Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1895-03-13
though the eafth be removed, and though
the mountains be cast into the midst OF the

nation by mobs, domestic infelicity, fatigue
from more sermons preached and more miles
Unveiled ira than almost any man man OF his :, time; N;
is with u.s." And when his poet brother,
Charles Wesley, said to him, 'Brother John,
u the Lord were to give me wings, I'd fy."
Johns reply was, "Brother Charles, II the
Lord told me to ny. I'd do it and leave hin
George whitefleld had three troubles-re
lection from the pulpits Of England because
he was too dramatic-that was one troublej
trabismus, or the crossing Of his eyes, that
mbjected him to the caricature OF all the
small wits Of the day; vermin and dead ami
taa!s thrown at him while he preached on the
commons-that made three troubles. Never
theless, his sermons were SO buoyant that a
little child, dying soon after hearing him
preach, snid IN the tntsryals OF pain, Lee
ne 90 to Ar. Whiteaelds God" Oh. am
% y,ai tnar benaiah or my text was not the
only one who trumphed over lion in q pit
on a snowy day.
Notice in my text Q victory over ba&
weather. 1t was a snowy day, when ones
vitality is at q low ebb and the spirits are
naturally depressed and ono does not feel
like undertaking . great enterprise, when
Benaiah rubs his hands together to warm
them by extra friction, or trashes his arm1
around him to revive circulation Of the
blood, and then goes at tho lion, which was
al the more fierce and ravenoua, because oi
the sharp weather. Inspiration here admita
atmospheric INSURANCE. The snowy day =
Valley Forge well nigh put an end to the
struggle for American Independence. The
snowy day demolished Napoleon's army Oh
| The way from Moscow.
The fnclemency Of January and Februar
weathsr has sc=A yea0 6ankruptsd thous
sands OF merchants. Long succession Of
stormy Sabbaths has crippled innumerabls
| churches. Lighthouses veiled by the snow
on many coast have failed to warn of from
Olat tHoI frf1 Of
sands Of Christians Of nervous Temperament
BY the depression Of snowy day almost
despair Of reaching heaven. Yet in that
style Of weather Benaiah OF the text
| achieved his most celebrated victory,
and let US by tho grace Of God become
victor over Influences atmospheric. II we
are happy only when the wind blows from
the clear northwest, and the thermometer is
above freezing point, and the sky is an in.
verted blue cup of sunshine poured all over
| God there are Christians who, though their
| whole life through sickness has been snowy
| day, have killed every lion OF dependency
that dared to put its cruel paw against their
| suffering pillow. 1t was a snowy day when
| the Pilgrim Fathers set foot not on bank Of
flowers, but on the cold New England rock ,and
from ship that might have been more ap-
propriately called after December hurri-
| cane than after "Mayhower' they took
possession Of this great continent. And
amid more chilly worldly circumstances
many good man or q good woman has
taken possession Of whole continent OF
spiritual satisfaction, valleys Of peace and
rivers of gladness and mountains Of Joy.
Christ landed IN our world not in the month
Of May, but in the stormy month Of Decem-
| Der, to show that We might have Christ IN
| winter weather and on a snowy day.
Notice everything down in the pit tha,
| snowy day depended upon Benaiah's weapon.
There was as much strength In one muscle OF
that lion az in all the muscles Of both arms OF
Bsnaiah. 1t is the strongest Of beasts, and
has been known to carry of an OK. Its
| tongue is so rough that it acts as a rasp
tearing of the flesh in licks. The two great
CANNES at each side Of the mouth make es-
| cape impossible for anything 1t has once
the neck of this "king Of beasts u
Was 1t dagger? Wasit q javelin? Was 1t q
knife? I cannot tell, but everything de-
pended on it. But for that Benaiah's body
| under ons crunch OF the monster would have
been left limp and tumbled In the snow.
