The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-09-28
THE FOES We FACE.
The Sins that Beset the End of
the Century.
GOD COMES BEFORE MAN,
Says Dr.. Talmage. The Preya-
lence of Blasphen1y. The Sins
of City Life. And the
Final judgment.

ner in which tassailS some Of the great
evils now abroad The subject is
Enemies Overthrown, and the text,
Psalms xviii, l, Let God arise, let
his enemies be scattered.
4 procession was formed to carry the
ark, or sacred box, which, though only
3 feet 9 inches in length and 4 feet 3
inches in height and depth, was the
symbol Of Gods presence. As the
leaders of the procession lifted this or
namented and brilliant box by two gol
den poles run through four golden
rings and started for Mount Zion all
the people chanted the battle hymn Of
my text, Let God arise, let his enc
mics be scattered.
The Cameronians of Scotland. out
laged by James l, who forced upon
them religious forms that were often,
siye, and by the terrible persecution OF
Drummond, Dalziel and Turner, and
by the oppressive laws Of Charles | and
Charles II, were driven to proclaim war
against tyrants and went forth to fight
for their religious liberty, and the
mountain heather became red with car
mage and at Boutwell, bridge and Ards
Moss and Drumclog the battle hymn
and the battle shout of those glorious
old Scotchmen was the text | have
chosen, ''Let God arise, let his enc
mics be scattered"
What whirlwind of power was OH
yer Cromwell, and how with his soldiers
named the 'Iropsides," he went from
victory to victory. Opposing enemies
melted as he looked at them. He dis
missed parliament as easily as school
master school. He pointed his finger
at Berkeley castle, and it was taken.
He ordered Sir Ralph Hopton, the gen
eral, to dismount, and he dismounted.
See Cromwell marching on with his
army and hear the battlecry Of the
"Ironsides," loud as a storm and sol
emn as deathknell, standards reeling
before it ind cavalry horses going back
on their haunches, and armies flying at
Marston, at Winceby Field, at Naseby,
at Bridgewater and Dartmouth-''Let
God arise, let his enemies be seat
tered.
So you see my text is not like COM
plimentary and tasseled sword you
sometimes see hung up in parlor,
sword that was never in battle and
only to be used on general training day,
but more like some weapon carefully
b,,no mn in vorr home telling it's story
of battles, for my text hangs in the
Scripture armory, telling Of the holy
wars Of 5000 years in which it has
been carried, but still as keen and
mighty as when David first unsheathed
it. It seems to me that in the church
of God, and in all styles Of reformatory
work, What#e most need now is a bat
tleery. We raise our little standard
and put on it the name Of some man
who only few years ago began to live
aud in few years will cease to live.
We go into contest against the armies
Of iaiquity, depending too much on
human agencies. We use for a battle
cry the name of some brave Christian
reformer, but after awhile that reform
er dies or gets old or loses his courage,
and then we take another battlecry, and
this time perhaps We put the name OF
some one who betrays the cause and
sells out to the enemy. What we want
for battlecry is the name Of some
leader who will never betray US and will
never surrender, and will never die.
The Methodists have gone in triumph
across nation after nation with the cry,
'sThe sword Of the Lord and Of Wes-
ley" The Presbyterians have gone
from victory to victory with the cry,
ssThe sword Of the Lord and of John
Knox" The Baptists have conquered
millions after millions for Christ with
the cry, ''The sword of the Lord and Of
Judson." The American Episcopalians
have won their mighty way with the
cry, ''The sword of the Lord and Of
Bishop MIlvaine." The victory is to
those who put God first. But, as we
want battlecry suited to all sects Of
religionists and to all lands, I nominate
as the battlecry of Christendom in the
approaching Armageddon the words Of
my text, sounded before the ark as it
was carried to Mount Zion, Let God
arise; let his enemies be scattered.
As far as our finite mind can judge,
it seems about time for God to rise.
Does it not seem to you that the abom-
nations Of this earth have gone far
enough? Was there ever time when
sin was so defiant? Were there ever
before so many fists lifted toward God,
telling him to come on if he dare?
Look at the blasphemy abroad! What
towering profanity! Would it be pos
sible for any one to calculate the num-
bers Of times that the name Of the Al
mighty God and of Jesus Christ are
every osy taken irreverently on the
lips? Profare swearing is as much for
bidden bv the law as theft or arson or
murder, yet who executes it? Profan
ity is worse than theft or arson or
murder, for these crimes are attacks on
humanity; that is an attack on God.
Years ago in a Pittsburg prison two
men were talking about the Bible and
Christianity, and one of them, Thomp-
son by name, applied to Jesus Christ a
very low and villainous epithet, and as
he was uttering it he fell. A physician
was called, but no help could be given.
After day lying with distended pupils
palsied tongue ne passed out of this
world. In a cemetery in Sullivan
county, in New York state, are eight
headstones in line and all alike, and
these are the facts: In 1881 diphtheria
ragged in the village, and physician
was remarkably successful in curing
his patients. So confident did he be-
come that he boasted that no case of
diphtheria could stand before him and
finally de6ed Almighty God to produce
a case Of diphtheria that he could not
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