The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1895-02-27


every lion Of dependency that dared I
to put its cruel paw against their suf-
fering pillow. II 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 appropri-
ately called after December hurri-
cane than after ''Mayfower," they
took possession of this great continent.
And amid more chilly worldly circum-
stances, many good man or a good
woman has taken possession Of whole
continent of spiritual satisfaction, val
leys 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 De-
cember, to show us that we might
have Christ in winter weather, and on
a snowy day.
Notice everything down in the pit
that snowy day depended upon Benai-
abs weapon. There was as much
strength in one muscle of that lion as
in all the muscles of both arms OF
Benaiah. is the strongest of beasts,
and has been known to carry off an OK.
Its tongue is so rough that it acts as
rasp, tearing off the flesh it licks. The
two great CANNES at each side of the
mouth make escape impossible for any
thing it has once seized. Yet Benaiah
puts his heel on the neck of this "king
of beasts" Was it a dagger? Was it a
javelin? Was it knife? cannot tell,
but everything depended on it. But
for that, Benaiahs body under one
craunch of the monster would have
been left limp and tumblcd in the snow.
And when you and go into the fight
with temptation, If we have not the
right kind of weapon, instead of our
Staying the lion, the lion will slay us.
The sword of the Spirit! Nothing in
earth oT he'll can stan4 be4Cr- ia
Victory with that, or no victory at all.
BY that l mean prayer to God, conf
dence in His rescuing power, saving
| grace, Almighty deliverance. do not
care what you call it; call it ''sword
of the Spirit" And if the lions of all
the jungles of perdition should at 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 power
less at your feet. Your good resolution
welded against the powers which as
sault you is a toy pistol against an
Armstrong gun; is a penknife held out
against the brandished sabers of a
Heintzclman's cavalry charge. Go into
the fight against sin on your own
strength, and the result will be the
hot breath Of the 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 snowy
day, and before him lion.
All my hearers and readers have g
big fight of some sort on hand, but the
biggest and the wrathiest lion which
you have to fight is what the Bible
calls '"rhe roaring lion, who walketh,
about, seeking whom he may devour. .
Now, you have never seen real lion
unless you have seen him in India OF
Africa, just after capture. Long caginp
breaks his spirit, and the constant
presence of human beings tames him
But you ought TO see him spring
against the iron bars in the geological
gardens of Calcutta, and hear him roal
for prey. 1t makes ones blood curdle
and you shrink back, although yor
know there is no peril Plenty of lion.
in olden time. Six hundred of then
were slaughtered on one occasion il
the presence of Pompey in the Roman
amphitheater. Louis came out and de
stroyed the camels which carried the
baggage of Xerxes' army. In Bible
times there were so mar" lions tia
they are frequently alluded to in tn,
Scriptures. Joei, the prophet, describe.
, the cheek teeth" of a great lion; anc
| Isaiah mentions among the attraction
, of heaven that mo lion shall b,
: there;" and Amos speaks of n shepherd
5 taking q lambs ear out of the moutl
r of lion; and Solomon describes th
righteous as bold as lion;" and Dan
. iel was great lion tanner; and David
/: and jeremiah, and st. John often speal
1 OF this creature.
S But most am impressed bv what
have quoted from the Apostle Pete
D when he calls the devil lion. Tha
I means strength. That means blood
S thirstiness That means cruelty. Tha
n means destruction. Some OF YOU hav
: felt the strength of his paw, and tn
Q sharpness of his tooth, and the horro
= of his rage. Yes, he is q savage devil
c lie roared at everything good whe
o Lord Claverhouse assailed the Cove
d nanters, and at Bartholomew agains
e the Huguenots, one August night whe
n the bell tolled for the butchery to be
gin, and the ghastly joke in the stree
d was, BLOOD letting is good in August,
n and so, 900 assassin knives were plunge
e into the victims, and this monster ha
C had under his paw many of the grant
t est souls of all time, and fattene
is with the spoils of centuries, he come
a for you. But am glad to say to all {
d you who have got the worst in sue
l, a struggle, that there is a lion on on
IS side, if ycu want HIM Revelation iv
E. S: "The Lion of Judah's tribe"
N Lamb to us, but Lion to mec
that other lion, and you can easil
IL guess who will beat in that fgh
,r and who will be beaten. Whe
" two opposing lions meet in a jungle
ie India, you cannot tell which win owe
Of come and which will be overcom
IS They glare at each other for a momen
nnl tlnr, ,,rith fnll sfrnnnth of 1r,nsn