The Pickens sentinel. [volume] (Pickens, S.C.) 1871-1903, 1892-09-15

The klnG, sittingSin, the gallery, said,
,vihat was not fair; The lior must be
slain bya sword" Other lions were
turned out and the. poor, victlm fell.
SYou cry, "Sha,ne! shame!n at such
'meanness. But the King insthis case Is
our brother, and he will see that we
have fair'play. He will forbid the rush.
ing out OF moro lions than we can meet:
he will not suffer US to be tempted above
that we are able. Thankss God! The
King is in the. gallery! HIS eyes are on
us. His heart is :withus. His hand will
deliver u.s. "Blsssed are all they who
put their trust in HIM"
L look again, andseo the angelic gal
lery. There they are-the angel that
| swung the sword at the gate of Eden, The
same that Ezekiel saw upho'ding the
throne o. God, and from which look
away, for the splcndor is inspflerable,
Here arc the guardian angels. That one
watched a patriarch; this one protected
| a child. That one has been pulling a
soul out of temptation! All these are
messcnlcr of light! Those drove the
Spanish armada on the ro:ls. This
turned Scnnacherib's living bosts into q
heap OF one hundred and elghty-liye
thousand corpses. Those, yonder,
chautcd The Chtlstu as carol over Beth.
lehcm until the chant aWoke The shep-
herds. These, at creation, stood in tie
balcony Of heaven aud serena led the
newborn world wrapped in swaddling
clothes or light. And thero, nolicr aud
ml&htier Than all, Is Michael, the a, CHI
angel. TO command an cal .hly host
gives dignity; but this one l., leader of
~, 81
OF the ten thousand times ten Thousand
angels. | think God Yives command to
the archangel, and the archanscl TO the
sera 1hlm, and the seraphlm to The
cherublm, unit all the love- orders of
heaven hear the command and 90 forth
on the high behcst.
Now, bring on your lou>! Who can
lear? AL the spectators in the angelic
gallery are our friends. "IIe shall give
his angels charge over thee, to keep thee
in all thy ways. They shall bear thee
up in thei" hands, les: thou dash thy foot
against stone. ThOu shalt tread upon
the lion and adder; the young lion aud
the dragon shalt thou trample upder
toot."
Though the arena be crowded with
temptations we shall, with tho angelic
help, strike them down IN the name Of
our God and leap on the carcasses! Oh,
bending throng of b.iIht angelic faces
and swift wings and lightning foot! |
hail you today from the dust aud strus-
gle ofthe arena!
l look again ana see the gallery of
the prophets and apostles Who arc
those mighty ones up youdar? Hosea
and jeremiah and Daniel and isaiah and
Paul and Peter and John and James.
There sits Noah waiting Tor nil the world
to come into the ark. und Moses, wait.
ing till the last Red Sc, shall divide; and
jeremiah, waiting for the Jews to re-
turn; and John, OF the Apocalypse,
waiting Tor the swearing of the angel
that Time shall be no longer. Glorious
spirits! Ie were hnwlcd ut, We we're
stoned, ye were spit upon! They have
been i'll this fight themselves. and thew
are all with us. Danirl knows all about
lions. Paul fought with beast. al
Ephcsus.
Iii the ancient amphtheatcr The peo-
pie got 80 excited that they would shout
from the galleries TO the men in the
arena: AT it ayain!" "Forward!n
"Ohe more strokr" "LJok ouL!n
"Fnll back" "IIuzz'! IIuzza!" SO
in that gallery, phOphellc an, apostolic.
they c""not KEEP their peace. Daniel !
cries out, "Ihy Gcd VIII deliver thee
from tuc mouth Oi the liolsN David !
eNclailis, "IIn will not suilrr thy foot
to be mOycd!' Isaiah calls mt: "rear
not! lam with thee! b. not dismaycdu'
Paul cXclams, "N'ictory Trough our
Lord j%sus Christ" That throno OF
prophets and apostles ctnuo, keep st,ll.
They make the wclkn rins with shout
inG and hallelUIahs.
| look again and see the gallery of
the martyrs. Who is that? Hugh
Latimrr, sure enough! He would not
apologize for the truth preached, and 80
he died tho night before swinging from
the bedpost in perfect 9lec at the thought
OF emancipation. Who are that army
OF six thousand six hundred and sixty
SIX? They are the Thcban legion, who
died TO. the faith. Here is a larger host
IN magnificent array--eight hundred and
elghty-iour thonsand-wbo perished for
Christ in the prosecutions of Docletiau
Wonder is a family group, Felic;tes of
Rome, and her children. While they
wcro dying ior the iaiLh she stood en-.
coura9ing them. One son was whipped
10 death by tGorns; another was iluu9
from rock; another was beLeaded. A,
last the mother became a martyr. Their
they are togethcr-a fairly group il
heaven! Yonder is John Bradford, WHO
said in the fire, eve shall have merry
supper with The Lord tonlgh," Yoader
10 ,lenry Woes, who exclaimed as he
died. of L had ten heads they should all
fall off for Christi"
The great throng of the martyrs,
They had hot lead poured iown their
throats; horses were fastened to their
hands, and other horses TO their feet.
and thus they were pulled apart; thew
had their tongLes pulled out by red hot
plncers; they were sewed up in the skins
OF animals and then thrown to the dogs:
they were daubed with conlbust;bles and
set on fire! If all the martyrs stakes
that had been kindlcd could DO set nj
proper distances they would make the
midnight all the world over bright as
MONDAY.
And now they sit yonder lu the mar.
tyrs' gallery. For them the fires of
persecution have gono out. Tho swords
are Sheathe0 and thp mOh bushud No.,