Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1902-02-26
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| ChNG III tue duEieul aLpDlluPdtef a avn
with one paw caught the combatant's
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.
Shame! shame" 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 lioas
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.
| look again, and see the angelic gal
| lery. There they are-the angel that
swung the sword at the gate of Eden,
| the same that Ezekiel saw upholding the
throne of God. and from which | look
away, for the splendor is insufferable.
Here are the guardian angels. That one
watched patriarch; this one protected a
child: that one has been pulling a soul out
of temptation! All these are messengers
of light! Those drove the Spanish ar
maGa on the rocks. This turned SIENNA
eherib's living host into heap of $4,000
| corpscS. 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 wrap
1ped in swaddling clothes Of light. And
there, holier and mightier than all, is
Michael, the archangel To command an
earthly host gives dignity, but this one
is leader of the 10000 chariots of God
and of the ten thousand times ten thou
sand angels. | think God gives command
to the archangel, aud the archangel to
the seraphim, and the seraphim to the
cherubim, until all the lower orders of
heaven hear the command and so 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 shall thou trample under
1 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
casses. o bending throng of bright an
gelic faces and swift wings and lightning
foot, I hail You to-day from the dust
and struggle of the arena
look again, and | see the gallery Of
| the prophets and apostles. Who are those
mighty ones up yonder? Hosea and Jere-
miah 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
i the last Red Sea shall divide. and Jere-
miah. waiting for the Jews to return, and
John of the apocalypse, waiting for the
swearing of the angel that time shall be
no longer. Glorious spiritsl Ye were
howled at, We were stoned. We were spit
upon! They have been in this fight them
selves. and they are all with us. Daniel
knews all about lions. Paul Tough: with
beasts at Ephesus.
Help from the Prophets.
In the ancient amphitheater the people
| got so excited that they would shout from
the galleries to men in the arena: AT it
again." "Forwardv' One more strokew
Look outr' Fall back "Huzza.
Huzza." SO in that gallery. prophetic
and apostolic, they cannot keep their
peace. Daniel cries out. Thy God Will
deliver thee from the mouth of the lions!"
David exclaims, He will not suffer thy
| foot to be movedr' Isaiah calls out:
Fear not! am with thee, Be not dis
mayed Paul eXcaims, Victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ" That throng
of prophets and apostles cannot keep
still They make the welkin ring with
shouting and halleluiahs.
look again. and see the gallery of
the martyrs. Who is that? Hugh I.ati-
mer. sure enough! He would not apollo
gize for the truth he preached. and so
| he died. the night before swinging from
| the bedpost in perfect glee at the thought
of emancipation. Who is that army OF
6,6G6? They are the Theban legion who
| died for the faith. Here is a larger host
| in magnificent array, $4,000, who per-
! 'ished for Christ in the prosecutions of
| Diocletian. Wonder is a family group. Fe-
| lcitas of Rome and her children. While
they were dying for the faith she stood
encouraging them. One son was whip
ped to death by thorns; another was
flung from a rock; another was beheaded
At last the mother became marty.
There they are together. family group
in heaven. Yonder is John Bradford who
said in the fire, We shall have a merry
supper with the Lord to-night"' Wonder
is Henry Woes, who exclaimed as he died
IF l had ten heads, they should all fail
off for Christi The great throng of the
mart rs, They had hot lead poured down
their lhroats; horses were fastened TO
their hands and other horses to their feet,
and thus they were pulled apart; they
had their tongues pulled out by redhot
pinchers: they were sewed up in the skins
of animals and then thrown to the Dogs
they were daubed with combustibles and
set on fire! If all the martyrs stakes
that have been kinded could be set at
proper distances, they would make the
midnight all the world over bright as
MONDAY! And now they sit yonder in
the martyrs gallery. For them the fires
of persecution have gone out; the swords
are sheathed and the mob hushed. Now
they watch us with an all observing
sympathy. They know all the pain all
the hardship, all the anguish, all the
injustice. al! the privation. They cannot
keep still. They cry: Courage. The
fire will not consume; the floods cannot
drown; he lions cannot devour. Cour-
age dowl there in the ARENA"
Some Eminent Spectators.
WHAT Are they all looking: This
hour we answer back the salutation they