St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1903-05-09


saint: He has placed bounds to Sa
tan's power over him, and has fittel
every temptation with a convenient
door of escape. Satan with fiendisl
ingenuity devises manifold tempta
tons which he places along the path
way of life to ensnare unwary feet
but God with skillful and omnipoten1
hand fits into every one of the
temptations the door of escape.
IN THE heroic days of old whe1
L might was right and every mar
was law unto himself, houses and
castles were fitted with secret stair.
ways and secret chambers and clos
cts into which the persons whose
lives were threatened might with
draw and escape the enemy. The
doors of entrance to these hidden
recesses were so skillfully and in
geniously placed that the eye could
not detect their presence without the
closest and most careful scrutiny
and then the door would not open un-
til the hidden spring was pressed
This may serve to illustrate the truth
in regard to temptation which is
presented to us in our text. Tempta-
ton may be likened unto a beautiful
palace which Satan with ready hand
rears and into which he may entice
the souls of the saints. Satan learned
long, long ago how to gild his wares
with tinsel and make them look like
real gold; he found out away back in
Eden that man would take his bitter
doses of sin if the pellets were sugar
coated. And so he embellishes his
temptations with an outside appear
ance of beauty and wholesomeness.
He depends altogether upon outside
appearances. The palace of tempta-
ton is a place that appears goodly
to the eye and gives every outward
token of being full of comfort and
pleasure and amending satisfaction.
1t is into this place that Satan draws
the soul, and if he can prevent that
soul from looking for the door of
escape and touching the spring which
will open, it, he will trip that soul
up every time.
It is essential, then, that we know
that first of all every palace of temp
tation into which the soul may be
drawn is fitted with the door of es-
cape which will enable the tempted
one to flee in safety from the terri
BILE place. And in the next place it
is important that we know where to
look for the door and how to touch
the spring which will make it fly
open to admit our slipping feet.
Every temptation known to man has,
according to the plain declaration of
our text, it's door of escape, so let
us consider that point settled and de-
vote our effort to learning where to
look for the hidden door and how to
touch the spring which controls it's
opening. God has SO contrived that
the door of escape shall always be
on the side of hardest pressure. That
is, the direction from which the
temptation presses on the soul the
strongest will be found to be the
exact point at which God has skill
fully hung His little door. Take for
ton of this point the tempta-
lions of Jesus in the wilderness,
which cover the whole possible
range of human temptation from the
lust of the flesh, through the lust OF
the eye, to that of the pride of life.
JESUS tasted forty days and forty
u nights and was afterward an
hungered. Satan suggested that in
asmuch as He was furnishing for food
that He test His power as the Son
of God by making the stones at His
feet bread and eating thereof. And
it was right at that point that Jesus
found the door of escape, for He re-
Piled: "It is written, Man shall not
live by bread alone but by every word
which proceedeth out of the mouth
of God" Again the Devil taketh Him
up into the holy city and setteth Him
on pinnacle of the temple and sug-
gested miraculous way of His pre-
senting Himself to the Jews as their
Messiah. Surely if He cast Himself
into their midst from the dizzy
height where He stood they would be-
lieve on Him and receive Him. And
it was at this point that the way OF
escape was discovered, for He said:
ut is written again, thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy Cod" for pre-
sumption is never faith. "Again the
Devil taketh Him up into an exceed
ng high mountain and showeth Him
ali the kingdoms of the world and
the glory of them, and saith unto
Him. All of these will 1 give thee it
thou wilt fall down and worship me.
And again Jesus found that His
Father had placed the door of escape
at exactly the place where the temp
tation pressed the hardest, and He
said: "Get thee hence, Satan: for 1t
IS written, thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and Him only shalt
thou serve
The soul that is tempted must look
ahead in faith. if he would
find the door of escape. The soul that
,epins to waver to the right hand or
he left. or who turns his back to flee,
will find himself stretched at the feet
# Satan as he trips upon the tempta-
lion which has assailed him. Is it
some temptation which is appealing
10 YOU through the varied avenues OF
,be Inst of the flesh? Then do not try
o DENY the fact that the senses and
,ppetites are appealing for gratifica-
ion, do not try to cry them down and
lold them by main force! If you do
,ou will surely fall in an unguarded
moment. But face the temptation
:quarely, admit that the flesh is
irving out for gratificati ton of its de-