the arena
creak open. Out plunges the half
starved lion, his tongue athirst for
blood, and, with roar that brings all
the galleries 70 their feet, he rushes
against the sword Of the cembatant.
Do you know how strong stroke man
will strike when his life depends upon
the first thrust Of his blade2 She wild
beast, lame and bleeding, sinks back
toward the side of the arena; then,
rallying his wasting strength, he comes
up with fiercer eye and more terrible
roar than ever, only TO be driven back
with fatal wound, while the COM
batant comes in with stroke after
stroke, until the monster is dead at his
feet, and the twenty-five thousand peo-
pie clap their hands and utter shout
that makes the city tremble
Sometimes the audience came TO see a
race; sometimes to see gladiators hght
each other until the people, compass
sionate for the fallen, turned their
thumbs down as an appeal that the van
quished be spared; and sometimes the
combat was with wild beasts.
To one Of the Roman amphitheatrical
audiences OF 100, 900 people Paul refers
when he says: 1--WE are compassed
about with so great crowd OF witness
es" The direct reference In the last
passage is made to a race. but elsewhere,
having discussed that take now Paurs
favorite Idea Of the Christian life as a
combat.
The fact is that every Christian man
has lion 70 fight Yours Is a bad tenn
per. The gates OF the arens Have been
opened, and this tiger has col out To
destroy your soul II has lace tdted you
with many q wound You have been
thrown by II time and again, but in the
strength Of God you have risen 70 drive
It back verify believe you win con-
quer. think that the temptation is
getting weaker and weaker You have
given 1t 80 many wounds that the pros
pect Is that II will die, and you shall be
victor, through Christ Courage, BROTH
erl Do not let the sands Of tho arena
drink the blood of your soul!
Your lion is the passion for strong
drink. You may have contended against
II for twenty years; but II is strong of
body and thirsty of tongue. You have
tried TO fight II back with brolsen bot
tie Or empty wine-fask. Nayl that is
not dhe weapon. With ope horrible roar
he will seize 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 mayst drive
him back and conquerl
But why specify, when every man
and woman has lion 10 Aghtp II there
be one who has no besetting ain, let
him speak out; for him have Ioffended
II you have not fought the lion IL Is be-
cause you have Let the lion eat you up.
This very moment the contest goes on.
The Trsjan celebration, where ten
thousand gladiators fought and eleven
thousand wild beasts were slain, was
not so terrific q struggle as that which
NJ this moment goes ON In many soul
The combat was for tho life of the body,
this is for the life Of the soul. That
was with wild beasts from the jungle,
this is with the roaring lion Of hell. !,
Man think, when thoy contend against
an evil habit that they have 10 fight II
all alone MOI They stand In The con-
Ter Of an immense circle Of sympathy.
Paul had been reciting the names Of
Abel Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Sarah,
Isaac, Joseph, Gideon, and Baralr, and
then says; Being compassed about
with 80 great cloud Of witnessea"
Before got through, win show you
that you fight In an arena around
which circle, In galleries above each
c4hnr al Tho no.th.&l. kA.A. "a