The Iola register., 1889-08-16

OF the Lords soldiery there 10 not one man
but will tell you: 81 chose Christ:
wanted Him; desired to be in His ser.
| vice; 1 am not conscript-l am . volun.
teer." .. that men had the same common
sense In the matters of religion that they
have in the matters of the world-the
| same concentration, the Same push. the
same enthusiasm! In the one case Sec
ular enthusiasm; in the other, . conse-
| Grated enthusiasm.
Again Iremark: We want more common
sense in the building up and enlarging Of
| our Christian character. There are men
| here who have for forty years been rum
ming the Christian race and they have not
run quarter OF a mile.
No business mau would be willing 10
have his investments unaccumulative. II
you invest dollar you expect that dollar
to come home bringing another dollar on
| its back. What would you think Of man
| who should invest $40. 900 in a monetary
institution, then go off five years. make
no inq"iry In regard to the investment
then come sack, step up to the cashier of
the institution and say: 'Have you kept
those $4,000 safely that I lodged with
your" but asking no question about inter-
est or about dividend. Why, you say,
THAT is not common sense" Neither is
it but that is the way we act In matters
Of the soul. We make q far mlre i'm.
portant investm mt than So 900. We in
vest our soul 1t is accumula,ive? Are
we growing in grace? Are we getting bet.
ter! Are we getting worse? God declares
many dividends but we do not collect
them. we do not ask about them, we do
not want them. o, that in this matter of
accumulation we were as wise in the mat
ters of the soul as we are in the matters
Of the W. rldi
How little common sense in the reading
of the Scriptures? We get any other book
and we open it and we say: Now, what
does this book mean to teach me? 1t is a
book on astronomy: it will teach me as.
tronomy. 1t is a book on political econo-
my; it will teach me political economy"
Taking up the Bible. do we AK ourselves
what it means to teach? 1t means to do
just one thing; get the world converted
and get US all to Heaven. That is what it
proposes to do. But instead Of that we go
into the Bible as botanists to pick flowers.
or we go as pugilists to get something to
fight other Christians with. or we go as
logicians trying to sharpen our m antal
faculties for 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 on the mountains? Night has ccma
down; he can not find his way home and
he sees light in a mountain cabin; he
goes to it, he knocks at the door; the
mountaineer comes out and finds the trav-
eler and saws: swell. here have a Ian
pan IA Eat n ~ will do
on your way home" And suppose that
man should say: II don't like that lam
tern; don't like the handle of it: there
are ten or fifteen things about it don't
like; if you can't give me better lantern
than that l won't have any,"
Now, God says this Bible is to he a lamp
to our feet and a lantern to our path, to
guide Us through the midnight of this
world to the gates of the celestial city.
We take hold of it in sharp criticism. and
deprecate this, and deprecate that O,
how much wiser we would be if by its
holy light we found our way to our ever.
lasting home!
Then we do not read the Bible as we
read other books. We read it perhaps
four or five minutes just before we retire
at night. We are weary and sleepy, so
somnolent we hardly know VIII ich end of
the book is up. We drop our eye perhaps
on the story of Samson and the foxes. or
upon some genealogical table. importan.
in its place. but stirring no more religious
emotion than the announcement that
: somebody begat somebody else and he be-
gat some body else, instead of opening the
book and saying: "Now must read for
my immortal life. Nv eternal destiny is
involved in this book"
How little we use common sense in
prayer! We say: 80, Lord, give me
this" and 80. Lord, give me that" and
%, Lord. give me something else," and
we do not expect to get it, We do not
know we have it We have no anxiety
about it We do not watch and wait for
its coming.
As a merchant. you telegraph or you
write to some other city for a bill OF |
goods. You say: Send me by such ex-
press. or by such steamer, or by such
rail train" The day arrives. You send
your wagon to the depot or to the wharf. |
The goods do not come. You immediately |
telegrnph: "What is the matter with the |
goods! We haven't received them. Send |
them right away. We want them now. or |
we don't want them at ALL" And you |
keep writing. and you keep telegraphing,
and you keep sending your wagon to the |
depot or to the express office, or to the |
wharf, until you get the goods.
In matters of religion We are not so |
wise as that We ask certain things to be |
sent from Heaven. We do not know |
they come or not. We have not |
any especial anxiety as to whether they |
come or not. We may get them and may
not get them. Instead of ut seven O'Clock |
IN the morning saying: Have got that |
bessing?" at twelve O'Clock MONDAY ask.
ing: Have got that blessng?" at seven
o'clock in the evening saying: Have I
received that blessings" and not getting
i, pleading, pleading-begging, begging
asking until you g,t it Now.
ny brethren, is not that comm m sense:
II We ask a thing from God. who has
sworn by His eternal throne that He will
10 that which we ask, is it not common
'ense that we should watch and wait until
We get it?
But I remark again: We want more
common sense IN doing GOOD. How many
people there are who want to do good and
Tet are dead failures? Why is it? They
10 not exercise the same tact, the sam,
ingenuity, the same stratagen, the same
common sense in the work of Christ that
hey do in worldly things. Otherwise
hey would succeed in this direction as
veil as they succeed in the other. There
ire many men who have an arrogant way
With them. although they may not feel
arrogant. Or they have q patronizing
way. They talk to a man Of the world in
! manner which seems to say: "Don't
7ou wish you were as good as am? Why.
have to look clear down before can see
7ou, you are so far beneath me-" That
manner always disgusts. always drives
men away from the kingdom of Jesus