The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1906-06-06
Commencement Exercises.


clouds a large congregation attends
the religious service in the Institute
hall, conducted by Rev. Melton Clar!
OF Florence. The singing was unde
the direction of Mrs. ". c. Davis, will
Miss Edna Brockinton presiding at tn
organ. This choir was well traine'
and the music rendered by them va
highly pleasing to the vast congrega
ton and added greatly to the occasion
Rev. Melton Clark took his text iron
22d chapter /. Chronicles, latter clause
10Th verse ''Arise therefore and be
doing, and the Lord be with thee
The discourse was one OF the stronges
presentations ever delivered in the
Institute. There was no attempt a
meaningless oratorical display but i
was forceful deliverance Of practica
thought. impressive and instructive
Mir. Clark is a delightful speaker with
the happy faculty of holding the atten
tion Of his hearers, and making his
argument so clear, that even the young
est of the children could not fail tc
grasp the meaning.
When the service was over the eN.
pressions of admiration could be heard
from every side. The preacher sim:
ply captivated this large and cultured
congregation. and in the evening ne
preached another very strong sermon
to large congregation 10 the Presoy-
terian church.
The following is not the full text o!
she sermon, but we think it IS gooo
;. ,opsis:
l Chron. 22-l6: "Arise and be Doing
and the Lord be with Thee"
These are the closing words of the
charge, which David delivered to his
son, Solomon, in reference to the build
ing OF the Temple. David is now an
old man. Immediately after speaking
these urgent. rousing words to his son,
he, as we are told in the Scriptures,
being 'old and full of days, made Sol
omon. his son, king over Israel in his
stead. These last words of King David
to his son and successor are great IN
their wisdom and pathos. To catch
their force we must vivify the scene.
In our imaglnatlons we must VltallZe
the characters. The words must not
come to our minds with didactic force
merely. We must supply them again
with the power and influence of the
personal element. We must remember
aud realize that this was the king
speaking to his son, who was lmmedla-
telv 20 ascend the throne. That 1t
was the ambitious man who had pre-
pared abundantly for the work, giving
directions to the one who was to carry
out and perfect his cherished ideas.
That it was the father who knew how
great was the labors and responsibility
that he was now imposing upon his
best beloved son. Hear this kingly man
who had prepared abundant Y before
his death for this great work as he
speaks. Somehow when we consider
these words in this way. they seem to
draw US very near to the heart OF this
great man. 1t is hard to say which IS
most clearly revealed here. The heart
of the King or the heart of the Father,
or the heart of the Man. It is almost
like a hearts confessional when we
hear him say, sit was in my heart to
build an house unto the name OF the
Lord. nv God. But the word
of the Lord came to me
saving: Thou has shed blood abund-
antly, and has made great wars. Thou
shalt not build an house unto My Name,
because thou hast shed much blood
upon the earth in My sight" But
again the tender accents of an affec-
tionate father, are saying: Nov, my
son, the Lord be with Thee" The
words which undoubtedly display the
greatest wisdom and which show US the
thought and reflection of the klngly
statesman are those recorded IN the
last clause of the l4th verse: And
thou mayest add thereto" He has
lust referred to the preparations which
he has made for this work: to the gold
and silver, the brass and iron, the
timber and stone. He says these have
collected in abundance for the work,
':an6 thou mayest add thereto" This
clause manifests David's foresight. MS
common sense, his profound wisdom.
They show US that he did not think
that he had done everything, great as
his preparation had been. And since
his preparation had been so exhaus-
tive, his wisdom so searching, and his
ability so great, this permission given
to Solomon shows US that David thought
that it was not probable that his or any
ones work could be complete IN this
world. And this is the truth. Both
nature aud revelations teach US that
one mans work for God fits into, and
follows on another mans work. One
soweth and another reapeth, and
oftener one soweth for another to reap.
No mans work in this world is a com
plete work. The sooner we learn this
lesson from David the better. The very
best man can do is to lay the founda-
tion or prepare the way for another's
work. Test this principle by life ex-
perience. Isolate any mans work and
it appears to be a failure. II we take
the histories of the greatest lives OF
the world we will find only so many
illustrations of this truth. When we
isolate their lives we have to say OF
them either that the work is incom-
plete, or that they fell or were over
thrown or were rejected. Ceasar, Ma
poleon, Luther, Calvin, Knox, Glad
stone, and Lee. These all furnish with
their lives illustrations of this truth.
These lives when isolated appear to be
failures. But connect those lives with
the past and the future, and what
them The man may have fallen, or
NAV have been overthrown or rejected,
but his work stood. or even when this
was destroyed the influence of the life
remained and could not be robbed of
its power. Look at the life in its rela-
ton to the past and study it as to its
effect upon the future and it will be-
come plain that every well lived and
worthy life fits into Gods purpose and
promotes the welfare of man. And when
thus properly seen it will be manifest
that no worthy life can be failure.
Some must retard as the race is tend
ing to evil and error, and be censured
therefor, and scornfully termed "slow''
and behind the times" Others must
lead the race, boldly and toilfully, in
loneliness blazing the way through the
painless wilderness of unkcwn joyless
regions. They will be condemned and
probably destroyed by their fellowmen,
as dangerous and radical. But these
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