The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1890-06-04

stantly narrowed because they pass
their lives hot III searching out those
things which are attractive and de
serving, but III spying out with all
their powers OF vision to see whether
they cannot fna & Noracc;.i.
Again, l le:un from the Life OF the
man under our notice that worldly
vanity and sin are very anxious to
have oiety bow before them. Ha-
man was'a fair emblem OF entire world
hness, and Mordecai the representa-
tive Of unlimching sodliness. Such
We're the usages OF society in ancient
times that, had this Israehte bowed
to the prime minister, it would have
been an acknowledgement Of respect
for his character and nation. Alor
decai would, therefore, have slnned
against his religion had he made any
obeisance OF dropped his chin half al
inch before Haman. When, there
fore, proud Hannah attempted to
compel an homage which was not
felt, he only did what the world ever
since has tried to do, when it would
force our holy religion III any way
to yield to It's dictates. Daniel,
if he had been a man Of religious
compromises, would narcc:: n,sve been
thrown into the len OF lions. Hs
might have made some arrangement
with King Darius whereby he could
have retained part Of his form of re-
ligion without making himself SO
completely obnoxious to the idolaters.
Paul might have retained the favor of
his rulers and escaped martyrdom il
he had only been willing to mix up
his Christian faith with few errors.
HIS unbending Christian character
was taken Us an insult.
Fagot and rack and halter in al
ages have been only the different
ways in which the world has deman-
dca obeisaace. It WAS once. away up
cn tie top Of the temple, that Satan
commanded tie Holy One OF Naza-
reth to !1neel before him But It is
not now so much on the top o.
churches as down IN the aisle and the
pew aud the pulpit that Satan tenpts
! the esrousers OF the Christian faith to
kneel before him. Why was it that
the Platonic philosophers OF early
times, as well as Toland, Spineza,
and Bolingbroke Of later days, were
so mady opposed to Christianity?
Certainly not because it favored i'm
,noralities, or arrested civilization,
OF dwarfed the intellect. The gen
uine reason, whether admitted ornot,
was because the religion of Christ
paid no respect to their intellectual
vanities. Blount and Boyle, and the
host of infdels Matched out by the
vile reign Of Charles the Second, as
reptiles crawl out OF a marsh ofslime:
could not keep their patience, be-
cause, as they passed along, there
were sitting in the gate OF the church
such men as Matthew, and Mark, and
Lake, and John, who would not bend
an inch in respect to their phlloso-
phies.
Satan told our first parents that
they would become as gods if they
would only reach up and take taste
of the fruit They tried it and failed
but their descendants are not yet
satisfied with the experiment. We
have now many desiring to be as
gods, reaching up after yet another
apple. Human reason, scolnful OF
| Gods word, may foam and strut with
the proud wrath of a Haman. and at
tempt to compel the homage Of the
gods, but in the presence of men
and angels it shall be confounded.
's:God shall smite thee, thou whited
wall" When science began to make
its brilliant discoveries there were
facts brought to light that seemed TO
overthrow the truth of the Bible,
The archnologist with his crowbar,
and the geologist with his hammer,
and the chemist with his batteries
charged ugon the Bible. Moses &C
count Of the creation seemed denied
bv the very structure of the Garth.
The astronomer wheeled round his
telescope until the heavenly bodies
seemed to marshal themselves against
the Bible, as the stars in their coyu-
ses fought against Sisera. Observa-
tories and universities rejoiced at
what they considered the extinction
of Christianity. They gathered new
courage at what they considered past
victory, and pressed on their con-
quest into the kingdom Of nature un-
till, alas for them! they discovered
too much. Gods word had only been
lying in ambush that, in some uH-
guarded moment, with a sudden
bound, it night tear infdelity to
pieces.
It was as when Joshua attacked
the city of Al. He selected thirty
thousand men, and concealed most
Of them; then with Few men he as
sailed the city, which poured out its
su,nbers and strength upon Joshua,s
little band. According to previous
plan, they fell back IN seeming defeat
but after al the proud inhabitants OF
the city had been brought out OF
their homes, and had joined in the
pursuit of Joshua, suddenly that
brave man halted in his fight, and
with his spear pointing toward the
city, thirty thousand men bounded
from the thickets aspanthers sprang
to their prey, and the pursuers We're
dashed to pieces, while the hosts..of
Joshua pressed up to the city, and
with their lighted torches tossed it
into flame. Thus it was that the
discoveries of science seemed to give
temporary victory against God and
the Bible, and for q while the church
acted as if she were OF retreat; but
when all the opposers Of God and
truth had joined in the pursuit, and