The weekly intelligencer. [volume] (Lexington, Mo.) 1891-1901, 1898-11-12

the left foot behind the others right
foot and getting his opponent of his
balance; hard training for days and
weeks and months 50 that when they
met IL was giant clutehing giant
And. my friends Il we do not want
ourselves 10 be thrown in the wrestle
with The sin aud error OF the world.
we had better get ready by Christian
discipline, by holy self-denial. by con
slant practice. by submitting TO divine
supervisal and direction. Do not be-
grudge the time and the money for
that young man who IS in preparation
for the ministry. spending two years
In grammar school, aud four years In
I college, and three years in theological
seminary. ! know that nine years
axe q big slice TO take OF a mans
active life. but IL you realized the
height and strength of the archangels
OF evil In our time with which that
young mar Is going TO wrestle, you
would not think nine years OF prepare
ton were too much. An uneducAted
ministry was excusable in other days
but not in this time. loaded with schools
and colleges Many years ago DR..
Newman and DR.. Sunderland, on the
platform of Brigham Young's tsber-
naele at Salt Lake City. Utah, gained
the victory because they had so long
been skillful wrestlers for God.
Otherwise Brigham Young. who was
himself a giant in some things would
have thrown them out OF the window.
Get ready In Bible classes. Get ready
in Christian Endeavor meetings Get
ready by giving testimony in obscure
places before giving testimony IN con
spicuous places.
Your going around with Bagster's
Bible with flaps at the edges under
your arm, does not qualify you for the
work OF an evangelist In this day Of
profuse gsb, remember that 1t is not
merely capacity to talk, but the fact
that you have something 10 say, that
is going to fit you for the struggle into
which you are to 90 with a smile on
your face and illumination on your
brow, but out Of which you will not
come until all your physical and men
tai and moral and religious energies
have been taxed to the utmost and
you have not a nerve left, or q thought
u~nexpended, or a prayer unsAid, or .
sympathy unwepL In this struggle
between right and wrong accept no
challenge on platform or in newspaper
unless you are prepared. Do not mis-
apply the story of 6oliah the Great
and David the Little. David had been
practicing with q sling on dogs and
wolves and bandits, and a thousand
times had he swirled 4 stone around
his head before he aimed at the fore
head OF the giant and tumbled him
backward. Otherwise the big foot Of
Goliath would almost have covered up
the crushed form OF the son Of Jesse.
Notice also that the success Of a
wrestler depended on his having his
feet well planted before he grappled
his opponent Much depends upon
the way the wrestler stands Stand.
ing on an uncertain piece Of ground,
or bearing all his weight on right foot
or all his weight on left foot, he Is not
ready. A slight cuff Of his antagonist
will capsize him A stroke OF the heel
Of the other wrestler will trip him.
And In this struggle for God and
righteousness, as well as for our own
souls, we want our feet firmly planted
in the gospel-both feet on the Rock
OF Ages 1t will not do 10 believe the
Bible in spots, or think some OF II true
and some OF IL untrue. You Just make
up your mind that the story OF the
Garden Of Eden is an allegory. and the
Epistle OF James an Interpolation, and
that the miracles OF Christ can be nc.
counted for on natural grounds, with.
out any beliefin the supernatural, and
the first time you are interlocked
In q wrestle with sin and satan
you will 60 under and your feet will
be higher than your head II will moi
do TO have one foot on a rock and the
other on the sand. The old book would
long ago have gone to pieces IL 1t had
been vulnerable. But Of the millions
Of Bibles that have been printed
within the last 25 years, not one chap
ter has been omitted, and the omission
Of n chapter would have been tn.
cause of the rejection OF the whole
edition. Alas! for those who Will.
trying TO prove that Jonah was never
swallowed Of q whale, themselves pe'
swallowed OF the whale Of unbelief
which digests but never elects its VIC
Tins The inspiration OF the Bible Il
not more certain than the preservation
of the Bible in its present condition
Oh, keep out Of this wrestling bou'
with the ignorance and the wretched
uess OF the world unless you feel tina
both feet are planted in the eterna
yeraciaes Of the Book Of Almight,
Godi
Notice also that in this science O
wrestling, to which Paul refers in m,
text, il was the third throw that de
|. cided the contest. A wrestler nigh
be thrown once and thrown twice, bu
the third time he might recover him
} self and, by an unexpected twist o
! arm or curve of-foot, gain the day
! Well, that is broad, smiling, unmistak
able gospel Some whom | address
through car or eye, by voice or printe,
) page. have been thrown In their wras
| tie with evil habit Ayel you have beer
| thrown twice; but that does not mean
obi worsted soul, that you are thrown
. forever. have no authority for say
Ing how many times a man ma,
sin and be forgiven, or how man
times he may fall and yet rise again
| but ! have authority for saying tina
| he may fall 400 times and 400 times re
! up. The Bible declares that God viii
/ forgive seventy times seven, and II 70,
/ will employ the rule of multiplication
! you will find that seventy times sever
. Is 400. Blessed be God for such
gospel OF high hope and thrilling en-
couragement and magnificent rescue
3 A gospel Of lost sheep brought hom,
on a shepherds shoulder, and tn,
4 prodigals who got into the low worl
OF putting husks inte swine's troughi
brought home to jewelry and banquet
ing and hilarity that made the rafterI
/ ring.
But notice that my text suggests
5 that the wrestlers on the other side II
, the great struggle for the worlds re
demption have all the forces OF demon
ology 10 help them: "We write no
against flesh and blood. but agains
princiPalitiea, against powers, against
the rulers Of the darkness Of thil
world, against spiritual w~iekedness IL
high places" All military men will
|, tell you that there is nothing NOR,
unwise than - underestimate al
army. In estimating what W,
have 10 contend with, the mos
OF tho reformers do not recog
nize the biggeat opposers, The,
talk about the Agnostlcism, and thu
Atheism, and the Materialism, ant
the Brahminism. and the Mohammed
anism as well as the more agile and or
Onuizad and andawad xvfoLaaua.. -