The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1896-08-19
AS THE TREE FALLS.
NO MATTER IN WHAT DIRECTION,
THEREIT SHALL LIE.

THERElT SHALL LIE.
Eev. DR.. Talu,ase breaches An Earnest
Sermon, Warning the Impenitent Against
Waiting for the Next World Before Cor
reotine the Mistakes of This.
WASHINGTON, Aug s-Dr. Talmage
today discusses question that every
body some time discusses. Its one Of
tremendous import, Shall we have an
other chance? The text is Eccleslastes
ii, 8, IF the tree fall toward the south
or toward the north, in the place
where the tree falleth there it shall
be-"
There IS g lowering nope in the
minds of the vast multitude Of people
that there will be an opportunity Il
the next world Of correcting the mis-
takes OF this; that however complete
shipWreck we may make OF our EARN
" life il will be on a beach up which
we may walk to a palace; that as the
defendant may lose his case IN cir
cult court and appeal it and have It go
up to the supreme court or court OF
chancery and al the the costs thrown
over on the other party, so man may
lose his case in this world, but IN the
HIGHER jurisdiction OF eternity have
the decision of the earthly case set
aside, all the costs remitted and the
defendent be triumphant forever.
The object of my sermon is to snow
YOU that common sense declares with
The text that such sn expectation is
chimerical. ''If the tree fall toward
the south or toward the north, in the
place where the tree falleth there 1t
shall be-" There are those who say
that Il the impenitent and unforglven
man enters the next world and sees
the disaster, as a result Of that disaster
he viii turn, the distress the cause OF
his reformation, but we have IL, ,OOo IN
stances all around about US Of people
who have done wrong and disaster
suddenly csme upon them. Did the
disaster heal them2 No; they went
on.
There is a man flung of dissipations.
The doctor says to him, '.Now, my
friend. if you don't stop drinking and
don't stop this fast life you are living
YOU will die.'' The patient thanks the
physician for his warning and gets
better. He begins to sit up, begins to
walk around the room, begins to go to
business, takes the same round OF grog-
thops where he got his morning dram,
and his evening dram, and the drams
between. Down again. Same doctor.
Same physical anguish. Same med!'
cal warning. But now the sickness is
more protracted, the liver more obstl-
nate, the stomach more irritable, the
digestive organs more rebellious. But
still. under medical skill, he gets bet
ter, goes forth, commits the same sac
rilege against his physical health.
Sometimes he wakes up to sac what
ne IS doing, and he realizes he IS de-
stroying his family, and that MS life
is perpetual perjury against his mar.
rage vows, and that that broken
hearted woman is so different from the
roseats wife he married that her old
schoolmates do not recognize her on
the street, and that his sons are going
out IN life under the taunt OF a fathers
drunkenness, and that his daughters
ara going out IN life under the scarih-
cation OF disreputable ancestry. HIS
nerves are all a-iangle. From crown
of head to sole Of foot he is one ach-
ing, rasplng, crucifying, damnlng
torture. Where is he2
He is in hell on earth. Does it stop
him2 Ah, no. After awhile delirium
tremens pours out upon his pillow
whole jungle of Kissing reptiles. his
screams horrify the neighbors as he
dashes out of bed crying, Take these
things off mel" he is drinking down
the comfort OF his family, the educa-
!. ton of his children, their prospects
for this life and perhaps their prospects
for the life 20 come. Pale and conva-
lescent he sits up. Physician says to
him: s'Now, my good fellow, 1 am
going to have plain talk with you:
fyou ever have an attack Of this kind
again. YOU Will die. ! can't save you,
and all the doctors in creation can {
save you"
The patient gets up, starts out, goes
the same round Of dissipation and IS
down again, but this time medicines
do not touch his case. Consultations
Of physicians say there is no hope:
Death ends the scene. That process OF
inebriation and physical suffering and
medical warning and dissolution IS
taking place within stones throw OF
where you sit and in every nelghoor-
hood Of Christendonn. Pain does not
reform. Suffering does not cure.
What Is true in regard to one SIN IS
true in regard to all sins, and yet men
are expecting in the next Life there
will be opportunity for purgatorial re-
generation. Take up the printed re.
ports Of the prisons CT the United
States and fnd that the vast majority
Of the criminals were there before,
some for two times, three times. tour
times, six times; punished again ana
again, but they goright on. Millions
of incidents and instances working
the other way, and yet men think
that In the next world Punishment
willWork out for them salvable effects.
Why, you and cannot imagine any
worse torture from another world than
we have seen men in in this world,
and dwithout any salutary consequence.
Furthermore the prospect OF refor-
nation in another world is more I'M
probable than here. Do you not re-
aliZe the fact that a man starts IN this
world with the innocence of infancy2
In the other case, starting in the 9TH
er world, he starts with the accumu-
lated bad habits of q lifetime. Is it not
to be expected that you could build q
better ship ont of new timber than out
of an old hulk that has been ground
up in the breakers2 IF starting with
comparative innocency the man does
not become. cody, is it possible that
starting with sin a seraph can be evo-
luted? Is there not more prospect
q -, ,x-,~