Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1903-03-25

paper Col
Chicago. March - 1905
And he (Samson) wist not that
the Lord was departed from him Judges
ls:-0
is the privilege and the duty of
Il 'he Christian To 'be strong in
the Lord and in the power of
HIS might" but it is the sad and
mournful fact that too often his
love of the world and his indulgeuces
IN sinful pleasures rob him of his
sire myth, aud, like the shorn Sam
son OF our text, he does not realize
that the Lord has departed from
him until he falls into the hands of
the enemy of his soul. his eyes are
burned out and he is set To grind
ing out the bread of sorrows in the
prison house of affection. Then, IL
he IL teachable, he may be led to
Sincere repentance and regain his
lost strength and his lost power
Yes. his eyes will still be sightless-
the hideous scars left by the enemy's
power over him-but with his
strength restored. he may be able
t. win mightier victories over the
forces of sin during the remainder
of his life than the sum of all his
previous triumphs. Yea. he will be
willing to die that his God may he
indicated and glorified. and that
Dagon. the false god of the Phi!is-
tines. may be put to shame. This is
the lesson ot samson. the Nazaritc.
Gods strong man.
IT us go down To that frontier
- land where dwelt the tribe of
Dan and search out our hero. As
we Journey through the wildly beau
titul hills and valleys of that part of
Palestine we begin to hear tales.
wonderful tales. of the prowess of
young Israelite. Being told that
he was even then in the camp of
Dan between Zorah and Eshtaol
performing mighty deeds. we hasten
thithcr. Those were evil DAYS and
the oppressive hand of the Philis-
tines was heavy upon Gods people
because of their disobeCiencc to His
law and yielding to the sinful pleas
nreS and practices of the heather
nations about them. The common
distress and peril draw the people
together in thought and sympathy
They hold their public meetings to
taIk over the situation and find "a
possible way of escape from their
slavery. 1t was at such a meeting
a. this in safe retreat between
Zorah and EShtaol that one day "a
young man appeared. lie heard the
stories of cruel oppression aS they
were told. and realized AZ never be.
hat Il,
tines meant destruction of the life
OF the home and OF the nation of the
children Of Israel. While the discus
sion went on and plans were offered
for the breaking of the yoke. the
Spirit of God began 90 move within
the young man before us. and the
arena at Athens or Rome never
Witnessed greater fcats of strength.
or drawer. than first astonishcd. and
then aroused to new hope the op-
pressed Israeltes.
II the supernatural strength Of
i Samson awakened in the hearts
OF the children Of Israel sense of
tho true sourcc of power and
sire myth, his sins aroused them to n
close fellowship with the Philstines
was working and would continue to
work for them. They knew he was
Nazarite. and that his grent
strength came from God. and. when
they saw their hero shorn aud with
sightless eyes grinding in the prison
house of the Philistincx. they knew
that weakness and terrible disaster
followed swift upon the departure
from Gods commandments and
Gods service. Surely the expert
cnces of Samson must have made
the children OF Israel stop and think.
and teach them more of Gods way
with man. When messengers came
speeding across he borderiand from
Philistia into the country 81 the Israel
ties. bearing the news that while the
2hilistines were celebrating in wild
abandon the great victory over their
enemy and were cNalting Dagon ~ the
god who had triumphcd. Samson.
Whose hair had grown with his re-
pcntance, and his strength with his
hair had torn away the gigantic nil
lars that supported the vast arena
where the celebra tion was taking place
and had wrought the destruction Of ali
tho lords of the PhiliStineS. this news
must have revealed to them hat God
was forgiving God. and that with re-
pertancc came renewed strength and
opportunity for new victories
I 7 NHOLY associations and revealing
- the secrets Of God to his UPRIGHT
fous companion were great sins and
cost Samson his strength. his sight.
and plunged him into the degradation
and shame of q convict laborer. but
II would have hccD \ greater sin for
Samson to have lost all faith in God
and TO have ended his days IN the Phil
istiDc prison. While he was grinding
Tor tho IghiIi.ainL- D.. 49, IL. L.