The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-03-30

tSusting work, no: hsIf slept GU. with
the siumberS OF last night, tragedies
Of su tssaring written all over her face,
her Ius.arIess eyes looking far ahesd,
IS though for the coming Of some
o.her trouble? Her parents called her
Mary or Bertha or Agnes on the day
when they held her up to the font and
the Christian minister sprinkle0 on the
infants face the washiags Of q holy
Baptism. Her nap1eis changed now.
I hear it in the shuttle CT the wornout
shoes. see ii in the figure Of the faded
csIico. I ind it IN the lineaments OF
the woe begone countenarcs. Not
Mary nor Bertha nor Agnes, but Aa-
gar in the wilderness. May God have
mercy upon woman in her tolls, her
her hardships, her desola-
tiop, ard may the grea. heart OF dl-
wins sympathy inclose her forever.
Again, / ind IN this oriental scene
the fsct that every mother leads forth
tremendous destinies.
You say, That isn't an unusual
scene mother leading her child by the
hand" Who is it that she is leading9
Ishmael, you sGy. Who is Ishmael2
4 great nation Is to be founde3-a na-
tioa so strong that It is TO stand for
thousands of years against all the
srnies of the world. Egypt and AS
syria thunder against it, but in vain.
Gaulas brings up his army and his
army is smitten. Alexander decides
upon campaign, brings up
his hosts and dies. For s. long
while that nation monopolizss the
learning Of the world. It is the nation
of the Arabs. Who founded it, lsh'
mael, the lad that Hagar led into the
wilderness. She had no idea she was
leading forth such destinies. Neither
does any mother. You pass along the
street and see and pass boys and girls
who will yet make the earth quake
with their influence.
4 Christian mother good many
ago sat teaching lessons of religion to
her child, and he drank in those les
sons. She never knew that Lsmphier
would come forth and establish the
Fulton street prayer meeting, and by
one meeting revolutionizs the devo-
tions of the whole earth and thrill the
eternities with his Christian influence.
Lamphier said it was his mother who
brought him to Jesus Christ. She
never had an idea that she was lead
ing forth such destinies. But, oh,
when I see mother reckless of her in
fuence, rattliDg on toward destruc.
ton, garlanded for the sacrifice with
unssemly mirth and godlessness, dane
ing on down to perdition, taking her
children in the same direction, pre-
pairing them for 8 life of frivolity. a
death o: shame and an eternity of dis.
aster, I cannot help but say, There
they 60. there they go-Hsgar and
Ishmael" I tell you there are wilder
deserts than Beersheba in many of the
fashionable circles OF this day. Dissi-
pated parents leading dissipated chill
dren. Avaric;ous parents leading
a7aricious children. Prayerless rar-
ents leading prayerless children. They
go trough every street, up every dark
alley, INTO every cellar, along every
Bagar and Ishmael! And
while I pronounce their names, Ike
the meaning of the desert wind, "Ha.
gar and Ishmael!"
I learn one more lesson from this
oriental scene, and that is that every
wilderness has a well in it. Hagar
and Ishmael gave up to die. Hsgar's
heart sank within her as she heard
her child crying: Water! Water.
Wster!!" All" she says. my darI-
ing, there is no water! This is des-
ert." Aud then Gods angel said from
the cloud, What aiIeth thee, Hagsr2'
And she looked up and saw him point.
ing to a well OF water, where she filed
the bottle for the lad. Blessed be
God that there is in every wilderness
g well, if you only know how to find
for all these thirsty
souls! On that last dsy, on that great
day OF the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
'If any man thirst, let him come TO
me and drink" AL these other fcun-
tains you find are mere mirages OF the
the oesert. Psracelsus, you know,
spent his time in trying to find out
the elixir of life-a LIQUID, which if
taken, would keep one parpstually
young in this world and would change
the aged back again to youth. Of
course he was disappointed. Re
found not the elixir. But here I tell
you Of the elixir of everlasting life
bursting from the Rock of Ages, !"
and that drinking that water you shall
never get old, and you will never be
sick, and you will never die. 'Ho,
every one that thirststh, come ye to
the waters!' All, here is man who
says, II have been locking for thu
fountain a great while, but can't find
it" And here is some one else who
says, 81 believe all you say. out |
have been trudgine along in ne WI
derness and can't fno the fountain"
Do you know the reason2 I will tell
you. You never looked in the right
direction. Oh" you say, II have
looked everywhere. I have looked
north, south, east and west, and I
haven't found the fountain" Why,
you are not looking in the right dl-
rection at all.
Look up, where Hagar looked. She
never would have found the fountain
at all, but when she heard the voice
Of the angel she looked up and she
saw the finger pointing to the supply.
And, 0 soul, if today with one earn
est, intense prayer you would only
LOOK up to Christ, he would point you
down to the supply in the wilderness.
Look unto me, all ye ends of the
earth, and be ye saved; for I am God,
and there is none elseI' Look! Look,
as Hsgar looked
Yes, there is we'll for every deser'
OF bereavement. Looking over any
audience I notice signs of mourning
and woe. Have you found corsols-
tion2 Oh, man bereft, have you
found cousolation2 Hearse after
hearse. We step from one grave hill
lock TO another grave hiliock. We