Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1894-05-16
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THE BROOKLYN DIVINE'S SUM-
=: DAY SERMON.
Subject: "The Spiritual Conflicts O.
Lifeo

UdiLef not against him he touched the hoL
to,o Of has thigh, and the hoIo,o of Jacob.
thigh ,ods ont Of joint as he oreStled Nth him.
And he said, let me 90, for tie day JreIketh.
and he said, l1iH not let ptee 90 except thou
bless me. Gen sis xxxii., 24-26.
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 balts 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 fierce combat, that lasts until the morn
ing, with an unknown visitor. They each
try to throw the other. The unknown visit
or, TO reveal his superior power. by touch
wrenches Jacobs thigh bone from its socket,
perhaps manning him for life. As on the
morning sky the clusters of purple cloud be-
gin to Tipen Jacob sees 1t is an angel with
whom he has been contending, and not one
OF his brothers cOadjutors. "Let me GO,
cries the angel, lifting himself up into in
creasing light, "The day breakethr'
You see, in the first place, that God allows
good people sometimes to get into aterris!e
struGgle. Jacob was a good man, but here
he Is left alone in the midnight to wrestle
with Tremendous influence by the brook
J5bbok. For Joseph, a pit for Daniel, n
wild beast den /; for David, dethronement and
exile; for John the Baptist, wilderness
diet and the executioner's ar ; for Peter A
prison for Paul, shipwreck for John, deso-
late Pstnos, for Yasht, most insulting
cruelty : Tor Josephine, Punishment for Mrs
Sigo1rney, the agony OF drunkard's wife (,
for John Wesley, stones hurled by an infuri-
ated mob for Catherine, the Scotch girl. the
drowning surges of the sea- Nr Mr. Burns
the bufTsting Of the Montreal populace ior
John Brown, Of Edinburgh, the pistol shot
OF Lord ClaYerhouse for Hugh McKail the
scanOld for Latimer, the stake; for Christ,
the cross For whom the rocks, the gtbbets.
the guillotines, the thunbscrewsS For the
sons and daughters OF the Lord God Al
mighty. Some one said to a Christian re-
iorner, The world is against you. " ''rhen,
ne replied, 81 am against the world"
VIII go further and say that every Chris
Ian has his struggle. This man had his
combat in Wall street; this ons on Broad
street this one on Fulton street :; this one on
Chestnut street this one on State street !;
this one on Lombard street this one on the
ooUrse. With financial misfortune you have
mad the midnight wrestle. RsIhot disasters
have dropped INTO your store from lott TO
cellar. What you bought you could not sell.
Whom you trusted fed. The help you ex-
pected would not come. Some giant panic,
with long arms and grip like death, TOOK
hold OF you in an awful wrestls from wuich
You have not yet escaped, an 1t is unc'r-
ain whether 1t Will throw you or you will
throw IT,
Here is another soul in struggle with sona
bad appetite. He knew not how stcalthiIy
was growing upon him. One hour hs
woke up He sllI, "FOr the sake OF my
soul, OF my family, and OF my children, ami
0f my God, must stop this y And, behold,
be found himself alone by the brook Ja'-
ook, and IL was midnight. That evil appe-
hte seized upon him, and he saized upon IL,
and. Oh, the horror OF the conflict When
once bad habit has aroused itself up to de-
strOy a man and the man has sworn that. by
.6e he'p Of tho eternal God, he Will destroy
4, all heaven draws itself out in n long limo
Of light to look from above, AMI hell
stretches itself in myrmiions OF spite to look
up from beneath l have seen men rally
themselves for such a struggle, and they
have bitten their lips and clinched their
0sts and cried, with blood red earnest
ness AMI rain OF sclldinS tears, God
help mel"
From a wrcstle with habit have seen men
fall back defeated. CALM; for no help, but
relying on their own resolutions. they nave
como into the struggle, ami for a time it
seemed as II they were getting the upper
hand OF their habit, but that habit rlIiieI
again its Internal power AMI lifteI soul
from It's standing, and with force borrowed
from the pit hurled it into utter darkness
First l saw the auctiOneer'5 maliet fall on
the pictures and musical Instruments an I tho
rich upholstery Of his family plror. After
awhile saw him fall into the ditch. Then,
In the Midnight, when the children were
dreaming their sweetest dreams and Chris
tlan households are silent with sumSer, an
gel watched, l heard him give the sharp
shriok that followed the stab OF his own
poniIri. He fell from an honOrel social pO-
sitlon hn fell from a family circle o! wh n
once he was the grlndest attraction; hs I'll
from the house OF GOi, at whose alters nc
had been cOnsecratei he tel.-tOrever
But, thank Got, 1 have often seen better
termination than thnt.
