The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-12-21

doorstep. say That's splendid. VOW,
that is what | call religion,
ltisa good ,bing to preach on Sun
day morning, the people assembled in
most respectable attire and seated on
soft cushions. the preacher standing in
neatly upholstered pulpit surrounded
by personal friends, and after an inspir
ing hymn has been song, and that SER
mon, Is preached in faith, will do good,
but the most effective sermon is
preached by one seated in dressing
gown in an armchair into which the IN
valid has with much care been lifted,
the surrounding shelves filled with
medicine bottles, some to produce sleep
some for the relief OF sudden paroxysln,
some for stin.ulent. some for tome
some for ancdync and some for te3r'-
fuge, the pale preacher quoting pro-
mises of the gospel. telling Of the
glories of Il sympathetic Christ. assur-
Ing the one or two or three persons who
hear it of the mighty re-entorccmcntS
of religion. You say tnat to such
sermon there are only one or two or
three hearers. Aye but the visitor
calling at that room, then closing the
door softly and going away, tells the
story. ard the whole neigh5orhood
hears it. and it will take all eternity to
realize the grand and uplifting influence
ct that sermon about God and the soul,
though preached to an audience Of only
one man or one woman. The LORI has
ordained all such invaiids for style Of
usefulness which athletics and men Of
200 healthy avolrdupois cannot affect.
It was not an enemy that fastened you
in that one room or sent you on cruthes
the longest journey you haye made for
many weeks being from bed to sofa and
from sofa to looking glass, where you
are shocked at the pallor Of your own
cheek and the pinchedncss Of your fea-
lures: then back again from mirror to
sofa and sofa to bed, with long sign
saying, How good it feels to get back
again to my old place on the pillow"
Remember who it is that appointed the
day when for the first time in many
years you could not 60 to business and
who has kept record Of all the weary
days and all the sleepless nights Of your
exile from the world. 0 weary man
0 feeble woman, it was the Lord who
shut you in. Do you remember that
some of the noblest and best of men
have been prisoners? Ezekiel pris,
oner, St. John prisoner, John Bun
yan a prisoner. Though human hate
seemed to have all to do With them,
really the Lord shut them in.
Again, notice that during that Il
days of storm which rocked that shil
on that universal ocean of Nosh's time
the door which shut the captain Of tht
ship inside and craft kept him from
many outside perils. How those wrath
full seas would like to have got thelI
wet hands on Noah and pulled him ou
and sunk him! And do all of you o.
the great army Of the shut in realize
though you have special temptations
which you are now, how much of tht
outside style Of TEN patton you escape
Do you, the merchant incarcerated Ii
the sickroom, realize that every hour O
the day you spend looking out of tn
window or gazing atthe particular hg
ure on the wall paper or listening t.
the clocks ticks men are being wrecked
by the allurements and uncertainties o
business life? How many forgeries ar
committed, how many trust funds ar
swamped, how many public moneys ar
being misappropriated, how man.
bankruptcies suffered? 1t may be, It'll
very uncomfortable for Noah inside tn
ark, for the apartment is crowded ant
the air is vitiated with the breathing 0
so much human and animal life, but
| is not half as bad for him as though h
. were outside the ark. There is not al
, OK or camel or an antelope, or asheeI
inside the ark as badly off as the proud
: est king outside. While you are OF
the pillow or lounge you will make n
bad bargains, you will rush intono rasl
, investments, you will avoid the mis-
, takes which thousands Of men as goo
you are every day making.
Notice also that there was limit t
the shut in experience Of those anclen
marieners. l suppose the 40 days 0
the descending and uprising foods an
the 150 days before the passengers coul
20 ashore must have seemed to thos
t eight people in the big beat like a smal
r eternity. ''Rain, rain, rain!" said tn
, wife of Noah. ':Will it never stop
: For 40 mornings they looked out an
: saw not one patch Of blue sky. Floatiu
3 around amid the peaks Of mountains
t Shem and Ham and Japheth had t
hush the fears of their wives lest the
: should dash against the projecting rocks
: But after awhile it cleared of. Sun
shine, glorious sunshine! The ascend
E ing mists were folded up into clouds
5 which instead of darkening the SIX
E only ornamented it. AS they locke
, out Of the windows these worn passen
gers clappsd their hands and rejoice
that the storm was over, and think
God could stop such a storm as that h
c could stop any storm in your llfetlm
S experience. If he can control vultur
E in midsky, he can stop a summer ba
that flies in at your window, At tn
right time he will put the rainbow O
cloud and the deluge Of your misfol
RI tunes will dry up. I preach the doc
RI trine of limitation, relief and Olsen
: thrallment. At just the right time tn
: pain will cease, the bondage vii drop
4 the imprisoned will be liberated, III
fires will go out, the body'and mind az
soul will be free. Patience! An oil
, English proverb referring to long con
5 tinued invalidisms says, "A creaSin
5 gate hangs long on its hinges, and thi
, may be protracted case Of valetudina
: rianism, but you will have taken tn
last bitter drops you will have suffere
the last nisinterpretation, you vii
| feel the gnaEing of the last hunger