Lincoln County leader. [volume] (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987, 1905-10-27
BY Rev. c. b. SweefIanl

hOhE IhhN n FlGh llNG ChhNOb
BY Rev. C. b. Sweetland.
And when the servant of the man of
God was risen early and gone forth
behold an host encompassed the city,
both with horses and chariots. And
his servant said unto him: alas, my
master, how shall we doT And he
answered: Fear not, for they that be
with us are more than they that be
with them."-II. Kings vi, Is, 16.
Who has not cried out, with that
youth, alas! All things are against
me; foes are many and friends there
are none! The roads to pessimism are
many; but surely this is the shortest
one to get to think that life is but a
conflict waged single handed against
great odds, a long story of struggle,
difficulty, pains, disappointments,
temptations, failures, wounds, ending
only in death.
Even though you escape that chron-
ic iaundiced view of life there are
seasons of depression when it seems
easy to get out of bed on the wrong
side and to plow all day into stumps
instead of in the good, clear ground.
Ever we need the vision the seer of
old gave to the young man, to see
the hills about us alive with our al
lies. Otherwise it Is easy to conclude
the fates fight against us.
How slight is the evidence on which
men base their gloomy conclusions!
The pessimist always argues from
single instance to general law. If
he strikes poor peach on top he
throws the whole basket away-or
sells them as soon as he can. He in
sists on sitting square on the cactus
bunch when there is only one on the
whole bench-land. He then becomes
an authority on cactus. If he can
spot a few foes on the horizon he is
blind to a regiment of friends close at
hand.
But the seers, our poets and teach
ers, have a wider vision; they seek
the glory rather than the gloom and
they tell us that every man has more
friends than foes. This is the song
of those who told us long ago Of
Providence, the one who backs man
up and fights on his side and furnish
es him in the hour of need. This is
the song Of Lowell, Tennyson, Whit
tier and Browning. Life Is not a
lone-handed fight against unnumberd
foes; 1t is not losing fight to any
one who will fight it well.
Every force in this world works
with the man who seeks the good.
This is a right world and only he
who fights the right faces unconquer-
able foes. A man may meet rebuffs,
battles tides may sweep back and
forth, but in the end, as it has ever
been in all the long story Of mans
conflict with nature, so in the con-
fiict with every other foe he is bound
to win. This is as true in the indi-
vidual life Of every fighter rs nature
and history show 1t to be In univer-
sal life.
On our side there is the great world
of the unseen. Little do we know Of
1t, but still that little gives us conf
dence to believe it is peopled with
our allies. Our fairest hopes Of good
angels may be delusions hs to details,
but they are essentially true, being
born of eternal truth.
The gospel Of good hope declares
there is One over all, the friend of all;
greater is he that is with you than
any against you; greater is he than
your temptations, your adversaries,
your difficulties, and your sorrows.
This was what the great teacher came
to tell men, that God was on their
side, seeking to help them, loving,
caring, cooperating, leading them into
the life Of victory over every enemy.
Let man face life in this conf
dence and he Is invincible. He goes
forth and an unseen army goes with
him. He gains the seer's vision to
see even the plotting of the enemy
and the forces that fight against him
all working for his good. From many
combats he gains strength for the de-
cisive struggle. All things work to-
gether for good He serves the right
the truth, the things that are eternal;
he fights for character, for manhood
and the good, and the eternal forces
that rule the universe fight by his
side He beholds the hills full of the
hosts Of heaven; though he has no
time to enjoy the vision he knows
they are there, his ellies, his assur-
ance Of ultimate victory.