Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-11-10

think nine years of preparation were too
much. An uncducated ministry was ex-
cusablc in other days, hut not In this
time, loaded with schools and colleges a
man who wrote me the other day letter
asking advice, as he felt called to preach
the gospel, began the word God" with n
small <. That Kind of a man is not called
to preach the gospel. Illitcrato men,
preaching the gospel, quote for their own
encouragement tho Scriptural passage,
"Open thy mouth wide, and l fill II"
Yes, He will fill it with wind. Prepare
ton for this wrestling is absolutely ncccs.
sary. Many years ago DIR. Newman and
DIR. Sunderland, on the platform of Brig
ham Iorug's tabernacle Mt salt Lake
City, gained the victory because they had
SO long been skillful wrestlcrs for God.
Otherwise Brigham Young, who was him
self u giant in some things, would have
thrown them out of the window. Get
ready in Bible classes. Get ready in Chris
tian Endcavor meetings. Get ready by
giving testimony in obscure places before
giving testimony in conspicuous places.
4 Mighty struggle.
Your going around with Bavster's
Bible, with flaps at the edges, under your
arm docs not qualify you for the work OF
nm evangelist. In this day Of profusc CAB
remember that II Is not merely capacity
to talk, hut the fact that you have some
thing to say. that is going to fit you for
the struggle into which you are to go with
smile on your face and illumination ON
your brow, but out of which you will not
come until all your physical and mental
and moral and religious energies have
been taxed to the utmost and you have
not IL nerve left or u thought uncNpcndcd
or u PRAYER unSaid or u sympathy unwcpt.
In this struggle between right and wrong
accept no challenge ON platform or in
newspaper unless you are prepared. DO
not misapply the story of Goliath the
Great and David the Little. David had
been practicing with n sling on dogs and
wolves and bandits, and a thousand times
had ne Swirled n stone around his head be.
fore he aimed ut the forehead of the giant
and tumblcd him backward. otherwise
tho big foot Of Goliath would almost have
covered up the crushed form of tho son Of
Jesse
Notice also that the success Of n wrestler
depended on his having his feet well
planted before he grapplcd his opponent,
Much depends upon the way the wrestler
stands. standing on an uncertain piece
VI STbunu UT AIi MS WtlLnt ON
right foot or all his weight ON left foot,
he is not ready. y slight cuff of his antag-
onist will capsize him. \ stroke uf tho
heel of the other wrestler will "trip him.
And IN this struggle for God and right
eousneSS, MS well rs for our own souls, we
want our feet firmly planted in the gospel
both feet ON the Rock OF Ages. 1t will
not do to believe the Bible in spots ar
hinl- , Il ss
true. You just make up your mind that
the story Of the garden Of Eden is an allie.
CORY. and the epistlc of James an interpo-
lation and that the miracles Of Christ can
bc accounted for ON natural grounds, with
out any belief in the supernatural, and
the first time you are intcrlockcd in n
wrcstlo with sin and satan YOU will 20 UNI
der and your feet will be higher than your
head. 1t will not do to have one foot ON
u rock and the other on the sand. The
old book would long apn have gone In
pieces If it had been vulnerable. But of
the millions of Bibles that have been
printed within the last % years, not enc
chapter has been omitted, and the nmis
sion of one chapter would have been tho
cause of the rejection Of the whole edition.
Alas, for those who while trying Ia
prove that Jonah was never swallowed of
whale, themselves get swallowed OF the
whale of unhclief, which diIcS,s hut never
elects its victims. The Inspiration of the
Bihlo is not more certain than the pr,Scr'
walton Of the Bible in its present Condi-
ton. After so many centuries III assault
on the book would IL not BE- n matter oi
: economy, to say the least-cconomy oi
brain and economy Of stationery and econ
omy of printers ink-if tho batteries now
asSailing the book would change their aim
ana hc aimed against some other books,
and the world shown that Walter scott
did not write The Lady Of the Lake, -
nor Homer The Had, nor Virgil "Th,
/ Georges" nor Thomas Moore "I.all1
| Rookh,' or that WaShinvtun'S farewell
| address was written by Thomas Paine
and that the war of the American Rcvulu
/ ton never occurred. That attempt would
be quite rs successful rs this long timed
attack anti Biblical, and then it would l.,
new. oh, keep out of this wrestling bout
with the ignorance and the wretchcdncs,
of the world unless YOU feel that both fee,
are planted in the etrrna! vcracitics of Tho
book of Almighty God,
Science of Wrestling.
Notice also that in this science of wres
| thing, to which Paul refers in my text, II
was the third throw that decided the con
test. \ wrestler might hc thrown ono,
and thrown twice, but the third time h,
might recover himself, and Ivy an uncx
pectcd twist Of arm or curve of foot gair
the day. Well, that is broad, smiling. un
mistakablo gospel. Some whom ad,lrcs.
! through ear or eye, by voice or printed
page, have been thrown in their wrcsti,
with evil habit.
Aye, you have been thrown twice, but
! that does not mean, oh, wursto,l soul, that
you are thrown forever, | have no au
| thority for saying how many times "a maj
| may sin and be forgiven, or how man,
times no may fall and yet rise again, hut
/ l have authority for saying that he ma,
fall 1870 times, and 400 times get up. III,
Bible, declares that God will forgive :,
times Z, and if you will employ the rule o.
multiplication you i'll find that 40 time:
| Z is 1870. Blessed bc God for such a cus
pei of high hope and thrilling encourage
ment and magnificent rescue. A goSpc
of lost sheep brought home ON shepherd ,,
shoulder, and the prodiyals who gut int,
the low work of putting huSks into SWINGS
troughs brought home to jowelry and ban
quoting and hilarity that made the raft
els ring.
Three sketches OF the same man: \ han
ny home, uf which he and a lasSie takei
from u neighbours house are the unite,
head. Years Of happiness roll on afte
years o happiness. stars pointing dowi
To natiyities. And whether announced II
greeting or not every morning was
Good morning" and every night Coos
night" Christmas trees and May queen
and birthday festivities and Thanksgiving
gatherings around loaded tables Blu