Milford chronicle., 1904-09-30

r II l had been in the place of m
brother and had entertained doubt
: and suspicious similar to his woulC
have quietly slipped out of the churcl
with which those doubts cOllided, keep
ing my lips tightly sealed. / do NO
think | could do such an injury tC
the church which gave me my Ordina
tion VOWS as when member Of that
church to attack it openly" All honor
say l, to the answer Of DR.. GOttheil
the Jew. / believe that the most seri-
on the church of the Lord Jesus Christ
is done not by his avowed enemies
who are outside the church, but by
traitorOus foes within
The Best Tear For a New start.
, But I take a step further in this
mighty subject We have n wonder
ful time in which we are to enter the
coming campaign for Christ This is
the youngest Of the centuries. but into
it are gathered the ripe fruits Of the
past. The thought and experience of
all the centuries that are gone have
in these years come to fruitiou. 1t is
the mighty movements and trials and
struggles of past generations which
have made the present time possible
From the triumphs and failures of the
past. from the wisdom and the mis-
takes of our fOrefathers. we have learn
ed lessons which should make us mas
ters in the art of soul winning and sue
cessful leaders in the assault on the
intrenchments of sin. This is the very
best year of all years to start in a
gospel campaign for Christ.
NBut take another step further in tins
mOmentous subject. We have another
campaign blessing in addition TO these
two of which we have spoken We
have n church with all Of its great
leaders as well as thousands and tens
of thousands of members moved to /
holy enthusiasm by knowledge Of the |
strength of the Satanic enemies we are .
about 10 meet in combat We know /
that rs the church of Christ is strong
the Satanic enemies are strong also SO
strong that unless we 90 forth to this
battle with a full endowment Of the
Holy Spirit to fight as We ought to
fight for Christ we shall fail ignomin-
iously. rs we deserve to fail
Outside Of his own intrinsic strength
nothing brings out the hidden power
of a general more than the realization
that bis enemy is strong and willy
an adversary whose power 1t would be
folly to underestimate. against whom
he must marshal his forces with all hi,
skill and develop their lighting quall
ties to the highest efficiency When
Goliath saw the puny form Of David,
who was to give him battle. the Phil. /
istine giant laughed him to scorn. He
sneeringly cried. Am I a dog that
thou comest to me with stOnesF" That ,
contempt lost him the battle. Not so ,
with David. His weapons were those Z
with which he was familiar, and he ,
employed the skill developed by long :
experience. He knew his enemy to be :
superior in might and cruel and relent-
less, and he nerved his strength for the :
unequal struggle The church Of >
Christ is made resolute by the knowl- f.,
edge that it is 10 meet a strong arm
I'd foe. We know We must fight hard /;
% win And we also know that unless :
ike David, the shepherd boy. we 20 .
.orth in unfaltering faith in the divine E
reinforcement we shall fail in the bat !
le. a stalwart Zoe always brings out !
he best that is in a worthy opponent y
Let me illustrate my thought by a J.
lonely scene of vacation life Some =
weeks ago. with my wife and little .
hildren | was driving over the hills :,
# southern California We We're far =
rom any human residence. Suddenly. \
ust upon the hillside overlooking the =
cad. ! saw the cleaning eyes and the :.
ronehing form Of a coyote. ! was ut =
hr time entirely unarmed. Pet, !,
hough l knew that poor miserable y
rute had inst as sinewy n limb as a =
lountain lion, that be- was as swift of =
DOT as deer. that his teeth were as =
7hite and sharp as Il tigers molars. :.
hat he could, IT be would, leap at my :.
orseS throatS and leave us helpless
efOre his attack, still also knew thar -,
q was n coward. He belonged TO a :,
ace Of cowarCS. Therefore ! drove :,
lght past him. When my children !,
allooed at him he turned and skulked -
way. =
Must BE Alwnys on Guard. -,
Had the church of Christ only craven n
earted foes to fight it would become nj
S Indifferent to them as l was toward 81
hat sneaking coyote, whose worst d,
epredations are found in the barn IN
ard among the dead chickens. Tn. ic
'ss starving and in numbers. he never al
ttacks a strong foe. But today the n,
lurch of God has no cowardly enemy. fr
ike hunter stalking the man eating III
of India or Africa. the church q
and must be continually on its of
1ard. As it goes forth into the COM IN
lg winters campaign to do the best w
can and with the help of the Holy Al
pirit to do all it can for Christ, the Cl
that its foe has almost
nlimited prowess has made the ol
iurch strong and confident. ve
Rut where is the onsDaI oornnoier %