The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-11-30


only hammer stroke striking off
another chain of clay Better scour
the deck and coil the rope, for harbor
is only six miles away. Jesus Will
come down in the Narrows to meet you.
Now is your salvation nearer than
when you believed.
Man of the world, will you not today
make choice between these two por-
tions, between south land" of this
world with slopes to the desert, and
this glorious land which thy Father
offers thee, running with eternal water
courses? Why let your tongue be con.
sumed of thirst when there are the
neither springs and the upper springs,
comfort here and glory hereafter?
You and need something better
than this world can give us. The fact
is that it cannot give US anything after
awhile. 1t is a changing world. Do
you know that even the mountains on
the back of thousand streams are
leaping into the valley? The Allegha-
MES are dying. The dews with crys-
talllne mallet arc hammering away the
rocks. Frosts and showers and light
nings are sculpturing Mount Washing
ton and the Catskills. Niagara every
year is digging for itself a quicker
plungs. The sea all around the earth
on its shifting shores is making mighty
changes in bar and bay and firth and
promontory. Some of the old seacoasts
are midland now. Of Nantucket eight
feet below low water mark, are found
now the stumps of trees. showing that
the waves are conquering the land.
Parts of Nova Scotia are sinking. Ships
today sail over what only little while
ago was solid ground. Near the mouth
of the St. Croix river is an island which
in the movements of the earth is slowly
but certainly rotating. All the face OF
the earth changing-changing. In 1881
an island springs up in the Medlterra-
mean sea. In 1866 another island comes
up under the observation Of the Amerl-
can consul as he looks off from the
beach. The earth sll the time chang
ing, the columns of temple near Bizo-
Ii show that the water has risen nine
feet above the place it was when these
columns were put down. Changing.
Our Colorado river, once vaster than
the Mississippi, flowing through the
great American desert, which was then
an Eden of luxuriance, has now dwln-
died to small stream creeping down
through a gorge. The earth itself, that
was once vapor, afterward water
nothing but water-afterward molten
rock, cooling off through the ages until
plants might live, and animals might 1t
live, and men might live, changing all
the while, now crumbling, now break
ing off. The sun, burning down gradu-
ally in its socket Changing, changing
intimation of the last great change to
come over the world even infused into
the mind Of the heather who has never
seen the Bible
The Hindoos believe that Brahma,
the creator. once made all things. He
created the water, then moved over the
water, oyt of it lifted the land, grew the
plants and animals and men on it. Out
of his eye went the sun. Out OF his
lips went the fire. Out Of his ear went
the air. Then Brahma laid down to
sleep 4, 800, 900, 900 years. After that,
they say, he will wake up, and then the
world will be destroyed, and he will
make it over again, bringing up land,
bringing up creatures upon it, then ~
ing down again to sleep 4, 900, 600
years, then waking up and destroying
the world again-creation and demoh-
tion following each other, until after
320 sleeps, each one Of these slumbers
1920, 900, 600 years long, Brahma will
wake up and die, and the universe will
die with him, an intimation, though
very faint, of the great change to come
upon this physical earth spoken Of in
the Bible. But while Brahma may
sleep, our God never slumbers nor
sleeps, and the heavens shall pass away
with great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heat, and the
earth and all things that are therein
shall BE- burned up.
'Well, says some one, II that is So,
if the world is going from one change to
another, then what is the use Of my
toiling for its betterment? That is the
point on which l want to guard you. L
do not want to become misanthropic. 1t
is great and glorious world. If Christ
could afford to spend 80 years on it tor
its redemption, then you can afford to
toll and pray for the betterment OF the
nations, and for the bringing on OF that
glorious time when all people shall see
the salvation ofGod. While therefore
I want to guard you against misanthro-
pic notions in respect to this subject l
have presented, want you to take this
thought home with you: This world is
a poor foundation to build on. 1t is a
changing world, and it is dying world.
The shifting scenes and the changing
sands are only emblems of all earthly
expectation. Life is very much like
this day through which we have passed.
To many of US it is storm and darkness,
then sunshine. storm and darkness,
then afterward little sunshine, now
again darkness and storm. Oh, build
not your hopes upon this uncertain
world. Build on God. Confde in
Jesus. Plan for an eternal residence at
Christ's right hand. Then, come sick
ness or health, come JOY or sorrow,
come life or death, all is we'll, all is
we'll.
In the name Of the God of Caleb and
his daughter Achsah, I this day offer
you the upper springs Of unfading
and everlasting rapture.
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