Custer chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, Black Hills, D.T. [S.D.]) 1880-1890, 1889-08-17

rise and testify that they have discovered
that gold, and have 1t in their posses sion
Notwithstanding all this, what is the cir
cumstance? One would suppose that the
announcement would send people in
great excitement up and down our
streets, that at midnight men would
Enock at your door, asking how they
may get those treasures. Instead OF that,
many Of us put our hands behind our
back and walk up and down in front OF
the mine Of eternal riches, and say
We'll, if l am 10 be saved, ! will be
saved; and ii | am to be damned | will
be damned, and there is nothing to do
about it," Why, my brother, do you
not do that way in business mattersS
Why do you not tomorrow go TO your
store and sit down and fold your arms
and say: IF these goods are to be sold.
they will be sold; and If they are not TO
be sold, they will not he sold; there is
nothing for Inc to do about it," No,
you dispatch your agents, you print
your advertisements. you adorn your
show windows, you push those goods
you use the fundamentally. Oh that
men were as wise in the matter OF the
soul as they are wise IN the matter of
dollars and cents, This doctrine of God s
sovereignty, how it is misquoted and
spoken of as though it were aniron chain
which bound us hand and foot for time
and for eternity, when, so far from that,
in every fibre OF your body, in every fac
ulty of your mind, in every passion of
your soul, you are a free mar and 1t is no
more q matter OF free choice whether
you will tomorrow go abroad or stay at
home, than it is this moment a matter Of
free choice whether you will accept
Christ or reject him. In all the army Of
banners there is not one conscript. Men
are not to be dragooned into heaven.
Among all the tens of thousands of the
Lord soldiery there is not one man but
will tell you: II chose Christ; ! wanted
him; | desired to be in his service; | am
not a conscript-I am a volunteer" Oh
that men had the same common sense in
the matters of religion that they Lave in
the N alters Of the world-the same con
centration, the same push, the same on
thusiasm! In the one case a secular en-
thusiasm; in the other a concentrated
enthusiasm.
Again / remark: We want more com
mon sense in the building up and enlarg-
ing OF our Christian character. There
are men here who have for forty years
been running the Christian race, and they
have not run a quarter OF a milel
No business man would be willing to
have his investments unaccumulative.
II you invest a dollar you expect that
dollar to come home bringing another
dollar on its back. What would you
think of a man who would invest $40 WO
in a monetary institution, then go of for
five years, make no inquiry in regard to
the investment, then come back, step up
TO the cashier Of the institution and say
Have you kept those $40. 900 safely that
| lodged VITA your but asking no ques-
ton about interest or dividend. Why,
you say, That is not common sense. -
Neither is it, but thar is the way we act
in matters Of the soul. We make q far
more important investment than $40, 900.
We invest our soul. Is it accumulatlve2
Are we growing in erace2 Are we grow
ing bet1er2 Are we getting worseY God
declares many dividends, but we do not
collect them, we do no ask about them,
we do not want them. Oh, that in this
matter Of accumulation we were as wise
in the matters of the soul az we are il
the matters Of the world.
How little common sense IN The read
inc of the scriptures! We get eny other
book and we open it and we say: Now,
| what does this book mean TO teach me,
Ii is a book on astronomy; it will teach
| me astronomy. 1t is a book on political
economy" Taking up the Bible, DO We
ask ourselves what it means TO teach? II
means TO do just one thing: get the world
converted and get us al 10 heaven. That
is what it proposes to do. But instead
Of that we 20 into the Bible as bOtanists
to pick flowers, or we go as pugilists &c
get something to fight other Christians
| with, or We go as logicians trying tc
| sharpen our menta. facilities for a better
| argument, and we do not like this about
the Bible, and we do not like that, and
we do not like the other thing. What
would you think Of a man lost IN the
mountains2 Night has come down; ht
| cannot find his way home and he sees
| light in q mountain cabin; he goos TO it
he knocks at the door; the moUnteineel
comes out and finds the traveller and says
We'll, here | have a lantern; you cal
take it and it will guide you on the way
home" and suppose that man shoGld cay
Il don't like that lantern, ! don't lik'
the handle Of it, there are ten o. fffteel
things about il ! don't like; If YOU can
l.give me a better lanternt than that | won
have any"
Now, God says this Bible is 20 be
lamp to our feet and a lantern 20 on
path, to guide us through the mSdnigh
Of this world TO the gates OF the celes
tial city. We take hold of it iE sharl
criticism, and deprecate this, and depre
"a tie that. On, how mucn wiser we w0ul'
be if by its holy light we found o&r wa.
TO our everl 4sting home!
Then we do not read the Bible ga W
resd other books. We read it perhap
four or five minutes just before we retir
at night. We are weary and sleepy, 81
somnolent we 'hardly know which end o
the Book is up. We drop our eye per
haps on the story of Samson and tn
foxec, or upon some genealogical table
impot: ant in its place, but stirring M
more religious emotion than the an
noun0ement that somebody begat some
body else, and he hegat somebody else
instead of opening the book and saying
Now I must read for my immortal life
My eternal destiny is involved in THU
book
How little we use common sense il
PRAYER! We say ooh, Lord, give NE
this" and 'Oh. Lord, give me that" snG
"Oh, Lore, give NIX something else" anC