Shenandoah herald. [volume] (Woodstock, Va.) 1865-1974, 1896-11-20
IAN ANGEL WRESTLER
} DR.. TALMAoE'S SERMON ON JACOBS
NIGHT NEAR JA4BOK.


strange scene Of Bible times DR.. Tai
mage, in his sermon today, draws re-
markable lessons Of good cheer and tri-
umph. His subject is Wrestling With
the Supernatural, and the text. Genesis
xxi, 20, 26: "And when he saw that
be prevailed not against him, he touch
ed the hollow Of his thigh, and the hol-
low of Jacobs thigh was out of joint as
he wrestled with him. And he said,
Let me 60 for the day breaketh. And
he said, will not let thee go except
thou bless me. "
There is cloud Of dust from trav-
cling herd of cattle and sheep and
goats and camels. They are the present
that Jacob sends to gain the good will
of his offended brother. That night ia
cob halts by the brook Jabbok. But
there is no rest for the weary man, no
shining ladder to let the angels down
into his dream, but severe struggle,
that lasts until morning, with an IN
known visitor. They each try to throw
the other The unknown visitor, to re-
veal his superior power, by touch
wrenches Jacobs thigh bone from its
socket, perhaps manning him for life.
As on the morning sky the clusters Of
purple cloud begin to ripen, Jacob sees
it is an angel with whom be has been
contending, and not one Of his brother s
coadjutors. "Let me go, cries the an
gel, lifting himself up into increasing
light, "the day breaketh. "
Left Alone to wrestle.
You see, in the first place, that God
allows good people sometimes to get into
terrible struggle. Jacob was a good
man. but here he is left alone in the
midnight to wrestle with a tremendous
influence by the brook Jabbok. For Jo-
seph, pit; for Daniel, wild beast
den; for David, dethronement and ex-
lie; for John the Baptist, a wilderness
diet and the executioner's ak; for Pc
ter. a prison; for Paul, shipwreck; for
John, desolate Patmos; for Christ, the
cross. For whom the racks, the gibbeis,
the prisons, the thumbscrews? For the
sons and daughters Of the Lord AL
mighty. Some one said to Christian re-
former, 1.-THE world is against you. "
"Then," he replied, Il am against the
world" "
Twill 90 further and say that every
Christian has his struggle. With finan-
cial misfortune some Of you have had
the midnight wrestle. Redhot disasters
have dropped into your store from loft
to cellar. What you bought you could
not sell. Whoyou trusted fed. The help
YOU expected would not come. Some gi
ant panic, with long arms and grip like
death, took hold Of you in an awful
wrestle, from which you have not yet
escaped, and it is uncertain whether 1t
will throw you or. you will throw it.
Here is another soul in struggle with
some bad appetite. He knew not how
stealthily it was growing upon him.
One hour be woke up. He said, For
the sake Of my soul, Of my family, OF
nv children and Of my God l must
stop this" And, behold, he found him
self along by the brook Of Jabbok, and
il was midnight. That evil appetite
seized upon him, and he seized upon 1t,
and. oh, the horror Of the conflict
When once a bad habit hath reused it
self up to destroy man, and the man
has sworn that, by the help of the eter'
nal God, he will destroy it, all heaven
draws itself out in long line Of light tc
look from above, and all hell stretches
itself in myrmidons Of spite to look ~
from beneath. have seen men rally
themselves for a struggle, and they
have bitten their lips and clinched theil
fists and cried with blood red earnest
ness and a rain Of soalding tears, GOD
help mel"
The Giant Habit
From a wrestle with habit / have
seen men fall back defeated. Calling
for no help, but relying on their OWL
resolutions, they have come into the
struggle, and for time 1t seemed as II
they were getting the upper hand Of
their habit but that habit rallied again
its Internal power and lifted the sou
from its standing, and with a force Dor
rowed from the pit hurled it into outel
darkness
But, thank God, have often seen
better termination than this l have
seen men prepare themselves for suoi
a wrestling. They laid hold OF Cod
help as they went into combat. TIT
giant habit, regaled by the cup OF man,
dissipations, came out strong and def
ant They olinched. There were tn
! writings and distortions OF a fearfu
struggle. But the old giant began Il
waver, and at last, in the midnigh
alone. with none but God to witness
! by the brook Jabbok, the giant fell
and the triumphant wrestler broke tn
darkness with the cry, Thanks be IN
to God, who giveth Us the victor.
through our Lord Jesus Christ. "
There is O widows heart that frs
was desolated by bereavement and sine
by the anxieties and trials that came Il
the support Of family. Ii is sa
| fllQK 10 bcb man NO1ecANo
J livelihood under disadvantages, but {
see a delicate woman, with helpless III
tie ones at her back, fighting the giant
of poverty and sorrow is more affect
} ing. It was q humble home, and pas
ersby knew not that within those fou
walls were displays Of courage more &C
mirable than that Of Hannibal crossin
the Alps or in the pass Of Thermopyl'
or at Balaklava, where Into the jaw
Of death rode the six hundred. " Thes
heroes had the whole world to chez
? them on, but there were none to applau
4 the struggle in that humble home
To the Rescue.
She fought for bread, for clothing
for Ere, for shelter, with aching hea
and weak side and exhausted strengt
f through the long night by the broo
Jabbok. Could It be that none woul
give her helpi Had God forgotten to
gracfousi No. contending soul. ~
midnight air is full Of wings, comii
10 the rescue. She hears it now, in q
sough Of the night wind, in the ripp
Of the brook Jabbok, the promise ma