The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1900-05-16

farm. &c ajii fa;l sway. I would 60
in too and rejoice with the others Il l
thought this thing were genuine; butit
is sham. That boy Is conhrned
inebriate aud 6cbaunchee. " Alas, my
friends, for the incredulity in the
church of Christ in regard to the recla-
nation of the recreant! You say man
has been strong drinker. lsay, Yes
but he has reformed" "Oh," you say.
with lugubrious face, Il hope you are
not mistaken; hope you are not mis-
taken" You say: Don't rejoice too
much over his conversion, for soon he
will be unconvcrted, fear. Don t MAKE
too big party for that returned prog
1qal CT strike the timbrel too loud; anu,
if Won kill calf, kill the one that IS Oh
the commons and not the one that mas
hem Inxuriatiug in the paddock. That
- rho rsa,op why more prodigals do not
come home to their fathers house. 1t
is the rank ipfielity in the church OF
ed on this subject. There is not
house on the streets Of heaven that has
no, in it prodigal that returned and
s;aid home. There could be uurolled
before you scroll of a hundred thou
sand nanes-the names of prodigals
who came back forever reformed. Who
vas John Buuyan? 4 returned prod
igal. Who was Richard Baxter? A
retu7urned pTodigal Who was George
Whitefcld, the thunder? A returned
p-odigal. AID | could 60 out in all
the aisles of this church TO day and
fud on either side those who, once far
asTay for many years, have been faith
full, and their eternal salvation is as
sure as though they had been ten years
il heaven. And yet some of you have
not enough faith in their return.
You DO not know how to shake hands
with prodigal. You do not know how
to pray for him. You do not know bow
to great him. He wants to sail into The
warm gulf stream Of Christian SYM
patby. You ere the iceberg against
which he strikes aud shivers. You say
he has been prodigal. l know it, but
you are the sour, unresponsiVe, CEN
serious, ssturnine, cranky elder brother,
and if you are going TO heaven ore
would think some people would be
emoted to 90 to perdition to get away
from you. The hunters say thas if q
deer be shot the other deer shove him
out of their company, and the general
rule is-swsy with man that has been
wounded with sin. Now, | say, the
more bones man has broken the more
need he has Of a hospitsl, and the more
man has been bruised and cut with
sin the more need he has to be carried
into human and divine sympathy. But
for such men there is not much room in
this world-the men who want to come
back after wandering. Plenty of room
for elegant sinners, for sinners in velvet
and satin and lace, for sinners high
salaried, for kid glovos and patent
leathered sinners for sinners fixed up by
hairdresser, poustuued.and lavendered
and colonged and frizzled and crimped
and banged" sinners-plenty Of room!
Such We meet elegantly at the door Of
our churches, and We invite them into
the best seats with Chester6eldisn gal
lautries; we usher them into the house
OF God and put soft ottouans under
their feet and put gilt edged prayer
book in their hands and pass the
contribution box before them with an
air Of apology, while they, the gen.
erous seuls, take ont the exquisite
portemonnaie and open it, and with
dianonded fDger push down beyond
the SO goldpieces and delicstely
pick out as an expression Of gratitude
their Offering to the Lord-of l cent!
For such sinners plenty Of room, plen-
ty of room. But for the man who has
been drinking until his coat is thread
bare. and his face is erysipelased, and
his wife's wedding dress is in the pawn
brokers' shop, and his children, instead
of being in school, are out begging
broken bread at the basement doors of
the city-the man, body, mind and soul
on Ere with the flames that have lesped
from the scathing scorcbing, blasting,
b!istering, consuming cup which the
drunkard takes, trembling AID sgonized
aud afsigbsed, and presses to his
parched lip, and his cracked tongue
and his shrieking yet immortal spirit
10 room.
Oh, if this younger son Of the parable
had not gone SO fer of, if be had not
dropped so los in wsssail, the protest
would not have been so severel But,
going clear over the precipice, as the
younger son did, the elder son is angry
and will not 60 in.
Be not so hard in your criticism Of
the fallen lest thou thyself also be
tempted. Do you know who that man
was who Sabbath before last staggered
up and down the aisle in a church, dis.
turbing the service until the service had
to stop until he was taken from the
room? He was minister of the gos-
pei of Jesus Christ in sister denoni-
nation. That man had preached the
gospel, that man had broken the bread
of the holy communion for the people.
From what a height to what depth!
Oh, was glad there was no smiling in
the room when that man was taken out,
his poor wife following him, with his
hat in her hand and his coat on her
arnl 1t was as sole mn to me as two
funerals-the funeral of the body and
the funeral Of the soul. Beware, lest
thou also be tempted!
An invalid went to South America
for his health aud one day sat summing
himself on the beach when he saw
something crawling up the beach wrig-
Cling toward him, and he was afrighted.
He thought it was wild beast or a rep
tile, and he took his pistol from his
pocket. Then he saw it was not wild
beast. It was man, an immortal man,
nan m.Ia In Gods oun imace ans