The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-04-24

sion of the weather and in apology
for treading on long trains and in
effort to keep the corners OF the
mouth up to the sign Of pleasure, and
going around with an idiotic he-he
about nothing until the collation. is
served, and then, after the collation.
is served, going back into the Parlor
to resume the weather, and then at
the close going ct avery late hour to
the host and hostess and assuring
them that you have had a most de-
lightful evening, and then passing
down off the front steps, the slam Of
the door the cnly satisfaction Of the
evening.
know there is great deal Of talk
about the self-denials of the Chris
tian. I have to tell you that where
the Christian has one self-denial the
man Of the world has thousand
self-denials. The Christian is not
commanded to surrender anything
that is worth keeping. But what
does a man deny himself who de-
nies himself the religion Of Christ?
He denies himself pardon for sin,
he denies himself peace of conscience,
he denies himself the Joy Of the Holy
Ghost, he denies himself comfort
able death pillow, he denies himself
the glory of Heaven. Do not talk
to me about the self-denial Of the
Christian life. Where there is one
in the Christian life there is a, thou
sand in the life of the world. "Her
ways are ways Of pleasantness."
Again, I find great deal Of re-
iigious sunshine in Christian and di-
vine explanation. To great many
people life is an irexplicable tangle.
Things turn out differently from
what was supposed. There is use
less woman in perfect health. There
is an industrious and consecratee
woman q complete invalid. Explain
that. There is bad man with $780,
900 Of income. There is a good man
with $500 of income. Why is that?
There is foe of society who lives on,
doing all the damage he can, to Is
years of age, and here is a Christian
father, faithful in every department
of life, at 35 years of agestaken away
by death, his family left helpless.
Explain that. Oh, there is no SEN
tence that oftener drops from your
lips than this: II cannot understand
it. I cannot understand it,
Well, now religion comes in just at
that point with its illumination and
its explanation. There is a business
man who has lost his entire fortune.
The week before he lost his fortune
there were 20 carriages that stopped
at the door of his mansion. The
week after he lost his fortune all
the carriages you could count on one;
finger. The week before financial
trouble began people all took od?
their hats to him as he passed. down.
the street. The week his financial
prospects were under discussion Peo'
pie just touched their hats without
anywise bending the rim. The weeA:
that he was pronounced inselvent
people just jolted their heads AL
they passed, not tipping their hats
at all, and the week the sheriff sold
him out all his friends were looking
in the store windows as they went
down past him.
Now, while the world goes away
from a man while he is in financial
distress, the religion of Christ comes
to him and says: "You are sick, and
your sickness is to be moral purif-
cation; you are bereaved. God
wanted in some way to take your
family to Heaven, and He must begin
somewhere, and so He took the one
that was most beautiful and was
most ready to 60" I do rot say
that religion explains everything in
this life, but I do say it lays down
certain principles which are grandly
consolatorv. You know business men
often telegraph in cipher. The mer-
chant in Sa- Francisco telegraphs to
the merchant in New York certain
information in cipher which No other
man in that line of business can un-
derstand, but the merchant in San
Francisco has the key to the cipher,
and the merchant in New York has
the key 10 the cipher, and on that
information transmitted there are
enterprises involving hundreds OF
thousands Of dollars. Now, the proVi-
dences Of life sometimes seem to be
a senseless rigmarole, q mysterious
cipher; but God has key to that
cipher ard the Christian a key to
that cipher, and, though he may
hardly be able to spell out the mean
ing, he gets enough Of the meaning
to understand that it is for the best.
Now, is there not sunshine in that?
Is; there not pleasure in that? Far
beyond laughter, it is nearer the
fo sntain Of tears than boisteTous
demonstration. Hare you never cried
for joy? There are tears which are
eternal rapture in distillation.
There are hundreds of people who
are walking day by day in the sub
lime satisfaction that all is for the
best, all things working together for
good for their soul. How a man can
get along through this life without
the explanation is to me a mystery.
What! Is that child gone forever?
Are you never to get it back? Is
your property gone forever? Have
you no explanation, no Christian e1-
planation, and yet not a maniac?
But when you have the religion OF
Jesus Christ il your soul it explains
everything so far as it is best for
YOU to understand. You look OF In
life, and your soul is full Of thankH-
giving to God that you are so much
better off than you might be. A man
passed down the street without any
shoes and said: 81 have no shoes.
Isn't it a hardship that have no
shoes? Other people have shoes!"
until he saw man who had no feet.
Then he learned e lesson. You ought
to thank God for what He does IN
c+eod of orurnhliro for What He does