The news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1877-1900, 1895-03-23

! soe thorn was. we 90 KNOW from the rgure
! he used that it must have been something
[ that stuck him-that was the second trouble:
auur;Ja Ling GlartyruO:n--tt:.; made the three
I troubles. Yet hear what he says, If had
| only one misfortune, could stand that. but
| :hre1f.re two too u,any?" No. Imisinterpret.
! He savs: "Sorrowiul. yet ALWAYS rejoic:2C.
! Poor, yet making naauy rich. HtT:nS notA-
! Inc, VET possessing all things" "IhenIs be
unto God, who givoth us the victory through
| our Lord Jesus Christ"
| David had three troubles, q bad bog,
| temptation to dissoluteness and dethrone-
ment. What does he say? "God is our re-
| fuce and strength. very present help IN
! time OF trouble. Therefore will not we feac,
| though the earth be removed, and though
| the mountains be cast into tae midst OF the
Sea."
John Wesley had three troubles-defa~
nation by mobs. domestic infelicity, fatigue
from more sermons preached and more miles
travelled than almost any man Of bis time
What does he say? 1.-The best Of all Is. Goo
IS with Us" And when his poet brother,
Charles Wesley, said to him, "B-other John,
| u the Lord we're to give me wings, I'd fly"
Johns reply was. "Brother Charles, If the
Lord told me to fly, I'd do it and leave Him
| to find the wings"
George Whiteaeld had three troubles--se-
| lection from the pulpits of England because
| be was too dramatic-that was one trouble;
| stra5ismus, or the crossing OF his eyes, thai
| subjected him to the caricature OF all the
| small wits Of the day; vernin and dead ami"
mails thrown at him while he preached on the
comnons-that made three troubles. Never
! theless, his sermons were 30 buoyant that a
| little chil6. dying soon after hearing him
| preach, said II the intervals Of pain, "Let
| me 90 to Mr.. Whiteaeld's God" Oh, am
80 glad that Benaiah Of my text was not the
| only one who triunphed over Ion In pit
on snowy day.
| Notice In my text victory over baa
| weather. It was snowy day, when ones
vitality is ct low ebb and the spirits are
| naturally depressed and one does not feel
| like undertaking q great enterprise, when
Benaiah rubs his hands together to warm
shem by extra friction, or trashes his arms
around him to revive circulation Of the
| blood. ard then goes at the lion, which was
! NIL the moce fierce and ravenous, because OF
the sharp weather. Inspiration here admits
atmospheric hindrance. The snowy day at
Valley Forge well nigh put an end to the
| struggle for American Independence. The
snowy day demolished Napoleon's army on
| the way from Moscow.
The inclemency of January and February
weather las some years banSrupted thou.
sands Of merchants. Long succession OF
stormy sabbaths has crippled tnnumerable
| churches. Lighthouses yelled by the snow
on many coast have failed to warn of from
the rocks the doomed figate. Tens OF thou.
sands 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
and let us by the 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
'us, it is q religion 95 per cent. off. Thank
God there are Christians who, though their
whole life through sickness has been snowy
| day, have killed every lion Of despondency
that dared to put its cruel paw against theil
| suffering pillow. It was 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 ap-
| propriately called after a December hurr-
cane than after sMayhower" they took
| possession Of this great continent. And
amid more chilly worldly circumstances
many good man or 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 Deoem-
! ber. to show that We might have Christ ir'
| winter weather and on snowy day.
Notice everything down In the pit that
snowy day depended upon Bena;ah's weapon.
| There was as much strength IN one muscle OF
| that lion as in all the muscles Of both arms OF
| Banaiah. It is the strongest Of beasts, and
| hes been known to carry off an oS. Its
| tongue IS 50 rough that it acts as rasp
tearing of the flesh in Hicks. The two great
) CANNES at each side Of the mouth make es-.
cape impossible for anything it has once
| seized. Yet Benaiah puts his heel on
! the neck Of this "liing Of beasts"
| Was It a dagger? VAST q javeln? Was 1t
| knife? I cannot tell, but everything de-
! pended on it. But for that Benaiahs body
under one crunch Of the monster would have
been left limp and tumbled IN the snow.
] And when you and go into the fight with
| temptation, il 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 orhell can stand before that.
Victory with that. or no victory at all. By
] that I mean prayer to God, confidence In His
rescuing power, saving grace, almighty de.
| liyerance. I do not care what you call 1t. !
call 1t "sword Of the Spirit" And II the
| lions Of all the iungles 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 powerle5s at your feet. Your
| good resolution welded against the powers
hich.assault you Is toy pistol against an
! Armstrong gun; is penknife held out against
! the brandShed sabers Of Heintzelman's
| cavalry charge. Go into the fight against
sin on your own strength, and the result will
be the hot breath ofthe hon 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 q
lion!
Al my hearers and readers have BIZ
| hsht OF some sort on hand, but the biggest
and the wrath;est lion which you have to
| lion wto walketh about, seeking whom he
! may deYour." Now, you have never seen
q real lion unless you have seen
| him in India or Africa, Just after capture.
| 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 Of
! Calcutta and hear him roar for the prey. It
makes ones blood curdle, and you shrink
| 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 Ponpey IN the Roman
amphitbeater. Lions came out and de-
! stroyed the cane,s which carried the bag
! gage OF Xerxes' army. In Bible times there
were so many lions that they are ire
quently alluded to IN the Scriptures.
i Joel, the prophet, describes the "cheek
! teeth" ofa great lion, and Isaiah mentions
among the attractions Of heaven that "no
| ion shall be there" and Amos speaks Of q
| shepherd taking a lambs ear out Of the mouth
| of Hon and Solomon describes the righteous