The Leon reporter. (Leon, Iowa) 1887-1930, 1902-01-02
in New York on Saturday night, In
tending the following Monday to enter

morning, carrying out the good adj
vice before leaving his country home,
he went to church. Standing at the
door, he was abashed as the beauty and
fashion and wealth swept through the
doors of the sanctuary, and he dared
not go in. AS he was about turning to
go away a gentleman said, "Have you
seat, young MANI" mo, sir" do
you belong to the city," "No, SIR"
Where is your homer" Elm the coun-
try" "How long have you been in the
city?" Il came in last night" What
are you going to do here?" 81 hope to
go into business Tomorrow" "That is
right. You have begun we'll, young
man. Never forsake the God of your
fathers. Come, will give you seat
in my pew" The next morning the
young man presented his letter in bus
mess circles. What do you want,
young MANI" said the Scotch mer-
chant. Il want to get credit on some
leather, upper and SOLE" "Have you
references?" "I think 1 can get refer
ences. My father has friends here"
Young man, did l not see you yester-
day in Mr.. Lenox's pew?" 81 do not
know, sir. was at church, and kind
gentleman asked me to sit in his pew"
Yes, young man, that was Robert
Lenox. will trust anyone 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 than
mat, Christian merchant, and he at
tr1buted all his success to that first
sabbath in the city. Young man just
arrived, put yourself under good influ
ences your first day in town. There
hangs your helmet. Take it down.
Ihere is your breastplate. Adjust it.
There is all the harness for safety and
triumph. Put it on.
Also see in my subject the folly of
Understanding the enemy. That was
Benhadad's fatal mistake. He want
ed less than half day to capture Sa-
maria and make the king of Israel
capltulate. But what he thought was
SO easy turned out to be the impossible.
Better overestimate than underesti-
mate the other side. We who are try
Ing to make the world what 1t ought
to be contend not with homunculi.
We Wrestle not with stripl:ngs. We
nave whole army of antagonists try
ing to halt the King Of God and over
throw 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 COM
manded the allied armies at Blenheim.
Those were fights for earthly crowns
and dominions, but the fight that now
goes on between all the allied armies
OF hell is to settle whether God or Sa-
tan is to have possession of this planet.
congratulate all those who are now
In the thickest of life's battle that the
time Is coming when the struggle will
end and you will put the harness of.
helmet and greaves and breastplate
having fulfilled their mission. You
cannot in one visit to London Tower
see all. You must go again and again.
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 Loyat
was beheaded. But no part of Lon
don Tower will more interest you than
the armory, in which is skillfully and
impressively arranged a collection of
all styles of armor worn between the
thirteenth and eighteenth centuries.
suggesting 500 years of conf1ict-cut-
rass and 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 Gu. 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 heav-
emily heights, perhaps there may be in
the city Of the sun tower of spiritual
armor such as incased the warriors for
Christ in earthly combat Some day
we may be in that armory and hear
the heroes talk of how they fought the
good fight Of faith and see them with
the scars of wounds forever healed and
look at the weapons of offense and de-
Tense with which they became more
than conquerors. In that tower of
heaven, as the weapons Of the spiritual
conflict are examined, St. Paul may
point out to us the armor with which
he advised the Ephesians to equip
themselves and say: "That is the
shield of faith. That is the helmet Of
salvation. That is the girdle of truth.
That is the breastplate of righteous
ness. Those are the mailed shoes in
which they were shod with the prepa-