The morning times., 1895-10-28
TlLMlGE MAKES HIS BOW
Continued From Firs, Page.

Dut uOnt all come at once, ana WITHOUT
any preliminary discourses as to what
propose to do, l begin here and now 10
cheer you with the thought that all heaven
is sympathetically looking ON. Seeing we
also are cumpassed about with So great u
cloud of witnesses
Crossing the Alps by the Mont Gems
Pass, or through the Mont Gents Tunnel,
you are In a lew hours set down at Verona,
Italy. and in a few minutes begin exafnin-
ing one of the grandcst ruins Of the world
the Amphtheater.
ONE OF HIS WORD PAINTINGS.
THE whole building sweeps around you
in circle. You stand in the arena where the
combat was once fought or the race run,
and on all sides the seats rise tier a bove tier,
until you count forty elevations. or gal
leries, as sha IL See fit to call them. in which
sat the senators, the kings. and the 25,0o0
excited spectators. At the sides of the
arena, and under the galleries, are the
cages in which the lions and tigers are
kept without food, until. frenzied with
hunger and thirst, they are let out upon
some poor victim, who, with his sword
and alone, is condemned to meet them.
think that Paul himself once stood in such
place, and that IL was not only figura-
lively, but literally. that he had fought
with beasts 1t Ephesus.'
''The gala-day has come. From all the
world the people are pouring into Verona.
Men, women. and children, orators and
senators, great men and small, thousands
upon thousands come until the first gal
iery is full, and the second, the third, the
fourth, the fifth-all the way up to the
twentieth, all the way up to the Ithirtieth,
all the way up to the fortieth. Every
place is filled. Immensity of audience
sweeping the great circle.
'Sileucei The time for the contest has
come. A Roman official leads forth the
victim into the arena. Let him get his
sword, with firm grip. into his right
hand. The 25, 900 sit breathlessly Watching.
hear the door at the side of the arena creak
open. Out pluDges the halfstarved lion, bis
tongue athirst for blood, and. with n roar
that brings all the galleries to their feet,
he rushes against the sword Of the COM
batant.
BATTLING WITH TEMP TATION.
"Do you know how strong stroke a
man will strike when his life depends upon
the first thrust OF his blade? The wild beast,
lame and bleeding, sinks back toward the
side of the arena; then rallying his vast
ing strength, be comes up with fiercer eye
and more terrible roar than ever, only TO
be driven back with a fatal wound, while
the combatant comes in with stroke after
stroke, until the monster is dead at his
feet, and the twenty-five thousand people
clap their hands and utter a shout that
makes the citystremble.
sometimes the audience came to see a
race; sometimes to see gladiatOrs fight
each other, until the people, compassionate
for the fallen turned their thumbs up as
an appeal that the vanquished be spared;
and sometimes the combat was with wild
beasts.
ITO an amphitheatrical audience Paul re-
fers when re says: We are compassed
about with so great a cloud of witnesses
The fact is that every Christian man
has lion to fight. Yours is bad temper.
The gates of the arena has been opened,
a nd this tiger has come out to destroy your
soul. It has lacerated you with many
wound. You have been thrown by Ii time
and again, but in the strength OF God you
have arisen to drive IL back verify be
lieve you viii conquer. / think that the
temptation is getting weaker and weaker
You have given il so many wounds that
the prospect is that it viii die, and you
shah be victor, through Christ. Courage,
brother! Do not let the sands of the arena
drink the blood of your soulI
LIONS WE MUST FIGHT.
Your lion is the passion for strong
drink. You may have contehded against
it twenty years, but it is strong OF bouy
and thirsty of tongue. You have tried TO
fight 1t back with broken bottle or empty
wine flask Nay! that is not the weapon
With one horrible roar he will seize thee
by the throat and rend thee limb from
limb. Take this weapon, sharp and keen,
reach up and get it from Gods armoTy
the sword of the spirit. With that thou
uayest drive him back and conquer!
But why specify, when every man and
woman has lion TO fight. If there be
one here who has no besetting sin let him
speak out, for him have l offended. If
you have not fought the lion. 1t is he
cause you have let the lion eat you up.
This very moment the contest goes on.
The Trojan celebration. where ten thous-
and gl1i!iatoTS fought and eleven thousand
Wild beasts were slain, was not so ter
rifle struggle as that which at this
moment goes on in many soul. That
combat was for the life of the body, this
is for the life of the soul That was with
wild beasts from the jungle, this is with
the roaring lion of hell.
Men think, wien they contend against
an evil habit, that they have to fight
it all alone. No! They stand in the
center of an immense circle of sympathy.
Paul had been reciting the names of Abel,
Enuch, Noah. A braham, Sarah, Isaac. Jo-
seph Gideon, and Barak, aud then saws:
crowd of witnesses
Before l get through / Will show you
Being compassed about with so great a
that you fight in an arena, around which
circle, IN galleries above each other. all
he kindling eyes and all the sympathetic
hearts OF the ages, and at every victory
gained there comes down the laundering
applause of great multitude that no man
Fan number. Being compassed about with
~ a crowd ~ Hrit
PARABLE FROM HISTORY.
"on the first elevation of the ancient
amphitheater, on. the day of a celebration,
sat Tiberus, or Augustus, OF the reigning
King. So, in the great arena of spectators
hat watch our struggles, and in the first
divine gallery, as l shall call it, sits our
King, one Jesus. On his head are MANY
'rowns! The Roman Emperor got his
)lace by cold-biooded conquests; but our
King hath come to his place by the broken
learts healed, and the tears wiped away,
md the souls redeemed.
The Roman Emperor sat, with folded
inns, indifferent as to whether the swords
nan or the lion beat; but our Kings
are all with US. Nay, unhcard-
If cundescensions! l see him come down
rom the gallery into the arena to help us
n the fight, shouting, until all up and down
lis voice is heard: Fear nuti will help
heel I will strengthen thee by the right
land of my poweri'
They gave to the men in the arena, In
he olden time, food to thicken their hood.
70 that it would flow slowly, and that for
longer time the people might gioat over
he scene But our King has no pleasure
u our wounds, for We are bone OF his
bone, flesh OF his flesh, blood of his blood"
In all the anguish of our heart,
The Man of Sorrows bore q part.
Once, in the ancient amphiiheater. a
ion with one paw caught the combatant's
'word, and with his other paw caught his
hield. The man took his knife from his
,ireilc and slew the beast. The king sitting
II the gallery, said: That was not fair:
he lion must be slain by a sword