The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-08-28

had threatened his death, and he got
we'll. So it is the arrow of trouble
that let's out great swellings of pride.
We never feel our dependence upon
God until we get trouble. l was rid
ing with my little child along the road.
and she asked if she might drive. |
said, Certainly I handed over the
reins to her. and | had to admire the
glee with which she drove. But after
awhile we met team, and we lad to
turn out. The road was narrow, and
it was sheer down on both sides. She
handed the reins over to me and said,
Il think you had better take charge
of the horse" So we are all children,
and on this road of life we like to drive.
It gives one such an appearance of
superiority and power. It looks big.
But after awhile we meet some obsta-
Gle, and we have to turn cut, and the
road is narrow, and it is sheer down
on both sides, and then we are willing
that God should take the reins and
drive. All, my friends, we get upset
so often because we do not hand over
the reins soon enough.
After man has had trouble prayer
is with him taking hold of the arm
| of God and crying out for help. I
| have heard earnest prayers on two or
three occasions that l remember.
Once, on the Cincinnati express train,
going at 40 miles the hour, the train
jumped the track, and we were near
chasm 50 feet deep, and the men who,
a few minutes before, had been swear
ing and disappearing God began to
pull and jerk at the bell rope, and got
up on the backs Of the seats, and cred
out. 20 God, save u.s. There was
another time, about 500 miles out at
sea, on foundering steamer, after Ghe
last lifeboat had been split finer than
kindling wood. They prayed then.
Why is it you so often hear people, in
reciting the last experien,e ,e of some
friend, say, He made the most beau
tiful prayer l ever heard" What
makes it beautiful? It is the earnest
ness of it. Oh. I tell you, a man is in
earnest when his stripped and naked
soul wades out in thesoundless, shore
less, bottomless ocean of eternity.
1t is trouble my friends that makes
us feel our dependence upon God. We
do not know our own weakness or
Gods strength until the last plank
breaks. 1t is contemplate in us when
there is nothing else to take hold Of
that we catch hole Of God only. Why.
you do not know who the Lord is! He
is not an autocrat seated far up in a
palace from which he emerges once a
year, preceded b. heralds swinging
swords to clear the way. No. But a
Father willing at our call to stand by
us in every crisis and predicament of
life tell you what some ofyou busi-
ness men make me tnink of. a young
man goes off from home to earn his
fortune. He goes with his mothers
consent and benediction. She has
large wealth, put he wants to make
his own fortune. He goes far away
falls sick, gets out of money. He
sends for the hotel keeper where he is
staying, asking for lenience, and the
answer he gets is, 'If you don't pay
up Saturday night, you'll be removed
to the hospital.
The young man sends to comrade
| in the same building. No help. He
writes to banker who was friend Of
his deceased father. No relief. He
| writes to an old schoolmate, but gets
| no help. Saturday night comes, and
he is moved to the hospital.
Getting there, he is frenzied with
grief, and he borrows a sheet of paper
and a postage stamp, and he sits down
and he writes home, saying: Dear
mother, am sick unto death. Come. !"
It is ten minutes of 10 o'clock when
she gets the letter. At 10 o'clock the
train starts. She is FIVE minutes from
the depot. She gets there in time to
have FIVE minutes to spare. She Won
ders why train that can go 80 miles
an hour cannot 60 80 miles an hour.
She rushes into the hospital. She
says: MY son, what does all this
mean? Why didn't you send for me2
You sent to everybody but me. You
knew I could and would help you. Is
this the reward I ge: for my kindness
to you always" She bundles him up,
takes him home and gets him well very
soon. Now, ONE of you treat God
just as that young man treated his
mother. When you get into fnan-
cial perplexity, you call on the banker,
you call on the broker. you call on
your creditors, you call on your law
yer for legal counsel, you call upon
everybody, and when you cannot get
any help, then you goto God. You
say: 80 Lord, come to thee. Help
me now out of my perplexity." And
the Lord comes, though it is the elev-
enth hour. He says: "Why did you
not send for me before: AS one whom
his mother comforteth, so will l COM
fort you" 1t is To throw US back upon
God that we have this ministry OF
tears.
Again, it is the use of trouble to
capacitate US for the office of SYM
pathy. The priests, under the old dis
pensation, were set apart by having
water spinkled upon their hands, feet
and head, and by the sprinkling of
tears people are now set apart to the
office Of sympathy. When we are in
prosperity we like to have great many
young people around us, and we laugh
and they laugh and we romp when
they romp, aud we sing when they
sing, but when we have trouble we
like plenty OF old folks around. Why:
They know how to talk.
Take an aged mother7O years of age,
and she is almost omnipotent in COM
fort. Why: She has been through
it all. At7 o'clock in the morning
she goes over to comfort a young mo-
ther who has just lost her babe.
Grandmother knows all about that
trouble. Fifty years ago she felt it.
At u o'clock Of that day she goes over
to comfort widowed soul. She
knows all about that. She has been
walking in that dark valley 20 years.