The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1898-08-24
A HELPFUL SERMON.
Or. Talnnage Encourages People
Who are i'm Trouble.
TIE BLESSING OF A FAMILY.
What We are Taught by the Trl-
unnph Of Jonathan Over the
Philistines. Inspiration in
Persecution and New
Life in Adversity.


of announcements for those who know
not which way to turn because of accu-
mulated misfortunes: text, | Samuel
xiv, /. There was sharp rock on the
one side and sharp rock on the other
side
The cruel army of the Philistines
must be taken and scattered There IS
just one man accompanied by his body
guard to do that thing. Jonathan is
the hero Of the scene. | know that
David cracked the skull Of the giant
with few pebbles well slung, and that
300 Gideonites scattered 10000 ANA
lekites by the crash of broken crockery,
but here is more wonderful conflict.
Yonder are the Philistines on the rocks.
Here is Jonathan with his bodyguard
in the valley. On the one side is a
rock called Bozez; on the other side Is
rock called Seneh. These two were
as famous in olden times as IN modern
times are Plymouth Rock and Glbral-
tar. They we're precipitous, unscalaole
and sharp. Between these two rocks
Jonathan must make his ascent: The
day comes for the scaling of the height.
Jonathan on his hands and feet begins
the ascent. With strain and slip and
bruise, | suppose, but still on and up,
first goes Jonathan, and then goes his
bodyguard. Bozez on one side. Seneh
on the other. After sharp tug and
push and clinging see the head Of
Jonathan above the hole in the noun
tain, and there is challenge, and a
fight, and supernatural CONSERVATION.
These two men, Jonathan and his
bodyguard, drive back and drive down
the Philistines over the rocks and open
campaign which demolishes the enc
mics of Israel. I suppose that the
oyerhanging and overshadowing rocks
on either side did not balk or disheart-
en- Jonathan or his bodyguard, but only
reused and filed them with enthusiasm
as they went up. ''There was a sharp
rock on the one side and sharp rock
on the other side"
My friends, you have been or are
now, SON. of you in this crisis Of the
text. Ii :: man meets one trouble, he
can go through with it. He gathers all
his energies, concentrates them on one
point and in the strength Of God or by
his own natural determination goes
through it. But the man who has
trouble to the right of him and trouble
to the left of him is to be pitied. Did
either trouble come alone, he might en-
dure it, but two troubles, two disasters,
two overshadowing misfortunes, are
Bozez and Seneh. God pity him.
sSThere is sharp rock on the one side
and sharp rock on the other side.
In this crisis of the text is that man
whose fortune and health fail him at
the same time. Nine-tenths Of all our
merchants capsize in business before
they come to IS years Of age. There is
some collision in commercial circles,
and they stop payment 1t seems as if
every man must put his name on the
back Of a note before he learns what a
fool man is who risks all his own pro-
perty on the prospect that some man
VIII tell the truth. 1t seems as if 4
man must have a large amount Of un-
salable goods on his own shelf before
he learns how much easier it is to buy
than to sell. 1t seems as if every man
must be completely burned out before
he learns the Importance of always
keeping fully insured. It seems as Z
every man must be wrecked in fnan-
cial tempest before he learns to keep
things snug in case Of a sudden euroc-
lydon.
When the calamity does come, it is
awful. The man goes home in despair,
and he tells his family, "We'll have to
go to the poorhouse. Fe takes 9 dolo-
rous view Of everything. 1t seems as
If he never could rise. But ! little
time passes, and he says: ''Wly, am
not SO badly of after all. l have my
family left. :.
Before the Lord turned Adam out of
paradise he gave him Eve SO that when
he lost paradise he could stand it. Per
NIT one who has never read but a few
novels in all his life, and who has not
great deal Of romance in his compost
tion, to say that if when a mans for
tunes fail he has a good wife a good
Christian wife-he ought not to be de-
spondent. 'Oh, you say, that only
increases the embarrassment, since you
have her also to take care Of. You
are an migrate, for the woman as often
supports the man as the man supports
the woman. The man may bring all
the dollars, but the woman generally
brings the courage and the faith in
God.
Well, this man of whom I am speak
ing looks around, and he finds his fam
lily is left, and he rallies, and the light
comes to his eyes, and the smile to his
face, and the courage to his heart. In
two years he is quite over it. He makes
his financial calamity the first chapter
in new era Of prosperity. He met
that one trouble-conquered it. He
sat down for little while under the
grim shadow Of the rock Bozez, yet he
soon rose and began like Jonathan to
climb. But how often is it that physi-
cal ailment comes with financial embar
rassment! When the fortune failed, 1t
broke the mans spirit. His nerves
were shattered. His brain was stun
ned. / can show you hundreds Of men
in our cities whose fortune and health
failed at the same time. They came
prematurely to the staff. Their hand
trembled with incipient paralysis. They
never saw well day since the hour
when they called their creditors to-
gether for a compromise. If such men
are impatient and peculiar and irritable
excuse them. They had two troubles,
either one of which they could have
met successful. If when the health
went the fortune had been retained, it
would not have been so bad The man
could have bought the very best medl-
I oo,,lI h,,-n b,I tho