The Atlanta constitution. [volume] (Atlanta, Ga.) 1885-19??, 1895-02-25

is. God is with u.s. And when his poet
broitlsr. Charles Wesley said TO him.
Brother John, II the Lord were to give me-
wings I'd 1iy," Johns reply was: Brother
Charles, If the Lord told me to fly. I'd do
al, and leave him TO find the wings.
George Whitfield had three troubles: Re
lection from the pulpits Of England be-
cause he was too uranlatic-that was one
trouble; strabismds. or the eros sing of his
eyes that subjected him to the caTicaturc OF
all tn small wits OF the day; Nermin ANA
dead animals thrown at him while he
preached on tho commons-that made three
troubles. Nevertheless, his sermons Were
so buoyant that a little child dying soon
after hearing him preach said in the inter
walls OF pain: Let me 30 TO Mr.. white
fields God" oh, am glad that Benaiah
of my text was not the only one who tri-
umphed over a lion la pit on snowy
Gay.
Notice in nv text victory over bad
weather. IL was a snowy day, when ones
vitality is at low ebb, anu the spirits are
naturally depr essed. and one docs not ieel
like undertaking a great enterprise. when
Benaiah rubs his hands together to warm
them by extra friction or threSheS me
arms around him to revive circulation OF the
blood. and then goes at The lion, which was
all the more fierce and ravenous because
of the sharp weather. lnSDiraIiOn mere AZ
day at Valley Forge well nigh put an cnd
to the struggle for American independence.
The slsrSy day demolished Nan9leoil ;
army on the way from Moscow. The IN
clernencv of January and February weather
has some years bankruptcd thousands or
merchants. Long succession OF stormy
Sabbaths has crippled innumeraDle
churches. Lighthouses yelled 10y the snow
ON many a coast have fa!l-d to warn or
from the locks tn doomed ffiEate. iehs
Of thousands OF Christians of nervous tenn
permanent by the depression OF "A snowy Gay
almost despair of reaching heaven. Yet
in that style OF weather Senaiah 81 the
text achieved his most celebrated victory;
and let us by the grace Of God become
victor over influences atmospheric. it We
are happy only when tho wind blows from
the clear northwest. and the lhermom Ter
is above freezing point and the Sky IS an
inverted blue cup OF sunshine poured AZ
over rs. IL is q religion 81 ninety per cent
of Thank GCd tnarc are Christians who,
though their whole life tarouSh sickness
has been a Snowy day, have killed every
Ion of dependency that dared to put Its
cruel paw against their suffering pillow.
II was n snowy day when the pilgrim
fathers set foot NOT on bank OF flowers,
h'it Of the Geld New England rock, and
from a ship that might have been more af,-
VrCVriatciy c1lled after a Doc inner hlNrt-
"a ne than after a "Nlayfowcr." they took
u secession Of this great continent. And amid
more chilly worldly circumstances many
good man or a good woman has taken
possession Of n whole continent Of Spifltoiu
satisfaction, valleys Of peace, 2Gd rivers OF
gladuess and mountains OF joy. CHRIST
landed in our world not in the lnonth ol
HAY. but in the stormy month of Deem.
her. 70 show us that we might have CHRIST
Ia winter weather. ana on a snowy day
Notice everything down i'm the pit that
snowy day depended upon Bcnaiah'S weap-
on. There was as much strength IN one
muscle o. tn1t Hon as IN all inc muscles
Of both arms Of Ecnliah. II is the strong
est of beasts and has been known to carry
of an OK. It's tongue is so rough that 1t
acts as q rasp. tearing OF the flesh II ticks.
Tho two great CANNES AZ each side of the
mouth make cScapc Impossible Tor any
thing i' has at once seized. Yet Ecnaiah
puts his head on the neck Of This king of
beasts. Was II G. dagger Was II a saVclinE
Mas IL a knife2 Z cannot tell, but every
thing depended upon il. But for that
B,uaiah'k body under one craunch OF tho
monster would have been left limp and
tumnlci in the snow. And when you and l
500 into the fight with temptation, II We
have not the right kind Of weapon. instead
ot our staying The lion the lion VIII stay
as. The sword OF the spirit! Nothing IN
earth or hell can stand before that VIC
tory with that or no victory at All. 10y that
] mean prayer 90 God. confidence IN ms
rcscuing power, saving grace, almighty dc
liverancc. I do not care what you call t..
