Fisherman & farmer. [volume] (Edenton, N.C.) 1887-19??, 1892-09-16
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S sun.
DAY SERMON.
Subject: Celestial sympathizers."

pass or through the Mount Csuis tunnel
you are In few hours set down at Verona
Italy, and IN few minutes begin examin-
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 snaIl see
fit to call them, in which sat the senators.
the kings and the twenty-five thousand ex-
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
frenZed with hunger and thirst they are let
out upon some victim who with his sword
and alone, is condemned to meet them.
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 fifth-a'l the way up to the twentieth,
all the way up to the thirteth, all the way
up to the fOrtieth. Every place is filed.
Immensely of audience sweeping the great
circle. Silencal The 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 breathessly
watching. hear the door at the side of the
srsna creak open. Out pIunges the half
starved hon. his tongue athirst for blood
aud with a roar that brings all the galleries
to their feet he rushes against the sword Of
the combstant.
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
sl4e OF the arena; then, rallying his wasted
strength he comes up with fiercer eye and
more terrible roar than ever, only to be
driven back with a fatal wound while the
com5atant 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 came to see a
race; sometimes to see gladiators fight each
other, until the people, compassionate for
the fallen, turned their thumbs down as an
appeal that the vanquished be spared, and
sometimes the combat was with wild beasts.
70 one of the Roman amphitheatrical
audiences of one hundred thousand people
Paul refers when he says: eve are COM
passed about with SO great crowd of wit
nesses." The direct reference in the last
passage is made to race, but elsewhere
having discussed that I take now Pauls
favorite idea of the Christian life as a COM
bat.
The fact is that every Christian man has
a lion to fight. Yours is bad temper. The
gates of the arena have been opened, and
this tiger has come out to destroy your soul.
1t has lacerated you with many wound.
You have been thrown by it time and again.
but in the strength of God you have arisen
to drive it back [ verify believe you will
conquer. [ think that the temptation is
getting weaker and weaker You have
given it so many wounds that the prospect
is that it will die and you shall be victor,
through Christ! Courage, brother! Do not
let the sands OF the arena drink the blood Of
your soul!
Your lion is the passion for strong drink.
You may have contended against it twenty
years, 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 seize thee by the throat
and rend thee limb from limb. Take this
weapon, sharp and keen-reach up and get
it from Gods armory-the sword of the
Spirit. With that thou mayest drive him
back and conquer!
But why specify, when every man and
woman has lion to fight. If there be one
here who has no besetting sin, let him speak
out: for him have [ offended. If you have
net fought the lion, it is because you have
let the lion eat you up. This very moment
the contest goes Oh. The Trojan celebration,
where ten thousand gladiators fought and
eleven thousand wild beasts were slain, was
not SO terrific struggle as that which at
this moment goes on in many 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 with the roar
Ing lion of hell.
Men think when they contend against an
evil habit that they have to fight it all alone.
mol They stand in the centre of an I'M
mense circle of sympathy Paul had been
reciting the names of Abel, Enoch, Noah,
Abraham, Sarah, Isaac, Joseph, Gideon and
Barak, and then says: Being compassed
about with so great cloud OF witnesses"
Before get through l will show you tnat
YOU fight in an arena around which circle,
in galleries above each other, all the KIN
ding eyes and all the sympathetic hearts OF
the ages; and at every victory gained there
comes down the laundering applause OF
great multitude that no man can number.
''belng comprised about with so great
cloud of witnesses"
Though the arena be crowded with temp.
tations we snail, with the angelic help,
strike them down in the name of our Sod
and leap on their fallen carcassesl 0 bend.
ing throng of bright angelic faces and swift
wings and lightning foot! 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
Che ark; and Moses, waiting till the last
Red Sea shall divide: and jeremiah waiting
for the Jews to retur1; and John, of the
Apocalypse, waiting for the swearing of the
angel that Time shall be no longer. Glorious
spirits! Ye were howled at; We were stoned;
We were spit uponI They have been in this
fight themselves and they are all with US.
Daniel knows all about lions. Paul fought
with beasts at EpheSuS.
In the ancient anphithestre the people