The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1901-10-16


Wonderful transformation. Where
sin abounded grace shall much more
abound. The carbon becomes the SOL
itaire. The crystal cannot equal It."
Now. have no liking for those peo-
pie who are always enlarging in
Christian meetings about their early
dissipation. Do not go into the par
ticulars, my brother. Simply say
you were sick, but make no display
of your ulcers. The chief stock in
trade of some ministers and Chris
tian workers seems to be their early
crimes and dissipatious. The num-
Der of pockets you picked and the
number OF chickens you stole make
very poor PRAYER meeting rhetoric.
Besides that, it discourages other
Christian people who never got drunk
or stole anything. But it is pleasant
to know that those who were far
thcst down have been brought high
est up. Out of internal serfdom into
eternal liberty. Out of darkness into
light. From coal to the solitaire.
The crystal cannot equal it."
But, my friends, the chief trans
forming power Of the Gospel vii! not
be seen in this world, and not until
Heaven breaks upon the soul. When
that light falls upon the soul, then
you viii see the crystals. What a
magnificent setting for these jewels
of eternity! l sometimes hear people
representing I49ayen in a way that
is far from attractive to me. 1t
seems almost vulgar Heaven as they
represent it, with great blotches Of
color and bands of music making q
deafening racket. John represents
Heaven as exquisitely beautiful.
Three crystals! In one place he says:
Her light was like a precious stone,
clear as crystal" In another place
he says: Il saw a pure river from
under the throne, clear as crystal"
In another place he says: Before
the throne there was a sea of glass
clear as crystal" Three crystals!
John says crystal atmosphere. That
means health. Baln OF eternal June.
What weather after the worlds east
wind! No rack of storm clouds. One
breath of that air will cure the worst
tubercle. Crystal light on all the
leaves. Crystal light shinnering on
the topaz OF the temples. Crystal
light tossing in the plumes OF the
equestrians of Heaven on white
horses. But "the crystal cannot
equal it." John says crystal river.
That means joy. Deep and ever roll
ing. Not one drop of the Potomac
or the Hudson or the Rhine to soil
it. Not one tear of human sorrow
20 e-nbittcr it. Crystal. the rain out
OF which it was u1adc. Crystal, the
bed over which it shall roll and rip
pie. C-ystal, its infinite surface. But
"the crystal cannot equal it." John
SAYS crystal sea. That means multi
tudi1ously vast. Vast in rapture.
Rupture vast as the sea, deep as the
sea, strong as the sea, ever changing
as the sea. Billows of light. Billows
of beauty, blue with skies that were
never clouded and green with depths
shat were never fathoUled. Arctlcs
aud antarctics and Mediterraneans
ard Atlaptics and Paci6cs in crystal
line magni6cence. Three crystals!
Crystal light falling on crystal river.
Crystal river rolling into crystal
sea. But the crystal cannot equal
it."
"Oh," says some one, putting his
hand over his eyes, 'can 1t be that
who have been in so much sin and
trouble will ever come to those cTys-
tals?" Yes, it may Oe-it will be.
Heaven we must have, whatever we
have or have not, and We cone here to
get it. How much must I pay for it?'
you say. You will pay for it just as
much az the coal pays 70 become the
diamond. In other words, nothing.
The same Almighty power that makes
the crystal in the mountain will change
yorr heart which is harder than stone,
for the promise is: Il will take away
your stony heart, and l Will give you
heart Of flesh"
Oh" says some one, "it is just the
doctrine I want. God is to dc every
thing, and I am TO DO nothing" My
brother, it is not the doctrine you
want. The coal makes no resistance.
1t hears the resurrection voice in the
mountain and It cones to crystailiza-
ton; but your heart resists. The
trouble with you, my brother, is the
coal wants to stay coal.
T Go not ask you to throw open the
door and let Christ in. 1 only ask that
you stop boiling AID barring it. My
friends, we will have to get rie of our
sins. 1 will have to get rid of my sins,
and you will have to get rid OF your
sins. What will we do with our sins
among the three crystals? The c-ys-
tai atmosphere would display our pol
luton. The crystal river would be be-
fouled with our touch. Transforms
ton must take place now or no trans
formation at all. Give sin full chance
in your heart and the Transformation
will be downward instead of upward.
Instead OF crystal it will be a cinder.
IN the days of Carthage; Christian
girl was condemned to die for her faith,
and boat was bedaubed with tar and
pitch and filed with conbustibles and
set On fire, and tie Christian girl was
placed il the boat, and the wind was of
the shore, and the boat hoated away
with its precious treasure. No one
can doubt that boat landed al the
shore Of Heaven. Sin wants to put you
in a fery boat and shove you off in N
opposite direction-of from peace,
of from God, of from Heaven, ever
1astingly OF, and the port toward
which you would sail would be port
of darkness, and the guns that would
greet you would be the guns of despair,
and the Aags that would wave a your
arrival would be the black flags OF
death. Oh, my brother, you must
either kill sin or sin viii kill you. 1t
is no eXacrera ton when say tLatany