Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1916-02-12
For Sunday Reading
Ill Sorts nj Ooinions
PREPAREDNESS
by Rev. H. D. Jenkins. D. D.. in Sioux
City Journall

City JournaLl
Resist the devtl.-James iy,. 6.
Experience. philosophy and scripture
all say that the good fight which the
soul u called upon to make Is a per-
sonal fight It ts not against the air:
much less 10 1t to be won or dismissed
by definition. There Is no such thing
as sin without \ sinner and no such
thing a. temptation without q tempter.
A lie presupposes q liar and a theft a
thief Vice and virtue are personal and
moral victory L. q personal triumph
over personal foe. When someone
said to Henry Ward Beecher that God
would not permit such thing as a
personal devil &c exist" the sTsat
preacher replied. Go around the corner
with me and I will show him to YOU"
He knew what was going on every hour
down town where his church was sit
uated, and he read in the paper every
morning Of deeds done by men In
Brooklyn which exceeded in depravity
anything told US Of the devil in the
Bible. Men can erase the name Of the
devil from hts creed easily. but he has
not yet succeeded in banishing the
devil from either the cot or the palace.
preachers don't believe there is a per
sonal devil read my mail" said Billy
Sunday to those Of us gathered to have
heart to heart talk with the one evan
gelist who fights the devil without
gloves.
But we will not forget that the fact
has its bright as we'll as its dark side
A veteran Of two wars. as fine a gen.
tleman as ever knew, stopped me the
other day and said abruptly: DO you
know. doctor. the old orthodox belief
in a personal devil IL a great comfort
to me?' Somewhat astonished. re-
piled: How is that?" Because" was
the reply, Thoughts are forced upon
me OF so vile nature, so foreign to my
character and so repugnant to my life
that am glad the Bible reveals their
origin and puts me on my guard"
. . .
The fight to live uprightly is a re-
sistance-that is, defensive fight The
apostle Peter. who had fallen and risen
again. warns his disciples: BE sober,
be vigilant; because your adversary.
the devil. as roaring lion, walketh
about seeking whom he may devour."
Men write books about Zion hunters
but the truth is that the lion Is the
champion hunter. The tendency among
good people is to live in FOOLS para
disc. The man born in q Christian
home, whose first reading book was a
Bible. and whose first memorized SEN
tence was prayer, finds it hard to
believe what the vice Investigators tell
him, viz. that in such city as Chicago
there are $4,000 persons whose sole bus
mess is the propagation of sin. The
facts discovered by an investigation
none too thoro) were of such nature
that the federal government forbade
the printed report to be circulated thru
j s s.::c mails we have multitude or re-
formers who tell US that the way to re-
deem the world from sin is to improve
the social condition Of the submerged
tenth, unmindful of the fact that the
biggest thief is often a college graduate.
the most loathsome sensualist multi
millionaire, and the club drunkard a
minister's son. No man needs to hunt
for the roaring lion who Is hunting for
| him. Mere position Of ease, comfort
or luxury does not constitute soul
! safety, for the devil has more than once
dragged down the college president. the
popular preacher and society's idol. II
(: 1t be true as our fathers taught that
eternal vigilance is the price OF lib
| erty," much more is it the price OF vir-
tue. These are not the speculations OF
1 philosophy. What the soul confronts
is mot theory, but a condition.
The first step In wise preparedness
is an alliance with some power greater
than our own. No soul that studies
the power the cunning, the deprayity
/, Of its enemy will go to war with the
devil at its own unaided charges. MOI
until the soul can say. The LORD y
my helper" can it also say. Il VIII no.
! he afraid what Satan may do unto me-.
= But when the Almighty - our ally we
know that with such defender tne