The Iola register., 1902-01-24
THE BATTLE OF LIFE
How the End OF the Struggle May
Be Brightenei.
Lesson which Mny lie Learned from
Bonsting of Benhndnd, the King
of syrin-Humnnity En-
courngcd.
tCopyright, 1901, by Louis Klopsch, n. \. J
N anIngl on. Do c. ~.

manity and shows how the evening OF
life may be frightened. The text is l
Kings, 20: Ii: Let not him that girdeth
on his harness boast himself as he
that putteth it OIL"
Harness is the obsolete word for ar
NOR. 1t means harness for the man,
not harness for the beast; harness for |
battle, not harness Tor the pow. The |
ancient armor consisted of helmet for
the head, breastplate and SHE Id for the |
heart, greaves for the feet. The text
makes "a comparison between man
enlisting for some war and a veteran
returning, the one putting on the ar
NOR and the other putting it oil.
Benhudad, the king of Syria, thought
he could easily overcome the king OF
Israel. Indeed, the syrian was so sure
of the victory that he spread an ante
beilum banquet. With 81 kings he was
celebrating What they were going to do.
There were in all 50 kings at the ca
rousal, and their condition is described
! in The Bible not as couyivial or stim-
u,ated eNaitation, but drunk. Their
! gilded and hammered payilions were SUR
rounded by high-mettied horses, neigi-
ing and champing, and hitched TO chat-
iots such as kings rode in. Benhadad
sends officers to the king of Israel de-
mandmg the surrender OF the city, say
ing: Thou shalt deliver me thy silver
and Thy gold and thy wives and thy
children" and afterWard sends other
officers, saying that the palace OF the
king will be searched and everything
Benhadad wants he will take withous
asking. Then the king of Israel called
a council of war and word is sent back
TO Benhadad that his unreasonable de-
mand will he resisted. Then Benhadad
sends another message to the king OF
Israe,, "a message full of arrogance and
bravado, practically saying: I'VE Will
destroy you utterly. l will grind Sa-
maria into the dust, but there will not
be dust enough to make a handful for
each one of my troops" Then the king
of Israel replied to Benhadad, prac-
tical!y saying: Let me see you do
what you say. You royal braggart, you
might better have postponed your ban
uuet until after the battle instead of
spreading ii before the battle. You
huzza too soon. Let not him that grid
eth on his harness boast himself as he
that putteth it off.
An avalanche of courage and right
, eousness, the Israelitish army came
down on Benhadad and his host. Ii
was a hand to hand fight, each Israelite
hewing down Syrian. Benhadad, on
horseback. gets away with some of the
cavalry, but is only saved for a worse
defeat, a. which 100000 Syrian infan'
try were slaughtered in one day. Now
. we see the sarcasm and the epigram-
matte power of the message of my text
sent by the king of Israel to Benhadad:
Let not him that girdeth on his har-
ness boast himself as he that putteth
it or
All mp and down history we see such
too early boasting. Soult, the marsha.
z of France. was so certain that he
would conquer that he had procla
o nation printed announcing himse.t
u king Of Portugal and had a grand feast
7 prepared for four o'clock that after
7 noon. but before that hour he fled il
ignominious defeat, and Wellington O
the conquering host sat down at fou'
J.. o'clock at the very banquet the mar
o shal of France had ordered for himself
=, Charles V. invaded France and was 81
: sure of conquest that he requested
g Paul Joyius, the historian, to gathe
. togeth ther a large amount of paper ol
a which to write the story of his man.
). victories, but disease and famine seizet
n upon his troopers and he retreated il
q dismay. So Benhadad's behavior ha
~ ri
1t will be my object, among other les
sons, to show that he who puts OF
l. the armor, having finished the battle
i is more to be congratulated than h
J. who begins.
l. First, ! find encouragement in thi
Il subject for the aged who have go
IS through the work and struggle o
D. earthly life. My venerable friends, j
D. you had at % years of age full appre
citation of what you would have to g
through in the thirties and the fortie
and the fifties of your lifetime yo
:. would have been appalled,. Fortunate
a ly the bereavements, the temptation
a the prosecutions, the hardships, wer
curtained from your sight. With NOR
- or less fortitude you passed throug
the crisis of pain and sadness and di
appointment and fatigue and still liy
to recount the Divine help that su
- :. tanned you. AT 20 or 80 years OF you
- age at the tap Of the drum you put o
the harness. Now, at 60 or 70 or S
- you are peacefully putting it off. Yo
would not want to try the battle {
life over again. So many of just yol
IN temperament and with as good star
in ing and as fine parentage and seen
m ingly with as much equipoise of chara
ct ter as you had have made comple
rt shpwreck that you would not wal
he again to run the risks. Thoungh yc
er can look back and see many mistake
NO the next time you might make wori
ny mistakes Instead of being depress'
nver the fnct that Won are being coun