The Camden chronicle. (Camden, Tenn.) 1890-current, 1896-12-04
REV. DIR. TALMAGE.
THH NOTED DIvINRs SUNDAY
DISCOURSE.
Subjects "wrcstllna with the SUI
pornatural.n

| NOT against hlm no touched the hollow 90 DIS
thigh. and She hollow % Jacobs thigh was
| out Of Joint ns he wfoatled with him. And
/ ho said, Lot me 60. for the day broakeih.
/ And he said, ] viii not let thee 60 except
thou tleas me. '-Gonosis xxxlL, IS, &C.
There Is a cloud Of dust from a travelling
/ herd % cuitlB aud sheep and goats and
/ camelh They are the present that jacob
/ soads % gain tho good viii OF his offended
/ brother. That night Jacob halta by the
brook Jnbbok. But there 81 no rest for the
/ weary man, no shining ladder 20 LEI the
| angels down into his dream, but n severe
| struggle that lasts until morning with an un-
snown visitor They each try 20 throw the
| other. The unknown visitor, 20 reveal his
superior power by touch wrenchos Jacobs
| thigh bone from its socket, perhaps maiming
him Tor lite A on the morning sky the
| clusters Of purple cloud begin 20 ripen,
| Jacob sees it IS an angel with whom he has
been contendiug and net one OF his brothers
| coadlutor, LET me 60, cries the angel,
lifting himself up into increasing llghti "the
| dHy broaketh"
You see, in the lrst place, that God allows
! good pe0pla sometimes 10 get into terrible
/ struggle jacob was a good man, but here
| Dc is left alone in the midnight 20 wros.le
with tremendous influence by the brook
Jabb0k. For Joseph, a pit, for Daniel, a
wild boasts doni for David. dethr0nement and
exile, for Johnthe Baptist. a wilderness diet
and the eXecutioner's AK; for Peter. prison;
for Paul, shlpwreck; for John. desolate Pat
mos; Tor Christ, the cross. For whom the
racks, the gibbsts, the prisons, the thumb
screwsf For the sons and daughters Of the
Lord Almighty. Some one said 10 q Christian
Tet0rmer, 1.-The world Is against YOU"
Then. he replied, 81 am against the
world"
/ will 60 further and say that every Chris
tan has his struggle. With financial mis-
fortune some Of you have had the midnight
wrestlc. Redhot disasters have dropped into
your store from loft 10 cellar What you
bought you could not SELL Whom you
trusted fed. The help you expected would
not come. Some giant panic, with long
arms and grip ike death, took hold Of you
IN anawiul Wrestle, from which you have not
yet escaped, and It Is uncertain whether
It will throw you or you will
throw II. Here is another soul
10 struggle with some bad appetite. He
knew not how stealthlly it was growing
upon him, One hour he woke up. He said
"For the sake OF my soul, OF my family, OF
my children and Of my God l must stop
this" And behold he found himself alone
by the brook Of Jabbok, and II was mid
night. That evil appetite seized upon him,
and M seized upon It., and, oh, the horror OF
the conflict When once q bad habit hath
/ "a
man has sworn that by the help OF the eter-
nal God he viii destroy 1t, all heaven draws
itself out In long line Of light TO look from
above, and all hell stretches itself in
myrmidons OF spite to look up from beneath.
j have seen men rally themselves for n
! struggle, and they have bitten their lip, and
, clinched their flst, and cried with blood
, red earnestness and a rain a scalding tears,
"God help me!'
From a wrestle with habit / have seen men
fall back delicate /. Calling for no help, but
5 relying on their own resolutions, they have
3 come into the struggle and for time 1t
seemed as If they were getting the upper
hand Of their habit. But that habit rallied
again its Internal power and lifted the soul
/ from its standing. and with force borrowed
from the pit hurled il into darkness.
, But, thank God. have often seen o better
l termination than this l have seen men
! prepare themselves for such q wrestling.
. They laid hold of Gods help as they went
into combat The giant habit, RECALLED by
D the cup Of many designations, came out
{ strong and defiant They clinched. There
q were the writings and distortions Of fear.
full struggle. But the old giant began to
Y wayer, and at last, in the midnight alone,
4 with none but God to witness, by the brook
Jabbok, the giant fell, and the triumphant
}, wrestler broke the darkness with the cry
"lhanks DO unto God, who giveth US the
Z victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ"
a There Is a widows heart that first was
I desolated by bereavement and since by The
= anxietles and trials that came in the support
4 OF a fumily. II is a sad thing 10 see MAI
e contending fora livelihood under disadvan'
q tages, but to see delicate woman, witt
helpless little ones at her back, fighting thu
. giants of poverty and sorrow is more
!. affecting. 1t was a humble home ant
b passersby knew not that within those fou
walls were displays OF courage more admir-
able than that of Hannibal crossinl
7 the Alps, or in the pass OF Thermopyl@, OF
q at Baaklava, where int the jaws Of death
n rode the six hundred" These heroes haC
the whole world to cheer them on, but Their
y was no one to applaud the struggle in tina
l. humble home. She fought for bread. 70
clothing, for fire, for shelter. with achinj
head and weak side and exhausted strength
through the long night by the brook Jabbok
Could Ii be that none would give her help
i, Had God forgotten to be gracious? No, con
- tending soul. The midnight air is full 0
II wings coming to the rescue She hears /
J. now, in the sough Of the night wind, in III
N ripple OF tho brook Jabbok, the promis
" made SO long ago, ringing down the sky
Ie Thy fatherless children, l will preserv
e them alive and let thy WIDOWS trust 10 me-!
Is Some one said to a very poor woman, "Ho,
!, Is it that in such distress you keep cheerful?
one sAld; II 90 II by Wnat call cross pray
T. ers. When had my rent to pay aad moth
@ ing to pay 1t with and bread to buy and moth
II ing to buy it with. used to sit down an
- cry. But now do not get discouraged. ]
he 20 along the street, when | come to cor
Y. ner OF the street, | say The Lo,d help me
then go on until come to another cross
ing OF the street, and again Isay, The Lor
help met And so utter prayer Mt ever
crossing. and since have got into the habi
u OF saying these cross prayers l have bee
l. able to keep up my courage"
e Learn again from this SUBJECT that peopI
sometimes are surprised to find out tina
= what they have been struggling with in To
" darkness is really an "ange of blessiag
lie Jacob found in the morning thar thi
q strange parsonage was not an enemy. but
= God dispatched MESSENGER to promise pro.
= perity fer him and Tor his children Aud s
y many man at the close of his trial ha
IS found out that he has been trying O thro'
a down his own blessing. II you are
" Christian mnp / will 20 lnek IN vO1r hi,