Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1885-07-20

wise men anu great men, cblupotchu lOi
all other stations, who are acting silly
aud foolish part in regard to the techni-
calities of religion. They ask us some
questions which we cannot answer cate
gOrically, and so they burst into broad
gunaw, as though it is OF any more inter
est 10 us than IT ought to be TO them.
About the atOnemcnt, about Gods de-
crees, about mans destiny, they ask
great many questions which we cannot
answer, and so they deride us, as though
we could not AJAX them thousand Ques-
tons that they cannot answer-abOut
their ewes, about their ears, about their
finger nails, about everything. A fool
can ask a question that a wise man
cannot answer. ., you cayiling men!
O, you profound men! ., you learned
men, do please admit something. You
have a soul? Yes. VIII it live forever?
les Where? You say that Jesus Christ
is not a divine Savior. Who is He!
Where will you 90 after you leave your
law books, and your medical prescrip-
tions. and your club-roOm, and your
newspaper ofhce-where Will you 90 to?
Your body will be six feet under ground.
W here VIII YOUR soul be? The black
COAX wUl be Cd. the shrOud on. Those
sueciac.es viii he removed from your
Vision. tr the sod viii press your eye
lids. haV5 you any idea that an earthly
s.u&r4c describes the years Of your life
t5utf o.. waai stun shall I gather The
material tor She letters Of that word
watch describes YOUR eternal home!
Sea- 20 ~ iron chain or amaranthine
Gsr'a-0 Tae air that stirs the besweated
ar,S> 90 ycGr dying pillow, will 1t come
garden or a desertY ON, quit the
s.-.--..-1 Questions, and try these mo-
--s-. questions. Quit the small ques-
-to-S and IN the great questions Instead
% 5iSe usslng whether the serpentin Eden
'4ss cslra,iye or literal, whether the
Mediterranean fish did or did not
swallow Tie recresnt prophet, whether
,o,s o- ttat or the other thing is right or
E-c- =. come and discuss one qustiOn:
How Soall get i'd ofmy sins and win
heaven" That l. the question for YOU.
Yea. there have been men who have act
uallY losttleiT souls because they thought
there was 8 discrepancy between Moses
ard Prof Siiilmau-because they could
not understand how there could be light
before the sun rose-thc light appearing
in verse Of Genesis, and the sun not
until verse l6-and because
they do not know how the moon could
stand still without upsettiug the uni
verse. and because they had decided upon
the theory of natural selection. A Ger
man philosopher in dying had for his
chief sorrow that he had not devoted his
whole life TO the study of the datVe case.
On, when your immortality is in peril,
why bubble? Quit these nOn-essentials.
my dear brother. In the name of God !
ask you in regard to these matters OF the
soul, that you do not play the
fool.
WHAT Is that man doing in Bowling
Green, New York? Well, he is going IN for
a ticket for transatlantic voyage. He IS
no pln a a
the red spots on the ticKet-and he is
quarreling about the peculiar signature
OF the president OF the steamship com
pany, and he is quarreling about the
manner Of the clerk who hands MIN the
ticket. How long has he been standing
there? Three weeks. Meanwhile. per-
haps twenty steamers have gone out Of
port and ! hear the shrek of the steam
tug that could take him to the last vessel
that could bear HIM 10 his engagement in
London. Still he stands in Bowling Green
discussing the ticket. What do you say
IN regard to that man? You say he Is "A
fool. Well, IN that very way are many
men acting in regard TO the matter of the
soul. They are caviilng about the atone
ment, the red spots ON the ticket, about
the character of the minister who hands
them the ticket. about whether il has
divine or human signature, ana mean
while all their opportunities for heaven
are sailing out of the harbOr, and | hear
the last tap OF the bell announcing their
last chance for heaven. Go aboard! DO
not waste any more time in higgling and
carping andfcr ticisIng and wondering.
and in the presence OF an astOunded
heaven playing the fool.
| 20 further, and say to you that those
men play the fool who undertake to
pay out eternity for time. How little
care do we bestOw upon the rail-
road depot where we stop % min
utes to dine. We dash in, and we
dash out again. We do not examine the
architecture OF the building, nor the face
of the caterer. We supply our hunger,
we pay our money, and we put on our
hat ana take our place in the train. What
Is that depot as compared with the place
for which we are boundf Now, my friends.
this world is only stopping place on the
way to a momentOus destination, and yet
how many of us sit down as though we
had cOnsummated our Journey, as though
we had come to the final depot, when our
stopping here is as compared with our
stopping there as is twenty minutes to
twelve hours; lyea, as the One-hundredth
part of a second compared with ten
thousand million years! Would Spain sell
us Cuba for a bushel of wheat? Would
Would Venice sell us all her pictures for
an American schOOlboy's sketch All,
that would be "A better bargain for Eng
land. Spain and Venice than that man
makes who gives his eternity for time. Yet
how many there are who are saying Give
me the worlds dollars and you may have
the eternal rewards. Give me the worlds
applause and you may have the garlands
of cod. Give me 20 OF 40 or 80 years OF
worldly success and | don't care what
becomes of the future. | am going into
that world uninsured. l take the respon-
sibility. Don't bother me about your re-
ligion. Here | have the two worlds be-
fore me-this one and the next. have
chosen this. Go away from me, God and
angels and all thoughts Of the futurew
Men are actually making that choice,
while there are others who have done
far differently. When they tried to
bribe with money Martin Luther,
some one said: There's no use
trying 10 do that-that Dutch beast cares
nothing Tor gold" When they tried, by
giving him cardinals hat, TO bride Sa-
vonarola, be stood up in his pulpit and
cried out: ~ will have no red hat save
that Of martyrdom, cOlOred with my own
blood" These men chose Christ amid
great prosecutions; but how many there
10 be popular, who are ashamed OF Christ
and not willing 20 take the hardships
seeming hardships--of his religion. And
alas for themi tor long after the crash OF
the worlds demolition they shall find that