Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary | Page 6

appearance. But the devil
never approaches any one in a way to frighten him. He is too cunning
for that. A fox takes care not to frighten away his prey. Even the lion,
when he is seeking his prey, never roars at that time, but crouches and
hides in the tall grass or thicket until his prey comes near enough, and

then he springs upon it with a single bound. The reason why Peter calls
him a roaring lion is because he roars furiously after his prey is in his
power. His roaring then is but a note of victory and defiance. The devil
knew that he would not frighten Eve by coming to her in the form he
did, because she had never then, as yet, known anything of evil. But
when he comes to men now in the serpent form, he comes as "a snake
in the grass."
I sometimes think that age adds shrewdness to the devil's plans. He
comes to men in so many forms and ways, first to delude and then to
destroy, that they may be called legion. But, as Paul says, "We are not
ignorant of his devices, for Satan is transformed into an angel of light."
He learns to know every brother's and sister's weak point. To the
brother who has been fond of ardent spirits he comes behind the
deceitful, covetous smile of the rumseller. In this instance the order of
the fable is reversed. There the ass put on the lion's skin; here the lion
puts on the skin of the ass. To the brother whose weakness is adultery
he comes in the form of a harlot, "jeweled and crowned." To the
brother whose special sin has been covetousness he comes as a friend.
He takes him by the hand, leads him to the top of some high mountain,
there shows him the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them, and
pledges to him the enjoyment of all this glory and power if he will but
fall down and worship him.
Now, Herod was a type of this devil, and the prison in which Peter was
chained is a type of the "horrible pit" into which many a good-meaning
Christian has been cast by him. But even for such there is quite as
much hope as there was for Peter. The Lord is ever nigh to redeem and
to save. But there must be a willing mind. If Peter had said in his
half-asleep state, "Just leave me alone--I'll come after awhile--I'm too
sleepy to go now"--what then? It would have been impossible for the
Lord to rescue him, if he had not been willing to be rescued by the
Lord.
Some, who have "been taken captive by the devil at his will," keep
awake in a certain sense. The pall of darkness and deep sleep has not
yet settled down upon them. They are conscious of their situation. They

know and feel that they are in the hands of the enemy, but how to
escape is the trouble with them. If such would only have the mind and
will to do as Christian and Hopeful did in "Doubting Castle," they
could readily find a key in their bosoms with which to unlock every
gate, and thus make their escape.
II. In this respect they differ from Peter, for "he was sleeping between
two soldiers." Besides this, there were men stationed at the door to keep
watch all night. But the Lord is prepared for every emergency. What
storm can sink a ship when Omnipotence is at the helm? If you or I,
brethren, were to see a brother confined and guarded as Peter was, I
greatly fear we would utterly despair of ever seeing him rescued;
especially so if public sentiment were rife with malice and rage against
him. I fear we would say, It is no use to pray for that man. Nothing
short of a miracle can save that man; and miracles are not wrought by
prayer nowadays. But the loving hearts gathered together in secret
places in Jerusalem thought not so. They "made unceasing prayer for
him."
Now let us note the order in which the Lord proceeded to answer these
prayers. He came to Peter and smote him. Whether the stroke was light
or heavy is a thing of little consequence. It succeeded in awaking the
man. This was its object. I think the Lord gave Peter only a slight tap
on the side, because he was not hard to wake up that night. But there
are some, and I have known such, whom the Lord had to smite very
hard to stir them from their sleep. They open their eyes in amazement
and wonder why they have been so smitten. Unfortunately for some of