The Opelousas courier., 1899-01-07

ot"AA WI suo lhct LHHI you nave some
thing to say, that Is going to fit you for
the struggle into which You are to 20 with
a smile on your face and illumination Oh
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 a nerve left, or a thought u~nexpended.
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 CT Goliath the
Great. and David the Little. David had
been practising with a sling on dogs and
wolves and bandits, and a thousand times
had he swirled a stone around his head
before he aimed ut tho forehead of the
giant and tumbled him backward. other.
wise 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 we'll
planted before he grappled his opponent.
Aluc1 depends upon the way the wrestler
stands. Standing 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
this struggle for God and righteousness.
as well as for our WI souls, we want our
feet firmly planted in the Gospel-both
feet on the Rock Of Ages. It will not do
to believe the Bible In spots, or think
some OF 1t true and some Of 1t untrue.
YOU Just make up your mind that the story
OF the Garden Of Eden is an allegory,
and the Epis. 70 Of James an Interpolation,
and that b eemiracles Of Christ can be
accounted for On natural grounds, without
any belief in the supernatural, and the
first time you are interlocked In a wrestle
with sin and Satan you will go under and
your feet will be higher thar your head. 1t
will not 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 it had
been vulnerable. But Of the millions of
Bibles that have been printed within the
last twenty-five years, not one chapter has
been omitted, and the omission Of ono
chapter would have been the cause of the
rejection of the whole edition. Alas! for
those vino while trying to prove that Jonah
was never swallowed OF q whale, themselves
get swallowed Of the whale OF unbelief,
which digests but never elects its victims.
The inspiration OF the Bible is not more
'ertain than the preservation Of the Bible
n its present condition. After 50 many CEN
:uries OF assault on the Book, would 1t not
DC a matter of economy, to say the least
economy Of brain and economy Of station
sry, and economy Of printers ink-.f the
batteries now assailing the Book would
change their aim and be trained against
some other books, and the world shown that
Walter Scott did not write "The Lady of
The Lake." nor Homer 1.-The Had" nor
Virgil "The Georges" nor Thomas
Moore "Lalla Rookh," or that Washing
toms farewell Address" was written by
Thomas Paine, and that the War OF the
American Revolution never occurred. hat
attempt would be quite as successful as
this long-timed attack anti-Biblical, and
then it would DO new. Oh, keep out OF this
wrestling bout with the Ignorance and the
wretchedness of the world unless you feel
that both feet are planted in the eternal
veracities of the Book Of Almighty God!
Notice also that In this science Of wrest-
Ting, to which Pau refers in my text, it
was the third throw which decided the
.ontest. Awrestler might be thrown once
and thrown twice, but the third time he
might recover himself, and, by an u1ex-
pected twist OF arm or curve CT foot, gain
The day. Well, that is broad, smiling, un-
n%istakable Gospel. Some whom I address
page, have been thrown in their wrestle
with evil habit.
Ayel you have been thrown twice; but
that does not mean, oh! worsted soul, that
you are thrown forever. I have no author
lty for saying how many times a mar may
vim and be forgiven, or how many times he
may fall and yet rise again; but l have
authority for saying that he may fall four
hundred and ninety times, and four hun
dred and ninety times get up. The Bible
declares that God will forgive seventy
times seven, and if you will employ the
rule Of multiplication you will find that
seventy times seven Is four hundred ana
ninety. Blessed be God for such q Gospel
Of high hope and thrilling encouragement
and magnificent rescue! A Gospel OF lost
sheep brought home on Shepherds shout
der, and the prodigals who got into the low
work Of putting husks into swines' troughs
brought home to jewelry and banquetinS
and hilarity that made the rafters ring!
But notice that In ytext suggests that the
wrsstlers on the other side in the great
struggle for the worlds redemption have
all the forces of demonology to help them:
1--WE wrestle not against flesh and blood,
but against princfpalities. agains5 powers,
against the rulers Of the darkness OF TINS
world, against spiritual wickedness IN hlgh
places"
Then I can we'll believe that righteous
ness will accept the challenge, and the two
mighty wrestlers will grapple, while all
| the galleries of earth and heaven look
down from one side, and all the fiery
ehasms OF perdition look up from the
other side. The prize is worth a strug-
gle, for it Is not a chaplet of laurel or
palm, but the rescue Of a world, aud a
wreath put on the brow by Him who prom
lsed. "Be thou faithful unto death Il l
will give thee a crown" Three worlds
earth. heaven M hell-hold their breath
while waiting for the result Of this struS-
gle, when, with one mighty swing OF an
arm museled with Omntpotence, righteous
ana then on its face, and then rolling on
and down, with a crash wilder than that
with which Sampson hurled the temple OF
Dagon when he got hold of It's two chief
pillars.
Ayel That suggests a cheering thought,
that If all the realms OF Demonoiogy are
on the other side, all the realms OF angel
ology are on our side, among them the
Angel of the New Covenant, and they are
now talking over the present awful struggle
and final glorious triumph; talking amid
the alabaster pillars and In the ivory pal.
aces. and along the broadways and grand
avenues of the great Capital OF the Uni
verse. and amid the spray OF fountains
with rainbows like the RAINBOW ronnd
the throne" Yes, all heaven is on our SIDE.
and the thigh places OF W~lckedness.
spoken of in my text are not SO hlgh as
the high places of heaven, where there
are enough reserve forces, II our earthly
forces should be overpowered, or IN cow
ardics fall back, to sweep down some morn
ing at daybreak and take all this eafth 1oi
God before the city clocks strike .t"else
for noon. And the Cabinet OF Heaven, t,e
most august Cabinet in the universe, nlaae
nm of tbree-God the Father, God the Son
and God the Holy Ghost--ara no" III ses
sion In the Kings Palace, and they are VIII
ne and thew are going to see US through
and thew invite us, as soon as We nave hoh'
our share of the work, to go up ana SCI
them. and celebrate the final victory, Una
10 wore sure to come than tomorrow ssuu
Beer as . Beverage.