The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1898-12-03

otHei uuy >, Dut lol III tiiiS tiiiSi '0"N
ed 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 small "g." That kind of
a man is not called to preach the Cos
pei. Illiterate men, preaching the
Gospel, quote for their own encourage
ment the Scriptural passage: open
thy mouth wide and L will fill it,"
Yes! He will fill it with wind. Prepa-
ration for this wrestling is absolutely
necessary. Many years ago Dr. New
man and DR.. Sunderland, on the plat
form of Brigham Youngs tabernacle
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 gong around with Bagster's
Bible with flaps at the edges, under
your arm, does not qualify you for the
work of an evangelists. In this day of
| profuse CAB, remember that it is not
merely capacity to talk, but the fact
that you have something 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 your physical
and mental and moral and re-
ligious energies have been taxed
to the utmost, and you have not a
nerve left, or thought unexpended,
or a prayer unsaid, or a sympathy I'M
wept. 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 sling on dogs and wolves and
!
stone around his head before he
aimed at the forehead 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 in this science OF
wrestling, to which Paul refers in my
text, it was the third throw that de-
cided the contest. A wrestler might
be thrown once and thrown twice, but
the third time he might recover him
self, and, by an unexpected twist Of
arm or curve of foot, gain the day
Well, that is broad, smiling, unmis
taxable Gospel. Some whom addres.
through ear or eye, by voice OF
printed page, have been thrown il
their wrestle with evil habit.
Aye! you have been thrown twice;
but that does not mean, oh! worste6
soul, that you are thrown forever.
have no authority for saying how
many times man may sin and be for
given, or how many times he may fal
and yet rise again; but / have author
ity for saying that he may fall 49(
times, and 400 times get up. The
Bible declares that God will forgive
seventy times seven, and if you will
employ the rule Of multiplication you
finds that seventy times seven is 400
Blessed be God for such Gospel o.
high hope and thrilling encourage
ment and magnificent rescue! A Cos
pei of lost sheep brought home OF
shepherds shoulder, and the prodigal.
who got into the low work of putting
husks into swine's troughs brough
; home to jewelry and banqueting ant
hilarity that made the rafters ring.
Three sketches of the same man:
: happy home, of which he and lassi'
taken from neighbours house are TIL
: united head. Years of happiness rol
: on after years of happiness. Stars
, pointing down to nativities. Ans
: whether announced in greeting o
l not, every morning was a Good morn
/ ing" and every night a "Good night.
Christmas trees and May queens, ant
birthday festivities and Thanksgivin;
. gatherings around loaded tables. Blu
that husband and father forms an un
: fortunate acquaintance who leads hin
, in circles too convivial too late
} houred, too scandalous. After awhile
his money gone and not able to bea
his part of the expense, he is gradu
: ally showed out and ignored an,
l pushed away. Now, what a dilapidat
: ed home is his! A dissipated life al
e ways shows itself in faded windoy
: curtains and impoverished wardrobe
l and detected surroundings, and j
broken palings of the garden fence
S and the unhinged gate, and the dislo
S Gated door bell, and the disappearance
. of wife and children from scene
s among which they shone the bright
S est, and laughed the gladdest. If an
h man was ever down, that husband an
i father is down.
: The fact is, he got into wrestl
:, with evil that pushed and pulled an
h contorted and exhausted him wors
d than any Olympian game ever treate
d q Grecian, and he was thrown. Throw
+ out of prosperity into gloom. Throw
g out off good association into ba
Z; Thrown out of health into invalidisn
/ Thrown out of happiness into miser.
= But one day, while sinking throug
r one of the back streets, not wishin
t to be recognized, good though
g crosses his mind, for he has heard {
It men flung fiat and rising again. A
S irving at his house, he calls his viii