have seen mon prepIrs the ns ,Ivas for
such Wr-Stlio-. They laid hold OF Cots |
help when they went into combat. The yralt
habit. r. ylle blythe cup Of mlny temptl-
tionS, came out stron, anI doIla-. Tnsy
c!inchei. Iners v rs tho WriIlin-s m |
distortions Of q felr!li struggle. But the
Old giant BEGAN to wtv r, an 1, ut last, tntsa
midnight alone, with none but Col to Wit !
ness, by the brook Jl'nOS, the giant feii
and tho trump rGnt NJ Stier broke the darS.
ness with the cry, "IIanks be unto CO.
who g'THth us the victory through our Lori |
Jesus Christ" There is 4 widows heart
that first was desolated by bereavement and !
since by the anyieties AMI trials that came
in the support OF n family.
IL IS sad thing TO see n man conteudin- |
Tor livelihood under disadvantages, but to !
see q deiIcate woman, with helpless little |
ones nt her back, fighting the giants OF pov. |
rrty and sorrow, is most affecting. 1t was |
humble home, and pass 'rsby knew not that |
within those four walls were displays OF |
courage more admirable than those of Ham
A'''Ai VI '0NlllI llLs APPS or tlN p lS9 oil
moPy'm or BNaklavH, where Unto the jaws !
o. dr1th rode the six hunirel."
These heroes had the whole wOrl to cheer
them on, hut there we're none to appIau the /
struggle in tho humble home. She fought for |
bread. for clothing for fire. for shelter. with
aching head, and weak side, and exhausted |
strength, through the long night by the brook |
Ja'bok. CoIid it be that none would give |
her help? Had God forgotten to be gracious? |
No, H1htendinS soull The midnight air is
full Of wings coming to the rescue. She
hears II now in the sough OF the night wind.
in the ripple OF the brook Jabbok-the prom
lse made so long ago ringing down the sky,
Thy fatherless children, 1 will preserve
them alive, and let thy widows trust in lie ~
Some one said to very poor woman,
How I7 It that in such distress you keep
checriulG' She said "I do IL by what [ call |
cross prayers When 1 had my rent to pay
and nothing to pay 1t with, and bread to buy
and nothing to buy il with | used to sit down
and cry. But now do not get discouraged |
II l 70 along tho street, when l come to a
corner 0t the street 1 say. 'Phe Lord help
me- then go on until come to another
crossing OF the street, and again 1 saw. 'The
Lord help mel And so l utter prayer at
every crossing, and since have got into the
habit OF saying these cross prayers l have
been able to keep up my courage"
Learn again from this subject that pcopIe
sometimes are surprised to I'm out that what
hHy have been struggling with in the dark
ness is really an "anSel OF blessing" Jacob
ound in the morning that this strange per
ionlCe was not an enemy, but God dis
patched messenger to promise prosperity for
lim and for his children. And so MANY
nan, at tho clOse OF his trial, has found ont
hat he has been trying to throw down his
'wn blessing. II you are n Christian man. l
viii 20 back in your history and find that the
;ranIest things that have ever happened to
'ou have been your trials. Nothing short OF
courginG, imprisonment and shipNrecl |
'ould have made Paul what he was
When David was fleeing through the will
.crness pursued by his own son. he was be-
Nc prepared to become the sweet singer OF
srlel. The pit and the dungeon were the
'est schools at which Joseph ever graduated |
he hurricane that upset the tent and killed
obs children prepared the man OF Uz to |
'rite the magnificent poem that has as
ounded the ages. There is no way to get | ,
he wheat out of the straw but to thrash 1t.
here Is no way to purify the gold but to |