The Banner-Democrat. [volume] (Lake Providence, East Carroll Parish, La.) 1892-current, 1892-10-29
CELESTIAL WITNESSES.
Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage Offers
Comfort to the Struggling Sinner.

The Conflict with the Powers OF Evil Has
:. - sympathizing Witnesses In the An
geIic Forms Of Those Who
Have Gone Before Us.
The following discourse was select
ed by Rev. T. Dewitt Talmage for pub
location this week The text is:
facing we also are comprised about with 80
great cloud OF witnesses.--I Co rinthians, XIV,
crossing the Alps by the Mont Gents
pass. or through the Mont Cents tunnel,
you are in a few hours set down st We
roma, Italy, and in few minutes begin
examining one of the grandest ruins Of
the world-the Amphitheater. The
whole world sweeps around YOU in a
circle. You stand in the arena where
the combat was once fought on the
race run, and on all sides the seats arise,
tier above tier, until you count forty
elevations, or galleries, as shall see fit
to call them, in which sat the senator's,
the kings and twenty-five thous-
and solicited 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 con-
demned to meet them. / think that
Paul himself once stood in such place,
and that it was not only fignratively,
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, and the
second, the third, the fourth, the fifth
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 Silence! 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,
into his right hand. The twenty
Eve 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 galleries to their
feet, he rushes against the sword of
the combatant Do you know how
strong a stroke man will strike when
his life depends upon the first thrust of
his blade? The will 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 blatant 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 shout that makes the city trem-
BILE.
Sometimes the audience came to see
race; sometimes to see gladiators
fight each other. until the people, COM
passionate for the fallen, turned their
thumbs down as an appeal that the
vanquished lie spared; and sometimes
the combat was with wild beasts. To
one of the Roman amphitheatrical audi
ences of one hundred thousand people
Paul refers when he says: 1--WE are
compassed about with SO great a
crowd of witnesses" The direct ref
erence in the last passage is made to
a race; but elsewhere, having dis
cussed that, take now Paurs favorite
idea of the Christian life as combat.
The fact is that every Christian man
has lion to fight. Yours is bad
temper. The gates of the arena have
been opened and this tiger has come
to destroy your soul. 1t has lacerated
you with many a wound. You have
been thrown by it time and again, bat
in the strength of God you have arisen
to drive it back. l verify believe you
will conquer. think that the tempta-
ton is getting weaker and weaker.
You have given it so many wounds
tn at the prospect is that it will die,
and you shall be the victor, through
!. Christ. Courage, brother! Do not let
Ne sands of the arena drink the blood
Of your soull
Your lion is the passion for strong
drink. You may have contended
against it twenty years; but it is
strong of body and thirsty of tongue.
You have tried to fight it back with
broken bottle or empty wine-fask.
Nay! that is not the weapon. With the
horrible roar he will seize thee by the
throat and rcnd thee limb from limb.
Take this weapon, sharp and keen
reach mp and get it from Gods armory;
the Sword of the Spirit. With that
&1(ou mayest drive him back and con-
qher!4
But Why specify. when every man
a,sd woman has lion to fight II
therc be one here who has no besetting
~. let him speak out, for him have l
oho4ded. If you have not found the
lion, it is because you have let the lion
eat you up. This very moment the
contest goes on. The Trajan celebra-
ton, where ten thousand gladiators
fought, and eleven thousand wild
beasts were slain, was not SO terrible q
struggle as that which at this moment
goes on in many a soul. The 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
r. H.