Milford chronicle. [volume] (Milford, Del.) 1878-1974, 1902-02-28


not! l will help thee! 1 will strength
en- thee by the right hand Of my pow
err
They gave to the men in the arena in
the Olden time food to thicken their
blood, SO that it would flow slowly and
that for longer time the people might
glOat over the scene. But our King
has no pleasure in our wounds, for we
are bone of his bone, flesh Of his flesh,
blood of his blood.
In all the anguish of our heart
The Man of Sorrows bore a part
Once in the ancient amphitheater a
lion with one paw caught the combat
ants sword and with his other paw
caught his shield. The man took his
knife from his girdle and slew the beast.
The king, sitting in the gallery, said:
THAT was not fair. The lion must be
slain by a sword" Other lions were
turned out, and the poor victim fell.
You cry. SHANE! shamew at such
meanness. But the King in this case
is our brother, and he will see that we
have fair play. He will forbid the
rushing out of more lions than we can
meet. He will not suffer US to be
tempted above that we are able. Thank
God! The King is in the gallery! His
eyes are on us. His heart is with us.
His hand will deliver us. BLESSED are
they who put their trust in him"
The Angels In the Gallery.
I look again, and l see the angelic
gallery. There they are-the angel
that swung the sword at the gate of
Eden. the same that Ezekiel saw up
holding the throne of God. and from
which | look away, for the splendOr is
insufferable. Here are the guardian
angels. That one watched a patriarch;
this one protected a child; that one has
been pulling soul out Of temptation
All these are messengers of light!
Those drove the Spanish armada on
the rocks. This turned Sennacherib's
living host into a heap of $4,000
cOrpses. Those yonder chanted the
Christmas carol over Bethlehem until
the chant awOke the shepherds. These
at creation stood in the balcony Of
heaven and serenaded the newborn
world wrapped in swaddling clothes of
light. And there hOlier and mightier
than ALL is Michael, the archangel.
To command an earthly host gives dig
nifty, but this one is leader of the 10000
chariots Of God and of the ten thou
sand times ten thousand angels.
think God gives command to the arch
angel, and the archangel to the sera-
phim, and the seraphim to the cher
ubim, until all the lower orders of
heaven hear the command and go forth
on the high behest.
Now. bring on your lions! Who can
fear? All the spectators in the angelic
gallery are our friends He shall give
his angels charge over thee. to keep
thee in all thy ways They shall bear
thee up in their hands lest thou dash
thy foot against a stone. Thou shalt
tread upon the lion and adder; the
young lion and the dragon shalt thou
trample under foot"
Though the arena be crowded with
temptations, we shall, with the angelic
help, strike them down in the name of
our God and leap on their fallen car
cases! o bending throng of bright
angelic faces and swift wings and
lightning foot l hail you today from
the dust and struggle of the arena!
| look again, and l see the gallery of
the prophets and apostles. Who are
those mighty ones up yonder? Hosea
and jeremiah and Daniel and Isaiah
and Paul and Peter and John and
James. There sits Noah. waiting for
all the world to come into the ark, and
Moses, waiting till the last Red sea
shall divide, and jeremiah, waiting for
the Jews to return. and John of the
apocalypse, waiting for the swearing
of the angel that time shall be nc
longer. Glorious spirits! Ye were
hOwled at. We were stoned, We were spit
upon! They have been in this fight
themselves, and they are all with us
Daniel knows all about lions. Pau
fought with beasts at hphesus.
Help From the Prophets,
In the ancient amphitheater the PEG
pie got so excited that they would
shout from the galleries to men in the
arena: AT it again!" Forward
Zone more strokew Look outr' "Fal
back" "Huzza! Huzza" So in thai
gallery, prophetic and apostolic, they
cannot keep their peace. Daniel cries
out THY God will deliver thee from
the mouth of the lionsw David ex
claims, He will not suffer thy foot t.
be moved" Isaiah calls out: "FeaI
not! l am with thee! Be not dis
mayed" Paul exclaims, "Victory
through our Lord Jesus Christi Tha
throng of prophets and apostles cannO
keep still. They make the welkin rim;
with shouting and halleluiahs.
/ look again, and see the gallery o.
the martyrs. Who is that? Hugh Lat
inner, sure enough! He would not apoI
OgiEe for the truth he preached, and s.
he died. the night before swinginj
from the bedpost in perfect glee at tn
thought of emancipation. Who is tina
army of G,666? They are the The
ban legion who died for the faith
Here is a larger host in magnifcen
array, $4,000, who persisted for Chris
| in the prosecutions of Diocletian. Yon
der is a family group, Felicitas o
/ Rome and her children. While the
were dying for the faith she stood Ell
couraging them. One son was whfu
! ped to death by thOrns; another wa
flung from rock; another was behead
ed. At last the mother became a maj
tyr. There they are together, a famil
group in heaven! Yonder is John BraC
ford, who said in the fire, 1--WE sha
have a merry supper with the Lord t.
night" YOnder is Henry Woes, VIII
exclaimed as he died, IF l had te
heads, they should all fall off fo
Christi The great throng of the maj
tyrs! They had hot lead poured dow
their Threats; horses were fastened t
their hands and other horses to thei
feet and thus they were pulled apart
they had their tongues pulled out b
redhot pinchers; they were sewed u
in the skins of animals and the
| thrown to the dogs; they were daube
with combustibles and set on fire! ]
all the martyrs stakes that have bee
kindled could be set at proper dit
tances, they would make the midnigf
all the world over bright as MONDAY
And now they sit yonder in the ma
tyrs' gallery. For them the fires {
persecution have gone out; the sword
are sheathed and the mob hushed. No,
they watch us with an all observin
sympathy. They know all the pain, a
the hardship, all the anguish, all IL
injustice, all the privation. They cal
not keep still They cry: "COurag