The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-07-10
wednesday, July 10, 1895.
AN ELOQUENT SERMON.

\ ElIoSSOC~< L A1IA~~H ~ 49,
Chaplain Cough Preached to The
Manning Guards at The Bap-
tist Church Last Sunday.
s.The weapons Of our warfare are
not carnal, but mighty through God,
10 the pulling down OF the strong
bolds. III. Corinthians, chapter 10,
verse 4.
Perchance as some of you hear the
rattlinc of the sabre and the tramp
If rhe soldier-bov, some half obllter-
ated memories flash through your
minds. Perhaps some, with that
natriotic spirit, touch once more the
Shoulder of their comrades upon a
field of carnage. You hear the ougie
call the drum beats, and the srea55
or,nr moves on. The world has had
re armies. its battles, its defeats !ts
Victories VIZ The world has hao 1ts
,HnSnn6e-s it's Caesars, its Ma
nnIoons and its Lees, who nave
tn.n,,+ pUln like fierce tornadoes over
S%e lovliest realms, leaving, oe
b;nd ie them wasted fields, piundered
h,I;ldines. depopulated cities. But
DuliutnS t, ,nar,ons Of their warfare were
carnal. ~, rhr;s+;o ,,
soldier. saws, The weapons of our
warfare are not carnal, put mlgnts
through God, to the pulilns oo"n VI
the strongholds.n
Standing not long ago in an en-
closure at the capitol OF TINS great
nation with some hat-dozen com. :
rades. | saw two of America greaI
armies engaged in deadly com oat.
cav the sabres flashing IN the sun,
l;sht Yonder goes the gallant steed
desbinc across the plains; yonder
falls the great captain; here lies the
dead and diving. For a few moments
T touched the hand Of the OLD soldier,
and beneath:the waving banner we we
encountered the foe over the nelds
If Gettysburs. But ah. so soon
1onred for the ''drum-beat to
throb no longer, and the battie-aag
TO furl." And in my inmost seSs .
thanked Goo that the dark, black
cIond of war had forever passed, ana
the glorious sunlight OF peace once
more fills the universe. But lear
that I was crying peace, peace,
when there was no peace.
To-day two of the mightiest armies
that tbe world has ever felt have met
on the battlefield OF HE. Al alohs y
the line we hear the din and noise OF
preparation. The sentlnels are NOV,
inc to and fro on the watch towers
with anxious dread. ON yonoeI
heights see the brlstllng hoSts OF
hell martialing for the dTeao hour,
led on by the king of the oottomiess
pit. Who shall face the mlgn!y
hostss Where is the great captain
that will lead his hosts on TO victory!
All. there is one great captain;
Chieftain, Leader, around whom all
rhe universe may gather. His name
is The Lord, strong and mighty,
mighty in battle ,.-
Constantine, says the historian,
was marching at the head OF his
oreat army from France to encounter
his rival. Maxentius, in conflict
mon the issues Of which his empire
depended. Oppressed with anxiety,
he prayed that some God mlght alo
him. when in the heavens and higher
than the sun a luminous cross ap-
reared e,nblazened with these words,
s.Bv this sign thou shalt conquer .
He did conquer, and ever after that
the cross was displayed as the ban
ner of the Caesars.
So with the cross of Jesus gong on
before, the mighty hosts OF 900
know no defeat. Victory is sure, be-
cause the Lord appointed the battle
and prepared the weapons, ana oe-
hind all the din and noise OF prepar-
alton, behind all the dread anxiety,
chaos, and confusion, sits enthronea
the God of battle, and He goes forth
conquering and to conquer" with the
weapons of his own warfare. ~
Paul in this writing speaks of the
weapons of our warfare being not
carnal, but mighty through SOD to
the pulling down of the strongholos. >,
Let US reverse the order OF the text
and enquire
T WHAT ARE THE sTloNGEoLDs AGAINST
WHICH GODS PEOPLE MOVES TO-DAY?
1. Unconverted men. place my
field glasses to my eyes and view the
distant regiments, battallons, and
armies, and see mighty host of
unregenerate men, composing a
mighty stronghold of satan, march
on under the banner Of the pit. Some
are in advance Of the army and have
mingled in hand to hand combat
with Gods people. And this great
SQUADRON overshadows the earth and
holds untold millions in her grasps.
Men whose character, lives and ef-
forts have been to crush and blot
out of the universe the kingdom Of
Righteousness, and to erect upon her
demolished and ruined throne the
universal kingdom Of crime. This
mighty stronghold of unregenerate
men, led on by the powers of hell,
are lifting the black flag of rebellion
against the kingdom of God and His
Christ. I view the field once more
and see over on the distant plains a
mighty stronghold of satan which
bears the name of
9. A CORRUPT FORM OF CHRISTIANITY.
This upon the surface bears the sign
of peace, but this signal of treaty
is but the spy sent forward to view
the hosts of God. What is true relig
ion? What is Christianity? Must
there not lie, back of all organiza-
tion, back of all systems of religion,
back of Christianity, all that
uplifts the worlds, that lifts up and
shapes and moulds glorious man
hood out of the crushed and broken
wreck; must there not underlie all
systems of religion the bedrock, the
s'pillar and cornerstone? Gods
everlasting truth must underlie and
permeate all systems of Christianity
that honors God and blesses the
world. l fail to see in Roman Catho-
licism anything of the Divine Christ.
But on every side I see her huge col
umns drawn up for attack, and if
possible she would blot out of the
world Gods everlasting truth, and
with one mighty stroke snatch God
from off the power of his throne and
IL 60 = S,,So do ~.