The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1886-06-11
THE NIGHT MEETING.

THE NIGHT MEETING.
HEr. Small Makes Few Remarks About the
Contributions for Incidental Expenses.
There was a large audience at Mr. Small's
services last evening, though not as large as the
audience of the night before. It was estimated
that nearly 1000 persons were present. The
meeting was opened by a brief prayer by Mr.
Small. The hymns sung preceding the sermon
were yield Not to Temptation" Calvary" and
"Let Him In" DR.. Goblin, of Greencastle. of
fered prayer.
Before beginning his sermon, and as the bas-
kets were about to be taken among the audience
for the collection. Dir. Small made the following
remarks
have been requested by Brother Mcconnell
TO say something to you abOnt these collections.
always dislike to say anything to a congrcga-
ton the subject of collections and money, be-
cause 1t is SO easy TO be misrepresented do
not think any of you will misunderstood what
Say aad hope nothing say in the matter will
be misrepresented. Those collections that are
taken up here are for the purpose of defraying
the incidental expenses of this meeting. paying
for the hall rent, and the gas, and the light, at
tendants, and all of the incidental expenses of
carrying on the meeting and they would have
been the Incidental expenses of any meeting OF
this character that you held, whether
Small and Jones came here or
not And l want you to distinctly
understand that this money that you give in
these collections is to defray those expenses and
is in wise and to no extent to be used &c
Femunerate either myself or Brother Jones. We
want to great meeting here in indianapolis;
we want 10 great spiritual, and religious,
and eternal good done to the people in this city,
and it won't make one cents worth of difference
10 Brother Jones myself whether we get
cent for the work we do here or not. We can
can pay our own board bills. and we have got
on Ilaughterl, and you need not worry
your hearts, or worry your con-
sciences. or worry your pocket books about
us in this matter. But it is certainly worth
something to you to have the privilege of COM
Ing here aud setting in a good, comfortable seat
In a well ventilated hail. with lights and all.
and good music, and with the preaching. which
you sit to hear, or you have got the privilege of
getting up and going ont If you do not like it.
When any of you do not like the preaching
ret tired of 1t there more doors in this building
than ever saw in one before, believe and you
won't get lost finding the way out of doors. And
you are perfectly welcome to go, and doubt II
we will miss You when you gone. Now these
incidental expenses are annoying and they look
picayunish, and IL looks like miserable piece of
business to be running around here with these
baskets every time we come together in order to
gather up enough copper cents for this rent
and this light, and for these incidental expen-
ses From what l hear, the people here in
Ind annapolis have evidently got the idea
that the circulating medium in Heaven is
copper cents, and they are laying up their treas
ure there, cent at time. have always under
stood that we would look for gold and find gold
in the New Jerusalem, but do not know that
copper is mentioned anywhere in connection
with the foundations or the streets, or the circu
lating medium OF the New Jerusalem at all, and
some of you may get left on that copper bust
ness
know sometimes Won can't oet a fellow IN
pay any attention to your talk about heaven, un-
less you give him something that strikes his eye
Tor making something out OF it. Sometimes
you get hold of farmer and the only way you
can get his attention to heaven at all is to talk
about the Eysian fields, and then he wants to
homestead on about hundred and sixty acres
of it right of; and you get hold of one of these
old real estate sharks around here, and he would
not be in heaven two hours until he would get
all the corner lots vacant around there, and spec
ulate on them as the redeemed souls came in
And some of them are so skeptical
about religion, and about heaven and
of all that is in it that they
will want to carry up a bottle of acid to test the
golden streets, to see if they genuine not.
Many people want to 20 to heaven just like they
are. A fine old time they would have
If they got there, going there with all
their passions on them, like they are now,
and ell their desire to monopolize and grab
everything in sight We would have riotous
time in heaven when they got in. l am glad
the Lord won't allow fellow in heaven until he.
shells down and gets rid of all that stuff. You
Gan get to heaven for nothing. Some of you are
powerful glad that salvation is free, l have no
doubt. You can get to Heaven for moth
ing. You can get from here to New York
Tor nothing, but you would have to walk?
Laughter But the best way, and the easiest
way, and the cheannest way for all is to recognize
che bounty of God, recognize what you have
got as the gift of Sod, and be willing, when God
needs a little to run His kingdom down here, to
give Him back little for that purpose If a
man comes to me aud gives me a thousand dol
lars as free gift and then he was to get hard up
and ask me to let him have ten dollars or to
lend him ten dollars. l would think myself an
migrate not to do it. When the Lord gives you
Rll He has got, and ask you to lend the Lord
little to make you rich in heaven, don't you think
1t is mighty stingy in you, and ungrateful to the
Lord to go hunting around for copper to give
HINT
Now, seriously. let us get this incidental ex.
pense business off our minds and then it won't
take up our time when get together Let us
90 to work and do the square thing Let us be
rs good to the Lord our fellow citizens are to-
night toward Barnun; he is getting six or seven
thousand dollars out of this town tonight. and
he got about much more to-day He will
carry Ii off and IL will be hard times around here
Tor the next six weeks and folks will be saying,
''You will have TO run our grocery bills over
until next month, it is hard times" But they
are not thinking of that to night when they are
down there looking at the animals and listening
20 the clown II these people can afford to pay
Barnum $l2, 900 or SIS 900 for couple of shows
In one day you ought to be willing to pay the lit
Gle expense of holding these meetings for two
weeks. IL does not take as much TO run the
whole of these meetings two weeks as it does to
run Barnum's show ten minutes Cries of
s'Thatis So" That is an actual fact You just
resolve 10 night that you will walk little to
morrow instead of riding in the street CAR that you
will get along on two or three drinks less to-
morrow than you did to day; that you will let up
On q few plates of ice-cream or on quart of
strawberries. or something of that kind and put
that money in the basket tonight, and let US get
enough out Of this respectable and large and we'll