The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-08-15

enough money AeL az ~
aud the needs Of our children. NO"
let Us dissolve business aud MAKE way
for other ncn in the same hne. Ia
staad cf beins startled ST so:ltary IN
s,sncs or masnanimity, it vii! become
= rommcn thing kno~ Of scores OF
Gar business houses that have had
their opportunity Of vast accumulation
and who ought to quit. But perhaps
for al! tee days Of tnis generation the
struggle of small houses to keep alive
under the overshac owing pressure Of
great houses will continue; therefore,
taking things as they are, You will be
wise to preserve your faith aud throw
over all the counters and shelves and
casks the measuring line Of divine
right. And the Lord said unto ne,
Anos, what seest tho1? And | said.
a plumb line.
want you to notice this fact, that
when a man gives up the straight up
and down religion Of the Bible fer any
new tangled religion, it is generally to
suit MS sius You icSt hear Of his
change OF religion, aud shco you hear
Of so;pe swiode ne has practiced in a
special mining stock telling some Que
If he will pnt ia $4,000 he eau take
out SOD 900, or he has sacrificed his
integrity or plugged iato irremediable
wo-l6iicess His sins are So broad he
has TO broaden his religion, aud he be.
comes as broad as temptation, as broad
as the souls darkness, as broad as hel!
They want religion that will allow
them to kesp their sins aud then at
death sac to them, "Well done, good
and faithful servant and that tells
them. "All is well, for there is 20
hell What glorious heaven they
hold before US! Come, let US 60 in and
see it. There are Herod aud all the
babes he nassacred. There are Charles
Guiceau ani Robespierre, the feeder OF
the French guiliotine, and all the liars,
thieves. house burners, gsrroters, pick
pockets aud libertines Of all the centu..
ries. They have al got crowns aud
thrones and harps and scepters, and
when they chant they sing, Thanks
giving aud honor and glory and power
to the broad religion that lets US all in
to heaven without repentance aud with
out faith in those huuiliatiug dognas
of ecclesiastical old fogyism.
My text gives me grand opporiunl-
u of saying useful word to all young
men who sre now forming habits for a
lifetime. Ofwhat use to stonemsson
or brioklayer is plumb line? Why
not build the wall by the unaided eye
sud hand? Because they are insuh
cient, because if there be sdeaectiou ia
the wall it cannot further on be correct
ed Because by the Law of gravitation
a wall must be straight in order to be
symmetrical aud safe. a young mau
is in danger of getting defect io his
wall of character that may never be
corrected.
Remember that the wall may be 100
feet high, and yet detection one foot
from the foundation affects the entire
structure. And if you live 100 years
and do right the last 50 years you may
nevertheless DO something al 20 yesrs
of age that will damage all your earthly
existence. All pou who have built
houses for yourselves or for others, am
( not right in saying to these young
men, you cannot build a wall SO high as
to be independent Of the character OF
its foundation? 4 man before 30 years
Of age may commit enough sin to last q
lifetime. Now, John or George or
Henry or whatever be your Christian
name OF surname, say here and nov:
No wild oats for me, no cigcrs or Gig
aretts for me; no wine or beer for me,
10 nasty stories for me, 20 Sunday
sp-ees for me. l an going to Start
right and keep right. God help me,
for am very weak From the throne
of eternal righse u,ness let down to me
the principle, by which can be guild
ed in buildsug everything from fouuda-
to capstone. Lord God, by the wound
ed hand Of Christ throw me plumb
line
But" you say, you shut US young
folks out from all fun" Oh, no. |
like fun. l believe in fun. | have had
lots f it in my time. But have not
h>i 10 90 into paths of sin to find it.
\, credit to me, bat because Of sn ez-
traordinary parental example and in
iuence I was kept from outward tlans-
sre,sions, though my heart was bad
enough aud desperately wicked. I have
had fun illimitsble, though | never
swore one oath and never gambled for
so much as the value Of pin and never
saw the inside of . haunt of sin save as
when many years ago, With a commits
sioner Of police and detective and
two elders Of my church, l explored
New York and Brookll n by midnight,
not Out Of curiosity, hlt that mightin
pulpit discourse set before the people
the poverty aud the horrors of under
ground city life. Yet, though l was
never intoxicated for an instant and
never committed one act of dissolute-
ness restrained only by the grace Of
God, without which restraint | would
have gone heailong TO the bottom of in.
fanny have had so much fun that |
don't believe there is man on the
planet at the present time who has had
more. Hear it, men and boys, women
and girls, all the fun is on the side Of
right. Sin may seem attractive, but it
is deathful and like the manchineel. a
tree whose dews are poisonous. The
ouly genuine happiness is in Chris
tian life.
Oh this plumb line of the everlasting
night God will throw it over all our
lives to show US our moral defections.
God will throw it o7er all churches to
show whether they are doing useful
work or are instances Of idleness and
pretense. He will throw that plumb
line over all nations to demonstrate