The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1892-09-21
REV. DR.. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIvINE'5 SUN
DAY SERMON.
Subject: celestial Sympathizers."

pdSS VI C0ulS CuQQ6ls
| you are in few hours set down ct VERONA,
Italy, and in few minutes begin examiu.
Ing one of the grandest ruins Of the world
the amphitheatre. The whole building
sweeps around you in 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 shall see
fit to call them, in which sat the senators,
the kings and the twenty-five thousand e1-
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 them. I
think that Paul himself once stood in such q
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-al the way up to the twentieth,
all the way up to the thirtieth, all the way
up to the fortieth. Every place is filled.
Immensity Of audience sweeping the great
circle. Silence! The time for the con-
test has come. A Roman official leads forth
the victim into the arena. Lst him get his
sword with firm grip into his right hand.
The twenty-five thousand sit breathlessly
watching. 1hear the door at the side of the
arena creak open. Out plunges the half
starved lioh. 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 stroke man
will strike when his life depends upon the
lame and bleeding, sinks back toward the
side 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 q 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 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.
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 crowd OF wit
nesses." The direct refersncs in the last
passage is made to race, but elsewhere
having discussed that, I take now PauFs
favorite idea of the Christian life as COM
bat.
The fact is that every Christian man has
a lion to fight Yours is bad temper. The
gates of the arena have bsen opened, and
this tiger has come out to destroy your soul.
It 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. I verify believe you will
conquer. I think that the temptation Is
given It so many wounds that the prospect
is that it will die and you shall be victor,
through Christi 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 be will seize thee by the throat
weapon, sharp and keen-reach up and get
it from Gods armory-ths 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 hin speak
out; for him have offended. II you have
not fought the lion, it is because you have
let the lion eat you up. This very. moment
the contest gpes on. The Trojan celebration,
where ten thousand gladiators fought and
not so terrific 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; thus 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.
No! 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 conpassed
about with so great cloud Of witnesses"
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.
.reing compassed about with so great
cloud Of witnesses"
Though the arena be crowded with temp
tations we shall, with the angelic help,
strike them down in the name Of our God
and leap on their fallen carcasses! 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!
l look again and see the gallery OF the
prophets and apostles. Who are those
mighty ones up yonder9 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
the ark; and Moses, waiting till the last
Red Sea shall divide; and Jeremiah, waiting
for the Jews to return, and John, OF the
Apocalypse, waiting for the swearing OF tha
angel that Time shall be no loager. Glorious
spirits! Ye were howled at; ye were stoned;
We were spit upon! They nave been in this
fight themselves, and they are all with us.
Daniel knows all about lions. Paul fought
with beasts at EDhesus.
In the ancient ainphithea.rs the people
got so excited that they would shout from the
galleries to the men in the arena: 'At it
azainw "Forwardr Zone more stroke"
LOOK outr Fall backw Huzza Huzza"
So in that gallery. prophetic and apostolic.
they cannot keep their peace. Daniel cries
mouth of the lionsp Davii e1c.aimS, "He
will not suffer thy foot to Ds movedr' Isaiah
calls out Fear not! I am with thee! Be
not disnayed" Paul exclaims Victory
through our Lori Jesus Christ" That
thrung of prophets and apostles cannot kesp
still. They make the welSin ring with
scoatiag and halleluians.
1 look again AMI l sea the gallery of the
martyrs. Who is that? Hugh Latimer,
sure enough He would not apologize for
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 thou sand siI hundred