And when you and go into the fight with
temptation, II We have not the right kind OF
weapon. instead OF our staying the lion the
lion will slay us. The sword of the Spiritl
Nothing In earth or he'll can stand before that.
Victory with that. or no victory at all. By
that mean prayer to God, confidence in His
rescuing power, saving grace, almighty de-
liverance. I do not care what You call It.
call it ''sword Of the Spirit" And II the
lions Of all the jungles Of perdition should al
once spring upon your soul by that weapon
Of heavenly metal you can thrust them back
and cut them down, and stab them through
and leave them powerless at your feet. Youl
good resolution welded against the powers
which assault you is toy pistol against an
| Armstrong gun; Is a penknife held out against
the brandished sabers Of a Heintzelman's
cavalry charge. Go into the fight against
sin on your own strength, and the result will
be the hot breath ofthe lion in your blanched
face, and his front paws one on each lung.
Alas! for the man not fully armed down In
the pit on q snowy day, and before him .
uon!
All my hearers and readers have q big
fight Of some sort on hand, but the bigges,
and tho wrathiest lion which you have to
fight IA what the Bible calls "the roaring
lion who walketh about, seeking whom he
may deyyour;" Now, you have never seen
rsa ia India sn or ss %ss atsr svs ssptaTs
Long caging breaks his spirit, and the CON
slant presence Of human beings tames him.
But you ought to see him spring against the
Iron bars In the geological gardens oi
Calcutta an hear him roar for the prey. II
makes ones blood curdle, and you shrinl;
back, although YOU know there is no peril.
Plenty of lions in olden time. Six hundred
Of them were slaughtered on one occasion In
the presence Of Pompey In the Roman
J amphitheater. Lions came out and de
gage OF Xerxes' army. In Bible times there
; were so many lions that they are fire.
quently alluded to In the Scriptures
| Joel, the prophet, describes the "cheek
teeth" ofa great lion, and Isaiah mentions
! among the attractions of heaven that "no
lion shall be there" and Amos speaks Of q
!; shepherd taking lambs ear out Of the mouth
| Of lion, and Solomon describes the righteous
| rs "bold as lion." and Daniel was great
lion tanner, and David and Jeremiah and st
John often speak OF this creature.
quoted from the Apostle Peter when he call
} the devil q lion. That means strength
That means bloodthirstiness. That mean:
cruelty. That means destruction. Some o.
you have felt the strength OF his paw, and
, the sharpness Of his tooth, and the horror o.
his rage. Yes, he is q savage devil. HI
.. roared at everything good when Lord
Claverhouse assailed the Covenanters
} and Bartholomew against the Hugue
nots one August night when the bell tollet
, for the butchery to begin, and the ghastl,
! In August" and sc, 900 assassin knives wer,
plunged into the victims, and this monster
has had under his paw many OF the grandes
! souls of all time. and fsttened with the spoil
OF centuries he comes for you.
But am glad to say to all OF you who have
got the worst in such a struggle that there 1.
, lion on our side II you want him, Revela
tion ", 3, "The lion OF Judah's tribe.
! Lamb to US, but lion to meet that other lion
that flsht. and who will be beaten. Wher
Two opposing lions meet in a jungle In India
you cannot tell which will overcome
|, and which will be overcome. They
glare at each other for q moment, and
then with full strength Of muscle thel
! dash against each other like two thunder
! bolts of eolliding stormclouds, and with jaw
: Ike the crush Of avalanches, and with a re
SOM ling voice that makes the Himalaya
, tremble, and with pull and tear and clutc
and trample and shaking Of the head fror
side TO side until it is too much for huma
endurance to witness, and, though one Go
! may be left dead, the one which has con
quered crswls away lacerated an
) gashed and lame and eyeless to bleed
? death in an adjoining jungle. Bat IL yo'
5 and feel enough our weakness in this bat
lie OF temptation and ask for the divine hel
2 against that old lion Of hell, described In 81
/! Peter, will go to the stronger lion described i
! Revelation, and 1t will be no uncertain graI