Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1898-11-10
IN STRENGTH OF GOD.
WE MUST STRIVE TO OVERTHROW
EVERY ABoMlNATloN.


copyright 1885, by American Press Asso-
Ciaton.l
WASHINGTON, Nov. 6-In this discourse
DIR. Talmago selects ono of the boldest fig
urcs of the Bible to present most practical
and encouraging truths; text, Ephcsians
vi, IL, "We wrcstlo not against flesh and
blood, but against principalitios, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world, against spiritual wickcdness
in high places
Squcamishness and fnstidiousness were
never charged against Pauls rhetoric. In
tho war against evil he took the first
weapon he could lay his hand ON. For H.
lustration, he employed the theater, tho
arena, tho foot race, and there was moth
ing in the Isthmian game, with its wreath
of pine leaves, or Pythian game, with its
wreath of laurel and palm, or Ncmcan
game, with its wreath of parsley, or any
Roman circus but he felt no had right
to put it in sermon or cpistlc and are you
not surprised that in my text he calls upon
II wrestling bout for sugvcstiycneSsy Plu-
tarch says that wrestling is the most av-
tistic and cunning Of athletic games. We
must make "a wide difference between
pugilism, the lowest of spcctaclCs, and
wrestling, which is an effort in sport to
put down another on floor ur ground, and
wc--all of us-indulgCd i'm it in our boy
hood days If we were healthful and plucky.
The ancient wrestlcrs were first bathed in
oil and then sprinklcd with sand. Tho
third throw decided the victory, and many
n man who went down in tho first throw
or second throw in the third throw was on
top, and his opponent under The Romans
did not like this game very much for it
was not savage enough, no blows or kicks
being allowed in the game. They preferred
the foot of hungry panther ON the breast
Of fallen martyr.
In wrestling, the opponents would bow
in apparent suavity, advance face to face,
put down both feet solidly, take each other
by the arms and push each other backward
and forward until tho work began in real
earnest and there were contortions and
strangulations and violent strokes of tho
foot of one contestant against the foot of
the other, tripping him up, or, with strug
gle that threatened apoploxy or death, the
defeated fell and the shouts of the specta-
tors greeted the victor. l guess Paul had
seen some such contest, and IL reminded
him of tho struggle of the soul with temp
tation and the struggle of truth with error
and the struggle of heavenly forces against
Apollyonic powers, and he dictates my text
To an amanucnsis. for all his letters, save
the ono to Philemon, seem to have been
dictated and ms the amanucnsis goes ON
with his work hear the groan and laugh
and shout of earthly and celestial bclligor-
ents. "Wo wrestle not against flesh and
blood, but against municipalities, against
powers, against the rulers of the darkness
of this world against spiritual wickedness
in high places"
Polite Athletes.
notice that as these wrcstlcrs advanced
to throw each other they bowed one to the
other. 1t was u civility, not only in Gro
clan and Roman games, but in later day,
In all the wrestling bouts at Clerkenwell,
England, and In tho famous wrestling
match during tho reign of Henry Ill, in
IT. Giles Field, between men of Wcstmin-
ster and people of London. However
rough II twist and hard pull each wrestler
contemplated giving his opponent, they
approached each other with pulitcness and
suavity. The genuilcxions, the afrahility,
the courtesy in no wise hindcrcd the de-
cisiveness OF the contest. Well, Paul,
see what you mean. In this awful stru;-
glo between right and wrong, ", must
not forget to he gentlemen and ladies.
You are pOwCrlcSs ms soon rs you get mad.
Do not call rum>elers murdercrs. Do NOT
call infldcls fools Do not call higher
critics reprobates. Do not call all caro-
players and theator goers children of the
devil. Do not say that the dance breaks
through into hell. Do not deal in vituper.
alton and billinFSgate and contempt and
adjcctives Dynamite. Tho other side can
beat us mt that Their dictionaries have
moro objurgation and birthstone.
We are in the strength of God to throw
fiat on its back every abomination that
curses the earth, but let us approach our
mighty antagonist with suavity. Her
cules, son of Jupiter and Alcmenl, will
by precursor of smiles be helped rather
than damaged for tho performance of his
"l2 labors Let us DO as wisely strategic
in religious circles rs attorneys in court
rooms, who are complimentary to each
other In the opening remarks before they
como into legal struggle such as that
which left Rufus Choato or David Paul
Brown triumphant or defeated. People
who get into II rage in reformatory work
accomplish nothing but the depletion of
their own nervous system. There is such
IA thing as having II gun SO hot at the
touchholo that it oyplodcs, killing the ore
that sets it or. There are some roforma-
tory meetings to which i always decline
to go and take part, because they are apt
to become demonstrations of bad temper
/ never like to hear n man swear, even
though he swear on the right side The
very Paul who in my text employed in
illustration the wrestling match behaved
on memorable occasion as we ought to
behave. The translators of the Bible made
an unintcntional mistake when they rep
resented Paul as insulting the people of
Athens by speaking Of Tho unknown god
whom yo ignorantly worship" Instead
of charging them with ignorance the orig
inal indicates no compllmentcd them by
suggesting that they We're very religious,
but as they confessed that there We're some
things they did not understand about God
he proposed to say some things concern
ing him, beginning where they had left
off. The same Paul who said in one place,
Be courteous, " and who had noticed the
bow preceding the wrestling match, here
exercises suavitios before he proceeds prac-
tically to throw down the rocky side of
the Acropolis the whole Parthenon OF
idolatries, Minerva and Jupiter smashed
up with the rest of them, In this holy
war polished rifles will do moro execution
than blunderbusses. Let our wrestlers
bow as they go into the struggle which
will leave all perdition under and all
heaven on top.
The Test of strength,
Remember also that these wrestlers
went through severe and continuous course
of preparation for their work. They Were
pus upon such diet as would best develop
their muscle. As Paul says, Every man