Pierre weekly free press. (Pierre, S.D.) 1889-19??, 1892-12-22
HOLP ON CLOCKS.
Handsome, Homcly, Private and
Public Clocks---COnscience
an Alarm Clock.
Our Bodies Are scvcn-Day
CiocIlS---Thc Church Is
Il Clock.
The Clocks at KcniiwOrth Cas-
tie and Why They We're
Stopped.
One day while repeating over and
over again Shakespearc's line:

Sermons in stones and good IN everything
asked myself. if there are sermons
in stones. why not in clocks The
following is the answer that came to
that question: There are more clocks
and more kinds of clocks, than you
ever dreamed of i'm your experience
AMI observation, / am sure. Why. |
am only telling the sober truth when
] say that this world of ours is Moth
ing but huge clock-storcroom
The Bible is a clock: a double
clock. The Bible is full OF the cnig-
mas of history and prophecy, symbol
and sacremcnt.
The delightful difference between
the two TestamcntS is set for 4 by
Hengel under this happy figure The
Old Testament was like clock NOV
ing in silence and darkness. The
machinery was therc-the hands we're
'uoving on the dial. bu, few heard
clearly or saw clearly the wondrous
things Of God. Bat the New Tesla
i'i'it - 'f'I NtilpIPEiNif t!Pth vi
the ages, with an Illuminated dial
plate, and a grand apparatus that
strikes the hours. The mysteries OF
the Old Testament are seenas through
a glass darkly, tho>eo the New Tcsta-
mcnt face To face.
The church is a clock. bid not
good Bishop Hall say: The scripture
is the sun: the church is the clock.
The sun we know to be sure and re-
ligiously constant in his motions: the
clock as it is. may fall out. may 20 too
fast or too slow As then we should
condemn him nf folly that should pro-
fcSs to trust the clock rather than the
sun, so we cannot but Justly tax the
crcdulity of those who would rather
trust to the church than to the
scripture" How many Protestant
and atholr-nust be condemned Of
folly. if this is the standard by which
men are to be judged. Most chris
tians like the great Cannon Hidden.
are loyal to the church more than to
the scripture.
Nature is clock. pr. relonbet
thus answers the NcXcd question aS to
miracles, PRAYER and the universal
conStancy of the laws Of nature. He
says: Il have a clock. as Very many
have. which WAS made TO meet certain
exigencieS Of the future. II has a
calendar which points out the day Of
the month. the hand moving one fig
urc each day. II the month has thir-
ty-onc days il moves from that To the
first for the mex, month: but if the
month has but thirty days. the hand
jumps over the thirty-tirst and on
February it moves IRON twenty-eight
over the twcnty-ninth. thirticth and
thrty-tirst to the first Of March. Eut
once in four years it stops II Febru-
airy -. and then moves over two tig-
urcs to the LIST. Now we do not have
10 run to the maker when these
changes are needed, and ask him TO
come and move the hands. He knew
the cHigencicS would arise. aud ar
ranged for doing the work at the
time he made the machinery. So
when God wanted to bring rain AT
Elijah's prayer he did hot have to
interfere with the laws of nature and
create cloud. or fling a ncwmade
storm upon the sea. But millions of
years before, when he created nature,
lie said to winds and sea. i will have
storm here and a rain there. a
drouth at this time, a tempest al
that and nature carried the commits.
sion to answer that prayer from the
day it was made" In the light OF
this analogy the miracles of the Bible
wrought in answer to prayer, arc
easy of belief. because SO easily
worked by our God.
Mans physical nature is a clock
Many men violate the best command
of the bible. They are rebelious o.
heart, or avaricious Of hand, or greedy
of head and hence see no need Of rest
ing from their labors every seventh
day. Talmagc says: "Our bodie:
are seven-day clocks and they need tt
be wound up, and if they are moi
wound up they run down into the
grave. No man can cOntinuousl.
break tue Sabbath and keep his phys
ical and mental health. Ask thos,
aged men. and they will tell you they
never knew men to continuously
break the Sabbath who did not fa
either in mind, body or moral prin
ciplc." Now we feel, as never before
the need Of remembering the Sabbath
day to keep it holy.
Conscience is an alarm clock. Ii
our sleep of sin conscience calls on
and awakens us. II we every tim
heed its call, well and good for GU
souls. But if we fail to heed whcI
we hear, we will soon cease to hear it
and then all is lost. The first morn