7 cali 10 sword of the Spirit" And II the
lions of all the juusles of periition should
M uuca spring upon YOUR soul. by that
weapon OF heavenly metal you can thrust
them back and cut them down ANA stan
them through and leave them powcrlcss a {
your feet. Your good resolution welded
against the powers which assault You IS
"a toy pistol against an Armstrong gun; is
pcn-kuifc held out against the brandlShed
sabcrs of "a Heinzolman's cavalry charge.
Co into the fight against sin on your own
strength and the result VIII he IN" not
breath of the lion in your bl8nchcd face
and his front paws one on each lung. Alas.
for the man not fully armed. down iu the
uit on a snowy day and before nm
lion.
All my hearers and readers have big
f5ght of some sort on hand. but the biggest
and Wrathiest lion which sou have TO fight
is wha' the Bible calls. THE roaring lion.
who walketh about seeking whom be may
deVOur." Now, You have never seen a
real lion unless You have seen him IN India
OF Africa. just after capture. Long caging
breaks has spirit and the constant presence
Of human beings tameS him. But vou ought
10 see kim spring against the IRON bars in
the geological gardens of Calcutta and bear
him roar for the prey. Il makes orc 3
blood Curdle and You shrink back, although
YOU know there is no peril Plenty Of lions
iu olden time. Six hundred ii theta were
slaughtered on one occasion IA the presence
of Pompey IN the Roman amphitncs4ter.
Lions came ont ANA destroyed the Camols
army. IN Eialle times there were 50 ms ny
which carried tne Lages@e of NcrNes' S
hons that they are frequently ot.n"e1 10
Ia the scriptures. Joel. the prophet, de-
Scribes the check teeth" OF great Htn
and Isaiah mentions among the attractions
OF heaven thar mo lion shall be there;'
and Amos speaks OF a shepherd taking
lambs car out OF the mouth e a HCni
and Solomon describes the ri@hteous as
bold as "A lon;' ana Daniel was q great
lion tanner and David and jeremiah and
ST. John often speaks of this creature.
But most am I impressed 5y what have
quoted from the Apostle Peter when ne
calls the devil lion. That means strength.
That means blOOathlTs tncSS. 1hiJ means
cruelty. Tnat means destruction. Some
81 you have tct the strength of his law.
and the sharpness OF his tOOtA, ana me
horror of ms rage. Yes. he is a savage
devil lie roarcG at everything good when
Lord ClaVorhouse assaiicd the Covenant
srS. ana at Bartholomew against the lu-
gienots, one August night when the bell
tolcd FOR thC l-ItchCry 40 begin, and the
CHASTITY Joke in the street was, 'Bloodlct-
Ting is good in August" ami $1,000 assassin
knives were plunged into the victims, ana
this monster has had under his paw many
of the graudCSt souls of all time, ana fat
tened with the spoIls of centuries he comes
Tor YOU. Eiut 7 avn glad To say 20 all or
you who have get the worst IN Such StruS-
Elc. thdt there IS q lion un our side, II you
want nim--keYtiatlUU y. >, The lion OF Jul
dah's tribe" y lamb 10 US, but a lion 10
meet that other lion, and YOU can easily
guess who VIII be beaten. When two OPP
posing lions meet in Jungle in India, YOU
cannot tel which viii overcome and which
viii be overcome. They glare at each other
Tor "A moment, and then vain run strength
OF muscle they dash against each other ike
two thundernClts of colliling stOrmclouds,
ana with laws like the crush of avalancies
and with Il Tesounding voice tnat makes
the Hirnalyas tremhles, ard with pun,
and tear. ana clutch, and trainple, ana
shaking Of tine head from side to side, until
il is too much for human endurance TO VII
ness and though one lion may be LETT dead,
the one which mas conquered crawls away
lacerated. and Eashed, and lame ana eye
less. to bleed 10 death in an adjoining jun
gle But III you and ] feel enough or our
weakness in this battle OF temptation, ami
ask for the divine help. against that old
lion % hell described in St. Peter VIII
20 the stronger lion described ia Revelation