The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1897-09-01


Those who ccrsidsr Tbeiz c.aes tsc2e-
less.
In the discourse OF Dr.. Ta,1aage .lSt S,.:'
day is mighty encourage:E.ea,I t2r many w
consider their own case h9Pe:ess. a,S tex
isJo5 XIX, 20, y an escaped VITA ne SAs2
OF my teeth.
Job had it hard. Whas with toiiS and
bereavements and Bankruptcy an a 100, O.
a wife he wished he waS dead. ana ,{o.not
blame him His flesh was gone anu MS
bones were dry His teeth wasted away
until nothing hut the enamel seemed LETT.
He cries out Il am escaped WIZ the skin Of
my teeth
There has been Sone difference ct opinion
about this passage. s.. Jerome and Sc7u,-
tens and Drs. Good and Poole and Barnes
have all tried their foree?S on
jobs teeth. You deny my interpretation
aud say, What djl JOB know about ;Ge
enamel of his teeth He knew everything
about 1t. Denta, surgery is a!moS: IS Old as
the earth. The muumies Of Egypt. ;2ou>-
ands Of years Old are ound today y;ta gal3
filings in their teeth. Cyid aud Horace and
Solomon and Noses wrote about these ia
portant factors Of the body. 70 other pro
voking complaints JOB, think, has added
an exaSperating ,oothache, and putting ms
hand against the ir:iamei face le says, 4
am escaped with the skin OF my teeth.
Avsry rarrow escape. you SaE,, Tor ,iot' :
body and soul, but theiE are thousands OF
men who make Just as narrow escape for
their soul. There was q time when tie par
tition between them and ruin was no tAlc&-
er than 8 tooth, enamel, but. Is JOB Ena.Iy
escaped, so have they. Thank Goa I22nN
God
Paul expresses the same i&ea by & differ
ent figure when he says that some peo2ie are
saved as By fire" \ vessel a'ssa IS IN
flames. You 60 10 the stern OF the vessel.
The boats have showed of. The rlames ad-
rance. You can endure the heat 10 longer
on your face You slide down on tie side
of the vessel and hold on with your fingers
until the forked tongue Of the sre begins to
lick the back Of YOU hand and You feel that
you must fall, when one Of the n.eboatS
comes back, and the passengers say they
think they have room for one more. the
boat swings under you. You drop into it
you are saved. So some men arc pursued
by temptation until they are partially con-
sumed, but sitter all gel of-"saTei as 5E
fire.
But Ike the figure OF Job a little better
than that cIFaul, because the pulpit has not
worn it out, and want TO Saow you, If God
will help, that some men make narrow es-
cape for their souls and ar saved as with
the skin of their teeth
1t is as easy for some people 70 look 10 the
cross as for you to look to this pulpit. Mild,
gentle, tractable, loving, you expect them 70
become Christians. You go over 70 the
store and say, "Grapdon Joined the church
yesterday" Your business comrades say,
ssThat IS Just what might have been expected;
he always was Of that turn Of mind. Ia
youth this person whom describe was al
ways good. Henever broke things. EeneveT
laughed when 1t was improper TO laugh. At
{, he could sit an hour in church, perfectly
quiet, looking neither 20 the right hand nor
the left, but straight into the eyes OF the
minister, as though ne understood the whole
discussion about the eternal DEGREES. He
never upset things nor lost then. He float
ed into the kingdom Of God 50 gradually that
it is uncertain just when the matter was de-
cided.
Here Is another one who started il life
with an uncomfortable spirit. He Kept the
nursery in an uproar. His mother found
him walking on the edge Of the house roof
to see if he could balance himself. There
was no horse that he dared not ride, no tree
he could not climb. His boyhood was q lon
series Of predicaments; his manner was
reckless, his middle very wayward. But
now he is converted and you 60 over 10 the
store and say, cartwright joined the church
yesterday" Your friends say: sit is not
possible! You must be joking" You sag:
'No; tell you the truth. He Joined the
church" Then they re?ly, There is hope
for any of US if old Arkwright has become a
Christian In other words, re will admit
that it more difficult for some men to accent
the gospel than for others.
may be preaching to some who have cut
loose from churches and Bibles and Sundays,
and who have no intention of becoming
Christieus themselves, and yet you may find
yourselfescaping before you leave this house
as 'with the skin ofyour teeth. l do not
expect to waste this hour. ! have seen
boats 90 of from Cape May or Long Branch
and drop their nets and after awhile come
ashore, pulling in the nets without having
caught single fish. 1t was not good day
or they had moi the right kind Of 9 net, but
we expect no such excursion today. The
water IS full OF fish, the wind is IN the right
direction, the gospel net is strong. Q thou
who didst help Simon and Andrew to fish,
show us how to cast the net on the right side
of the ship.
Some Of you in coming to God will have to
run against skeptical notions. Its useless
for people to say sharp and cutting things 70
those who reject the Christian religion. !
cannot say such things. By what process
Of temptation or trial or betrayal you have
come to your present state l know not.
There are two gates to your natrre-the gate
of the head and the gate Of the heart. The
gate of your head is locked with bolts and
bars that an archangel could not break, 0u:
the gate of your heart swings easily on It's
hinges. If assaulted your body with Teap-
ons, you would meet me with weapons, and
it wold be sword stroke for sword stroke and
wound for wound and blood for blood, bu. !;
come and knock al the door Of your house
you open 1t and give me the best seat il your
parlor. II should come al you now with
an argument, you would answer ne with ao
argument; if with sarcasm you would answer
me with sarcasm; blow for blow, stroke for
stroke, but when I come and knock at the
door Of your heart you open It and say,
ECone in, my brother, and tell me al you
know about Christ and heaven.
Listen to two or three questions. Are
you as happy as you used to be when you
believed in the truth Of the Christian re-
igion? Would you Ike 10 have your CHI
dren travel on in the road in which yOu''are
now travelling? You had a relative who pro
fessed to be Christian and vas thoroughly
consistent, living and dying in the iai.l o.
the gospel. Would you not ike to live the
same quiet life and die the same peaceful
death? hold in my hand letter sent me
by one who Gas rejected the Christian re-
igion. 1t says: q am old enough 10 know
that the joys and pleasures ofHfe are eyanes-
cent and to realize the fact that it must be
comfortable in old age TO believe in soiae-