Fort Worth weekly gazette. [volume] (Fort Worth, Tex.) 1882-1891, 1889-08-08
What the World Wants is More
Common Sense in Religion.
Any Man Who Will Not Admit that He
is an Imperfect, Sinful Being is
Simply a Fool.
God Impressed His Image on Our Race, but
that Image Has Been Getting Fainter
and Fainter for Ages.
DIR. TALMAGE IN MONTANA.

n. Y, preached here to-day, taking fol
his subject: 'sOutwitted by the World -
He took for his text st. Luke xvi. 8:
:'The children of this world are in their
generation wiser than the children of
light, - and delivered the following dis
course:
That is another way Of saying that
Christians are not so skillful in the
manipulation of spiritual affairs as
worldlings are skillful in the manage
ment OF temporalities. l see all around
me people who are alert, earnest, con-
oentrated and skillful in monetary mat
tiers, VINO, in the affairs of the soul, are
laggaFds, inane, inert.
COMMON SENSE IN RELIGION WANTED.
The great want of this world is more
common sense in matters of religion. If
| One-half the skill and foFcefulness en-
plOyed in financial affairs were employed
in disseminating the truths of Christ, and
| trying to make the whole world better,
within ten years the last juggernGut
would fall, the last throne of oppression
upset, the last iniquity tumble, and the
| anthem that was chanted over Bethlehem
on Christmas night would be echoed and
re-echoed from all nations and kindred
and people ''GloFy to God in the high
est, and on earth peace, good will to
| men.
Some years ago, on train going to-
ward the southwest, as the porter of the
sleeping car was making up the berths at
the evening tide, l saw man kneel
down to pray Worldly people III the
car looked on, as much as to say,
! 'fWhat does this mean?'' l suppose the
most Of the people in the car thought the
man was either insane or that he was a
! fanatic; but ne disturbed no one when
! he knelt, and he disturbed no one when
| he arose. In after conversation with
| him I found out that he was a member of
| church in my own city, that he was q
| seataring man, and that ne was on his
way to new Orleans to take command of
! a vessel. l though then as 1 think now,
! that ten such men-men with such cour-
age for God as that man had-Would
bring the whole city to Christ; a tbous-
and such men would bring this whole
land to God; ten thousand such men, in
q short time, would bring the whole
earth into the kingdom of Jesus. That
| he was successful in worldly affairs, l
found out. That he was skillful III splr-
itual affairs, you are well persuaded.
If men had the courage, the pluck, the
common sense in matters of the soul,
that they have in earthly matters, this
would be very different kind of world
TO live in.
THE BUILDING AND CONDUCT OF
CHURCHES.
In the first place we want more COM
mon sense in the building and conduct
of churches The idea Of adaptiveness is
always paramount in any other kind of
structure If bankers meet together
and they resolve upon putting mp bank
the bank is especially adapted to banking
purposes; if q manufacturing company
put up building, it is to be adapted to
manufacturing purposes; but adaptive
ness is not always the question in the
rearing Of churches. In many of our
churches we want more light, more room,
more ventilation, more comfort. Vast
sums of money are expended on ecclesi-
astical structures, and men sit down in
them, and you ask a man how he likes
the church. He SAYS: 81 like it very
well, but l can't hear. - As though 81
shawl factory were good for everything
but making shawls. The voice OF the
preacher dashes against the pillars. Men
sit down under the shadow Of the Gothic
arches and SILVER and feel they must be
getting religion or something else, they
feel so uncomfortable.
O, my friends, we want more common
sense in the rearing of churches. There
is no excuse for lack of light when the
heavens are full of it; no excuse for lack
of fresh air when the world swims in it
1t ought to be an expression, not only of
our spiritual happiness, but of our physi-
cal comfort when we say: elbow amiable
are thy tabernaeles, o Lord God of hosts.
A day in Thy courts is better than
thousand. -
WE MUST CONCENTRATE.
Again [ remark: We want more com |
mon sense in the obtaining of religious |
hope. Ali men understand that in order
to succeed in worldly directions they
must concentrate. They think on that |
one subject until their mind takes fire |
with the velocity of their own thoughts.
All their acumen, all their strategy, all |
their wisdom, all their common sense,
they put in that one direction and they |
succeed. But how seldom it is |
true in the matter of seeking after |
God. While no man expects to |
accomplish anything for this world |
without concentration and enthusiasm, |
how many there are expecting after |
awhile to get into the kingdom of God |
without the use of any such means. A |
miller in California, many years ago, !
he!d up q sparkle of gold until il be- |
witched nations. Tens of thousands of /
people left their homes They took their |
blankets and their piollaxes and their !
pistols and went TO the Wilds of CallfOr- |
mia. Cities sprang up suddenly on the |
Pacific coast. Merchants put aside their /
elegant apparel and put on the miner $ |
garb. All the land was full of the talk |
about gold Gold IN the eyes, gold in |
the ears, gold in the wake of ships. gold |
in the streets-gold. gold, gold. Word |
comes to us that the mountain of God s |
love is full of bright treasure; that men
have been digging there, and have
brought up gold and amethyst, and !
carbuncle, and jasper. and sardonyx, |
and chrysoprasus, and all the precious |
stones out of which the walls of heaven /
were builded. Word comes of a man /
who, digging in that mine for one hour, |
has brought up treasures worth more than
all the stars that keep vigil over our sick
and dying world. Is it bogus company /
that Is formed? Is it undeveloped terri
tory? Oh, no; the story is true. There |
are thousands of people in this audience
who would be willing to rise and tify |
40 they have dic.ouapad fha4 cold