The Canton times. (Canton, Miss.) 1893-1906, 1895-03-08

around him to revive the circulation
| OF the blood, and then goes at the lion
which was all the more fierce ant
ravenous because Of the sharp weather
| Inspiration here admits atmospheric
hindrance. The snowy day at Valley
Forge well nigh put an end to tbs
struggle for American independence
| The snowy day demolished Napoleon'i
array on the way from Moscow. The
inclemency of January and February
weather has some years bankrupted
thousands of merchants. Long sue
cession of stormy Sabbaths has Grip
pied innumerable churches. Light
houses yelled by the snow on many a
| coast have failed to warn off from the
rocks the doomed frigate. Tens OF
thousands of Christians of nervous
temperament by the depression of a
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 the
grace of God become victor over inf1u-
ences atmospheric. If we are happy
only when the wind blows from the
clear northwest, and the thermometer
is above freezing point, and the sky is
an inverted blue cup of sunshine
poured all over. it is religion ninety
five per cent. off. Thank God there
are Christians, who, though their
whole life through sickness has been
a 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 a bank of flowers, but
on the cold New England rock,
and from ship that might have been
more appropriately called after a De-
cember hurricane than "Mayfower,"
they took possession of this great con-
tinent. And amid more. chilly worldly
circumstances many a good man or q
good woman has taken possession of a
whole continent of spiritual satisfac-
ton, 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
December, to show lis that we might
have Christ in winter weather, and on
a snowy day.
Notice everything down in the pit
that snowy day depended upon Ben
aiah's weapon. There was as mucL
strength in one muscle of that lion as
in all the muscles of both arms of Ben
aiah. 1t is the strongest of beasts
and has been known to carry off an OK
It's tongue is SO rough that it acts as
rasp tearing off the flesh it ticks. The
two great CANNES at each side of the
mouth make escape impossible for
anything it has once seized. Yet Ben
aiah puts his heel on the neck of the
king of all beasts" Was it dagger?
Was it a javelin? Was it knife? I
IAN not tell, but everything depended
On IL. But for that, Benaiah's body
Under one craunch of the mon
'ter would have been left limp and
in the snow. And when you
Ind go into the fight with temptation,
f we have not the right kind of weap-
IN, instead of our Staying the lion,
he lion will slay us. The sword of
he spirit! Nothing in earth or hell
IAN stand before that. Victory
With that or no victory at all.
BY that mean prayer to God,
confidence in His rescuing power, saw
ng grace, Almighty deliverance. I
10 not care what you call it; 1 call it
Sword of Spirit" And if the lions of
I'll the jungles of perdition should at
'nce spring upon your soul, by that
Weapon of heavenly metal you can
hrust them back. and cut them down,
md stab them through, and leave them
,owerless at your feet. Your good res
tuition welded against the powers
which assault you is toy pistol against
N Armstrong gun; is penknife held |
nut against the brandished sabers of a
cavalry charge. Go in |
o the fight against sin on your own |
trength, and the result will be the hot
breath of the lion in your blanched |
ace, and his front paws, one on each |
Jung. Alas! for the man not fully |
.rmed, down in the pit, on a snowy
lay, and before him lion.
Well, it will be better than that when
,or of Heaven. You have had rough
mistake about that. Snowy
lay after snowy day. Again and again
he machinery of health and courage
'roke down, and the waves of tempta-
ion have swept clear over the
hurricane deck, so that you
we're often compelled to say: 'All
Thy waves and Thy pillows have
.one over me-" and you were
own in the trough of that sea, and
nanv despaired of your safe arrival.
But the great pilot, not one who must
ome off from some other craft, but
he one who walked storm-swept Cali
ee, and now walks the wintry Allan
ic, comes on board, and heads you for
he haven, when no sooner have you