Democratic Northwest. [volume] (Napoleon, Ohio) 1869-1894, 1889-09-12


Of the scales the Emperor and the boule-
vsrds, and the Tuileries and the Champs
Elysees, and the gilded Opera House, and on
the other side he put that mans abomination,
that mans hbertinism. that mans selfshness'
that mans goddess ambition. This last came
down, all the brilliancy Of the scene vnn-
lsned. What is that voice coming up from
Sedan? Weighed and found wanting.
But / must become more individual and
more personal in my address. Some people
say they do not think clergymen ought to be
personal in their religious addresses, but
ought to deal with subjects in the abstract ]
do not think that way. What would YOU
think Of q hunter'who should 20 to the Adj.
rondacks TO shoot deer in the abstractY All!
no. he loads the gun, he puts the butt Of IL
against the breast, he runs his eye along the
barrel, he takes sure aim, and then crash 20
the antlers on the rocks. And so, il we want
| to be hunters for the Lord we must take
sure aim and fire. Not in the abstract are
we to treat things in religious discussions. If
a physician comes into a sick room does he
treat ,s disease t II the ABSTRACT No; he feels
Ine Ine pulse, taKes Tie uiagnosis, then he makes
the prescription. And il we want to heal
souls for this life and the life to come we do
not want to treat them in the abstract. The
fact is, you and have a malady which, II
uncured by grace, will kill us forever. Now.
| want no abstraction. Where is the balm?
Where is the physician2
] People say thereis a day Of Judgment COM
ing. My friends every day is a day Of iudR-
ment, and you and l to-day are being can
vassed, inspected, weighed Here are the
balances of the sanctuary. They are lifted,
and we must all be weighed Who will come
and be weighed firstS Here is moralist who
volunteers. He is one of the most upright
men in the country. He comes Well, my
brother, get in, get into the balances now
and be weighed. But as he gets into the
I q q l~~4s l.
have along with your" "Oh." he says, ''that
is my reputation for goodness, and kindness,
and charity, and generosity, and kindliness
generally" 20 my brother! we cannot
weigh that; we are going to weigh you
you. Now, stand in the scales-you, the
moralist. Paid your debts?' "Yes," you
say, paid all my debts. "Have you acted in
an upright way in the communityp' 'sYes,
yes" "Have you been kind to the poor?
Are you faithful in a thousand relations in
hfeT' "Yes." $50 far so good. But now,
before you get out Of this scale want to ask
you two or three questions "Have your
thoughts always been right?' ''No,"you say
no" Put down one mark. "Have you loved
the Lord with all your heart, and soul, and
mind, and strength" 'No, you say. Make
another mark. 'Come, now, be frank and
confess that in ten thousand things you
have come short-have you notT
Come now, get me book large enough to
make the record Of that moralist's deficits.
My brother, stand in the scales, do not fly
away from them. 1 put on your side the
scales all the good deeds you ever did, all the
kind words you ever uttered but on the
other side the scales put this weight which
God says must put thereon the other side
the scales and opposite. to yours put this
weight: by the deeds Of the law shall no
flesh living be justified" Weighed and found
wanting.
Still the balances of the sanctuary are sus-
pended and we are ready to weigh any who
come. Who shall be the next? Well, here is
Journalist. He comes and he gets into the
balances, and as he gets in see that all his
religion is in genufexions and in outward
observances As he gets into the scales 1
oh, "he says, ''thatis Westminster Assembly
Catechism:" ! say: very good. What
have you in that other pocket?' "Oh," he
says, that is the Heidelberg Catechism"
Very good. What is that you have under
your arm, standing in this balance of the
sanctuary@ "Oh," he says. that is a church
record" "Very good. What are all these
books on your side the balances?" "Oh," he
says, 'those are 'Calvins Institutes" ''My
brother, we are not weighing books; we are
weighing you. 1t cannot be said that you are
depending for your salvation upon your Or
thodoxy. Do you not know that the creeds
and the forms of religion are merely the scaf-
folding for the building? You certainly are
not going to mistake the scaffolding for the
temple, Do you not know that men have gone
to perdition with catechism in their pocketm
But, says the man, Il cross myself often"
the man. II am sympathetic for the poor"
That will not save you" Says the man,
II sat at the communion table"
"That will not save you" But"
says the man, II have had my name
on the church records" 'tThat will
not save you" But have been a professor
Of religion forty years" THAT will not save
you. Stand there on your side the balances
and will give you the advantage-I will let
you have all the creeds, all the church rec
ords, all the Christian conventions that were
ever held, all the communion tables that were
ever built, on your side the balances. On the
other side the balances must put what God
says must put there. I put this million
pound weight on the other side the balances:
Having the form of godliness, but denying
the power thereof FROM such turn away"
Weighed and found wanting.
Still the balances are suspended. Are
there any others who would like to be
weighed or who will be weighed? Yes, here
comes worldling. He gets into the scales
| can very easily see what his whole life is
made up Of. Stocks, dividends, percentages
buyer ten days" buyer thirty days" Get
in my friend; get into these balances and be
eighed-weighed for this life and weighed
for the life to come Hegets in. find that
the two great questions in his life are, "How
cheaply can buy these goodsy' and 'sHow
Heaven because it is a land of gold and money
must be 'easy."
I find from talking with him that religion
and the Sabbath are an interruption, a vul-
gar interruption, and he hopes on the way to
church to drum upa new customer. Allth
week he has been weighing fruits, weighing
meats, weighing ice, weighing coal, weighing
confect:ons, weighing worldly and perishable
commodities, not realizing the fact that he
himself has been weighed. On your side the
balances, o worldingt I will give you full
advantage. | put on your side all the bank
ing houses, all the storehouses, all the car
goes, all the insurance companies, oil the fac
tories, all the silver, all the gold, all the
money vaults, all the safety deposits-all on
your side. But it does not add one ounce,
for at the very moment we are congratu-
;ating you on your fine house and upon your
princely income God and the angels are writ
ing in regard to your soul, weighed and
found wanting"
But must go faster and speak of the final
scrutiny. The fact is, my friends, we are
moving on amid astounding realities. These
pulses which now are drumming the march
Of life may, after a while, call halt. We
walk on hair hung bridge over chasms. All
around us are dangers making ready to
spring on us from ambush. We lie down at
night, not knowing whether we shall arise in
the morning. We start out for our occupa-
tions, not knowing whether we shall come
back Crowns being FURNISHED for thy hro1y