The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-04-14

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cunning. You understand in your
own exoerienca The path2s, the home
sickness, the carags, the holy enthuSi
asn CT Nehemiah IN his midnight,
moonlight ride around the rains Of
this beloved jerusalem.
Again, my text Impresses ne with
the fact that before reconstruction
there must be an exploration ofruinS.
Whv was not Nehemiah asleep under
the covers Why was rot his horse
stabbed IL the Midnight: Lit the po-
Ice OF the city arrest this midnight
rider, o1t on some mischief. No.
Nehemiah is going TO rebuild the city,
and he IS making toe preliminary ex,
ploration. n this gate, o1tthat gale,
east, west, nor.h, south. Ali through
the ruins. TIE ruins mus. be xolored
before the work OF reconstruction can
beoin. The reason that so many peo,
pls IN this day, apparently converted,
DO not stay converted is becluSe they
did 40. first explore the ruins OF their
own heart. The reason that there are
50 many profsssed Christians Who IN
this aav lie anI forge and steal ana
commit aboninations, ana 60 to ne
penitentiary, is because they brSt DO
mot learn the ruin OF their own heart.
They have no. found out that the
hesrt is deceittul above all things, and
desperately wicked" They had an
idea that they were almost right, ana
thew built religion as sort OF eS:en
son as an ornamental clpola. There
vas a superstruc!ure Of religion built
IN q subs.ratum Of unrepented sins.
The trouble with good deal of mod
ern theology IS that instead O. build
inc on the right foundation, 1t builds
on the debris OF an unregenerassd ma
ture They attempt to rebuild Jeru'
salem before, in the midnight OF con
viction, they have seen the ghsstliness
OF the ruin. They have such a poor
foundation for their religion that the
first northeast storm OF temptation
bIovs them down. I have no faith IN
a mans conversion if he is not con
yer.ed in the old fashioned way Ohm
Brnvan's way, John Wesleys way,
John Calvin's way, Pauts way,
Go3,s vav. : dentist saia to me,
"Does t1at hurt2' Said /: 'Oi course
il hurts. 1t is il your bu illness as IN
nv profession. We have to hurt be-
fore we can help" You will never
understand redemption until you un'
dersiand ruin.
a man tells me- that some one Is a
menber of the church, I. makes no
impression on my mind at all.
simply want to know whether he was
converted in the old fashioned way, OF
whether he was converted IN the new
fashioned way. If he was converted
in the old fashioned way, he will
stand. If he was converted in the new
fashioned way, he will not stand. That
is all there is abop! it. A man comes
to me to talk about religion, The first
question I ask him IS, ID you feel
Yourself to be a sinner II he say,
s'Weil, I-yes, "the hesitancy makes
me feel that that man wants ride on
Nehemish's horse by midnight through
the ruins-in by tie gate OF his afec;;
tons; out by the gate OF his will and
before he has got through with that
midnight ride he will drop the reins
on the horses neck, and will take MS
rich: hand and smite on his heart and
say. 'sGod be merclful, TO me a sin
ner," and before he has stabbed his
horse he will take his fest out of the
stirrups, and he will slide down on
the ground, and he will kneel, cry
ing: "Have mercy on me, . Goa,
according to thy loving kindness, &C
cording unto the multitude Of thy ten
der mercies. Blot out my transges,
sions. for I acknowledge my trans
grassions, and my sins ere ever before
thee" An, my friends, you see this
is not complimentary gospel. Ina!
IS what makes some people So MAD. II
comes to g man OF a millio0 dollars,
and impenitent in his sins, and says,
You're pauper." It coMes to 8
woman of fairest chees, who has never
repented, and says, You're 3 sinner.
It comes to man priding himself on
his independence, and says, You re
bound hand and foot By the devil.
It comes to our entire race, and says,
You're ruin, q gnastly ruin, an
illimitable ruin" Satan sometimes
says to me: Why dc you preach
that truth? Why don't you preach a
gospel with no repentance IN IT. Why
don't you fatter mems hearts SO that
you make them feel all right9 Why
don't you preach a humanitarln gos-
pei, with no repentance in it, saying
nothing about the ruin, talking al
the time about the Redemption2'
say, Get thee behind me, satan.
I would rather lead five souls into
safety than 10000 in perdition. The
redemption of the gospel is q. perfect
farce if there is no ruin. The whole
need not physician, but they that
are sick" IF any one, though he be
an angel from heaven, preach any
other gospel than this" says the apos,
tie, 'slet him be accursed.' There
must be the midnight ride over the
ruins before Jerusalem can be built.
1CSrS NUSL CS Lie CIIShIAS W IiAS 4~SO-
before there c2n be the ring OF the
trowels.
Again. Ny subject gives me a spec,
linen of busy and triumphant sadness;
# there was any man in the world
who had right to NOPE and give up
everything as lost, it was Nehemiah.
You say, He was q acapbesrer IN the
palace of Shushan, and it was grand
place" Soft was. The n2ll Of that
palace was 200 feet square, and the
roof hovered over 81 marble pillc--ss,
each pillar 80 feet high, snd the IN
tense blue Of the sky, and the deep
green Of the forest foliage, and the
white Of the driven snow, all hung
trembling in the upholstery. But,
my friends, you know very well that
fine architecture will not put doTn
homesickness. Yet Nehemiah did not
give up. Then when you see him
going among these desolated streets,
and by these dismantled towers, and
by the torn up grave Of his father, you