The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1901-12-31

fole0lOg 1lo0Qay 10 enter 4t pf1cH %
employment. On Sunday morning. carry
ing out the good advice before leaving his
country home. he went to church Stand
ing at the door, he was ebashed az the
beauty and fashion and wealth swept
through the doors OF the sanctuary. and
he dared not go in As be was about
turning to go away q gentleman said,
Have you a seat, young mann NO.
sir" do you beiDng to the city?" "No,
sir" Where is your homer In the
country" How long have you been in
the city," Il came in last night" What
are you going TO do hereg" II hope TO GO
into business tomorrow" That is right.
You hav begun well. young man. Never
forsake the God OF your fathers. Come,
/ will give yol q seat in my pew" The
next morning the young man presented
his letter in business circles. What do
you want, young nanT" said the Scotch
merchant. Il want TO get credit on some
leather. upper and sole" Have sou ref
erences?' u think | can get references.
Ny father has friends here" Young
man, did l not see you yesterday in Mr..
Lenox's pewf' Il DO not know. sir. I
was at church, and a kind gentleman
asked me TO sit in his pew" Yes, young
man. that was Robert Lenox. l will trust
any one that Mr.. Lenox invites into his
pew. You need not trouble yourself about
references. When these goods are gone
come and get more" That young man
became an eminent merchant and. more
han that. q Christian merchant. and be
attributed all his success TO that first
Sabbath in the city. Young man just ar
rived. put yourself under good influences
your first day in town There hangs your
helmet. Take 1t down. There is your
breastplate. Adjust it. There is all the
harness for safety and triumph. Put il
on.
Also see in my subject the folly of IN
discriminating the enemy. That was Ben
hadad's fatal mistake. He could whip
them before shutdown. He wanted less
than half a day to capture Samaria and
make the king Of Israel capitulate. But
what he thought was so easy turned out
to be the impossible. Better overestimate
than underestimate the other side. We
who are trying to make the world what il
ought to be contend not with homunculi.
We wrestle not with striplings. We have
q whole army of antagonists trying 10
halt the King Of God and overthrow the
cause of righteousness. II we secure the
victory, it will be a struggle as fierce as
when the Greeks and Persians met at
Marathon. as when Darius and Alexander
grappled each other at Arbela, as when
Joan Of Arc rode triumphant at Orleans,
as when the Russians met the Swedes at
Poltava, as when Marlborough command
ed the allied armies at Blenheim. Those
were fights for earthly crowns and do
minions, but the fight that now goes on
between all the allied armies Of heaven
81 II ~ H. .--~s-- ~ Ill &; = "a
tie whether God or Satan is to have pos
session of this planet.
The End OF the Struggle.
I congratulate all those who are now
in the thiekest Of LIES battle that the
time is coming when the struggle will end
and you will put the harness of, helmet
and greaves and breastplate having full
filled their mission. You cannot in one
visit to London Tower see all. You must
60 again and again to that place which
is associated with the story Of Lady Jane
Grey and Anne Boleyn and Walter Ra-
leigh and Sir Thomas More. You will
see the CROWNS Of kings and queens, the
robe worn by the Black Prince, and silver
baptismal fonts from which royal infants
were christened, and the block on which
Lord Lovat was beheaded. But no part
of London Tower will more interest you
than the armory, in which is skillfully
and imprcssively arranged a collection of
all styles Of armor worn between the
thirteenth and eighteenth centuries, sug
gesting o years of conhict-cuirass n
neck guard and chin piece and lance rest
and gauntlet and girdle and mailed apron.
You see just how from head to heel those
old time warriors were defended against
sharp weapons that would cut or thrust
or bruise and allowing them to come out
Of battle unhurt when otherwise they
would have been slain.
o ye soldiers Of Jesus Christ, when the
war OF life is over and the victors rest
in the soldiers home on the heavenly
heights, perhaps there may be in the city
Of the sun a tower Of spiritual armor
such as incased the warriors for Christ
in earthly combat. Some day we nay
be in that armory and hear the heroes
tall of 10 they fought the good fight Of
faith and see them with the scars Of
wounds forever healed and look at the
weapon of offense and defense with
which they became more han conquer
ors. In that tower Of heaven, as the
weapons Of the spiritual conflict are ex-
amined, st. Paul may point out to Us the
armor with which he advised the Ephe-
slams to equip themselves and say: THAT
is the shield of faith. That il the he'll
met of salvation. That Is the girdle Of
truth. That is the breastplate of right
eousness. Those are the mailed shoes. in
which they were shod with the prepare
ton Of the gospel" There and then you
may recount the contrast between the
day when you enlisted in Christian con-
flict and the day when you closed it in
earthly farewell and heavenly salutation.
and the text. which has SO much meaning
for US now, viii have more meaning for
US then, Let not him that girdeth on his
harness boast himself as ne that putteth
it off,"
tCopyright, 1901, Louis Eopsch. n. IL