The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1895-04-10
out until all the heavens come forth to

bulwarks or doors would not be a safe
vessel to 60 in. When Noah and his
family heard the fastening of the door
of the ark, they were glad. Unless
these doors We're fastened, the first
heavy surge of the sea would have
whelmed them, and they might as
well have perished outside Of the ark.
The Lord shut him in" Oh, the per
feet safety of the ark The surf of the
sea and the ightnings OF the sky may
be twisted into garland Of snow and
tire-deep to deep, storm to storm,
darkness to darkness once In the
ark all is well. God shut him IN.
There comes upon the good man a
deluge of financial trouble. He had
his thousands to lend. Now he can,
not borrow dollar. He once owned
a store in New York and had branch
houses in Boston, Philadelphla and
New Orleans. He owned four horses
and employed a man to keep the dust
Off his coach phaeton, carnage ana
curricle. Now he has hard work to
get shoes in which to walk. The great
deep of commercial value was broken
up. and fore and aft across the hurri-
cane deck the waves struck him.
But he was safely sheltered from the
storm. The Lord shut him in a
flood Of domestic troubles fell on him.
Sickness and bereavement came. The
rain pelted. The winds blew. The
heavens are aharne. All the gardens
of earthly delight are washed away.
The mountains Of JOY are buried Il
cubits deep. But standing by the
empty crib, and in the desolated
nursery, and in the doleful hall, once
airing with merry voices, now silent
forever, he cried: The Lord gave;
the Lord hath taken away. Blessed
be the name Of the Lord. The Lord
shut him in. "
AL the sins Of lifetime ciamored
for his overthrow. The broken vows,
the dishonored Sabbaths, the outra,
geous profanities. the misdemeanors
OF 20 years, reached up their hands to
the door OF the ark to pull him out.
The boundless ocean of his sin sur
rounded his soul, bowling like 81,
moon, raying like an euroclydon.
But, looking out Of the window, he
saw his sins sink like lead into the
depths of the sea. The dove of heaven
brought an olive branch to the ark.
The wrath of the billow only pushed
him toward heaven. The Lord shut
him in
The same door fastenings that kept
Noah in keep the troubles out. am
glad to know that when man reaches
heaven all earthly troubles are done
with him. Here he may have had ii
hard to get bread for his family. There
he will never hunger any more. Here
he NAV have wept bitterly There
1.-The lamb that is il the midst of the
throne will lead him to living foun-
tains of water, and God will wipe
away all tears from his eyes. Here
he may have hard work to get a house
but in my Fathers house are many
mansions, and rent day never comes.
Here there are deathbeds and cotfilns
and graves. There no sickness, no
weary watching, no choking cough,
no consuming fever, no chattering
chill, no tolling bell, no grave. The
sorrows of life Shall come and knock
at the door, but no admittance. The
perplexities of life shall come up and
knock on the door, butno admittance.
Safe forever All the agony of earth
in one wave dashing against the bull
warks Of the ship of celestial light
shall not break them down. Howl on
We winds, and rage, ye seas. The Lord
-'sthe Lord shut him in.
Oh, what a grand old door. So
wide, so easily swung both ways and
with such sure fastenings. No bur
glars key can pick that lock. No
swarthy arm of hell can shove back
that bolt. I rejoice that I do not ask
you to come aboard a crazy craft, with
leaking hulk and broken helm and un-
fastened, doors but an ark 50 cublts
wide and 800 cubits long, and a door so
large that the round earth without
grazing the post might be bowled
in.
Now, if the ark of Christ is so grand
a place in which to live and die and
triumph, come into the ark. Know
well that the door that shut Noah in
shut others out, and though, when the
pitiless storm came pelting on their
heads, they beat upon the door saying:
"T Of me in Let me in - the door did
not open. For 12O years they We're in
vited. They expected to come in, but
the antediluvians said: "We must
cultivate these fields. We must be
worth more hocks of sheep and herds
of cattle. We will wait until we get
a little older. We will enjoy our old
farm little longer . But meanwhile
the storm was brewing. The foun-
tains of heaven were filing up. The
pry was being placed beneath the
of the great deep. The
last year had come, the last month,
the last week. the last day, the last
hour, the last moment. In an awful
dash an ocean dropped from the sky,
and another rolled up from beneath,
and God rolled the earth and sky into
one wave of universal destruction.
So men now put off going into the
ark. They say they will wait 20 years
first. They will have little longer
time with their worldly associates.
They will wait until they get older.
They say: 'You cannot expect a man
OF my attainments and my position to
surrender myself just now. But be-
fore the storm comes | will 60 in. Yes
I will. know what am about.
Trust me" After awhile, one night
about 12 o'clock, going home, he pass,
es a scatfolding just as gust of wind
strikes it, and a plank falls. Dead,
and outside the ark, Or, riding in the
park, reckless vehicle crashes into
him, and his horse becomes unman-
ageable, and he shouts: Whoa
Whoa" and takes another twist in the
reins, and plants his feet against the
dashboard, and pulls back. But no
use. It's not 50 much down the ave-
nue. ne flies as on the way to eternity.