The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1894-05-02

nacle was crowded this morning with the
usual throng of eager listeners. DR..
Talmage preached on the spiritual con-
fiicts of life, taking for his text Genesis
xxi. 24-26: And Jacob was left alone.
and there wrestled a man with him I'M
til the breaking Of day And when he
saw that he prevailed not against him
he touched the hollow OF his thigh. and
the hollow of Jacobs thigh was out Of
Joint as he wrested with him. And he
said. Let me go. for the day breaketh.
And he said. I will not let thee go ex-
cept thou bless me-"
The dust arose from travelling herd
of cattle and sheep and goats and camels-
They are the present that jacob sends
TO gain the good will of his offended
brother. That night Jacob halts by the
brook Jabbok But there is no rest for
the weary man No shining ladder to
let the angels down into his dream, but
a fierce combats that lasts until the
morning with an unknown visitor. They
each try to throw the other. The I'M
known visitor TO reveal his superior
power. by a touch wrenches Jacob s
thigh bone from its socket, perhaps
manning him for life. AS on the morn
ing sky the clusters OF purple cloud be-
gin TO ripen Jacob sees II is an angel
with whom he has been contending and
not one of his brothers cOadjutOrs. Let
me CO. cries the angel. lifting himself
up into increasing light. The day
breaketh."
You see in the first place that God al
lows good people sometimes TO get into
a terrible struggle. JACOB was good
man, but here is left alone in the mid
night to wrestle with a tremendous in
fUence by the brook Jabbok. For
Joseph. pit: for Daniel a wild beast den:
vii for
John the Baptist, wilderness diet and
the executioner's ak; for Peter, prison;
for Paul, shipwreck; for John. desolate
Patmos; for Nashti. most insulting
cruelty; for Josephine. Punishment; for
Mrs. SigOurney. the agony Of a drunk
ards wife; for John Wesley. stones
hurled by an Infatuated mob: for Cathe-
rine, the Scotch GIRL the drowning sur
ges Of the sea; for Mr. Burns, the buffet
ing of the Montreal pOpulace; for John
Brown Of Edinburgh, the pistol shot of
Lord Claverhouse; for Hugh McKail. the
scaffold; for Latimer. the stake; for
Christ, the cross. For whom the rocks,
the gtbbets. the guillOtines, the thumb
screws? For the sons and daughters of
the Lord God Almighty. Some one said
TO a Christian TefOrmer. The world is
against you" Then" he replied, Il
am against the world
RedhOt Disasters.
Christian has his struggle. This man
had his combat in Wall-st: this one on
Broad-st.: this one on Fulton-st: this
one on Chestnut-st.; this one on State
st; this one on LOmbard-st: this one
on the bOurse. With financial misfor-
tune you have had the midnight wrestle.
RedhOt disasters have dropped into your
store from loft TO cellar. What you
bought you could not sell. Whom you
trusted fled. The helm .
would not come. Some giant panic. with
long arms and grip like death, took hold
OF you in an awful wreStle, from which
You have not yet eSCa ped. and it is I'M
certain whether it will throw you or you
will throw il.
Here is another soul in struggle with
some bad appetite. He knew not how
stealthily it was growing upon him. One
hour he woke up. He said, For the
sake of my soul, Of my family and of
my children and Of my God, / must stop
this? And. behold, he found himself
alone by the brook JabbOk, and it was
midnight. That evil appetite seized upon
him, and he seized upon il, and. Oh the
horror OF the conflict When once a bad
habit has aroused itself up to destroy
a man, and the man has sworn that. by
the help OF the eternal God. he will
destroy it, all heaven draws itself out in
a long line Of light 10 look from above.
and hell stretches itself in myrmidOns of
spite 10 look up from beneath. l have
seen men rally themselves for such a
struggle, and they have bitten their lip
and clinched their fists and cried with
a blood red earnestness and a rain Of
scalding tears, God help met'
From wrestle with habit have seen
men fall back defeated. Calling for no
help. but relying on their own resolu-
tons. they have come into the struggle,
and for a time it seemed as If they were
getting the upper hand of their habit,
hut that habit rallied again its internal
power and lifted a soul from its stand
ing and with a force borrowed from the
pit hurled II into utter darkness. First
] saw the auctiOneer's mallet fall on the
pictures, and musical instruments. and
the rich upholstery Of his family parlor
After awhile / him fall into the
ditch. Then, in the midnight. when the
children were dreaming their sweetest
dreams and Christian households are
silent with slumber angel watched /
heard him give the sharp Shrek that
followed the stab Of his own pOniard.
He fell from an honOred social position;
he fell from family circle OF which
once he was the grandest attraction; he
fell from the house of God. at whose
affairs he had been consecrated; he fell
forever. But. thank God. have often
seen a better termination than that.
1 have seen men prepare themselves
for such wrestling They laid hold of
Gods help as they went into combat.
The giant habit. RECALLED by the cup Of
many temptations, came out strong and
defiant They clinched. There were the
writings and distortions of a fearful
struggle. But the old giant began to
waver, and at last, in the midnight alone,
with none but God TO witness, by the
brook Jabbok. the giant fell. and the
triumphant wrestler broke the darkness
with the cry, Thanks be unto God. who
giveth US the victory, through our Lord
Jesus Christ"
a Glorious Promise.
There is a widows heart that first
was desOlate by bereavement, and since
by the anxieties and trials that came in
the support Of family. 1t is a sad
thing to see a man contending for a live
lihOod under disadvantages. but 10 see
d delicate woman, with helpless little
ones at her back, fighting the giants of
poverty and sorrow, is more affecting.
It was a humble home, and passersby
knew not that whiting those four walls
were displays Of courage more admirable
than that Of Hannibal crossing the Alps
or the pass Of Thermopylae. or Bala.klava
where, into the jaws Of death rode the
six hundred
These heroes had the whole world 10
cheer them on, but there We're none tO
applaud the struggle in the humble
home. She fought for bread. for cloth
ing for fire. for shelter. with aching
head and weak side and exhausted
strength through the long night by the