The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1889-01-16

Inc Pilgrim I2LlerS 1cII ps-ch ltoiii eA-o
other side Of the sea to Plymouth Rock, esk
now are marshaling continent for the
Christianizatiou of the world. The Church
Of Christ, falling back from Piedmont, fall
ing back from Rue st. Jacques, falling back
from st. Denis, falling back from urtem-
burg castle, falling back from the Brussels
market place. yet all the time triumphlng
Notwithstanding all the shocking reverses
which the Church of Christ suffers, what
do we see to-day? Three thousand mission
aries of the cross on heathen ground; sixty
thousand ministers Of Jesus Christ in this
land: at least two hundred millions OF
Christians on the earth. All nations to-day
kindling in a blaze of revival. Failing back,
vet advancing until the old Wesleyan hymn
will prove true:
s.The lan-as Inaah- ahaIl break the chain,-
And give US the victory again and again.
But there is more marked illustration OF
victorious retreat in the life of our Joshua.
the Jesus Of the Ages. First falling back
from an appalling height to an appalling
depth, falling from celestial hills 10 ter
restrial valleys, from throne to manger,
yet that did not seem to suffice him as re-
treat. Falling back still further from Beth
lehem to Nazareth, from Nazareth to Jeru-
salem, back from Jerusalem to Golgotna,
back from Golgotha to the mausoleum in
the rock, back down over the precipices OF
per5ition until he walked amid the caverns
Of the eternal captives and drank OF the
wine of the wrath of Almighty God amid
the Ahabs, and the Jezebels, and the Bel
shazzars. o men Of the pulpit and men OF
the pew. Christ's descent from Heaven to
earth does not measure half the distance.
It was from glory to perdition. He de-
scended into hell. All the records OF
earthly retreat are as nothing compared
with this falling bac.s. Santa Anna with
the fragments OF his army flying over the
plateaus Of Mexico, and Napoleon and his
army retreating from Moscow into the
awful SHOWS OF Russia are not worthy to be
mentioned with this retreat, when all the
powers Of darkness seem to be pursuing
Christ as he fell back, until the body OF Him
who came to do such wonderful things lay
pulseless and stripped. Methinks that the
city Of Al was not so emptied Of its inhabl-
tants when they went to pursue Joshua, as
perdition was emptieG of devils when they
started for the pursuit Of Christ and He feli
back and back, down lower, down lower,
chasm below chasn, pit below pit, until He
seemed to strike the bottom Of obiurgation
and scorn and torture. 0. the long, loud.
jubilant shout of he'll aashe defeat Of the
Lord God Almighty!
But let notthe powers OF darkness lSioSe
quite so soon. Do you hear that disturb
ance in the tomb OF Arimathea? hear the
sheet rending! What means that stone
hurled down the side of tue hills Who Is
this coming out Push him back! the deao
must not stalk In this open sunlight. 0, 1t
Is our Joshua. Let him come out He comes
forth and starts for the city. He takes the
spear of the Roman guard and points that
way. Church militant marches up OF one SIDE
and the church triumphant marches down
on the other side. And the powers Of dark
ness being caught between these ranks OF
celestial and terrestrial valor, nothing IS
left Of them save just enough to Illustrate
the direful overthrow OF hell and our
Joshua's eternal victory. On His head be
all the crowns. In His hand be all the
scepters. At His feet be all the human
hearts; and here, Lord, is one Of them.
Lesson the second: The triumph of tae
wicked is short. Did you ever see an army
in a panic? There IS nothing so uncontrol-
liable. If you had stood at Long Bridge,
Washington, during the opening Of our sad
civil war, you would know what it is to see
an army run. And when those men Of Al
looked out and saw those men Of Joshua n
a stampede, they expected easy work. They
would scatter them as the equinox the leaves.
O, the gleeful-and jubilant descent OF the
men Of Al upon the men of joshua But
their exhilaration was brief, for the tide Of
-. M
ors left their miserable carcasses in the viii
derness of Bethaven. So it always is. The
triumph Of the wicked is short. You make
$4,000 at the gaming table. Do you eX-
pect to keep its You will die in the poor
house. You made fortune by iniquitous
traffic. Dc you expect to keep it? Your
money will scatter, or it will stay long
enough to curse your childpas after you are
dead. Call over the roll Of bad men who
prospered and see how short was their pros
perity. For while, like the men Of Al,
they went from conquest to conquest, but
after while disaster rolled back upon them
and they were divided into three parts;
misfortune took their prosperity, the grave
took their body, and the lost world took
their soul. am always interested in the
building Of dissipating saloons. I ike to
have them built Of the best granite and
have the rooms made large and to have the
pillars made very firm. God is going to
CONQUER them and they will be turned into
asylums and art galleries and churches.
The stores in which fraudulent men do busi-
ness, the splendid banking institutions
where the president and cashier put all
their property in their wives hands ana
then fail for S2oo, ,000-all these institutions
are to become the places where honest
Christian men do business.
How long will it take your boys to get
through your ill-gotten gains! The wicked
do not live out half their days. For while
they swagger and strut and make great
splash in the newspapers, but after while
it all dwind!es down into brief paragraph:
s'Die6 suddenly, July %, 1855, at thirty-tive
wears of age. Relatives and friends OF the
family are invited to attend the funesal on
Wednesday, at two o'clock, from his late
residence on Madison Square. Irterment
at Greenwood" Some of them jumped off
the docks. Some Of them took prussic
acid. Some Of them fell under the snap OF
a Derringer pistol. Some Of them spent
their last days in lunatic asylum. Where
are William Tweed and his associatess
Where are ketcham and Swartwout, alb
sconding swindlers? Where is James Fisk,
the libertiue? Where is John Wilkes Booth,
the assassin? and all the other misdemean
ants2 The wicked do not live out half their
days Disembogue, Q world Of darkness!
Come up, Hidebrand, and Henry II, and
Robespierre, and with blisteriug, and bias
phening, and ashen lips hiss out; ''fhe
triumph Of the wicked is short" Alas Tor
the men of Al when Joshua stretched out
bis spear toward the city,
o.eo,, +b;-S. ITo-,- ,,,ot ,o,,- I,c occ-,-,.