The L'Anse sentinel. (L'Anse, L.S., Mich.) 18??-current, 1903-03-28


mercy Of its enemy. Satan. II lock
IL in the dungeon of affiiction and set
IL to grinding for the enemy. Itmake
IL the object of the reproach and ridi
Guile of the world, while the world ex
ats its own virtues and holds then
up as its gods of superior power
This Is bad enough; the sin is black
the weakness is disgusting, the fall 4
far, the afiiiction is great, the rejoic
ing Of the enemy is loud and boisterous
but a condition far worse, more sin
full and more terrible Is reached wher
the soul, abandoning filth in God, ant
persisting in its sin, is content, II
weak subsection, to sit in the prison
house of affiiction and grind the enc
my's grist. Then no glorious victory
comes to brighten the last page OF life'i
book. But IL the soul sits with shorr
Samson and in repentance renews iti
Nazarite vow of loyalty and faithful
ness to God, new power will come and
new victories follow, and, as the fash.
ing gold of the sunlight, bursting
through the black cloud after the aw'
full tempest is past, eliminates the
heavens and uses the dark background
of the angry-looking clouds to
heighten its splendor. so that SOU
will shine with triumphant beauty
which will silence the worlds taunt
and bring swift destruction to the
proud lords of the modern Philistines
THUS Samson comes with his warn
ing, and his message of hope fol
the Christian of to-day. Let us search
out the modern shorn Samsons. How
may we distinguish them? BY their
shorn locks. It was not hard to dis
cover the change in Samson. 1t is not
hard to identify the shorn Samsons OF
to-day, il we know where to look for
them and are able to discern their dis
figured countenances. First OF all
Samson was abiding in strange land
amidst worldly associates. He was as
good as shorn when he went into
Philistia to dwell and took as his bosom
companion that woman Delilah. The
Christian who dwells in the land OF
worldly pleasure and sinful indul-
gences is the shorn Samson. Like the
Samson of old he is intoxicated with
the pleasure and joy of the moment
His conscience is deadened with the
sleep of indifference as he rests in the
lap of ease and luxurious indulgence,
and while thus reposing the seven locks
of his strength are clipped close to
his head. God never intended that
Christians should be weaklings. His
command ever to his followers is: "Be
strong in the Lord and in the power OF
His might" Samsons, with Divinely
given strength to slay evil on every
hand; Samsons, with the fearlessness
of a righteous purpose that will lead
them right into the heart of the enc
my's country and enable them to car
ry off the gates of the city and place
them on the summit of the adjacent
hill which holds the commanding po-
sition against the city. But such sol
diers of Jesus Christ are not numer-
Gus.
The reason the church to-day is so
weak and impotent in the face of evil;
the reason it is so sharply criticised
for its lack of power; the reason it is
not finding "the Gospel of Christ is the
power of God unto salvation" is be-
cause It is filled with shorn Samsons,
and before the church will ever be able
to win new and larger victories for
God it must either cast out its shorn
Samsons or awaken them to realiza-
ton of their condition and set them
to grinding in the prison house of af-
Fiction until repentance brings new
milling of the strength and power of
the Lord.
DELILAH knew and the men who
- were with her knew that Samson
was shorn, that he was weakling in
their hands. How they despised him
in the shame of his departed gloryl
But Samson twist not that the Lord
was departed from him." When the
warning cry aroused him from his
slumber, he was confident in himself,
and ready to meet his enemies. He
said: 81 will go out, as at other times
before" And he did, and we know his
defeat, his torture, his shame. The
world to-day knows better than the
church does that it is filled with shorn
Samsons.
1t is so easy, too, for the Christian
to discover the shorn head of the fell
low Christian, but so hard to realize
that the shorn Samson may be the
"ego"-self-whose eyes are adjusted
to see the notes in other eyes, while
the beam remains undiscovered in its
own eye. Samson twist not that the
Lord was departed from him." How
is it with you, my Christian friend
Are you dwelling in the land of your
own desire? Are you delighting your
heart in unchristian and unholy asso.
Citations? Is your heart filed with
'love for the world and the things OF
the world?" IL so, look to the lock.
of your Nazarite vow which sealed
you for the Lord when you accepted
Him as Christ and Saviour. Some o,
all of your locks are shorn, and though
you go about Christian service as o.
yore, and wist not that the Lord Il
departed from you, He Is no longei
with you. and His strength and pow
err have ceased to flow in potent meas
ure through your life. While you dwell