The Dupuyer acantha. [volume] (Dupuyer, Mont.) 1894-1904, 1897-07-15

out of Joint as he wrestlcd with him. And
he said, Let me go, for the day hreaketh.
And he said, / will not let thee go except
thou bless ."-Genesis xxxii, 2o-20.
There is a cloud of dust from a tray
cling herd of cattle, and the sheep.
and the goats. and camels. They are
the present that Jacob sends to gain
the good will of his offended brother.
That night Jacob 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 a
severe struggle that lasts until morn
ing. with an unknown visitor. They
each try to throw the other. The uu-
known visitor, to reveal his superior
power, by a touch wrenches Jacobs
thigh bone from its socket, perhaps
manning him for life. AS ON the morn
ing sky the clusters of purple clouds
begin to ripen, Jacob sees it is an
angel with whom he has been con-
tending, and not one of his brothers
c%oadjutors. Let me 60" cries the
angel. lifting himself up into increas-
ing light, the day %breaketh.'
You see in the first place, that God
allows good people sometimes to get
into a terrible struggle. Jacob was a
good man, but here he is left alone in
the midnight to wrestle with a tremen-
deus influence by the brook Jabbok.
For Joseph. a pit; for Daniel, a wild
beast den; for David, reinforcement
and exile; for John the Baptist, a viii
derness diet and the eXecutioner's AK;
for Peter. Il prison; for Paul. ship
wreck; for John, d~esolate Patmos; for
Christ, the cross. For whom the racks,
the gibbets. the prisons, the thumb
screws? For the sons and daughters
Of the Lord Almighty. Some one said
to Il Christian reformer, 1.-THE world is
against YOU Then" he replied, Il
am against the world"
| will so further. and say that every
Christian has his struggle. With fl
nancial misfortune some of you have
had the midnight wrestle. Red-hot
disasters have dropped into your store
from loft to cellar. What you bought
you could not tell. Whom you trusted,
tied. The help you expected would not
come. Some giant 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 I'M
certain whether it will throw you or
you will throw it. Here is another
soul in struggle with some bad appe-
tite. He knew not how stealthily 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. must stop this. And
behold he found himself alone by the
brock of Jabbok; and it was midnight.
That evil appetite seized upon him
and he seized upon 1t: and. oh, the hor-
ror of the conflict. When once Il bad
habit hath reused itself up to destroy
Il man, and the MAJ has sworn that, by
the help of the eternal God, he will de-
strOy it. all heaven draws itself out in
a long line of light to look from above,
en- dali hell stretches itself in myrmi-
dons of spite to look up from beneath.
l have seen men rally themselves for
II struggle: and they have bitten their
lip and clenched their fists and cried
with a blood-red earnestncss, and a
rain of scalding tears, God help mel
From a wreStle with habit | have
seen men fall back defeated. Calling
for no help, but relying on their own
resolutions. they have come into the
| 1 b-StC. tii W. " III II NNlliNb as
| if they were getting the upper hand of
| their habit; but that habit rallied again
its internal power, and lifted the soul
from it's standing and with a force Dor
rowed from the pit hurled it into outer
darkness.
But. thank God, | have often seen a
better termination than this. | have
seer men prepare themselves for such
q wrestling. They laid hold of Gods
help as they went into combat. The
giant habit. RECALLED by the cup of
many designations, came out strong
and defiant. They clenched. There
were the writings and distortions of
a fearful struggle. But the old giant
began to waver; and at last, in the
midnight alone. with none but God to
witness. by the brook Jabbok. the
giant fell; and the triumphant wrestler
broke the darkness with the cry of
Thanks be unto God, who giveth us
the victory, through u Lord Jesus
Christ"
There is a widows heart, that first
was desolatc by bereavement, and
since by the anXieties and trials that
came in the support of a family. 1T is
a sad thing to see a man contendlnG
for a livelihood under disadvantages
but to see Il delicate woman, with help
less little ones at her back, fighting the
| giants of poverty and sorrow is more
affecting. 1t was a humble home; and
passers-by knew not that within those
four walls were displays of courage
more admirable than that of Hanniba
crossing the Alps. or in the Pass OF
Th~ermopylae, or at B~alaklava, where
Into the jaws of death rode the sly
hundred" These heres had the whole
world t. cheer them on; but there were
none to applaud the struggle in tina
humble Eome. She fought for bread
for clothing for fire, for shelter, WIFI
aching head. and weak side, and eX
haustnd strength, through the Ions
n:sht by the brook Jabbok. Gould J
be that none would give her help! Hat
God forgotten to be gracious! NO
cnutcrdinr soul. The midnight air i
full OF Wings. coming to the rescue
She hears it now, in the sOugh of th'
nigEt wind. in the ripple of the orooi
.Jnbhok the promise made so long ago
riniug down the sky: "Thy fatherleS
children. | viii preserve them alive
and let thy widows trust in me- Som
one sall t. Il very poor woman, "Ho|
is ii that in such distress you keel
chccrful!" She said, Il do it by VIVA
| call clos s-prayers. When | had m,
rent {, pay. and nothing to pay 1t VIII
and hrrni to buy, and nothing TO bu,
it with, | used to sit down and cry
But now | do not get discouraged. !
| 90 along the street, when | come t