Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1895-11-02

y
same gospel that he has preached and to
Join you in all kinds of work for MAX
ing the world better, and hope to see
you all in your own homes and have you
all come and sec me- but don all come
at once And without any preliminary
discourses as to what l propose to do l
begin hero and now to cheer you with
the thought that all heaven is sympa-
thetically looking on. Seeing we also
are compassed about with 60 great a
cloud of witnesses. "
At the Amphitheater.
Crossing the Alps by the Mont Gents
pass, or through the Mont Gents tunnel,
you are in a few hours set down at
Verona, Italy, and in a few minutes
begin examining one of the grandest
ruins of the world-the amphitheater.
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 above tier until you CONT 40
elevations or galleries-as shall see fit
to call them-in which sat the senators,
the kings and the 20, 600 excited specta-
tors. At the sides of the arena and un-
der 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. I think
that Paul himself once stood in spch o.
place, and that it was not only fgura-
lively, but literally, that he had fought
with beasts at 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 gallery is-full, and the
second, the third, the fourth, the fifth
all the way up to the twentieth, all the
way up to the thirtieth, all the way up
to the fortieth. Every place is filed
immensely of audience sweeping the
great circle. Silence! 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 $4,000 sit
breathlessly watching. I hear the door
at the side of the arena creak open. Out
plunges the half starved lion, his tongue
athirst for blood, and with a roar that
brings all the galleries to their feet he
rushes against the sword of the combat
ant. Do you know how strong stroke
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 wasting strength, he
comes up with fercer eye and more ter
rible 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 $4,000 people clap their
hands and utter shout that makes the
city treInble.
A Lion to Fight.
Sometimes the audience came to see
a race, sometimes to see gladiators fight
each other, until the people, compass
sionate for the fallen, turned their
thumbs up as an appeal that the van
quished be spared, and sometimes the
combat was with wild beasts.
To all amphitheatrical audience Paul
refers when lie says, ''We arc compassed
about with so great cloud of wit
nesses.
The fact is, that every Christian man
has lion 70 fight. Yours is bad tenn
per. The gates Of the arena have been
opened, and this tiger has come out to
destroy your soul. 1t has lacerated you
with many wound. You have been
thrown by it time and again, but in the
strength of God you have arisen to drive
it back. l verify believe you will con-
quer. think that the temptation is
getting weaker and weaker. You have
given it so many wounds that the pros
pect is that it will die, and you shall be
victor, through Christ Courage, broth
er! Do not let the sands of the arena
drink tho blood of your soul
Your lion is the passion for strong
drink. You may have contended against
it 30 years, but it is strong of body and
thirsty of tongue. You have tried to
fight it back with broken bottle or empty
wine aasl; 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
ood's armory. The sword OF the Spirit.
With that thou mayest 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, it is be-
cause you have let the lion eat you up.
This very moment the contest goes on.
The Traian celebration, where 10000