The Maryville times. (Maryville, Tenn.) 1884-1944, 1889-08-21

whether you will accept Christ or reject
Him. In all the army Of banners there Is
not one conscript Men are not to be dra
gooned into Heaven. Among all the tens
of thousands of the Lords soldiery there is
not one man but will tell you; II chose
Christ; wanted him; desired to be in His
service; am not conscript-I am volun-
teer.n ., 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 en-
thusiasml In the one case secular enthu-
siasm in the other concentrated enthu-
siasm.
Again remark: We want more common
sense in the building up and charging our
| Christian character. There are men here
who for forty years have been running the
| Christian race and they have not run a
quarter of mile.
| No business man would be willing to have
his investments unaccumulative II you in
vest dollar you expect that dollar to come
home bringing another dollar on its back.
What would you think of a man who should
invest $4,000 in amonetary institution, then
go off for five years, make no inquiry in re-
gard to the investment, then come back,
step UP to the cashier Of the institution, and
say: ''Have you kept those ten thousand
dollars safely that lodged with youa" but
asking no question about interest or divi-
dcnd 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
far more important investment than ten
thousand dollars. We invest our soul. Is it
| =, A.,A, yi,rr in
Are we getting better! Are we getting
worsel God declares many dividends, but
we do not collect them, we do not ask about
them, we do not want them. 0 that in this
matter of accumulation we were as wise in
the matters Of the soul as we are in the mat
tiers of the world!
How little common sense in the reading OF
the Scriptures! We get any otherbook and
we open it and we say: snow, what does
this book mean to teach me? 1t is book on
astronomy; it will teach me astronomy. 1t
is book on political economy; it will teach
me political economy" Taking up the BIZ
BILE, do we ask ourselves what it means to
teach. 1t means to do just one thing: get
the world converted and getus all to Heaven
That is what it proposes to do. But instead
of that we 60 into the Bible as botanists tC
pick flowers, or we 20 as pugilists to gel
something to fight other Christians with, OF
we go as logicians trying to sharpen oui
mental 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 man lost
on the mo untains! Night has come down
he can no find his way home, and he sees 6
| ioht ;,,o fo;p hi,, ho uOQ IN II hf
knocks at the door; the mountaineer comes
out and finds the traveller and says: swell
here l have lante m; you can take 1t, ant
it will guide you on the way home;" ant
suppose that man should say ~ don't like
that lantern, don't like the handle of it
there are ten or fifteen things about it
don't like; if you can't give me a bette
lantern than that, l won't have any.
No, God says this Bible is to be lamp II
our feet and lantern to our path to guide
us through the midnight of this world tt
the gates of the celestial city. We taxi
hold of it in sharp criticism, and deprecat,
this, and deprecate that. O, how mucl
wiser we would be if by its holy light w
found our way to our everlasting home.
Then we do not read the Bible as we reat
other books. We read it perhaps four o
five minutes Just before we retire at night
We are weary and sleepy, so somnolent W
hardly know which end Of the book is up
We drop our eve perhaps on the story o
Sampson and the foxes, or upon some gen
ealogical table, imp ortant in its place, blu
stirring no more re ligious emotion than tn
announcement that somebody begat some
body else and he begat somebody else, in
, stead of opening the book and saying
: 'Now l must read for my immortal life. NJ
, eternal destiny is involved in this book"
How little we use common sense in pray
l err! We say: 80, Lord. give me this" an
80, Lord. give me that" and 30, Lord, Civ
8 me something else" and we do not expec
to get it, or getting it, we do not know W
have it. We have no anxiety about it. W
do not watch and wait for its coming.
AS merchant, you telegraph or you writ
: to some other city for bill of goods. Yo
t say: "Send me by such express, or by sue
Y a steamer, or by such rail train The da
, arrives. You send your wagon to the depc
/ or to the wharf. The goods do not come
You Immediately telegraph: 'What is tn
8 matter with those goods! We haven't n
ceived them. Send tn EN- right away. W
q want them now, or we don't want them 9
4 ALL" And you keep writing and you kee
: telegraphing, and you keep sending you
q wagon to the depot, or to the express ofic
. or to the wharf, until you get the goods.
1 In matters of religion we are not so. wis
: as that We ask certain things to Ne ser
r from Heaven. We do not know whethe
d they come or not. We may get them an
t we may not get them. Instead Of seve
p o'clock in the morning saying: Have g
s that blessing!" at twelve o'clock noonda
n asking: "Have got that bles sngs" at SIEVE
f o'clock in the evening, saving "Have r
n ceived that blessing!" and not getting
n pleading, pleading-begging, begging-asl
$ ing, asking until you get Now, my brett
Il rem, is not that common sensel If we ask
n thing from God, who has sworn by H
|, eternal throne that He will do that whiC
:, we ask, is it not common sense that v
e should watch and wait until we get itl
II But remark again: We want more con
n mon sense in doing good. How many Peep
s there are who want to do good and yet al
IL dead failuresl Why is it! They do not e,
d ercise the same tact, the same ingenuit
IS the same strategem, the same common sen.
}, in the work of Christ that they do in world
u things. Otherwise they would succeed
/ this direction as well as they succeed in Il
d other. There are many men who have 9
l. arrogant way with them, although they ma
= not feel arrogant. Or they have a patr
e nizing way. They talk to man of u
It world in manner which seems to sa,
1t Don't you wish you were as good as an
r, Why, have to look clear down befol
5. ] can see you, you are so far beneath me
IS That manner always disgusts, alwa,
d drives men away from the kingdom
$, Jesus Christ instead of bringing them i
ii When | was Had was one day in villa.